<p>My parents want me to research laptops for the upcoming school year. What do reccommend? I need something fast with a decent amount of space.</p>
<p>i would like to know apple or mac as well</p>
<p>You will want: 2-8GB of RAM
12-15" display, 17" is too heavy/large
Windows7/Mac equivalent
All (most) laptops will come with sufficient memory</p>
<p>That said,</p>
<p>Most reliable: Lenovo Thinkpad x220/equivalent (12" frame, amazing battery life, super fast i5 processor) (U260) (x201) </p>
<p>Apple: Macbook Pro/Air (Expensive)</p>
<p>Best for games: Alienware m11x/14x/15x</p>
<p>Best bang for the buck: Dell Vostro 3350 ($741) HP ProBook 5310m ($899) Dell Vostro V130 ($928) </p>
<p>–</p>
<p>My opinion: Engineering/Business = High to middle Thinkpad</p>
<p>Graphics: Something with a lot of RAM, high resolution screen, and big processor. (Alienware, ASUS, etc)</p>
<p>Sciences/med: Whatever has a nice battery (I sit in Starbucks a lot and forget to bring a charger)</p>
<p>Arts: Macbook, to be cool.</p>
<p>You can always have two laptops also! Second hand netbooks are sub $200, and are great on the go.</p>
<p>I have a 17" HP with a 12 cell battery. I know some people would consider my laptop to be too big but I don’t mind it at all. I should point out I don’t bring it to class with me often so that may be why I don’t mind the size so much. I agree with Opposition, if you’re a science major (like me) a large battery is nice (especially because a lot of professors will post their powerpoints online). Macs just aren’t for me and are way too expensive IMO.</p>
<p>opposition- thanks. so for biology both a macbook pro or a dell would be fine?</p>
<p>Macbook pros certainly have an edge with battery life… I have an 09 and can still get 6-7 hours out of the battery with 91% health. Hasn’t been damaged, nor has it ever malfunctioned. </p>
<p>The magnetic charge cable, especially in college, will save you a lot of money in the future. No matter how careful you are, someone WILL trip over it, but w/ the magnetic cable you don’t have to worry about it.</p>
<p>i see that tcnj has switched over to using googleapps for its email. Does this mean that getting a new Google Chromebook would be a smart idea?</p>
<p>Any laptop would be fine honestly. As long as it has internet and has a program for papers and an excel/powerpoint equivalent program.</p>