Help choosing laptops

[creamcheese007]

I need help choosing a laptop for college and I don't know computers that well. I was thinking of getting a vaio but when I click on the tech spec. at the site, I have no clue if they meet the requirements of the school or not

School requirements:
Intel core 2 Duo CPU
2 GB DDR-RAM, expandable to 4GB
14.1 TFT SXGA LCD display
80GB Hard Drive, 5200 RPM
CD-RW/DVD combo drive
Integrated 802.1b/g wireless
Integrated 10/100/1000
Ethernet
USB 2 Port
IR port
Lithium-Ion battery
Windrows XP Pro
or Windows vista home premium and above

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance

[warlock110]

I need help choosing a laptop for college and I don't know computers that well. I was thinking of getting a vaio but when I click on the tech spec. at the site, I have no clue if they meet the requirements of the school or not

School requirements:
Intel core 2 Duo CPU
2 GB DDR-RAM, expandable to 4GB
14.1 TFT SXGA LCD display
80GB Hard Drive, 5200 RPM
CD-RW/DVD combo drive
Integrated 802.1b/g wireless
Integrated 10/100/1000
Ethernet
USB 2 Port
IR port
Lithium-Ion battery
Windrows XP Pro
or Windows vista home premium and above

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance

go dell choose a laptop and put in that requirement?

[annaaa]

yea, dell or at HP.
depends on which is cheaper but they let you build your own comp./laptop
i like HP better.

[mind_wander]

Cream,

My advice, don't get dell; it has alot of problems, especially you got like long 10pg projects, guess what the Harddrive crashes when it comes to the end of the term. Yeah, go get a HP computer. I been in college, where other college students with dell computer and always have problems, especially it comes to the end of the term.

As long the Laptop has the same specs as the college described, I wouldn't worry about the fancy specs. In the end, all you need is on a laptop: cd-r/dvd-r, usb 2.0 flash memory, dvd/cd player, a good or decent Processor Chip with 1-2Ghz memory ram[for storage], Integrated Eternet 10/100/1000 or wi-fi network, and 80-100GB Harddrive. As long you got these, yeah you are allset for college; good luck on the laptop search

[MysteriouX]

lets take a look at your specs and requirements ok, my opinions will be in brackets.

School requirements: (first of all its up to you what you buy, the school has no right to tell you what kind of computer you have to buy, since it is your money you are spending, tell them to f**k off if they dont like what you bought)

Intel core 2 Duo CPU (good choice but get centrino which lasts longer on the battery pack)

2 GB DDR-RAM, expandable to 4GB (good thinking, the extra ram will be much valuable later)

14.1 TFT SXGA LCD display (I would suggest at least a 15.4" 16:9 ration wide screen display, go for crystal clear technology, not sure what dell and HP calls them, each of them have different names for it, but what I mean is the screen when the computer is turned off should act like a mirror when you look at it, should be glossy, the surface of the screen should be polished bright, not like the old TFT/LCDs)

80GB Hard Drive, 5200 RPM (this should be your minimum hd space requirement, get better RPM if you can, and try to get SATA drives if possible)

CD-RW/DVD combo drive (normally laptops now come with Dual Layer DVD-RW drives, combo drives are obsolete)

Integrated 802.1b/g wireless (this is already a must)
Integrated 10/100/1000 (all laptops have ethernet integrated, not sure if they alread support 1gigabit though, but they sure as hell support 10/100megabits)

Ethernet (ethernet is the 10/100/1000 that you mentioned above
already, I think you need to learn what the terms mean, go read some books and stop playing games or listening to music)

USB 2 Port (no one uses USB 1.1 ports anymore, try to get a laptop which has at least 3-4 of these ports)

IR port (not necessary now with bluetooth and wireless technology, but this is an optional choice for you.)

Lithium-Ion battery (I do believe that ALL laptops use Lit-Ion battey packs, so why bother making this a requirement. Instead look for how long the battery power supply lasts on what you would normally use the computer for)

Windrows XP Pro (I wouldn't recommend anything else, not even vista, at least not until they release service pack 1 or 2 for vista. and all other versions of XP are just JUNK)

you forgot to mention graphics card: I recommend you get one with nVidia GeForce Go series 7300 or above with HyperCache/TurboCache Memory (which means if the computer says you have 2 gigs of motherboard ram and the video memory is 512 mbs, 128 mbs at least will be dedicated on the graphics card and the remaining 384 mbs will be dynamically shared from the motherboard ram, so depending on the graphics card requirement, the computer will reserve maximum of 384 mbs from your main RAM when you need it.)
read about turbocache in the links below:
http://www.nvidia.com/page/turbocache.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TurboCache
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/124

depending on where you live I would recommand you either go for an HP or ASUS (sony is comparable but way to expensive) or Fujitsu or BenQ

DO NOT, and I do mean this, DO not buy laptops from dell, they are too thick, bulky and very heavy.

