Laptops! I need some help

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>So of course it's coming down to crunch time for buying a laptop and I have no clue what to get, but here's what I'm generally looking for: </p>

<p>Britescreen technology-This may sound stupid, but it might be the number one criterion for my computer. I love the way it looks, and heck, I have to like looking at my computer if I'm going to be typing on it for long hours straight. Does anyone know what the XGA, XGA+, WGXA, etc business even means? Are any of them the same as what i saw in the stores with the computers that had britescreen?</p>

<p>Customizability: Most computers can be customized, so this isn't a huge deal. I just want to be sure I can get some decent features. </p>

<p>Mobility???: How much do you guys actually move your laptop around at school? Will I really ever need it outside the dorm? Even if I do occassionally need to move it, is it really a big benefit to have a light computer?</p>

<p>My needs: Basically I'm going to be using it for fairly basic stuff. I want to be able to store lots of music on it and be able to run Mathematica and maybe some other semi-advanced programs, but I won't be doing any serious gaming or watching movies or anything like that. </p>

<p>Good service (I heard Dell had good on-campus service, but I also heard that their service is declining with their outsourcing and whatnot, does anyone know how good service is for other companies, or does it even really matter??)</p>

<p>This in mind, what should I get? Please answer what I should be looking for as well, regarding how much mobility or service really matter. Thanks a lot guys!</p>

2

<p>Dell does indeed make good laptops, and has award-winning service. A friend of mine bought one, and really liked it. They have great laptops. I have a Compaq personally, but it's nothing to brag about. The OfficeMax on Eisenhower hooked me up well, got it on a bargain ($450)</p>

3

<p>I personally own a maxed out powerbook G4 12", that's been very good to me. But, I think you're going to need Windows for those math programs. I had a Compaq to start HS and I've always had trouble with the customer service especially when my DVD-ROM broke.</p>

<p>I opted for the smaller Powerbook because I like to bring my laptop around with me to cafes, libraries and other places that have wifi. It's a nice little convenience to have. Dell has a very good reputation and doesn't cost much! (they just had a 750 off 1500 deal) If I were you I'd go with a nice little laptop (12"-14" screen? W/S if you'd like), with either a Turion or Centrino setup. And a big HD, around 60-80GB.</p>

4

<p>whatya think a reasonable Chip is?? 1.6 ghz?? 1.8??</p>

5

<p>1.6 is fine but if you can afford 1.8 I'd go with it. Also, at least 512 RAM! BTW, don't uprade to XP Pro on the website, just buy it from the computer store at the Union-it's a lot cheaper.</p>

6

<p>really? its cheaper than $89 that I can get from Dell?</p>

<p>Btw...can someone explain how the whole wireless thing works in the coffee shops, etc...will it work with an ordinary wireless card that comes in the computer?</p>

7

<p>Well, I was looking for pretty much the same thing as you, so let me first post what I got:</p>

<p>Dell 700m
XP Home (bought pro for $15 from UM and did fresh install)
1.8 ghz
768mb ram (512 ordered seperately)
60gb hard drive
Intel internal wireless
8x DVD+/-RW burner, with dual layer capability (can burn dual layer discs)
4-cell battery
additional 8-cell battery</p>

<p>Total, with tax and shipping, was $970, plus $55 for the ram. I used a $750 off coupon that comes up ocassionally.</p>

<p>Important notes: Order the minimum ram you can through dell, it's incredibly overpriced (2-3x), and then order extra ram from newegg.com or zipzoomfly.com. If you don't know what kind to get, use the selector on crucial.com. Also, the difference between upgrading the battery or getting a second one is only 30 dollars, so I'd just go for two and then you'll have a spare in case you need it. I wouldn't reccomend using only the 4-cell battery, because it doesn't last too long. Also, make sure you get a good rebate (unless you're very rich and don't care, I suppose); 750 off 1500 is about as good as it gets. Keep checking techbargains.com and dell.com/save750. </p>

<p>I thought the 700m was a good deal because it's very mobile, has an excellent screen (it's one of the glossy ones), but is still powerful and has enough room for a dvd-burner. The ultraportables (Latitude X1, for example) usually are too small for a dvd drive, and are a lot more exspensive. I think the 700m is very portable, so unless you need extreme portability and are willing to sacrifice other things, I wouldn't go any smaller. I also wouldn't go too much larger; I've used a 600m and found it too big and clumsly to carry around.</p>

<p>The video card on the 700m is garbage, so you won't be doing any gaming on it, but for everything else you are set. I used an ibook for a couple of months last year, and found it to be much, much slower. Even running mathematica was painful.</p>

