<p>Sooo it's time for me to pick out a laptop for school. It seems that Apple and Dell are the main ones supported by the school's ITS. I had kind of wanted a Lenovo, but if it means longer servicing, I won't get one. And I DO NOT WANT a Mac, so don't suggest that, please. Is Dell just the safest way to go?</p>
<p>Well it's like you already answered your own question, didn't you haha?
And well really it doesn't matter if it's Dell or Lenovo, it's all about being able to run the same software on any laptop so don't worry that much.</p>
<p>If you don't need it RIGHT now, just keep your eyes on [url=<a href="http://www.slickdeals.net%5DSlickdeals.net%5B/url">http://www.slickdeals.net]Slickdeals.net[/url</a>] . They usually have dell deals every week, and the laptop deals are absolutely ridiculous most of the time.</p>
<p>You get a discount through the university. Make sure slickdeals.com is cheaper before you go there.</p>
<p>Get an Macbook, u cant loose</p>
<p>The discounts through the school are crap compared to slickdeals. </p>
<p>I don't see how you can win with a mac. You pay two times the cost for a laptop that just has a different OS. I am sure there is a linux version that will fill your mac desires.</p>
<p>how do you get discounts through the school? Are you talking about Macs for these discounts? If so, I'm guessing you show proof that you're a student and get a discount or something?</p>
<p>Would a Sony Vaio-type of computer be a good pick perhaps?</p>
<p>Personally, I can't imagine going with anything but a Dell for cost reasons. Dells give you the most for the cheapest price through slickdeals, and despite what most people say, I don't mind their tech support. Granted I am a EE major with computer hardware experience, so disassembling my laptop before sending it in isn't as tantalizing for me as it probably is for others. Not to mention they are very very close, so I would get repairs done in with almost no turnaround time. And well, lets face it, I am Indian (albeit American-born), so I have no trouble with the accents.</p>
<p>Despite my hate of macs, they are pretty simplistic and probably less intimidating then most other laptops. And you will most definitely "fit in" with the majority of the crowd, since it is, hands down, the most popular laptop on campus(good and bad because of possible theft).</p>
<p>I've got a Vaio that I got for graduation. My parents shelled out a lot of money for it and I really didn't need it.</p>
<p>Not complaining though.</p>
<p>But I think you will be fine with a Dell. The brand was invented on campus. Though the only faculty and staff members I've seen using computers were using Macbooks (albeit that's 2 people).</p>
<p>Dells are shoddy. Best bang for your buck in terms of features? Maybe. But once you include all the repairs due to shoddy workmanship, it's simply not worth it. Dells are made to be the lowest-cost systems. Buy a well-constructed computer, and pay the premium price for it. Get an Apple laptop. And to those who say they're more expensive, I say this: I got a 24-hour turnaround(dropping off to picking up) for an optical drive replacement in my Macbook Pro. Try finding another manufacturer willing to do that.</p>
<p>"I got a 24-hour turnaround(dropping off to picking up) for an optical drive replacement in my Macbook Pro. Try finding another manufacturer willing to do that."</p>
<p>The 24 hour turnaround was not free. It came bundled in the price that was paid for the Macbook Pro. </p>
<p>Anyone who wants 24 hour turnaround on a PC can buy an enhanced warranty for it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Dells are shoddy.
[/quote]
Based on what? Yeah they are made to be low cost systems, but there isn't a whole lot you can do differently in the workmanship of computers. Just because it doesn't have the pretty case, doesn't make them internally shoddy. I have had 2 problems with my Dell, one because I spilled water on it, and the other because of a bad battery. Both of which, have nothing to do with the construction of the laptop itself. </p>
<p>Probably one of the best laptops you can buy for under 2 grand right now:
Dell</a> XPS M1530: Core 2 Duo T8300 2.4 GHz, 4GB DDR2, 320GB HDD, DVDRW, WiFi N, nVidia 8600M GT, WUXGA LCD, 2MP Webcam, Bluetooth, Fingerprint, Vista Premium $1199 Or $1163 - SlickDeals.net Forums</p>
<p>Listen a Macbook is not expensive in comparison to what you are saying with the deals out there. Apple is throwing in a free ipod touch when you purchase any apple computer. So $1099-$299 is around 900 dollars which is pretty reasonable for all the stuff you are getting.</p>
<p>^^^ but if you don't need an ipod touch.</p>
<p>BTW, I don't think Dell's are great deals either. I bought a laptop over 2 years ago for $500 and it still does everything I need.</p>
<p>No, the hardware is still way over-priced, even with a 300 dollar discount, if you consider that's what a ipod touch is. To get a comparable mac to the one I posted, it would be $2300, that's only with the same major components, doesn't even have some of the smaller stuff.</p>
<p>way to be specific^ I think you're bolstering my argument with your vaugeness</p>
<p>What? I posted a dell xps with the stats in the previous post. I configured a 15 inch mac book pro with similar stats, and it ended up being 2300 dollars(compared to $1200 that the dell was).. What is vague about that?</p>
<p>Wow this is getting intense. </p>
<p>As far as laptops go: I used to be all pro-Mac until my friends convinced me I should stick with PC-so my next plan was to build a PC. But my roommate has ALMOST convinced me to get a laptop. My only question is this:</p>
<p>How powerful are they? Are they comprable to desktop PCs? I only ask because I do a lot of home recording of my music, and I need to be able to run Acid Pro or some other looping/mixer program on it fairly quickly without my computer exploding. If I can do this on a laptop, I won't bother with a desktop.</p>
<p>Acid Pro or Fruit Loops aren't exactly the most taxing programs. Pretty much any core 2 will run that fine. </p>
<p>At this point in time, you can get a extremely good laptop for around a grand. I built my pc for 1400 a year ago, and it was fairly high end at the time(and still is). And Other than the hard drive and the video card, it is as good as that laptop I posted earlier in the thread.</p>