What's your price range anyways and which country do you live in?

[yearning]

The computer saavy dude at work recommends Dell XPS.

[creamcheese007]

K, I tried costumizing a notebook at HP and the price came out to be about 1,800. Quite expensive

Below is the spec. for a Vaio CR series model: VGN-CR150E/B, which cost about 1,550.

Computer Type

• Notebook

Type of Use

• Thin-and-light

Pointing Device

• Electro-Static touch pad

Security

• Biometric Fingerprint Sensor

Action Buttons

• Play/Pause, Stop, FF, and Rewind, AV Mode, Mute, Volume-+, Capture and Display off

Keyboard

• QWERTY, 82 keys with 2mm stroke and 19.05mm pitch

Camera

• Built-in 1.3 megapixel MOTION EYE® camera and microphone

Type

• Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T7100

Speed

• 1.8GHz[COLOR=#800080]8[/COLOR]

Front Side Bus Speed

• 800MHz

L2 Cache

• 2MB

Technology

• Intel® Centrino® Duo Processor Technology

Type-2

• DDR2

Installed

• 2GB (1GBx2) PC2-5300

Maximum

• 4GB[COLOR=#800080]10[/COLOR]

Speed-2

• 667MHz

Capacity

• 200GB[COLOR=#800080]9[/COLOR]

Speed-3

• 4200rpm

Interface

• Serial ATA

Technology-2

• WXGA LCD

Screen Size

• 14.1"[COLOR=#800080]2[/COLOR]

Resolution

• 1280 x 800

XBRITE-ECO™ Technology

DVD±RW

• Yes[COLOR=#800080]4[/COLOR] (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/DVD-RAM)

DVD Read

• 8x max

CD Read

• 24x max

DVD-RAM Read

• 5x max

DVD+R Write

• 8x max

DVD+RW Write

• 8x max

DVD-R Write

• 8x max

DVD-RW Write

• 6x max

DVD+R DL Write

• 4x max

DVD-R DL Write

• 4x max

DVD-RAM Write

• 5x max

CD-R Write

• 24x max

CD-RW Write

• 16x max

Sound System

• Sony® Sound Reality™ - Audio Enhancer

Processor

• Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3100

Video RAM

• 358MB[COLOR=#800080]11[/COLOR] (Total Available Graphics Memory)

Interface-2

• VGA and S-Video Out with Smart Display Sensor

Multimedia Card Reader

• One Memory Stick Duo™ media with MagicGate® functionality One ExpressCard™ /34 Slot One Secure Digital Media (SD)

Headphone Jack

• 1

Microphone Input

• 1

S-Video Output(s)

• 1

VGA Output(s)

• 1

USB Port(s)

• 3 (2.0 compliant)

Ethernet Port

• 1

Modem Jack

• 1

Express Card™ Slot

• 1 type /34

DC-In

• 1

i.LINK® Connection

• 1 (4pin) i.LINK® connector (IEEE 1394)[COLOR=#800080]7[/COLOR]

Ethernet Protocol

• Fast Ethernet (RJ-45)

Ethernet Speed

• 10Base-T/100Base-TX

Modem Type

• Integrated V92/V.90 Modem (RJ-11)

Wireless LAN

• Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection (802.11a/b/g/n)

Battery Type

• VGP-BPS9/S

Estimated Battery Life

• TBD[COLOR=#800080]6[/COLOR]

Power Requirements

• 86W + 10%

Operating System

• Windows Vista™ Home Premium

Could anyone confirm whether or not it meets the requirements mentioned above? I don't understand computers that well.

And by the way, what's the VGP-BPS9/S battery type? Is that better than a Lithium ion battery?

Thanks for all the help

[MysteriouX]

I'll ask again:

Which country do you live in? (some brands and products are not available easily in certain countries so I need to know this)

What is your price range?

And what do you plan to use the computer mainly for?
(if you also plan to play a few games for fun, whats the most graphic intensive game that you think you will most likely play on your laptop? If you plan to run a game like Supreme Commander or Tiberium Wars smoothly or something more hardware consuming like Star Trek Armada... you're requirements and price range will change.)

[warlock110]

if you're computer crash it's not because it's a dell, it's because they way you use it, they all run on the same hardware, it crashes because of the software conflict/error. And when you write a long paper you saves, HDD crash is not something you can blame the brand, HDD crash all the time, it's one of the most prone to break part in a PC, since technology have not given consumer anything better than that motor HDD we're using you're kindda stuck with it

[creamcheese007]

I'll ask again:

Which country do you live in? (some brands and products are not available easily in certain countries so I need to know this)

What is your price range?

And what do you plan to use the computer mainly for?
(if you also plan to play a few games for fun, whats the most graphic intensive game that you think you will most likely play on your laptop? If you plan to run a game like Supreme Commander or Tiberium Wars smoothly or something more hardware consuming like Star Trek Armada... you're requirements and price range will change.)

