<p>Thanks horse - good to know.</p>
<p>Alienware Mx11 is a gaming laptop… Battery won’t last too long and it honestly looks bad (I usually don’t care about how my laptop looks, but it matters if it looks like Alienware). If you are going to play games on your laptop, look at the recommended specs first and then look up the laptops that match up the specs. Most companies nowadays let you build your own laptop too. But when did the OP say s/he wants a gaming laptop?</p>
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That just sounds like a battery issue where the battery just needs to be replaced. It’s not unusual at all for the battery to die in laptops after 2-3 years.</p>
<p>btw - Dell doesn’t make the batteries - remember the battery exploding/fire issue of a few years ago? Those were batteries made by Sony but used in Sonys, Dells, some other PC manufacturers, and even Apples. Like I said, almost all of the components are made by other manufacturers. The differences in the quality/reliability of the laptops tends to come down to the physical design (air flow, which affects the components, and things like hinges, the case, buttons, etc.), somewhat the selection of components, and somewhat testing. One of the bigger differences in terms of the ‘ownership experience’ is their support when something does break.</p>
<p>We have a number of Dells and when we experience what you’ve experienced we just buy a replacement battery and it’s good to go for another couple of years.</p>
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<p>Seconded. The ThinkPad T-series is amazing. Thin, lightweight, powerful, durable…</p>
<p>One caution on a MacBook: be very, very, very careful about liquids near it and always keep it on a higher plane from liquids. If you spill it on the keyboard, you’re ****ed; the logic board will have to be replaced, and that costs as much as or more than the MacBook itself. The ThinkPad, on the other hand, is built so you can pour liquids on the keyboard all day–it’ll just drain out the side.</p>
<p>Honestly, my S1 is a junior going into his senior year at Mizzou and I got him the MacBook Pro his freshman yr. Yes, Mac laptops are pricey but they are “solid”. (His MacBook is the version with the silver keys(older) and the laptop still is in excellent condition (no worn keys, buttons falling off) etc. </p>
<p>I’ve personally had PC’s (actually a DELL 15inch Inspirion) and it literally fell apart within the first year. (lost keys, fan went out, needed to replace hard drive). Not to mention the spyware, malware… I now have a Mac…D1 is going away as she’s getting a Mac. </p>
<p>Now, don’t break the bank-- they have entry level 13inch, 15in mac pro-- they don’t need all the bells and whistles but the support is good.</p>
<p>We have HP and Dell destops- Dell is better (especially the case), unlike a previous poster’s opinion.</p>
<p>The advice given by the UW Madison DoIt (dept of info tech) regarding computers is to use the OS- Mac/Windows- you are most familiar with/want to. Some majors require one or the other- check with the dept you are likely to be in (eg Windows for engineers , Mac for graphics intensive). They have a good online discussion of what parameters to have for both OS and laptop/destop- I’m sure other schools do as well.</p>
<p>Remember that the best deals come later- in summer, not spring. Son- math then added comp sci major- preferred a desktop (gamer). He/we are NOT Apple fans. We have chosen computers based on features and price at the time- last December the pricing for features was comparable but the Dell case was better. Past purchase experiences favor Dell over HP as well.</p>
<p>There is a thread (Parent cafe?) about poor luck with Toshiba laptops. Read enough and you will be totally confused. Check your college for their advice.</p>
<p>I bought an HP through my school, so I have free tech support, and if they ever need to keep it in the shop for more than 3 days I get a free loaner. This is great for me because I have zero experience with technology. If it hadn’t been for that I probably would have gone with the ThinkPad. I’d have loved a mac but I didn’t have the money to get one.</p>
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<p>Not a battery issue, actually. I’ve tried that, believe me. It’s actually a fault in the charging plug - apparently in some cases you can replace that (not horribly expensive, I’ve done that) but in other cases you need a whole new motherboard. </p>
<p>I wish I remembered the error message so I could google it.</p>
<p>We bought both our sons Lenovos (ThinkPad) for college. They have held up very well under heavy use/abuse.</p>
<p>I think it matters less on the brand, and more on the features. </p>
<p>An advantage of macs is that they have “universal chargers,” so it’s easier to borrow one from a friend if yours breaks/ lost/ stolen/ not on you at the given moment.</p>
<p>17 in computer screens do not fit on desks in lecture halls very well. 11 to 15 in screens fit better. Good battery life is a must, because not all class rooms have accessible electrical outlets.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to be sure to buy whatever you want with a cc that gives a free extended warranty (e.g. my AmEx Costco card & also my CSchwab cc both give an extra year of free warranty protection tho I hav only used the former’s service & found it EXCELLENT).</p>
<p>D has had a HP that died after just over a year of ownership & even fried the hard drive & everything on it. S has a netbook HP & has had some hassles getting it service (screen went black). Am currently typing this on one of several aging Dells in our home. They are sturdy & we’ve had them for quite a few years. Not sure how the newer ones are. It seems that computers these days are NOT built to last as much as some of their predecessors.</p>
