<p>Simple question. I'm a second year and I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop, but it's freaking out on me so I'm just going to go ahead and buy a new one. My question is, what is a good laptop to take to class? I can hardly take my Toshiba to class (all 8 pounds and 2 hour battery life-- plus it makes a hell of a lot of wiring noises) but I see people in my classes with super-thin, super-not-so-loud laptops. They look like either Apple computers or Sony maybe? I'd ask someone in my classes but they usually sit 300 rows in front of me. So I'm asking here. Please someone recommend a good laptop that I can take to class without getting a hernia from all the weight or weird looks from all the noise.</p>
<p>sony vaios are very light, and they're pretty! i wish i had one...</p>
<p>Compac. they're very useful. at least to me.</p>
<p>Acer. light with huge screens.</p>
<p>I'm in the same situation as you. To get you started on your own personal resarch, these are some models that I'm looking at: HP dv1000, Compaq v2000 & v2000z, Dell XPS M140, 630m, and 700m. From what I've researched these models are thin and light withought being too small or big. They also give a lot of bang for the buck. The 700m is the smallest of all of them. The university has discounts through the Scholar's Workstation for Apple and Dell. HP/Compaq also has an academic program.</p>
<p>Wow guys thanks so much. This is all really helpful. Now I know where to start heh.</p>
<p>Oh and also, I just talked to my cousin (who is an electrical engineer) and he told me to definitely not rule out Apple, especially with some new thing called the MacBook Pro with Intel something. Anyone know what he's talking about?</p>
<p>Macs in the past were not built with an Intel chip making software compatible for PC's not compatible with Macs. Now, with MacBook Pro, you have an Intel chip that increases compatibility and makes it run faster too.</p>
<p>Not a tech person so anyone who wants to correct or clarify what I said, please do so.</p>
<p>No!...Not apple! Don't go over to the dark side!! lol</p>
<p>Walter Mossberg writes a column in the WSJ in which he just reviewed the new Mac with Pentium. You can find it online.</p>
<p>Eep. Thanks for the info guys.</p>
<p>macs have a huge appeal and i would love to get my hands on one when i join college...but then the software compatibility issue makes me skeptical again...i hope the intel chip would make things better....other laps i really adore are the Dell XPS, Acer Ferrari n Sony Vaio</p>
<p>The intel chip does not affect compatability at all; that's a problem with the OS's architecture. The chip DOES make a MacBook just as fast if not faster than a competitive non-Mac notebook though.</p>
<p>As far as Apple goes, I have heard amazing things...especially for anyone doing anything music-related. Apparently, the power and quality of music-editing software made for Macs far exceed Windows capabilites...with simplicity. However, I'm too stubborn to switch over, and the fact that the Apple mouse has one button boggles my mind, so I can't vouch for Apple personally...</p>
<p>As far as Windows laptops go, the top of the line for general use would be Sony Vaios and upper-level Dells. I have a Dell XPS M140 now (got it for Christmas), and I have been pleased with it so far. It's small, pretty lightweight, and doesn't seem to heat up as much as other laptops my friends have. A friend of mine has a Vaio...he really likes it too. I haven't tried it out, but from seeing him with it I have witnessed that the Vaio screens can be extremely bright if you set them to be so (heh)...for anyone who cares about screen brightness.</p>
<p>However, I would avoid Compaq at all costs. I have a Compaq desktop that is about 4 years old now, and the only reason it is still running is from hardware updating (maxed out the RAM) and constant careful maintenance (very frequent disk defragments, etc.). Laptops don't have the lifespan that desktops have, so if a company's desktop computers are bad or par, it's a good bet that their laptops are risky.</p>
<p>i've got a vaio and it's great...except for battery life. i don't know if it's just my battery but it only lasts around 1 1/2 hours.</p>
<p>My HP dv4000 can go 4 hours on batteries. Great big screen but can be heavy for some.</p>
<p>I also have a Dell XPS M140 and it's definitely light and easy enough to carry around. I take it to school every day (online classes) and it's never been a problem, especially with a less-bulky laptop bag. It doesn't seem to heat up as much as some other computers and seems more affordable as well. I never really run it on the battery, but I think I got about four hours out of it once with some time left to go.</p>
<p>The Acer Ferrari is hot-looking, but also runs extremely HOT. I would not recommend it, since it's longevity maybe in question.</p>
<p>Dell 700/710m hands down...extremely small and extremely long battery life; a very popular computer...I know three people who purchased it after my recommendation and wouldn't even consider switching laptops</p>
<p>Sadly, it's small enough to lose...</p>