<p>I'm a E-School First Year currently trying to decide whether or not to purchase a laptop from CAV computers!</p>
<p>My main concern is how important the laptops are in class life at UVA. </p>
<p>If something were to happen, would I be OK without my laptop for a week or so while I send it into Lenovo to get it fixed (That's if I buy directly from Lenovo [I specced the computer out with the same warranties and such])? </p>
<p>Is it really worth it to purchase from cav computers? The custom built one I made has all the same specs as the other one but has a better battery life and costs about the same</p>
<p>If you can afford it, Cav Computers offers a higher level of protection. If you don’t have that much spare cash, there are better deals elsewhere.</p>
<p>I believe Cav Computers is an authorized repair place for certain brands. Another option is to buy one of those brands with an extended warranty, and you can still take it to Cav Computers for repairs. They will say they won’t put your computer on the top of the priority list and won’t give you a free loaner, but they still may end up doing the repair locally. </p>
<p>If you buy a new durable reliable machine and carry it in a padded case and practice safe computing, you shouldn’t need repairs very often.</p>
<p>OldUVaGrad: S1 used his backpack that had a computer compartment. S2 used a sleeve and a regular backpack. I think it is a matter of personal preference.</p>
<p>As an engineer and few to no public computer labs left at UVA, you will not be able to get any work done if you do not have your computer (and you can’t predict when a computer will need repairs). For instance, calc homework is all done online. The loaner that Cav will give you will be a lifesaver in those instances. Another option is to get a cheap netbook (they are about $250 at Best Buy) and use that if your computer needs repairs, if that price difference (laptop + netbook) still puts you under cav computers’ cost. You could always bank on not needing repairs, and head to best buy (there is a bus that heads that way) if you find yourself in a bad situation in the middle of the semester.</p>
<p>I did not purchase my computer through UVa. I would definitely be able to get my work done without a computer, since most of my work consists of studying my notes (taken on paper) and textbook, however, socially I would be lost :-(. </p>
<p>It is possible to use public computers to do your work. I don’t have too much trouble if I go during the day instead of waiting until late at night when the library is booked. There are a lot of computers scattered around where people don’t know about them. For example, there are two in the Chemistry library.</p>