<p>Hi all,
I'm looking to buy a new laptop for college within the next few months. My current three year-old PC is falling apart, and I don't want to have to worry about it crashing on me all the time.</p>
<p>Specifics
[ul]
[<em>]Price range: $800 or less. Can't afford a Mac.
[</em>]Around 14"-15" screen
[<em>]I'm not decided on a major, but most likely philosophy, polysci, or math. No engineering.
[</em>]I'll use it mainly for writing papers, doing research, e-mail, news, etc. Nothing too high-tech.
[<em>]I want a webcam and a microphone.
[</em>]Not interested in gaming.
[<em>]I'm probably too rough, so durability is important.
[</em>]Longish battery life.
[<em>]I'd prefer 4 GB of ram or more.
[</em>]I don't want it to die on me. (duh!)
[<em>]Nothing too thick; the lighter the better.
[</em>]I don't think hard drive space is really that important; I've had my current laptop for three years and have only filled around 25 GB. Still, most laptops on the market seem to come with a lot more than that.
[li]CD/DVD drive would be great[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>So, basically, can anyone recommend a sturdy, reliable laptop for college? What has worked for your kids, and what hasn't?
Thanks</p>
<p>We are Dell fans here. We have had several Dells and no issues with any of them. I know the die hard computer people aren’t fans but we use our computers like you plan to use your computer. Check with your college and see if they have a discount program through Dell, most do. You can get a pretty nice system through that program for under $800. I would then suggest getting a sleeve or something to protect your computer :D.</p>
<p>We bought Lenovo laptops for each of our two sons to take off to college. These computers were tough. They both lasted through all four years of college and a year beyond. </p>
<p>It’s also a good idea to check your college’s website to see what brand can be bought through them. These are the ones the school’s IT dept. will be familiar with and most able to trouble shoot for you if there is a problem. We ordered S1’s computer through the student book store. When he had a problem as a freshman, an IT person came over to his dorm room and straightened it out for him.<br>
My S’s are fairly rough on things so for the Lenovo to last each of them through four years of college is a tribute to it’s toughness.</p>
<p>Buy from the Dell online outlet, on the business side. Stick with the Latitude line, look over the product line in the regular store and decide what model you are interested in and the general configuration. Sign up for e-mail coupons from the outlet or check their twitter feed often, and when a coupon is offered (usually once a month or so) you will have a few days to look over the inventory (it’s updated a few times a day so don’t panic if there are very few machines in the configuration you want) and order a laptop.</p>
<p>The outlet machines come with the same warranty as new machines, but are about half the price. The are usually in your hand within 3 days of ordering and always look absolutely perfect and brand new. The Latitudes typically include a 3 year mail in warranty - I would highly recommend upgrading it to an on-site warranty for an additional hundred bucks. You can also add another year so it’s covered your entire college career, or add accidental damage protection so you are covered if you spill your coffee on it or drop it off out your window.</p>
<p>I’ve personally bought about 10 computers this way and never been disappointed. Good luck!</p>
<p>Does your school have recommended models? It’s pretty common to have them for sale at freshman orientation. They’ll be at a decent discount + come pre-loaded with software you’ll need to access your school’s network. They also often have free repair/loaner programs for laptops if you buy it through your school.</p>
<p>Oh, also - don’t buy any software, particularly Microsoft Office, at retail price. Check your college IT website for links to student purchasing programs. Different colleges have different agreements, but, for example, my son’s school offers a student price of about $15.00 for the most complete version of Microsoft Office, about a $500.00 discount.</p>
<p>If you want a Dell and your college doesn’t have a discount, compare Dell’s regular site, business site, and business outlet site side-by-side. You will probably discover the best price is at the business outlet site. No, you don’t have to actually be a business to buy from it.
Also, note computers will be on sale again just before school starts, plus, the longer you wait to buy a computer, the more power you get for less money.</p>
<p>Wait until summer for the best deals- this means mid June into August. Check with your school’s IT dept site for their recommendations. Dell is a good brand- either business or home use (unfortunately you have to navigate two different websites and can’t do easy direct comparisons).</p>
<p>You might consider a Netbook with an external DVD drive. That could save you a few bucks and help with portability. You could also spend some of the savings on a good case.</p>
<p>If you want durability in your price range, I’d recommend Lenovo.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t actually recommend a netbook as they are typically underpowered (read that as too slow) for most college kids, and the keyboard and screen are so small as to make them annoying to use for daily computing. Plus the ubiquity of smartphones and cloud computing these days has reduced the requirement for computer portability. However, if you are looking for a small and reasonably powerful bargain you can go in this direction:</p>
<p>Lenovo is a good brand, but regardless of the brand of laptop I would recommend an extended warranty. Unlike desktops computers, laptops break, and they seem to do it most often after month 12 of ownership. I happen to prefer the way Dell handles warranty service (and I do PC tech support for a living).</p>
<p>If looking at Dell’s check out the Dell University program. You only need a valid .edu address to be eligible. I also recommend the accidental damage coverage. It saved my daughter when she spilled chili all over her’s when it broke open in her backpack (don’t ask me why she put it in her backpack :o). Also, recommend a sleeve to protect it in the backpack.</p>
<p>When we ordered S3’s Dell through the campus program it came with all of the school licenses really cheap… We took the “covers everything” extended warranty. When HD died, the replacement was there the next day with all the software loaded on it… </p>
<p>Compared to HP that sent blank HD and said good luck with the software -" they don’t do software". Will never do HP again…</p>
<p>We bought our kids refurbished Macs as freshman in high school. They are juniors now and no problems. They were less than $800 each. So you CAN afford a Mac if you try ;)</p>
<p>Macbook is due for a new update within a month or two. If you are interested, you should definitely wait until that comes out. Even if you don’t want the new model, the previous model will drop in price as soon as the new model comes out including the refurbished. Moreover, traditionally Apple with have special deal for back to school in the summer. You can get some extra stuff for free like printer, accessories, ipod, software, etc…</p>
<p>I hate to disagree with previous recommendations, but I have had so many bad experiences with Dell. Every single Dell laptop that I have ever bought just broke down after maybe 1-2 years. It has been usually the keyboards, or the fans, or the chargers or the battery. The consumer line aka the Inspiron is especially problematic. The last one for our college bound S, it was the top of the line XPS line and the keyboard and the case just broke after less than a year and of course after the warranty ran out. The Lenovo Thinkpad line, or Asus, or Sony are supposed to be the laptops that have better long term quality. Apple of course is great quality and service but at expensive price. Even without Apple Care, if we walk into an Apple store and bring a laptop with something wrong, they just fix it without any question asked even after the warranty is expired.</p>
<p>I’d say get a Mac if you possibly can. ttparent and others gave you great advice about finding the best deals. Our two students have found them to be ridiculously sturdy and have had no viruses. Can’t say that about several previous PC laps from lenova, HP and Dell… They really just do hold up better than pc laptops which will save you money and immense aggravation. I say this being “a PC” myself.</p>
<p>I agree about Macs. I love my mac and I would definitely recommend trying to come up with the extra money. It’s so worth it. I have never had any trouble at all with it-- and I’ve had it for over three years. That’s pretty good in computer life!</p>