<p>so what do you guys recommend for a laptop? i need something with good battery life because id be spending alot of time walking about campus, sleek style, and really really capable(preferably with an i7 proc). so as im sure most of you guys have laptops, what would you all recommend? right now im trying to justify picking a windows based laptop over a macbook.</p>
<p>ps. must also have kickass audio quality.</p>
<p>No doubt…get a macbook</p>
<p>MACBOOK. No doubt. Seriously. I can’t emphasize it enough.</p>
<p>Acer Timeline 8+hrs 13.3-15.6" screen</p>
<p>If your going macbook pro wait until there updated with i7’s and i5’s.</p>
<p>Macbook Pro 13" 2.53Ghz Model seems to fit your needs.</p>
<p><a href=“http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MB991LL/A?mco=MTM3NDczMTM[/url]”>http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MB991LL/A?mco=MTM3NDczMTM</a></p>
<p>Don’t Forget Student Discount!!
Also…the UC you go to might have insane deals on laptops…I go to UCI and they usually have the best deals on macbooks.</p>
<p>Oh! And!:</p>
<p>Amazon = No Tax + Free Shipping…check them for sure!</p>
<p>Good Luck.</p>
<p>Macbook, no question!</p>
<p>I have one, love it to death.</p>
<p>I’m a fairly big tech nerd too, but this battery lasts far longer than anyone else at 6-7 hours (low brightness, one application running)</p>
<p>wow lol so many mac fanboys. get a thinkpad or a macbook/mbp. </p>
<p>i personally got the 15 inch mbp. set me back about 2.3k. first thing i did when i got it was install w7. don’t get me wrong, os x is amazing; i’ll be using it once school starts, but there is no doubt that w7 has more functionality and flexibility compared with os x. if you won’t be using your computer a lot, just go with a macbook – although if you want a better looking one you can splurge for the mbp. </p>
<p>there was a deal on the ucsd apple store for the 13.3 inch: 999 ahaha. can’t stress how much of a good deal that was. i was looking for some portable windows laptops but for the most part, they were just as expensive as the mbp and therefore i would rather go with the mbp. honestly though, it all comes down to preference. the mbp has ~5 hour battery life under normal use. it’s not rugged enough for every day use if you plan on bringing it to every class so i’d recommend getting a case.</p>
<p>Please , please heed my advice. Just imagine having a backpack just 1000 grams ( ~ 2.3 pounds ) in weight as compared to a backpack filled with those heavy books. Imagine going paperless and having everything ( ur notes, to dos ur plans etc. ) in a single machine . Well if you are looking all the stuff which i stated above please buy a Tablet PC .</p>
<p>For an intro to tablet pcs watch this video
[YouTube</a> - HP Education Solutions - Tablet PCs](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP7yPfw0E7Y&feature=channel]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP7yPfw0E7Y&feature=channel)</p>
<p>and then this is the review of the latest hp tablet
[YouTube</a> - HP TouchSmart tm2 Video Review - Part Three](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_CRKySdkZE&feature=channel]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_CRKySdkZE&feature=channel)</p>
<p>I am just curious but i need to know why some of the users recommended you an apple mac. Anyway i am just another user trying to help.</p>
<p>Why not some sort of netbook? I love mine, and there are so many available. I have my main computer at home, and then the netbook for traveling about campus. It’s actually lighter than some of my books!</p>
<p>Once you go Mac you never go back!</p>
<p>As for PCs… Asus laptops last a pretty long time. Sony does, too. But they’re a bit pricey. Dell is good for the price, but battery life gets lame down the road.</p>
<p>I second the ThinkPad. T-Series should suit you well, and invest in some separate speakers.</p>
<p>I went mac and went back. Terrible lap tops. Large, really overpriced, inconvenient, too much focused on sleekness than actual computing power. I’d go with a really small netbook because they’re cheap and backpacks get heavy with all those books. However, mac desktops are really good. I have the best of both worlds; a really small HPmini to carry around school , and a really large imac back at home.</p>
<p>I’m with lintij. I was suckered into buying a mbp 13" at orientation because it was the “preferred computer” of the engineering dept. After purchasing it, I realised that it was way too expensive for the specs and Windows 7 doesn’t run as smooth as I thought it would. I went back to my two year old Sony TZ and never touched the mbp since.</p>
<p>It was the complete opposite for me. I’ve been using PCs my whole life up until 2 years when I got my first 13 inch Macbook. It’s sounds cheesy to say, but since I went Mac, I’m never going back.</p>
<p>Your best bet is Envy15 by HP. The specs are better than macbooks. It’s the latest hit from HP and the design is sleek, thin, lightweight, and best of all, performance is very good. Intel i7, you can customize from 720, 820 or 920 (2.8, 2.93, 3.2 ghz respectively).
1gb of vid ram/ati hd4830 and the resolution is good, 1920x1080, much better than 1600x900 of macbooks. </p>
<p>Either envy15 or macbook after they adapt to i7 cpus.</p>
<p>If you’re okay with a mac, macbook would be the way to go. New ones should be coming out in short order(or at least there will be the typical summer sale when you get a free iPod with purchase of a new Mac). </p>
<p>I personally use a Lenovo ThinkPad x61t. It’s a tablet PC, so it lets you write on the screen. Coupled with OneNote, its the best thing since sliced bread for me! Never have to carry notebooks, and I have everything backed up automatically so theres no chance of losing it and it’s dead easy to make a page into a PDF to share your notes with someone without having to lend them your notebook!</p>
<p>The X201t(just came out) has an i7 processor built in, and with the 9-cell battery, gets impressive battery life. There should be 15% coupons floating for it as well, letting you get it for decently cheap. And the best thing? They’re durable like no other. I’ve had my x61t for about 3 years now and it sees no signs of crapping out on me. Heck, I’ve left it on the top of my car and driven off with it, and it still works great after that! I’d at least give the thinkpads a look over though, since they seem to be great for me.</p>
<p>macs are expensive although i have 2. if you’re a casual user then there’s no benefit in choosing a mac laptop to a pc laptop. but if you have money, i guess you could try out a mac. they’re nice to use</p>
<p>@OP: you’re a CS major right? Get something you can put Linux on.</p>
<p>^^im a ME major actually. thanks for all the input guys. so far most people have recommended a macbook. i think im gonna go ahead and wait till they start coming out with macs running on the new Arrandale 32nm die procs(lol nerd talk!) aka i7,i5,i3 mobile procs. unless there is a pc out there that will kick a macs ass in terms of sheer performance and value…</p>