Hello all -
My daughter will enter SUNY Albany in just over 3 weeks.
I need to get her a new laptop computer and a printer
She will major in Marketing so I know it must be a windows computer
-> The primary question I have is what operating system are others using now? Windows 7?, Windows 8? Any Windows 10 users?
If anyone is in the same situation and buying a new laptop computer please let me know your thoughts on what machine you are getting and how it is outfitted (RAM memory, hard drive, operating system (as above)
If you buy a new Windows computer now–or the next couple weeks–it will either already have Windows 10 installed or a free upgrade to W10. So the OS will be 10.
As far as brand/capabilities, I would drop a line to someone in her planned major’s department and ask about computing requirements. I suspect most of the major brands like Dell/HP would work well.
Good luck. Just bought our S his laptop, but he is a CS major so it was expensive!
Find out if your son’s university sells or offers IT support for specific computers. My middle son’s university had a list of laptops they sold, which came with Insurance and IT support. We purchased his laptop (not a brand we would have otherwise purchased) through the university, which turned out to be a very wise decision. They replaced it once and repaired it another time. He was far enough away from home, and is careless enough, that it made sense for us to purchase through the university. We did not do the same with my other two, who are/were closer to home and more responsible.
My son did not buy his laptop through the university, but they still tried to help him when it crashed. He’s now got an Asus with gaming capabilities which is probably more computer than your daughter needs.
You may want to touch base with her college. Most schools will NOT be familiar with Windows 10 because it’s so new. I would hold off on getting anything with Windows 10 for now (remember she may be able to upgrade for free from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1).
IMHO, it is worth spending a little extra for a business class laptop. The build quality is better and will have a much better chance of surviving four years of being carried in a student’s backpack. The battery life will most likely be better also. One popular brand is the Lenovo ThinkPad series. If you are a tight budget, EBay could be an option for an used computer. I have seen some for sale that still have a warranty. I purchased a used two year machine and it was pristine.
If you have the funds, I would spend the extra for a solid state drive. It might be cheaper to upgrade the drive yourself.
As for the printer, I would get a small laser printer. I like the Brother brand. Cheap with reasonably priced toner. Most schools have printers everywhere but my daughter like the convenience of having a printer since the closest printer to her dorm was often out of service.
As far as brands go, Lenovo keeps coming up over and over. It’s reliable and doesn’t break as easily as HPs do. I’ve had more than one “computer guy” tell me that. A company in Texas that sends engineers all over the country on site visits buys nothing but Lenovos.
Thanks all for the replies. After giving this some thought, I will probably pursue a Windows 7 professional machine. The rationale is that no companies will go to Windows 8 since it is such a sharp departure in usability from Windows 7. It is my bet that when my daughter still enters the job market 4 years from now companies will still be on Windows 7 or have a plan to migrate up and provide training. To send her off to a new school away from home with so many things to adapt to - i don’t want needing to learn a new operating system to be one of them. She will have enough to deal with already. I will check out offerings from Dell, HP and Lenovo.
Hi - I work in IT at a college. As others have mentioned, check to see if there are any discounts if you purchase the computer through the college. Ditto for software - Microsoft most places has a campus agreement so students can download Office for free or close to it if that’s what the school uses. And also check with the department to see if they have specific recommendations. The only thing I’d add is to consider more RAM - we’re now recommending 16 gb. You’re buying a computer for today but looking towards the future as well. We currently still are supporting Windows 7 and the great majority of folks still use it over Windows 8 or 8.1 I’m curious to see if Windows 10 is a good thing.
I’ve had great luck with Dell, HP, and Lenovo. Windows professional edition is worth it (vs. Home). The Lenovos we sell come with “complete care” - so they have a really nice “bumper to bumper” warranty that includes damage as well as hardware malfunctions. I wish Macs were as generous. And along those lines, we purchased student insurance for our boys through Gallagher Koster. It paid for itself the first year and does include theft. A couple of things to check on/think about.
Most students where I work have Macs - it’s probably 90% Macs vs. 10% Windows laptops. Learning the Mac operating system is easy if you know Windows and vice versa.
With Windows 10 a free upgrade (and its similarity to 7 as opposed to 8) I don’t think colleges are going to remain behind in this area. I would expect Windows 7 to lose its support.
One thing I looked for in buying a laptop (today!) was having a solid state as they seem to be quicker and less prone to breakdown.
What ever brand of computer you decide on, buy it with the cheapest hard disk option.
Then buy a 512 GB SSD separately. The running price is about $200.
Most SSDs comes with a cloning software. Replace the hard disk in the computer with the SSD.
Buy a “USB-hard disk adapter” for about $20, and use it with the hard disk taken out of the computer as a backup for the SSD in the computer.
Ditto here. Why Windows? We’ve had Macs for the last 10 years. Most tech companies use Macs, but unfortunately I work at a regular corporate America. I hate my Lenova Think Pad for work. I wish I could have a Mac Air for work. I use Mac at home. I think all of my kids’ friends use Macs.
All my kids’ friends use Windows. I recall seeing at my son’s University that undergrad was 60/40 mac/PC, and graduate was reversed. There are still a bazillion more PC’s than Macs in the world.