<p>Honestly, our kids have liked having a NETBOOK and DESKTOP combo the best rather than a heavier laptop to lug around. Both started with laptops but when each of them had their laptops break (& fully refunded by CC’s extended warranty), they replaced with netbook + desktop for less than the price of their original laptops. The netbook offers the portability & desktop has more power. Just more to think about. :)</p>
<p>I’m am by no means an authority on computers, a geek nor that savvy with them, but we did buy our D a Mac laptop for school two years ago and she loves it. I have been swayed to buy a desktop for the house and we love it. Plus we got a good discount with her student ID. I am a Dell convert.</p>
<p>I have a Lenovo T410, it’s wonderful. My Dell started getting sketchy after about 8 months, but with almost a year of extremely heavy usage on the Lenovo (I’m a CS major), it’s still good as new.</p>
<p>Also, the keyboard tray is pretty wonderful. I’ve accidentally spilled stuff on my Lenovo with zero damage. My laptop is surprisingly lightweight and gets about 5 hours of battery with the 9-cell as well.</p>
<p>One other thing we like is Costco & their 90 day return, no Qs asked policy. This way, you can try out the computer & take it back if for whatever reason you change your mind or it doesn’t meet your needs/expectations. S bought his Sony Visio there, but unfortunately it had several bugs & finally was unrepairable about 2.75 years into the warranty, when he got a total refund from the Costco AmEx extended warranty.</p>
<p>I just bought the Acer netbook from Costco. The processor is “slow” according to the salesperson & H, but it works OK for light duty, especially if you’re not doing a lot of graphics. So far, so good. It came with a 2 year manufacturer’s warranty, matching the 2 years of Costco tech support, PLUS the extra year of AmEx extended warranty, so 3 years coverage total & the 90 day return, so we are happy.</p>
<p>My d insisted on a Mac. (It was her hs grad gift - but we had her pitch in the reasonable cost difference.)</p>
<p>(Whichever you choose, consider adding laptop computer to Personal Article Companion Policy to your Homeowner’s Insurance (House/Condo/Apt) pollicy. it will cover accidental breakage/keyboard spills, while your standard policy will not. Usual cost is no more than $30 a year.)</p>
<p>Read the fine print on the service policy. Several of the laptops we have came with ‘kid-proof’ coverage, meaning spilling drinks was covered. It’s worth it to check before you beef up coverage. You may or may not need it.</p>
<p>If you have an “accident prone” kid(s), (as some have written they do), you may wish to explore getting a separate policy for your kid while s/he is in college so your premiums won’t go up for claims made by your kid(s). Sorry, don’t remember the name of the insurer but someone may post or you can search old threads on insurance for college kids. It can cover all their possessions, including techie ones that will add up, especially as they are lost/stolen/broken.</p>
<p>I have no experience with this company, but have seen them mentioned several times here on CC. Certainly something I have considered.
[CSI</a> College Student Insurance - Instant Quote](<a href=“http://www.collegestudentinsurance.com/]CSI”>http://www.collegestudentinsurance.com/)</p>
<p>For the kids we always got the Dell Completecare. It coves everything that can damage the computer. DD is on her second screen since she always seems to get it damaged in her backpack. No questions, they send her a box and she just has to send it in. he has other resources while it is gone. S</p>
<p>I have used both Dell laptops and HP netbooks and desktops, and while I have had pretty good luck with the HP’s, my dell machines tended to be a lot sturdier, and if a keyboard goes, for example, or a drive dells are a lot easier to fix. I also find HP support to be crappy, while both have their call centers in India Dell support people seem to be a little more knowledgeable, HP was horrible (picture some kid reading off what sounds like the diagnostic questions you get with online trouble shooting software, and you get the drift). </p>
<p>Lenovo nee IBM Thinkpad are pretty rugged machines, and they aren’t particularly expensive. I agree with others with any of these machines, if you can get a service plan get it, even though they aren’t cheap, they can save a lot of grief.</p>
<p>In terms of the macbooks, they are wonderful machines, whether the macbook or the macpro, I am very impressed with them. Among other things you don’t have to worry about viruses particularly, and they do run well. If you need to run windows apps, you can run parallels (which I recommend over bootcamp, with parallels you run windows as an app under windows OS, not boot into it). If you are going to go with a Macbook anyway, the extra 100 bucks for a version of windows (hint, get it through the school, they are usually dirt cheap) isn’t that much more to be versatile (on the other hand, if you have no desire to run windows apps, then don’t…). </p>
<p>I would check with the school about requirements as well. In terms of the mac being able to handle windows apps that are required, a lot of programmers writing in windows environments use macs with parallels, including where I work, and they are able to pretty much do anything.</p>
<p>If going the mac route, take a look at reconditioned models on the Apple website, they often can go for less then a school price, and if you get that, make sure to get apple care, which is a 3 year warranty instead of 1.</p>