Help an international freshman buy a laptop

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>I plan to buy a laptop for college, but I have no idea what kind to take and where to start looking for one. I already have a laptop, but I plan to leave it home and buy a new, better, one. </p>

<p>I now have a HP 510. One of the reasons I want to change it is because its battery discharges too quickly. It used to last about 1.5 hours at first, but after 2 years of usage it only lasts for a little more than 1 hour.</p>

<p>The most important things I'm looking for in a laptop are long battery life, good RAM and hard disk memory, and a good processor speed. It would also be nice to have a webcam and a microphone incorporated, so I can talk to my parents, because I believe it would be cheaper than buying them separately. Also, I strongly prefer a PC to a MAC. I have never used a MAC in my life, and I heard that some software I might need for a science major work better on a PC. Not to mention that PCs seem cheaper.</p>

<p>Price is quite an issue, but I already had a not-so-great experience with the cheapest model available. I want something of good quality, but not necessarily the best quality because it would be the most expensive.</p>

<p>Can you suggest any models or brands to consider?</p>

<p>Also, I need some help on where to buy it. I'd like to buy it online, so I'd pay it while I'm still home, but have it delivered at my dorm. On what sites should I look?</p>

<p>And one more thing. I've seen around here that most laptops come with some software incorporated. What exactly does 'incorporated' mean? Are they just installed on the computer or they come on CDs for me to install them? I hope they come on CDs; otherwise, if I decide to format a partition and reinstall the operating system, will I lose that software for good?</p>

<p>Please give me a helping hand, I'm very disoriented regarding this right now.</p>

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<p>I’m sure your school has some models designed specifically for students. They’re usually powerful enough for student needs, and cheaper than other choices. You also wouldn’t have to worry about having it shipped to your dorm.</p>

<p>That’s my only suggestion.</p>

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<p>I checked and all my school seems to have is a little discount on certain HP laptops, but they still are too expensive for what they can do.</p>

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<p>Hey Ana!</p>

<p>I’m also going to Richmond in the fall, and I’m really looking forward to it! :slight_smile: </p>

<p>I’m actually looking for a laptop myself, and so far, I THINK (not completely sure yet) that I want a Dell Inspiron 15. I like being able to configure how much RAM I want and how big a battery/hard drive I would like, and we also get a significant discount through Dell’s Education Purchase Program. Since this is my first laptop, I think I’m going to spend about $1,000 (yikes), but it has to last me 4+ years, and I think I’m getting a good value for the price.</p>

<p>-A fellow spider! :)</p>