Need some laptop help

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>D is headed off to be an English major, so she's not going to be doing intense math/science type stuff. She does enjoy games like Medal of Honor and Warcraft and some others I don't know the names of. Considers herself to be somewhat of a gamer. She also wants to be able to watch DVDs, listen to her I-Tunes, and do photoshop. She wants a laptop that can be transported easily but also serve as a desktop replacement. She says she wants a 15" screen, decent sound, good graphics capabillity and I'm thinking she'll want a fast processor and plenty of RAM. </p>

<p>So... what do we get? D wants a Macbook Pro "because it looks good" and that's what her friends seem to be getting, but they just cost way too much. Hubby says to get a Dell, but I've read elsewhere on the forums that "Dell is crap". I have friends who have been very satisfied with their Dells though. </p>

<p>I've been looking at a Dell Inspiron E1505. Any thoughts would be appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

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<p>Look at Sony or Toshiba, imo.</p>

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<p>Any particular versions based on what I described as D's type of usage?</p>

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<p>Dell is crap.</p>

<p>I suggest just getting her a desktop. Most 15" laptops are huge anyways.</p>

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<p>I've had a Dell Inspiron 600m for about 4 years now and love it! I haven't had any problems with it (knock on wood) and it's gone with me for a semester in Australia and many classes. I spent a lot on it (close to 2k) but that has paid off because it still runs great and is able to handle newer versions of software that take up more resources, even 4 years later. I plan on keeping it for another two years through grad school, barring a meltdown or accident. </p>

<p>I would definitely recommend a laptop for incoming students. I went to UT and graduated in 2004 and even at that point, lots of professors were sending out class outlines through e-mail and posting powerpoint lessons online. So, for several classes, it was helpful to be able to bring my laptop that already had all of that stuff on it, rather than having to print everything out and shuffle through pages of printouts. </p>

<p>Also, whichever brand you go with, check to see if they have an educational discount. I know that Apple and Dell do and I think that in both cases, it equates to about a 10% discount. Also, check with her college's campus computing store to see if her college or department has any special arrangements with a particular computer maker. I know that a couple depts at UT have special arrangements that allow for an even bigger discount than the standard student discount. Also, UT has an arrangement with Microsoft that allows students to get the full MS Office suite for about $20. So, it's worth checking to see if there are any special deals to be had through the college before shelling out for a new comp or software. :)</p>

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<p>To the OP: Get a Dell. Most people who criticize Dell's build quality don't know what they're talking about at all, and it makes them feel intelligent to critique. Dell's build quality has significantly improved over the last few years, especially in their higher-end laptops. They're not the flashiest, but they get the job done.</p>

<p>As for your original question, this isn't the forum I'd suggest. Go to <a href="http://www.notebookforums.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.notebookforums.com/&lt;/a> - they know way more than almost anyone here and there's tons of people there who will readily give you advice. More importantly, they post coupons from various laptop companies there, which can get you a significant discount on the computers - I've seen $900 coupons from Dell before, for example.</p>

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<p>Thanks to those who've posted. That's a great tip about checking into the University offerings. Hadn't even thought of that.</p>

<p>About the size issue... Husband and I agree that 15" makes it into a larger contraption than what he or I would want to carry around. D insists it won't be a problem since she's used to carrying around heavy textbooks in her backpack all day. (Locker was very far away from class). But still, we're talking about a small high school campus to trek across versus a huge state U's campus. Big difference. But D is adamant that she doesn't want anything smaller since she isn't planning on taking her desktop. Do most kids take both?</p>

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<p>Thanks 1of42, I'll check the link</p>

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<p>she could get a smaller laptop(13.3 or so), and bring a moniter that doubles as a TV to have a larger screen. </p>

<p>of the two dells that we've had, one was decent, one is great. the decent one was a consumer model, while the great one was a top of the line small business version.</p>

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<p>Most kids only bring a laptop, but some do bring both. Research consumer reports and reviews of different brands before purchasing.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
"because it looks good"

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That should tell you about how much she knows about computers. =_=;; Sorry but that's a really bad reason to choose a computer. (although that seems to be a main reason alot of people choose Mac. They do a really good job designing their products, I must admit) She first should consider if the programs/games she likes even WORK in Macintosh (one reason I can't buy mac because alot of foreign programs I like only work with PC...)</p>

