<p>I'm already starting to look at laptops for college because I will be asking for one for my birthday in a few months. I just want a good, everday laptop that will hopefully last the next 4 years. I don't need anything specific, and won't be gaming or anything of the sort. Price range is up to $1000 or so. I don't like macs. What about Sony Vaios? Or some type of HP?</p>
<p>Sony Vaios are a bit extravagant… not what I’d call an “everyday” laptop. HP is more like it. Look into Dell, as well.</p>
<p>HP makes terrible products. All three of my laptops from them broke down within half a year (luckily, I only paid for the first one).</p>
<p>Sony Vaios look nice, but they don’t offer a lot of bang for the buck. You’d probably do well checking out some Dell, Asus, Acer, or Toshiba laptops.</p>
<p>Thanks. Could someone tell me if, for example,
this computer: [Dell</a> Inspiron 14 Laptop | Dell](<a href=“Shop: Dell Site Map of All Products, Solutions & Services | Dell USA”>Shop: Dell Site Map of All Products, Solutions & Services | Dell USA)</p>
<p>would be worth getting over this one: [Dell</a> Inspiron 14 Laptop | Dell](<a href=“Shop: Dell Site Map of All Products, Solutions & Services | Dell USA”>Shop: Dell Site Map of All Products, Solutions & Services | Dell USA)</p>
<p>I am not at all familiar with the differences between computers and whether it is worth it to pay a couple hundred more dollars for a computer like the first over the second. I realize they are the same computer but…I don’t know. Haha hopefully someone gets what I’m asking</p>
<p>the first one has a better screen, more ram, and a bigger hard drive</p>
<p>Normally I’d recommend the cheaper one cuz the more expensive one doesn’t give you much of an advantage (higher storage when u already have 160gb, 3gb instead of 2gb ram, etc)</p>
<p>But here, I wouldn’t be so quick to decide. Cuz the 1st one has Vista installed (wth??). But on top of that both uses pentium dual core not core 2 duo (double wth)</p>
<p>I’d just choose this one even though you won’t need that much harddrive or ram, the savings kinda make it worth it. (I slightly customized it)</p>
<p>[The</a> Dell Online Store: Build Your System](<a href=“Computers, Monitors & Technology Solutions | Dell USA”>Computers, Monitors & Technology Solutions | Dell USA)</p>
<p>But overall, I’m not satisfied with what HP is offering here because of some minor issues such as the use of SATA instead of SATA II, the use of DDR2 RAM instead of DDR3, etc. I’m sure there’s better deals out there.</p>
<p>The Inspirons are Dell’s cheapest line: yes, they’re fine for my parents (who just surf the web and use microsoft office). If you’re going to be watching HD, gaming or programming, you should have a dedicated graphics card (or one of nvidea’s 256 mb onboard cards).</p>
<p>As far as screen size, I think you probably have the right idea. From what I’ve seen of my friends, anything above 15" pretty much stays in their room, or goes to the lounge, but not in their backpack. 15" will go with them to class to take notes, but they won’t pack it up otherwise. 13" goes pretty much everywhere, “just in case” they need it. However, having more screen space is also pretty valuable, so if you’re going to do a lot of work in your room getting a second monitor isn’t a bad idea (which helps mitigate the need for a larger screen).</p>
<p>Please don’t get a Sony Vaio unless you want to get those that are top of the range. As previous posters have said, it’s not worth your money.</p>
<p>I like HP but they have an unusually high rate of failure so you might want to consider that.</p>
<p>Choose something between 13" and 15’". It’s portable.</p>
<p>When choosing a laptop that you intend to use for the next 4 years, I recommend paying attention to aesthetics: my sister recently returned a really good bang-for-the-buck computer for a more expensive, lower-spec one because the first one had a glossy finish that attracted fingerprints and looked disgusting without constant maintenance. And frankly, I think she made a good choice. Although I wouldn’t recommend choosing a laptop solely on looks (<em>coughMACcough</em>), I do think it’s worth shelling out a little extra to get something that actually looks passable.</p>
<p>hey, check out [Dormazon-</a> The Coolest Of Everything You Need For Your Dorm](<a href=“http://www.dormazon.com%5DDormazon-”>http://www.dormazon.com) to find recommended computers for the college student. they have macs, but there are plenty of pc’s too. Prices are what you are looking for.</p>
<p>Your average laptop won’t really last four years – that’s an unrealistic expectation.</p>
<p>I suggest that you cut the $1000 in half and get a decent $500 laptop for now that you should expect to last two years. Then, spend the $500 + interest on a new one mid-way thru college. You never know when your laptop may suddenly have issues or get stolen.</p>
<p>Trust me - that $1000 laptop will be worth no more than $250 in two years!</p>
<p>In fact, I think it’s a good expectation that a laptop will last 4 years.</p>
<p>I use my laptop everyday since it is basically my only computer I use, and I carry it around everyday too. But, I’m still using it for my forth year. The condition is not so great, but still workable. I know a lot of other people using the same laptop for 4 years too.</p>
<p>So, I disagree in purposely splitting the bill for two computers. I think you should go for a computer that just has a fitting spec at the moment. Don’t try to overdo it with SSD, 8gb ram, or such since computer price drop incredibly fast.</p>