<p>Do your recommend a laptop or desktop? What are the advantages/disadvantages of both? - thanks</p>
<p>Search the forums. There's already a ton of discussion regarding computers for college.</p>
<p>Ok nvm i decided on an IBM laptop...my 3 options are the ThinkPads: T43, T43P, X40. I'm not really good with computers so could someone please explain the difference between the 3 and which one you would recommend. thank you.</p>
<p>I'll put it simply:</p>
<p>Desktop advantages: Much better price / performance ratio, upgradable
Laptop advantages: Portable (many people don't need this), takes up less space in dorm</p>
<p>I got a laptop because I'm going across the country and it'd be hard to bring a desktop. If I were going to a closer school where I could drive, I'd bring a desktop and would recommend it to other people. Lots (the majority, I think) of college students get laptops either for the portability or space saving. Don't worry too much about choosing, though -- either will do just fine for a normal college student.</p>
<p>I'm not familiar with ThinkPads because I wanted a cheaper computer, but look at <a href="http://www.notebookreview.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.notebookreview.com/</a> and <a href="http://cnet.com%5B/url%5D">http://cnet.com</a> for some reviews on the three.</p>
<p>I really like the T serioes but I dont know the differance between the T43 and the 43p. If it is simply that fingerprint scanner, dont bother and get the cheaper one.</p>
<p>The T43 and T43p have different graphic cards. If you need OpenGL, then go with the T43p; if you don't know what that is, the T43 will probably be sufficient for your needs. Fingerprint scanners are available for both models. Look at the tabook.pdf file for all of the ThinkPad configuration. You should find it on the Lenovo site or just by "googling" for it.</p>
<p>If you buy it from Lenovo, you also get their 30 day return policy. If you don't like it, send it back for any reason.</p>
<p>You might also want to take a look at the Dell Latitude line of notebook computers. The quality is quite good and the prices are a lot more palpable.</p>
<p>I have a laptop. It's nice to carry it around when I need to carry it around for presentations, work on projects elsewhere, etc. But you probably won't need a laptop unless you want one.</p>