<p>
[quote]
She also wants to be able to watch DVDs, listen to her I-Tunes, and do photoshop

[/quote]

Most or all computers you'll purchase will do this, don't worry ^^</p>

<p>Dell's not so bad imo although their crappy customer service is infamous and sometimes they tend to leave out things.... of their products. haha. but they are alright.</p>

<p>I agree with diesel. Get a smaller laptop and then get a good LCD monitor or something, it'll be worth the money. 15" personally was too big for me. ^^;;</p>

<p>I would goto one of the computer company's sites and customize one myself</p>

<p>I actually brought a desktop and it wasn't that bad although I'm planning to get a new computer because ^ that one sucked</p>

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<p>As far as size goes, my Dell is a 15 inch and I didn't find that it was too big or heavy. It was about the same size as a textbook and I didn't have any problems carrying it around UT's campus, which is pretty big. I would recommend that, whichever size you ultimately get, you get her a neoprene sleeve to put it in, which will provide a little extra cushioning when she puts it in her backpack, but not take up too much room. </p>

<p>I don't see any need to bring a desktop computer in addition to a laptop. One or the other should be fine and having two computers just makes you worry more about something happening to one or the other. </p>

<p>Also, this is just something to consider, but if your daughter is thinking about studying abroad, it may be worthwhile to explore how the warranties work overseas. I got my Dell lappy before I went to Australia for a semester and decided to get the in-home service warranty so that if something happened while I was in Australia I could get it fixed locally rather than having to mail it back to the US and then have it mailed back to me in Australia. Anyway, if she might study abroad, I would look into how the warranties work overseas. :)</p>

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<p>To 1of42 - people who criticize Dell's quality generally have a good reason, as in, their Dells broke for no reason. As mine did. And I bet it made you feel smart to criticize people like us, too, so don't be such a snob.</p>

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<p>Scrabble: Spectacular, your Dell broke for no reason, that gives you the qualification to make unilateral statements like "Dell's quality sucks". I know at least one person for each brand of laptop who has had one that has broken for no reason - it happens. It's fine to say that you don't want another Dell because you're worried about it breaking, and telling that story is no problem, but you have neither the information nor (likely) the qualifications to criticize Dell's build quality in general. The only way you could even approach that would be if you had owned at least 3-4 different models of Dells. Even then, though, you still wouldn't be qualified to criticize them, because to do that you would have to have experienced their quality relative to other laptops - meaning you would have to have owned several laptops from each other company as well.</p>

<p>And even after all that, you still wouldn't really know what you're talking about, because face it, one person's subjective experiences don't mean anything on a grand scale. Your laptop breaking for "no reason" (I put that in quotes because I doubt you actually know what the reason was, and while it may not have at all been your fault that the laptop broke there was certainly a reason) is, much as you might like it to be, not a good reason.</p>

<p>Do I think Dell's a perfect? Not at all. In particular, I have a major problem with all the unnecessary software they include with your laptop when you get it. It's all basically bloatware. Also, their customer service isn't great, and the techs there aren't super knowledgeable. All of the problems I have with Dell are common in the computer industry. On the other hand, I'm tired of people spending time using anecdotal evidence (as you did), or simply generalizations to criticize Dell when they really don't know what they're talking about (as you don't).</p>

<p>As to a question I'm sure you'll ask, how do I know different? Well firstly, I have spent lots of time over the past couple of years lurking on the forum I previously linked to, which has thousands upon thousands of complaints, raves, reviews, and discussion of any laptop under the sun. I've seen just about everything debated there, by people infinitely more knowledgeable about laptops than people here. Also, I know tons of IT people who have experience with multiple laptop suppliers, as well as about 5 people who actually review laptops, as well as the head of a laptop resale company. I know what I'm talking about here - I don't just base my opinion off of my own limited experience - as you're doing. I could just say "Well, my Dell hasn't broken yet, ergo Dell makes great computers." I don't, because that would be stupid. <em>HINTHINT</em></p>

<p>Either know what you're talking about, or stop talking about it. It didn't make me feel any smarter to criticize you - in fact, I'm at about a constant level of intelligence on this thread, because the inanity of your post made me feel dumber. However, posting my last post did make me feel right, because I am.</p>

