<p>I am now thinking about buying a new laptop computer before entering Stanford in September. Perhaps many of you are also thinking about this, but what factor do you think is the most important in choosing a laptop for use at Stanford University?</p>
<p>Do you think it should be light and thin so that it can be carried around the campus for different lessons? Or will the laptop mostly stay on your desk so that the weight of the computer doesn't matter much? Large hard disc capacity might be important as I am a potential engineering major and will have to work on programming and lots of other computer-related tasks. Or are there any particular computer brand your recommend? </p>
<p>Sorry for asking too many questions, but it is a fairly big shopping and the laptop will form a crucial part of my life at Stanford. I appreciate any advice on this.</p>
<p>Tell me about it, I'm currently at a loss as to what I want in a laptop.</p>
<p>For me, weight isn't a factor because I don't think I'll be taking my laptop with me to classes - I prefer notetaking the old fashioned way, and I'm always terrified of having my computer crash and losing all my notes during the lecture. So I guess this factor is up to you.</p>
<p>If the laptop is going to stay on your desk then obviously you would have to get a good laptop lock to prevent theft.</p>
<p>That's all I can comment on, not very computer savvy, I'm afraid :D There are loads of laptop related topics in the College Life forum, though, they ought to come in handy.</p>
<p>For me, performance is the first priority, then price. I was initially going for a Dell, but I recently found a Toshiba laptop that's much better and cheaper. Size wasn't such a big factor, because I'll be using a separate LCD monitor, mouse, and keyboard in my room. Also, the weight differences between various models seemed kind of neglible to me. Finally, I've never had any issues with a laptop breaking or crashing, so reliablity isn't so important. I tend to take very good care of my computers, so I'm trusting myself to make sure that they operate well.</p>
<p>Guys, just remember that quality of a laptop isn't always in the specs.</p>
<p>Dell laptops are made of refurbished parts. The keyboard, with its plastic coverings that get stuck under each other, pales in comparison to better models. Dell gives you great customer service, to be sure, but it's much better to not have to go to customer service.</p>
<p>The IBM T43 or the Powerbook are the main contenders in my mind. No keyboard/screen/overall build quality can match thinkpads or powerbooks, whether it's dell, toshiba, HP, or whatever. The t43 is particularly durable and reliable, with its magnesium casing, new design with little slits to help the keyboard survive drink spills, and other little features. The powerbook is sweet because the new mac OS, OS X Tiger, is awesome, and it's keyboard can only be matched by thinkpads. </p>
<p>If you're on a budget, then I'd recommend getting an ibook or an older thinkpad, such as the t41 or the t42. You'll still get solid build quality, but less speed. (still more than enough speed you'll need unless you do new games and whatnot)</p>
<p>Personally, I'll be getting a 12" ibook, and saving the rest of my laptop money to get a top of the line notebook after a couple years, when I can reevaluate my needs. $1000 for what you get on the ibook is an incredible deal.</p>
<p>I agree completely with tokonyo. In fact, I also did the exact same thing: getting a cheap 12" iBook, saving money to buy a really nice computer later. $1000 is an overstatement though, since you can spend $950 and end up with $100 in printer rebates and $179 in iPod rebates (so you spend $950 for an iBook and can get a free inkjet printer iPod Mini).</p>
<p>I am actually now planning to purchase Toshiba M200, a tablet PC. It is relatively inexpensive and light with 60 HDD. The only problem is that it has no CD ROM drive. I remember that the Approaching Stanford book said a CD ROM drive is a must for entering freshmen. Do you think it's enough to just have an external CD/DVD drive? If so, I think I'm buying this one for sure.</p>
<p>KAZtro62, i'm glad someone else around here is getting a tablet... i'll probably get an external drive, but u can get the toshiba r15 or the gateway m275x with internal drives; the r15 starts at $1200 somethin & gateway $1300 somethin. i want the x41 but it costs wayyyy too much for me. if other students manage w/ out an internal drive, i think i can. its only used for loading programs, right? and cds that can be stored on the comp.</p>
<p>I guess we might need to burn CD ROMs to store data or give it to someone. But I guess an USB stick is enough to perform this task. Well, if I could get R15, I definitely would, but where I live, I can't get that model, even online at Toshiba's website, because they don't ship their products overseas. M200 is virtually the only option I have, so I have to be just happy with it.</p>
<p>Just get an external drive, they're not too expensive...well, here, at least. Oh, and I'm sure you can use the computers in the dorm clusters for CD-burning jobs if need be - or get a friend to do it for you, it's not too much of a hassle.</p>
<p>Why don't you wait to get your computer at Stanford, if you really want the R15? Is the price difference significant? That's what I'm doing, computers can be overpriced here.</p>
<p>I got a dell 700m (uber small, like 4 pounds) with a wide screen, a 1.8 ghz centrino processor, 60 gb hard drive, 512 mb ram, with an extended (5 hour) battery for $1000.</p>