New Laptop help...please

[Hawk]

so I will be the first to admit, I know nothing about laptops!

My daughter is graduating high school this month and off to university in the fall to become a Chemical Engineer. Unlike some of the schools in your area, we don't really have any pre-requisites for computer needs from our schools, so I am pretty much on my own. I'd like to get her a laptop as a grad gift, one that she can use this fall in school for mostly school work, but obviously she'll want to use it for internet etc. She's not a gamer.

Any help on what to look for and what I'd be wasting my money on would be greatly appreciated!

[Darth Biscuit]

Determine how much money you want to spend FIRST. Buy a Dell.

Go online to dell.com and pick one that fits your budget that has at least 1GB of RAM, built in WiFi and buy her a carrying case of some sort.

That is my advice. You can spend $300 up to $10,000 if you want, so determining how much you want to spend is key to me.

Maybe some of these younger guys can give you tips on what specs the colleges recommend.

[Kevin Greene]

Dell is always good, for a daughter I'd look smaller size/weight with good battery life. She won't want to lug around an 8lb anchor to classes.

[88 Bronco]

I have seen where some of the cell phone companies cell you a laptop for 199 if you buy a two year contract for their wireless internet plan. You could give her a laptop and the internet.

[Kevin Greene]

Maybe something like this:

It's ultra light, 4.3lbs.

Add an upgraded battery, an external optical drive, bluetooth (so she can use a bluetooth mouse with it) backlit keyboard. ~ $850 plus tax.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dncwga1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=productdetails~laptop-studio-14z

[RedMage138]

It really depends on what she needs it for. If she just wants to take notes with it and take it back and forth to class, go with something like a Netbook that's light and has good battery life. Something like that would be good if she had a desktop and just wanted the notebook for class.

If it needs to be a workhorse you're better off spending money on a good laptop that will last her all 4 or 5 years of college. I would stay away from Dell, everyone I've known that has had one has only complained about them. I have had good experience with Lenovo and they have pretty competitive prices for good systems.

[Acewalker]

As a college student myself, I can tell you she won't need much, but probably a laptop with extended battery life is the right way to go. Don't get a screen that's too big or heavy since she's most likely going to be carrying it around a lot. About every single laptop that's made nowadays already have wifi on them so that's pretty much a given. I wouldn't really worry about having a phone card for internet as most campuses will have wireless internet in the general area.

Here's NC State's recommendations for incoming Engineering Students

http://www.eos.ncsu.edu/soc/laptops/buying_new (just click recommended specs on the side)

[tarheelpride]

cousin got a Toshiba from best buy for around $650. 4GB RAM 320 hard drive solid reviews

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9164101&type=product&id=1218040477834

I'd recommend you go on to websites like Best Buy or Radio Shack and use their tutorials (if they have them) to find the best laptop

[Zaximus]

I just got a Dell Inspiron from BB for 599 and it is well worth it. 4gigs of ram, core 2 due, 320gig hdd, it's nice.

[joemac]

Get her a Mac. I just got one of he new unibody aluminum Macbooks, and it is the best computer i have ever owned. Yes, they are more expensive, but in this case, IMO it is worth it. Mac OSX is by far a much better operating system than Windows, that alone is worth the price....plus if she absolutely needs Windows for something for school, she can run it side by side with OSX.

Im definitely not a Mac fanboy, as I just converted....but I dont think that I will ever go back to Windows.

[Hawk]

thanks everyone for your input...got some shopping to do!

[RedMage138]

Get her a Mac. I just got one of he new unibody aluminum Macbooks, and it is the best computer i have ever owned. Yes, they are more expensive, but in this case, IMO it is worth it. Mac OSX is by far a much better operating system than Windows, that alone is worth the price....plus if she absolutely needs Windows for something for school, she can run it side by side with OSX.

Im definitely not a Mac fanboy, as I just converted....but I dont think that I will ever go back to Windows.

lol, no

[joemac]

lol, no

And why not??

I assume that you are one of those Apple haters....I work in the IT field, and have owned and worked on just about every kind of system, with every kind of OS, and Mac's pretty much own them all. Just my opinion though.

[TerriblePizza]

And why not??

I assume that you are one of those Apple haters....I work in the IT field, and have owned and worked on just about every kind of system, with every kind of OS, and Mac's pretty much own them all. Just my opinion though.

They just updated the old Macbooks ($999 versions) and they exceed the Aluminum unibodies in all bench marks. I read an article about it the other day.

So, if you're going to get a Mac, thats the way to go right now.