<p>These are the two brands that I would get discounts on....is a laptop even necessary?</p>
<p>I plan to major in anthropology and Spanish.</p>
<p>Go for the Dell. Even though I don’t like Dell very much, anything is better than a Mac.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure a Laptop is good to have in any major in college. As an engineering major I know mine is extremely useful.</p>
<p>If you’ve been happy using a Mac, get another; you’ll probably not like Windows. If you’ve happy with Win, get the Dell. If you haven’t used a computer much, Mac is usually easier to learn. Mac can also run Win if you need it.</p>
<p>For anthropology, you won’t need a PC, but Spanish might and Alienware offers a pretty stylish laptop that runs Windows (Needed for most software) and pretty good performance.</p>
<p>You seem to be asking two questions: Dell or Apple and whether a laptop is necessary.
For the first, there is no answer. The Mac vs. PC question has been around forever and will never end.
For the second, most people say a laptop is necessary.</p>
<p>“laptop that runs Windows (Needed for most software)”</p>
<p>We millions of Mac users don’t have a clue what we’re missing! ;)</p>
<p>^ True that! Been using Windows PCs since I was a kid, got a Mac for Christmas and literally haven’t touched any of my Windows computers since.</p>
<p>" ^ True that! Been using Windows PCs since I was a kid, got a Mac for Christmas and literally haven’t touched any of my Windows computers since. "</p>
<p>The question is why?</p>
<p>The money you “save” with the Dell discount will be irrelevant when you factor in their horribly overblown prices for upgrades. For those majors, I’d recommend giving the Ultrabooks a look see if you want a PC. Acer, Asus, Tosiba, and yes, even Dell have some offerings.</p>
<p>Sounds more like the question is whether you want a Mac or PC, if money is not an issue. Keep in mind the Macs can bootcamp Windows along with OS X.</p>
<p>^ Well, I would say that $$ is an issue as I’d be paying for it myself.</p>
<p>Maybe you should check the Dell Outlet and buy a new one there.</p>
<p>I’d recommend a Samsung Series 9 or 7.</p>
<p>Even with a student discount macs are still overpriced for what they have, so anything asus or such would still be less. Dont limit yourself to those two, both companies you mentioned are arguably terrible (for different reasons)</p>
<p>So apparently the Dell discount is only 2%? What the heck…are there other trusted brands?</p>
<p>Although I am using a dell notebook atm…that’s mainly because I got 2 free from a friend whose company dumped 3 D610 latitudes due to overheating issues and I work in IT and fixing laptops is one thing I do. </p>
<p>If I had to choose between dell or apple…apple. Yes, it costs more, but the build quality on the Macbooks tends to be much better and warranty service is superb. </p>
<p>Only exception to this is if you’re really handy about doing all of your own tech support…including troubleshooting/replacing parts like CPU fans, motherboards, etc.</p>
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<p>You summarized that quite well. The only Dell laptops with similar or greater build quality than a Macbook would be the business class of notebooks that Dell sells. Most people don’t buy those though.</p>
<p>So, the Macs are built the best, out of all the brands? Is it worth getting a Mac if I’ll get a new one in a few years (our Dell desktop only lasted 4-5 years.)</p>
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<p>Actually, the Latitudes are Dell’s main business-line class of notebooks. Only model higher are Precisions…which also have their own issues according to that friend who has one for work purposes. </p>
<p>IME…the build quality on the macbooks are much better than on the Latitudes. </p>
<p>Not to mention the Inspirons and Vostros which are more consumer-grade/small business respectively. </p>
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<p>Why are you expecting to get a new notebook in a few years…especially given your stated majors are Anthropology and Spanish? </p>
<p>Neither of those fields are going to require so much computer processing power to necessitate replacing one in 4 or less years. In fact, I know several Anthro grad students doing PhDs who are still comfortably using notebooks using Pentium II/III CPUs…stuff from the late '90s/early '00s. </p>
<p>Anything you get now…or even that old Dell desktop would be way more powerful than that. </p>
<p>Out of curiosity, what model of Dell desktop were you/your family running?</p>
<p>XPS 400…it’s strange, it won’t even turn on anymore!! A few months ago it was on and it displayed the screen known as the “Blue Death”…it mentioned the term “memory dump.”</p>
<p>If you’re comfortable and handy with computer hardware, I’d check power supply, RAM, and hard drive for starters.</p>