<p>Iknow there are proabbly some threads out there, but I wanted to see if someone can give me some personal advice. I need a laptop for college, money isn't really an issue but I'm not willing to spend say 3000 on a laptop.</p>
<p>I'm gonna be an econ ( and maybe finance too) major. Most of the software I use on my spare time is for music ( I play guitar). I have a a few heavy music recording programs and I also use reason to play around with electronic music. I'm not really sure on the whole tabletpc thing, but I might give it a try. I'm trying to avoid mac, but people have tld me they're a good idea for college ( ie less crashes, less of an over all hassle etc)</p>
<p>Any computer that you think might be good for me?</p>
<p>I just use the usb port, cause I connect my guitar to a small recording/effect station and from there to the computer. I normally work on my deskptop, I've never really used laptops but they seem much more comfortable for college ( and the portability means I can take my music projects home for vacactions).</p>
<p>I was just checking out the macbook pro, on the apple site...damn, it looks just way too cool. I've heard that a mac is worth it for college, is it true? I might consider switching over to a mac book pro....and the price is really not an issue, cause any laptop in my country would probably cost me upwards of 2500, so 2000-2500 for a mac book pro is ok with me...is it worth it?</p>
<p>Depends. What do you want in a laptop? A lot of people can get away with the Macbooks and get pretty much everything that they want (and longer battery life.)</p>
<p>I must suggest that anyone going to college must get an accidental warranty protection plan (Dell offers one :)). It covers against drops, spills, power surges, etc. College rooms can get pretty crazy with friends...one of my friends almost had her laptop ruined after a water fight in her room.</p>
<p>I'm not realy sure what I want (haha doesn´t sound like I'm talkinga bout a lapton haha)... I guess it should run common applications. I'm not sure what kind of software an econ/finance major needs, haha but those. I want it to have good graphics, but I'm specially concerned about my music software. It should be able to run decent music production software with a good speed and sound quality...this might sound relaly idiotic but please bear with me, I know nothing about computers. I really appreciate your help.</p>
<p>Econ/finance means Excel, and maybe statistical packages like Stata or SAS.</p>
<p>Macs come with GarageBand included, which I hear is some nifty software (I don't use it.) Oh, and the MBP can handle most games pretty well if you just boot up Windows.</p>
<p>But, if you want more beefy graphics, check out some ASUSTek models.</p>
<p>I bought a MacBook Pro for college. It's an incridible machine. I made the switch from a Dell XPS, and I can't tell you how big a difference it is. The Mac OS is completely golden! So much you can do, and have fun doing it.</p>
<p>I'll never go back to a non Apple computer(unless they go out of business, that is). Also, you can run XP or Vista with bootcamp, so if you buy a Mac, you can get the best of both worlds. If you buy a PC, you're stuck with Windows or Linux.</p>
<p>Yeah I was actually looking at Macbooks. We'll probably have to get one for my Dad too as I won't be there to get him out of his computer problems. :)</p>
<ul>
<li> At least get 1 GB of RAM</li>
<li> Seriously consider a bigger HD</li>
<li> get an extended warranty</li>
<li> Be willing to accept a 1 to 2 week learning curve for OS X.</li>
</ul>
<p>I agree with UCLAri. But if it's at all possible, get 2 GB. Leopard is coming out, and it has more eye candy and CPU intensive features and with Mac OS X, 2 GB is really the sweetspot.</p>
<p>Cheers,
Alex</p>
<p>PS: Just to note, you can always upgrade the RAM yourself at a later date, I just figured I'd go ahead and get it out of the way with mine. It's fairly easy to install.</p>