<p>I know people have asked about laptops on here before but I was wndering if it would be possible to get one that would last me 4+ years. I know my computing load in engineering will be prety low the first year or two I'm just the kind of person that wants to get the best now and have it for awhile.</p>
<p>My budget is around a grand, idk if that is too little or what. I plan on doing Nuclear engineering. I have been looking at a few but I really know very little about laptops and whats ot there. Any input will be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Dells are very low quality computers. There was an article that said that 2/3 of there business line computers had some sort of defect after 3 years such as faulty soddering.</p>
<p>You don’t really need much for school. $1,000 is more than enough to get a laptop that will easily handle school related thing. Don’t worry about getting the best performance specs, just get something cheap with a nice display.</p>
<p>I would recommend:
4GB memory
15-17" display
Any modern CPU is fine
Longest lasting battery possible (possibly an additional battery also)</p>
<p>Despite what you think, Toshiba is actually rated as the most durable line. You may think I am partial because of the following anecdote, but I am not, I read it online while perusing around without any intentions or predispositions.</p>
<p>I have a Toshiba which I purchased on Black Friday of either 05’ or 06’ (keep in mind, laptops sold on Black Friday are NOT of the highest quality, not to mention the Toshiba I purchased was the cheapest available, ~$200), and it still works EXCELLENT to this day - minus the battery. Though I may say “minus the battery,” the fact of the matter is, I have not yet had to replace my battery (about 5 years with this battery, outstanding! even though it only lasts ~1 hr). I upgraded it with Windows 7 last year and I love it. So whadaya know.</p>
<p>I am looking more at durability. HP Pavilion vs Dell Studio. I can get the exact same specs on both for the exact same price. Other companies can’t beat the value or warranty.</p>
<p>practically any computer that does not have ‘junk’ programs, </p>
<p>Its these junk programs that cause driver conflicts.</p>
<p>IBM/Leveno are higher price because they are built for industry that must last 3 years (depreciation schedule) and because the profit comes from the sale and not from the advertisers-junk programs. </p>
<p>The last 8 years, hardware, software, and computer speed have not advanced so fast as to make any 4yo computer obsolete for student purposes.</p>
<p>Good to hear. I really just want something to last four years. </p>
<p>I actually found a studio 15 for 1100 at costco with an i7 processor and 8gb of ram, only 6 cell battery though. Plus i can’t get the three year dell warranty i get when i order online. I think that might be an overkill too.</p>
<p>I’ve also decided that i don’t need a blu ray player and that they’ve had some issues in laptops.</p>
<p>I found a laptop not very useful in engineering, since the programs we used were on the school’s system. Most work was done in the engineering computer labs.</p>
<p>Costco has a great deal on a [Sony Vaio $1049](<a href=“http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11543238&whse=BC&Ne=5000001+4000000&eCat=BC|84|56670&N=4017745”>http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11543238&whse=BC&Ne=5000001+4000000&eCat=BC|84|56670&N=4017745</a> 4294967225&Mo=10&No=0&Nr=P<em>CatalogName:BC&Ns=P</em>Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=#).</p>
<p>Great Specs:</p>
<p>Processor & Memory: </p>
<p>Intel® Core™ i7-740QM Processor (1.73GHz)
6MB L3 Cache
4GB 1333MHz Shared DDR3 (user upgradeable to 8GB)
Drives: </p>
<p>500GB SATA (5400RPM) Hard Drive
Blu-Ray ROM / DVD±RW Double Layer Combo Drive
Graphics & Video: </p>
<p>16.4” Display (1600x900)
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 310M Graphics<br>
Integrated Camera and Microphone with Face-Tracking Technology </p>
<p>Sale is through Sunday. Comes with 2 year warranty. Use your Amex card and you get 1 extra year.</p>
<p>What’s an amex card and the display is kinda big</p>
<p>You will want a large display. It makes many things much, much easier. The ability to have 2 things open side by side without having ridiculously small windows is going to be something you want.</p>
<p>Amex = American Express, a credit card.</p>
<p>So no one here buying into Toshiba? If you want durability, I’m telling you, Toshiba’s the way to go.</p>
<p>HP’s CEO just resigned after his alleged sexual harassment issue, maybe you should skip over HP. 
(I’m kidding, I know it doesn’t mean anything - or much, at least. Just a side remark.)</p>
<p>Anyway, HP is decent, but its trackpad sucks. Toshiba’s trackpad rocks. Don’t know what Dell’s trackpads are like.</p>
<p>HP > Dell</p>
<p>Toshibas are nice. I am a Lenovo fan though. I love Lenovo. Mine has been great.</p>
<p>^^Agreed. I’ve had my thinkpad for 3 years with zero problems. I just wish it would have been cheaper.</p>
<p>17 seems too big to be portable enough, 15.6 should be good i think. I’ve dropped dell from my choices after talking to a regular at work who used to work for nasa and knows a lot about tech stuff.</p>
<p>My vaio is nice, but the o.s. keeps crashing and I am too lazy to upgrade, and just got an HP. They were both from Costco and have had no problems with either. They have a nice service plan also, but I never used it yet.
I love my mew HP. It is fast and windows starts up in seconds. I just use them for playing on the net.</p>