Need a good laptop

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>budget is about $500
need something that will last me atleast 4 years. i do a bit of programming. going in aerospace engineering so it need to run matlab and other high cpu usage programs well. </p>

<p>thank you for your help</p>

2

<p>You may want to reconsider your budget. $500 is a little too low for a laptop that’ll last four years and handle high cpu usage programs. $600 or $700 should be a reasonable budget if you’re willing to purchase a laptop with either a Intel Core i3 or i5 processor.</p>

3

<p>I recommend edeals.com
A couple of weeks ago, I bought a thinkpad edge 14 at a great discount. After battery upgrade, shipping and taxes, it amounted to ~$650. It has core i3. Now, it’s $30 more expensive, apparently.</p>

<p>here’s another possible choice that fits your budget. I don’t know about the processor though. The battery life isn’t too great either, but what can you expect? [Amazon.com:</a> Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4036 LED TruBrite 14-Inch Laptop (Black): Computer & Accessories](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Satellite-L645D-S4036-TruBrite-14-Inch/dp/B003M5GVJY/ref=pd_cp_pc_2]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Satellite-L645D-S4036-TruBrite-14-Inch/dp/B003M5GVJY/ref=pd_cp_pc_2)</p>

4

<p>You might want to spend more if you are dead set on one laptop lasting you 4 years.</p>

<p>Laptops are slow to begin with, but even a $1000 custom built desktop turns into a slow dinosaur in 4 years time.</p>

5

<p>i have found 2 good ones. computer experts please check if they are good. thank you</p>

<p>[Newegg.com</a> - MSI A5000-436US NoteBook Intel Pentium dual-core T4500(2.30GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory 250GB HDD DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8200M G](<a href=“Are you a human?”>Are you a human?)</p>

<p>or </p>

<p>[Newegg.com</a> - SONY VAIO E Series VPCEE23FX/BI NoteBook AMD Athlon II Dual-Core P320(2.10GHz) 15.5" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 320GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250](<a href=“Are you a human?”>Are you a human?)</p>

6

<p>They look like great steals.</p>

<p>Tigerdirect.com also has good deals like newegg. Check them out.</p>

<p>Nowdays Intels are usually a bit faster than AMDs…</p>

7

<p>The problem I see with these laptops are that the CPUs are weak. They’d be fine for typical college uses, but not for matlab and engineering programs, and certainly not, as you describe, “high cpu usage programs”.</p>

8

<p>The T4500 is the best you’ll get at his price point.</p>

9

<p>yes sorry i wish i had more money but i have to work to pay college tuition. around $500 is the most i can pay </p>

<p>i will keep looking for deals</p>

10

<p>Either of those computers should do you fine. Plus, you’re likely not going to need to do too much matlab or high cpu usage stuff outside of your lab.</p>

11

<p>please let me know if this is good</p>

<p>[Toshiba</a> Satellite L505-ES5034 PSLU6U-00N001 Notebook PC - Intel Core i3-330M 2.13GHz, 4GB DDR3, 320GB HDD, DVDRW, 15.6 Display, HDMI, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, Gray at TigerDirect.com](<a href=“TigerDirect Sunset”>TigerDirect Sunset)</p>

12

<p>Husband has this laptop. It’s fair to OK. Nothing special–kind of slow. The keyboard feels cheap to me. I’m not sure if this will last for 4 years.</p>

13

<p>That i3-330 is leagues better than the previous two listed. It’ll last comfortably for approximately 2yr, but you can probably stretch its useful life to ~5yr.</p>

14

<p>Can anyone comment on Toshiba in general?</p>

<p>–physical durability?
–noisy fans?</p>

15

<p>Toshiba generally is a solid brand. I’d say they’re significantly above average, but they don’t exactly specialize in anything.</p>

<p>Eg. Thinkpads and Latitudes are known for being durable, HPs are known for being low-cost. Toshiba kind of sits in the low-end premium category where it’s not the best in any particular category, but is generally a good buy if the price is right.</p>

16

<p>If you find a really good Asus deal you should get it instantly. Asus has a standard 1 yr accidental damage warranty and a 2 year parts/labor warranty. That means if you dump 100 gallons of coffee on it you can get a new one. It almost guarantees that you won’t get a defective laptop.</p>

<p>Many companies sell thinkpads for cheap to their employees. My dad can get 2009 models for like $500. Maybe find a friend who can do that for you.</p>

17

<p>I have found two more. I will probably by in the next week please let me know</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Gateway+-+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174;+Core%26%23153;+i3+Processor+/+15.6"+Display+/+4GB+Memory+/+320GB+Hard+Drive+-+Espresso/1149987.p?id=1218225365526&skuId=1149987[/url]”>http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Gateway+-+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174;+Core%26%23153;+i3+Processor+/+15.6"+Display+/+4GB+Memory+/+320GB+Hard+Drive+-+Espresso/1149987.p?id=1218225365526&skuId=1149987&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>or </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+Laptop+/+AMD+Phenom%26%23153;+II+Processor+/+15.6"+Display+/+4GB+Memory+/+500GB+Hard+Drive+-+Brushed+Aluminum/9979323.p?id=1218204944420&skuId=9979323[/url]”>http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+Laptop+/+AMD+Phenom%26%23153;+II+Processor+/+15.6"+Display+/+4GB+Memory+/+500GB+Hard+Drive+-+Brushed+Aluminum/9979323.p?id=1218204944420&skuId=9979323&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;