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<p>Anyone who trashes on a company because "their computer broke" is obviously not so informed anyway. No computer is immune from problems. No hardware is completely fail-safe. With any computer you buy you take the risk of it "breaking".</p>

<p>uyulove:</p>

<p>That concern is mostly over, with bootcamp you can run both OS's side by side. Besides, for her purposes a Mac would do just fine. (Photoshop, MoH, WoW, and Word Processors are all avaliable for OS X.</p>

<p>A computer is like buying a peice of furniture, some people could care less about what it looks like so long as it's comfortable, while others care about the way it looks. Don't judge someone on how much they know just because they want a nice looking computer.</p>

<p>Also, if anyone plans on coming back with some long winded PC is better than Mac crap(or vice versa), please don't. It's been discussed to death around here, and it's a useless and repetitive argument. </p>

<p>If you can't afford a Mac(like your daughter wants, I AM NOT suggesting a mac) then I'd go for a Dell. Regardless of what anyone says, Dells are decent, affordable and most colleges offer discounts.</p>

<p>Cheers,
Alex</p>

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<p>I had two Dell Inspiron laptops, and what really became a problem wasn't the build quality, so much as the customer service. Essentially, they both broke a handful of times, but the main problem was that sometimes it was nearly impossible to get them fixed. I had one problem where the data cable going to the monitor had broken, so when I pressed gently on the back of the screen, every other row of pixels would become red. I called Dell customer service, and the Indian rep (needless to say I'm not racist, nor do I have any problem with globalization, for that matter, but Dell's Indian reps were usually woefully undertrained, and thus not very helpful) told me that I needed to reinstall XP. Even after I re-explained the problem to him, he still insisted it was XP. So I called back a few minutes later and got someone who did order a repair. However, I also had a more complicated problem with that computer around the same time, and that first rep wasn't the only incompetent one at Dell; it ended up taking months to get that second issue resolved.</p>

<p>That was unacceptable, so I bought a Mac.</p>

<p>Specifically, I got a 1.83 GHz 15" MacBook Pro on Amazon around the time the 2.0 GHz model came out, so I was able to get mine for a few hundred dollars off (I paid $1500, although I'm going to be buying a $250 extended warranty pretty soon). Admittedly, I did have a few problems in the beginning, but since I got those resolved, it's been flawless for reliability. Not only does it indeed look amazing, but it works far better than Windows/Dell. There are no obtrusive anti-virus programs to deal with, or annoying vendor-supplied software that does a crappy job at whatever they're supposed to do, or places where you realize that they rushed something and that it could have been so much better (like Windows' wireless handling, in my experience). I've found that Mac OS X is better than Windows in many different areas, although the ones relevant to each user vary based on what they want to do, and how experienced they are with computers. However, I can honestly say that I couldn't ever see myself going back to Windows on a computer by any manufacturer. It's that much better. </p>

<p>And deals can be had on MacBook Pros, like the one I got (Amazon usually has a standing $100-150 rebate on most Macs, or as other posters have said, you can get academic discounts from Apple. They also usually have refurbished Macs at the Apple Store for a few hundred dollars off.) But if the MacBook Pro isn't an option, I'd advise your daughter to consider a 13.3" MacBook. Frankly, I'd personally rather use one of those than a 15" Windows laptop, and the added portability in college is an additional plus.</p>

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<p>Get a IBM thinkpad. Those things are great workhorses.</p>

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<p>Can a dell flat panel monitor from a desktop computer be used as a monitor with the thinkpads</p>

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<p>Just about any monitor can be used with any laptop (or desktop), assuming they have the right ports (a VGA port in this case, which almost every laptop has). So yes.</p>

<p>esquivalience: True enough, Dell's customer service isn't very good. Unfortunately, neither is just about any other laptop company's. Generally, you need to get some kind of computer tech in your local area if you really want good, fast service. Worst comes to worst, they can serve as an interface to the company itself.</p>

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<p>Just to add to what 1of42 said:</p>

<p>Notice he said "Just about"? You probably won't be able to power a 24"+ monitor with your notebook unless you have a very good video card(which most notebooks lack). Just keep that in mind, in-case anyone was planning on running a giant sized monitor off their laptop.</p>