<p>I want some specific features such as</p>
<p>enough space
good amount of memory
gaming
songs/movies download</p>
<p>price : max $1000 </p>
<p>thank you </p>
<p>i plan on being an engineering major in college</p>
<p>i currently have a Dell Inspiron 1501, about 2 years old , will that be good ?</p>
<p>I just ordered this from Lenovo. </p>
<p>Lenovo Ideapad Y430-278189U</p>
<p>Intel® Core 2 Duo Processor P7450 ( 2.13GHz 1066MHz 3MB )
Windows Vista Home Premium 64
NVIDIA GeForce 9300M 256MB
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
14.1 " WXGA VibrantView TFT with integrated camera LCD Glossy 1280x800
320GB 5400
DVD Recordable (Dual Layer)
6 Cell Lithium-Ion
Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 5100
6 in 1 Reader
3 USB Ports
Modem<br>
Lenovo OneKey Recovery Laptop Price: $791.12</p>
<p>2 year on-site repair and complete coverage (you can do without this. I got it because I saved a lot on the laptop). $101.15 CHEAP FOR 2YR. AT HOME WARRANTY PLUS ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE PROTECTION.</p>
<p>All for under $1,000. I’m sure there are better specs out there but it’s only going to be used for typing, internet, downloading music, watching the occasional movie and youtube video. If it doesn’t work out, there is 21 day return policy (15% restocking fee if the return is not due to a Lenovo error).</p>
<p>If anyone out there decides to buy from the Lenovo site, look for their Educational page and you’ll save money. I think in order to get to that section, go to the top of the page and point to the “solutions for”. Then, click on “Education and Gov’t”. Then click on “higher education” eventually you’ll get there.</p>
<p>It’s not a ThinkPad but it is a Lenovo with Lenovo Customer Service and Tech help.</p>
<p>I bought my Lenovo ThinkPad in July 2007. I don’t see any need whatsoever to buy a new laptop. (I actually plan to use it until I defend my dissertation or until it dies, whichever comes first.)</p>
<p>What are the current specs on your Inspiron?</p>
<p>thanks guys
but what about a mac?</p>
<p>^ Macs are great but just know that Apple doesn’t offer an Accidental Damage package. So if you damage your laptop in anyway, you will pay full price to get it fixed.</p>
<p>Dell, HP, Sony, Lenovo, and other popular laptop makers have the Accidental Damage Care packages. They will fix ANYTHING for you at no cost after you pay for the package.</p>
<p>The new unibody Macs have excellent build quality. It is truly amazing how Apple can make you go, “How did I ever think the previous generation had excellent build quality?”</p>
<p>But what are the specs on your current laptop?</p>
<p>With an engineering major, aren’t many of the Programs Windows-only? (Boot Camp is an option, but just making an observation)</p>
<p>If your major requires a lot of programs on Windows, your best bet would to just go PC and forget Apple unless you must have one.</p>
<p>fabrizio </p>
<p>um what do u mean by specs ? sorry for being a moran :(</p>
<p>No, no problem :)</p>
<p>By specs, I mean what’s currently inside your computer? For example, what processor? How much RAM?</p>
<p>Press and hold both the Windows key and the “Pause / Break” key. The “Pause / Break” key is typically located a couple of keys to the right of the F12 key. The resulting screen should display what processor you have as well as how much memory you have.</p>
<p>“thanks guys
but what about a mac?”</p>
<p>A mac is definitely worth it and a better college laptop, but you won’t find a new one for under $1000. The cheapest is $1299 but with a college student discount it might be cheaper.</p>
<p>Re #11</p>
<p>With an education discount, you can get a new polycarbonate MacBook for $949. It uses DDR2 instead of DDR3 RAM and doesn’t have as fancy a touchpad as the unibody, but it is under $1000.</p>
<p>Manufacturer : Dell
Model : Inspiron 1501
Processor : AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor TK-55 1.80 GHz
Memory (RAM) : 2.00 GB
System type : 32-bit Operating System</p>
<p>well this is what showed up
hope this helps</p>
<p>Great.</p>
<p>You said you wanted “enough space, good amount of memory, gaming, and songs/movies download.”</p>
<p>To determine #1 and #4, I need to know how big your hard drive is. Press and hold the Windows key and the E key. Right click your hard drive (C:) and click properties. What’s the total capacity?</p>
<p>You have 2GB of RAM, which for most people, is a good amount. So, #2 is taken care of.</p>
<p>To determine #3, press and hold the Windows key and the R key. Type ‘dxdiag’ without the quotes. Click the “Display” tab. What is the “Chip Type”?</p>
<p>thanks so much fabrizio</p>
<p>hard drive info :
capacity : 64.4 GB
free space : 25.6 GB</p>
<p>Chip Type : ATI Radeon Xpress Series (0x5975)</p>
<p>update: I cancelled the order for the Lenovo Ideapad Y430 that I listed in my previous post. I cancelled it after reading about the “not great” battery life and complaints by owners about a very annoying low battery feature regarding loud beeps that won’t shut off. Son also hinted that he prefers a larger display.</p>
<p>Decided on the new Dell Studio 15 (2nd generation). Son’s college will service Dells. </p>
<p>15.6" High Def. (720p) LED with TrueLife and Camera (they do offer upgrade to 1080)
Intel Core 2 Duo P8600, 2.4 GHz
4 GB
Back-lit keyboard
Vista Home Premium 64 bit
320 HD with 7200 rpm SATA w/free fall sensor
256 MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 (they offer an upgrade to 512 for more $)
85 WHr 9 cell lithium ion battery
Intel WiFi 5100
HDMI port
Ethernet port
plenty of usb ports
slot load dvd dual layer blah blah (didn’t opt for the blue ray. It’s a $150 option)
Bluetooth 2.1
McAfee 36 months
2 year warranty on-site with tech support
comes with some other stuff like free 50GB online storage and a $100 Dell gift card
free shipping</p>
<p>came to about $1199 plus tax. </p>
<p>They also offer a new version of the Inspiron 15 that can be customized. It’s a little cheaper in price than the Studio line.</p>
<p>Your hard drive isn’t small, but if you want enough space for downloads, I’d suggest getting an external hard drive. I think you can get a one terabyte hard drive for around $100. For the time being, that ought to be enough for anybody.</p>
<p>The Radeon Xpress is integrated graphics. What games do you plan on playing?</p>
<p>so i don’t need a new laptop for college ?</p>
<p>nysmile, that looks like a very nice laptop for your son! My recommendation though would be to at least upgrade to the 900p screen if still possible (if I remember correctly it’s only a $25-50 upgrade) because as resolutions get larger so does content, and within the next few years larger resolution screens will start being more and more prominent. Plus it will help a bunch with multitasking :)</p>
<p>I purposely didn’t go with the higher p-resolution display because I didn’t want extremely small text. </p>
<p>In case anyone is wondering, the Microsoft Office-2007 Student/Home Edition is on sale this week at Best Buy for $99.00. Rather than adding it as an upgrade when I configured the new laptop, it was cheaper for me to get it at Best Buy (had a $100 gift card).</p>