<p>Hi! Im a high school sophomore right now and I was wondering if some one could help me bc I am trying to figure out what laptop to get.</p>
<p>I want something small and light. Lots of memory. No gaming, or engineering necessary. Something that will last a long time and is very fast. Price is important, but quality is more important. Nothing over $1100. I'm just didn't even know where to start! Esp with the whole Mac vs. PC debate. </p>
<p>Thanks a bunch :)</p>
<p>Can you start by telling us what you do on your laptop? The more accurate your activities, the better we can find a laptop to suit you.</p>
<p>Oh sorry I was vague. Basic use…writing papers, using the internet, etc. Nothing special like engineering or video games.</p>
<p>[Newegg.com</a> - ASUS UL30 Series UL30A-X4 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300(1.30GHz) 13.3" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 320GB HDD 5400rpm Intel GMA 4500MHD](<a href=“Are you a human?”>Are you a human?)</p>
<p>My own personal laptop; gets ten hours of battery life on it. I do essays, homework, web surfing, IMing, steam videos, and play music on it just fine. No lag when doing so. Comes without a CD drive, but if you do need a drive consider its bigger brother:</p>
<p>[ASUS</a> UL50Ag-A1 Thin and Light 15.6-Inch Black Laptop - Over 11 Hours of Battery Life | Warehouse Deals](<a href=“http://www.warehousedeals.com/ASUS-UL50AgA1-Thin-and-Light-15.6Inch/M/B002O0KJBE.htm?traffic_src=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=froogle]ASUS”>http://www.warehousedeals.com/ASUS-UL50AgA1-Thin-and-Light-15.6Inch/M/B002O0KJBE.htm?traffic_src=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=froogle)</p>
<p>Same laptop but with a bigger (15") screen and a DVD drive.</p>
<p>If you want more power and are willing to sacrifice a bit of battery life, consider this:
[Newegg.com</a> - ASUS U30JC-A1 NoteBook Intel Core i3 350M(2.26GHz) 13.3" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 320GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 310M](<a href=“Are you a human?”>Are you a human?)</p>
<p>Comes with a stronger i3 processor and 7 hours battery life, but in all honesty if all you need is a laptop for basic internet+homework use, the first one is still more than enough power.</p>
<p>Very nice! And I love the price as well haha that’s always a plus :). </p>
<p>So is there really no n</p>
<p>In my opinion, unless you’re either a graphic design artist, movie maker, or absolutely must have Mac OS X, there’s no reason for a Mac. Some PC laptop manufacturers (Asus one of them) make great quality laptops that can compare to a Mac without the inflated cost. My big issue with the MacBooks is that they really offer me nothing new despite the higher costs. They use the same CPUs, graphics chipsets, and internals as any other PC laptop, and while I admit an aluminium unibody is nice, it’s not worth an additional $400 to me. My girlfriend and I both have the UL30A model and even after a year of dragging it to school in nothing more than a messenger bag, it still performs wonderfully.</p>
<p>Mac= the liberal arts. Professional music producers and graphic artists use macs. They have superior battery life at a small size. No PC can beat a mac’s power:size:battery life ratio. (except a sony vaio z which costs $2000)</p>
<p>There are a lot of poorly made PC’s out there which is why there is so much hate. Do your research and clean your PC like you would for a car.</p>
<p>Also basic users tend to find Mac OSX easier because it is more friendlier. Your grandmother would find OSX easier. IMO: any 21st century teenager could easily use windows 7. So go with a PC and stop complaining because we all live in the age of technology</p>
<p>@aStyle: The first two laptops I recommend do beat the MBs. Similar power and thinner bodies with longer battery lives :)</p>
<p>^ yeah kinda.</p>
<p>But the MBP has a full power processor with more powerful graphics. But the Asus’s are lighter and have a higher battery life. The Asus’s use a low voltage CPU. Fast but no up to par</p>
<p>For the OP: look at the Asus UL80VT which has switchable graphics while retaining 12 hrs battery.</p>
<p>Oh, completely forgot about the graphics, my bad!</p>
<p>aStyle is absolutely correct in telling you that macs are a great buy! If you can afford one, the mac is one of the best computers you can buy for college (especially the 15inch).</p>
<p>At your budget, I’d recommend a Mac for the sole reason that they’re easy to maintain. Sure, a PC works if you use it with a lot of sensibility, but exercising that sensibility and going thru other hoops to get a PC to work is still work. The Mac may cost more, but it’s just a really nice package that works. Whether or not it’s worth it depends on you, but when I tallied up the amount of tech support I had to do for my parents’ PCs and valued my time at minimum wage, it ends up that Macs pay for themselves in a couple of months.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I’d recommend spending $330 on a really nice netbook.</p>
<p>Asus U30Jc is what I’m seriously considering for college. New Nvidia Optimus for on the go CPU switching, 13", just under 5 lbs., under $1000, and i3 processor. I’m still deciding, but it’s looking really nice right now.</p>
<p>If you’re set on Asus, why not take a look at the following laptop? [Amazon.com:</a> ASUS N61JV-X2 16-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop (Dark Brown): Computer &…](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/N61JV-X2-16-Inch-Versatile-Entertainment-Laptop/dp/tech-data/B00352LQYO/ref=de_a_smtd]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/N61JV-X2-16-Inch-Versatile-Entertainment-Laptop/dp/tech-data/B00352LQYO/ref=de_a_smtd)</p>
<p>It has Nvidia Optimus, along with a Core i5 and larger screen. It’s also pretty affordable. The only downside is that it’s considerably large, but not too big, in my opinion.</p>
<p>The 16" is a little large and heavy for me, I would think. I’ll also be biking to school everyday, so I’m trying to cut down on size/weight while maintaining some decent performance.</p>