<p>Ok so I am looking into buying a new laptop for college. My last two laptops have been HP Pavilions and I was very unhappy with their performance. It seems like the Pavilion line of laptops is more of a consumer line. The bodies of both laptops were made of a cheap plastic (pieces fall off, the mouse button broke after a year of having it, etc.). On top of that, both are loud when it comes to fans and heat up very quickly. Now that I am older I am looking to spend a bit more money (in excess of $1000) on a laptop that will last at least through the end of college (I just graduate from high school). I would use the laptop for streaming music, watching HD videos, computer programming, internet browsing (obviously), music composition, word processing, and playing Minecraft. I don't need a computer that will be able to run scientific programs or anything like that, but I would like a well-built, really quick machine that will certainly last long. I have looked at Lenovo Thinkpads, Asus laptops, and Samsung laptops. I don't think I'll need an ultrabook, but they are not out of the question for me. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Definitely go for a macbook pro. I’ve had a ton of laptops - dell, HP, etc - I’ve hated them all except for my apple computer. Easy to use and worth the money.</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t like MacBooks. I’m more of a PC person. Since you’re looking for a computer for college, why not get a tablet? You can college textbooks on there and it’s way more portable. I have the Samsung ATIV and it’s amazing. It runs on Windows 8 so you can get Microsoft Office which will help you get essays and stuff done. The keyboard comes off so you can treat it as a laptop or a tablet. It also comes with a stylus for writing. The features are absolutely amazing, it’s practically the love of my life.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>^ Tablets seem like the better option sometimes.</p>
<p>I’m currently looking at Microsoft Surface and it seems to suit a lot of people’s needs in college. In fact, it seems to be tailored to that particular consumer.</p>
<p>But since you did mention computer programming, I’d suggest Asus or Dell. I think PC is better for programming, but that’s just my opinion. Although I’m not in college yet; I noticed that Asus has a good build and it lasts long (I’ve had mine for 3 years and it runs perfectly). I dislike Lenovo on the other hand because I’ve had a handful of problems with it in only one year; and the customer service is pretty bad.</p>
<p>Also; if you’re considering playing games on it, be sure to check out the processor, the GHz, and graphics card (graphics card only if you’re going to be seriously gaming). I think the best processor out right now is probably i5 because it’s much cheaper than i7 and the functionality between the two is pretty close. I’d only get i7 if I felt it was really necessary, and in your case, I don’t think it is.</p>
<p>Welp, just what I thought and good luck on choosing a computer.</p>
<p>I was gonna get the Surface but I found out that it didn’t have a stylus and I was looking for a tablet with a stylus. The Surface Pro has one but its too expensive and I didn’t need all the features it had. </p>
<p>I’m planning on using my ATIV for school for note taking and stuff so if you want a computer for that, then I totally recommend the ATIV.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t recommend a tablet if this is going to be your main computer, but that’s just from my experience. What computer you get just really depends on what you’d prefer your computer to have. I had a Toshiba Satellite that lasted through my four years in college, and since I’m getting a new computer, I’m giving it to a family member since it’s still a perfectly good computer. For $1000+, you should be able to get whatever combination of specs that is most important to you. Lenovo thinkpads have a good reputation for being durable machines, and many say that Apple computers have good longevity (although I have many friends that complain about their Macs running hot and heating up quickly because the cooling/vent system isn’t very good, but YMMV). </p>
<p>You may also want to consider portability and battery life if you’re going to use it for college. The computer I used through college weighed 6lbs, and I got used to it but many others thought it was too heavy. When I got a new computer for grad school, I wanted to find one that was lighter, and <5lbs is generally recommended if you’re going to be carrying it around everywhere you go. The new Haswell processors are supposed to have a much longer battery life so you might want to look at those (or hold off on buying until more laptops with the new processor come out).</p>
<p>I have a MacBook Pro. Have a separate partition with Windows on it. Wouldn’t trade it for anything. I do a lot of programming, seeing as I am a comp sci major.</p>
<p>^^ Right, nothing is keeping you from dual booting Windows on a Macbook. That’s what I do. I also happen to prefer the Aluminum uni-body as well.</p>