<p>So, I guess I'm very happy with my choice. If you have any more questions let me know.</p>

8

<p>Yea, I think it's 15 for the XP upgrade and 45 for MS Office (word/excel all the nice stuff). And yea, when you go to a coffee shop your laptop will basically scan the area and tell you all the networks that are available and if the place that you're in has no password you'll be on the net :). If it does you'd probably just have to ask a worker there to get the password. (get an A/B/G card)</p>

<p>Also, if you plan on using a wireless keyboard/mouse or hooking up your phone to your laptop wirelessly you may want to get a bluetooth upgrade :).</p>

9

<p>Ok...so lets say I have XP Home right...and then at UM I get a Pro Upgrade...When upgrading does it wipe out all the programs I have installed previously?? Or do I keep MOffice, games, etc??</p>

10

<p>^ It wipes out the stuff on it.</p>

11

<p>ah darn...I'll just get it now, I don't feel like reinstalling everything back in</p>

12

<p>I doubt you'll find many 802.11a networks around. If you don't mind the extra $ go for it but it will probably never matter. As far as upgrading, you can keep all the files and just upgrade from home->pro, but usually it is reccomended that you clear the drive, repartition, and install fresh from the pro disk. You can also get rid of the stupid partition for restore that dell puts on your hard drive (wasting a lot of space because they're to cheap to include a restore disk) since you have a winxp cd. You'll need to download the drivers for the specialized hardware (sd card reader, vid card, etc.) from the dell website (go to support-> downloads). What you'll have though is a clean laptop free of all the crap companies install. I just finished with mine and am happy with it.</p>

13

<p>I recently bought an IBM Thinkpad T42. I am very satisfied with it. It comes with one of the most complete keyboard layouts I've ever seen from a notebook. It's also very thin and light for its size.</p>

<p>1.7 GHz
512 RAM
32 MB DDR Radeon
40 GB HD
15.0" screen
Windows XP Pro with Office 2003 Small Business Edition (IMO the best MS Office package)</p>

<p>If you're going to get an IBM, get it through the Think Express Program on their site. They are priced lower for business needs.</p>

14

<p>I just bought a Dell Inspiron 6000...customized it over the internet. This is everything I got. Some maybe extra's.</p>

<p>1.6 Ghz/2 MB Cache/533 Mhz
1 GB Ram Shared DDR2 SDRAM 2 2 Dimms
60 GB Hard Drive
24x CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
15.4'' Ultra-Sharp LCD Panel (yea that was bit of an extra lol)
Windows XP Pro/backup CD
9 Cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery with a backup one
PCMCIA Soundblaster Audigy 2ZS Sound Card
Bluetooth Internal Wireless Card
I already have a MOffice 05 CD at home to install on it</p>

<p>Then get 6 months free of AOL, 15 months of Norton Antivirus Edition included with it all. Also Included is the usual...Adobe Acrobat 5.0, Photo Album Basic, Music Match Jukebox...nothing special there. And then there's a 1 yr Warranty of course lol haha. </p>

<p>Then I also got a mini mouse, backpack that holds the laptop and books, and a 128 MB USB Memory Key to replace Floppy Disks</p>

<p>All for Only $1700!!!!!! Maybe some of you think I got ripped off?? I checked Vaio and HP and to get this type of laptop with the extras is priced at about $2500. I saved $800 bucks through Dell. Also cause there's a "back to school" sale which gave me 25% off</p>

15

<p>I was also looking at the inspiron 6000 Umar. Have you gotten it yet? I'm just worried a little about how big/heavy it might be.</p>

16

<p>I just ordered it yesterday ChiBearsfan...I went to a local Dell Shop in Toledo a couple days before and looked at each of the Dell's laptops just to see how they look, heaviness, style, etc. I realized I liked the 6000 the best. It had a newer more stylish look and the other ones looked a bit older and the upper ones were too expensive/too rigged up for just me. It is a bit big...not exactly the best way to go with a lightweight one...not THAT heavy, still managable. I brought a backpack along with it that holds the laptop with my books so that solves that problem. But its not really that heavy or anything.</p>

17

<p>Allright behold the best latop deal ever! Gateway Pentium 4 3.06 GHz 480mb Ram 80gb for only 1100$. I had a running p2p program w/4 movies downloading and a running internet tv, and playing Halo 2 smoothly. Bought the Gateway 7330GZ at "Staples".</p>

18

<p>oh...and the 15.4" laptop got the wireless and all software include</p>

19

<p>Halo 2.... great game! I play that for hours when I pick it up online... it's addicting playing online.</p>

20

<p>Still think I have the best deal on this thread.</p>