<p>So I am in the market for my first laptop, is there anything I should consider while searching?</p>
<p>I was considering finding something that will run AutoCad or be able to run other 3d modeling programs. Or is that not necessary?</p>
<p>Not enough information.
Major? Budget? How much weight are you willing to carry? What other concerns are there (ex: do you play games with high-end graphics)?</p>
<p>Are you in HS or College? If senior in HS, wait. The College is likely to have their preferred models. That way, is is easier to get tech help (they know the preferred models).</p>
<p>My advice is to find a good deal. Most people go out and get the $1000+ laptop and it really doesn’t carry the bang for the $$. Black Friday is coming up, I picked up an originally $500 laptop for $300 and it does everything I need it to do for Engineering school. Runs CAD, Matlab, etc. Just think laptops only are good for a few years before you want a new one. Buy one for 1/2 the price and you can get 2 perfectly fine laptops for twice the time you would have the expensive one.</p>
<p>Chucktown makes a good point. No laptop I’ve had has lasted as long as I’d want it to. I had an $800 laptop thinking it would last longer, but it didn’t. I got a $400 laptop after that and it lasted just as long and preformed the same.</p>
<p>Just figure out which programs you’ll be using. Perhaps make a list of them. Then figure out the system requirements for those programs. Get a laptop that can support all of them, and you’ll be fine. If you can get a cheap one that supports them all, and I’m betting that you can, then do that.</p>
<p>Much like others have said, there are few uses for the more expensive ($1,000+ laptops). Unless you’re a pretty hardcore gamer who values playing on ultra seconds at a constant 30+fps, you record, edit, and post videos online, or you’re a photographer who needs advanced editing software (insert other RAM and processing power sucking software here), it’s pretty unnecessary. </p>
<p>You shouldn’t be spending that much if you just want something for: e-mail, coding, word processing, music, watching videos, and (most) engineering software and applications. You should be able to spend ~$500 or less and get a decent 15.6" or smaller sized laptop with an i3 processor and 2-4GB of ram. I wouldn’t suggest anything more than 15.6" if you want to carry it around, and anything above 4GB of ram/a high end processor/a dedicated graphics card will just add to the price tag and make your laptop bulkier.</p>
<p>If money isn’t a concern, consider looking at the new ultrabooks, or of course a Macbook Pro/Air. These normally are in the $1,000+ range, however, so it’s not the best idea if you’re saving up for tuition. If you are into any of the power-sucking activities listed above, consider building your own desktop and buying a netbook. A gaming laptop can be as powerful as a desktop, but you’ll probably spend more money, and it likely won’t be quite as portable as you had hoped.</p>