<p>is it best to buy a laptop from school or buy it at a store near home. i'm going out of states if that helps.</p>
<p>which is cheaper? :-D</p>
<p>Definitely the school...look into it more your school may offer support programs for computers bought through them, not to mention special discounts because they have deals with manufacturers. Look into what your school has.</p>
<p>If you know how/can figure out how to, it's always cheaper to build it yourself.</p>
<p>It is better to go online and by it when there are discounts. apple has a student discount and so does dell, there may be more.</p>
<p>you can use the student discount at the apple store.</p>
<p>A lot of times, a laptop purchased from the school will come with any special software you may need pre-loaded. I have a friend who bought her laptop at school and she didn't have to download any education-related software all year - it was on there already.</p>
<p>Well, I would definitely suggest buying it online with an online coupon. Dell has great ones, but you have to go to a separate website to get them. Most laptop websites will have them. For me it was MUCH MUCH cheaper to use the coupon.</p>
<p>If your school offers a laptop buying program, I'd buy it from them. You'll probably get more reliable support and a system that's more compatible with the school's programs and whatnot.</p>
<p>^ Don't buy it from university laptop program. They will overcharge you, just like they do with textbooks. Dell online is the cheap way to go if you just want a functional laptop with all the necessary functions.</p>
<p>i agree with unlimited...stay away from any university stores...they exist to rip you off</p>
<p>so don't but laptops from school? okay, got it. thanks. </p>
<p>i know dells and apples are the most popular. but what about toshibas? thinkpads are expensive, but disregarding the price...how are thinkpads?</p>
<p>i don't just want a decent laptop. i need a laptop to live with. if you know what i mean. i have an hp right now. it's all right. not perfect though. so i don't really have any experiences with the other brands.</p>
<p>Thinkpads are known to be durable, but they are meant more for business oriented people, so don't expect to able to play the latest and greatest pc games. Either than that and price, they are awesome.</p>
<p>Dell is by far the cheapest, and doesn't look at nice as other laptop brands (due to their usage of cheap plastic for the chassis). Lots of $800 off coupons floating around the internet.</p>
<p>Apple is really good if you are willing to pay the premium price, and now that users can install Windows if they are not comfortable or willing to convert to using the Mac operating system.</p>
<p>Acer is also a great Taiwanese laptop brand to consider. Many excellent models for video gamers. Thin, light and better looking than Dell in my opinion.</p>
<p>I would avoid Toshiba, they are not a leader in making laptops. HP is similar to Dell....</p>
<p>Some Sony laptops look very nice too, but then again you will be paying a premium for the name brand.</p>
<p>i would stay away from dell. they have been sacrificing quality (using crappier parts) over the past couple of years and have made you have to pay for the warranty that used to be standard in order to keep profits up. not to mention 11,000 of their employees are in india and you can't understand a word they say on the phone.</p>
<p>stick with apple, ibm, or sony.</p>