I live in the U.S

I'm willing to pay up to 1,700

The computer is mainly for school. Engineering courses along with some computer science courses, which is mandatory for all new students.

[MysteriouX]

I live in the U.S

I'm willing to pay up to 1,700

The computer is mainly for school. Engineering courses along with some computer science courses, which is mandatory for all new students.

well something like www.cdw.com have low prices,

I would recommend u avoid buying dell or compaq, HP is a little nicer. If you buy a sony, know that for the same price, u can get more with other brands than what sony offers.

My suggestion is still get an ASUS, they come with longer warrenty and its global. Also they are thin, lightweight and are resistant to shock and a certain level of extreme use. also they are quiet and ergonomic to handle. Also with ASUS, u can make certain expansions easier.

read the post I made above about the specifications.

[creamcheese007]

well something like www.cdw.com have low prices,

I would recommend u avoid buying dell or compaq, HP is a little nicer. If you buy a sony, know that for the same price, u can get more with other brands than what sony offers.

My suggestion is still get an ASUS, they come with longer warrenty and its global. Also they are thin, lightweight and are resistant to shock and a certain level of extreme use. also they are quiet and ergonomic to handle. Also with ASUS, u can make certain expansions easier.

read the post I made above about the specifications.

I checked cdw, it's where my school sells their own costumized laptop. Costs about 1800.

But did the spec. which I posted above for a vaio CR series model meet the school requirements which I listed. It costs 1550.

I'm gonna go check out ASUS now.

[warlock110]

My ComponentsJet Black

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5250 (1.5GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)

Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic Edition

Anti-glare, widescreen 14.1 inch display (1280x800)

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100

FREE! 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz

FREE! 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)

CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)

Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini-Card

No Camera

56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)

High Definition Audio 2.0


is this good enough? insperon 1420 @ dell for ~900 bucks shipped.

[MysteriouX]

I checked cdw, it's where my school sells their own costumized laptop. Costs about 1800.

But did the spec. which I posted above for a vaio CR series model meet the school requirements which I listed. It costs 1550.

I'm gonna go check out ASUS now.

its nice but personally I wouldnt buy it because of the intel graphics card and the screen size.

as for the school requirements, is your computer going to be used by the school to do anything or are you going to use it for yourself?

also check your school, they must have a computer department which sells some hardware like memory and hard drives for laptops cheaper than store prices (in my university, the price for a 1gb DDR2 667 sodimm ram is 25 bucks while outside its 99 bucks), so perhaps you can buy a notebook with 1 gig of ram but better things in other areas then upgrade the ram yourself.

also do u want thin and light (ultra portables) or desktop replacements?

with asus, I recommend the A7 series


I just checked on CDW and I have no idea why most of the laptops they sell use Intel graphics...

[MysteriouX]

If you want to customize your options, I recommend going to HP instead of Dell, you can get something very good for under 1500.

[jay_z]

Have you guys heard of Lenovo/IBM Thinkpad? Their T-series laptops are only the finest pc laptops available. IBM tech supports is pretty good, too. Drop off your laptop today and get it back tomorrow or next day.

The most important thing to consider when buying a laptop is the weight of the laptop. Anything over 6 lbs is too heavy and not worth buying. This is particular important for students who also have to carry textbooks.

[sarakoth]

Cream,

My advice, don't get dell; it has alot of problems, especially you got like long 10pg projects, guess what the Harddrive crashes when it comes to the end of the term. Yeah, go get a HP computer. I been in college, where other college students with dell computer and always have problems, especially it comes to the end of the term.

As long the Laptop has the same specs as the college described, I wouldn't worry about the fancy specs. In the end, all you need is on a laptop: cd-r/dvd-r, usb 2.0 flash memory, dvd/cd player, a good or decent Processor Chip with 1-2Ghz memory ram[for storage], Integrated Eternet 10/100/1000 or wi-fi network, and 80-100GB Harddrive. As long you got these, yeah you are allset for college; good luck on the laptop search

WTF 1-2 Ghz memory, that doesn't make sense.

[atlantean0208]

WTF 1-2 Ghz memory, that doesn't make sense.

LOL, I think he means GB, GHz for CPU speed

[mind_wander]

Yea, sorry I mean 1-2 Gb of memory not 1-2GHz of memory, no such thing.

[pemberly]

i also don't recommend getting a dell. mine was plagued with hardware problems. true, dell replaced them all at no cost, but it's annoying and inconvenient having your computer inoperable for a week every couple of months. plus all that data i lost.

i had my screen, motherboard, hard drive, ac adapter, and keyboard replaced. and about a month after my warranty expired, i started having problems with the memory and cd-rom.

two of my friends also had dells with lots of hardware problems.