<p>You could and should verify this with your student’s on-campus IT department, but in every case I know, you don’t have to buy your computer through the campus website/store in order to have them do warranty work. Just make sure you buy the computer from a company that the campus IT folks are authorized to do warranty work on. But I wouldn’t buy a computer if they are not authorized to do the warranty stuff. S1’s computer was in the campus shop 3 times over four years, all under warranty. It would have been a major hassle to ship the computer for repairs or find an off campus repair shop.</p>
<p>
This will vary with the college, the particular major, and the student. Basically, I disagree with the conclusion. For CS courses, which most engineering students must take some of and CS students must take a lot of, it’s usually ‘much’ easier to do the work on the laptop rather than go into a lab. This can be done by running the IDE/Compiler on the laptop (Visual Studio, Eclipse, etc.), putting VMWare on the laptop and running Linux to develop, compile, test Unix applications, or to remote into a lab computer. Picture spending 10 hours including at 2 in the morning getting a program done - it’s much better done on the laptop (if possible) than physically in a lab. </p>
<p>The term ‘engineering’ is very broad and ambiguous so depending on exactly which particular branch of engineering (EE, MS, CS, CE, etc.) he heads into, what he’d do with the laptop will vary.</p>
<p>I also disagree that for engineering use a laptop screen is inadequate. A laptop screen of around 15.4" is adequate. It might be nicer to have a 22" - 30" monitor (actually dual monitors) but it comes more under the term of ‘nice’ rather than ‘necessary’. I do recommend getting the better choice of screen resolutions and graphics capabilities for the laptop you choose - there are often a couple of options on a particular model in this area.</p>
<p>I suggest getting a laptop that’ll ‘likely’ fulfill his needs and then if he chooses to (or is required to) use a lab then he has access to both.</p>
<p>Another way to look at this - his laptop will be one of the major centers of his attention for the next 4 years (like it or not). It’ll be his major research device (googling), his development tool (running CS and/or engineering applications), his tool to write papers, his means of keeping up with current events in the world, his communications device (IM, Skype, etc. - hopefully with you also), and his entertainment device (watching movies via DVDs, online, playing games, etc.). The difference in price between a $700 and an $1800 unit over the course of 4 years and relative to the actual costs of attending college will be fairly insignificant. Given that, if you determine the price charged through the school is not out of line with what you could get on your own (keeping all specs the same), then maybe it makes sense to just get this through the school.</p>
<p>The presence of loaner laptops is pretty useful-- laptops have a tendency to die when you need them most-- think finals or reading period. Sure there are computer clusters, but thats the same time that everyone else at the university also wants to use them. It’s really nice to have a service center right there and not have to deal with figuring out how to get a laptop somewhere else. </p>
<p>I also disagree with hadsed- I did a lot of programming in undergrad and now in grad school, and while it is mostly run on a server, I do it all from my laptop. You want something that is good enough to run not only the software today, but the software in 4 years. It seems worth investing in the new i5 or i7 chips and getting at least 4gb of ram. </p>
<p>I would also check how much the accidental damage protection is on its own-- I remember it being ~300 for 4 years, so that would add considerably to the price of a $700 computer</p>
<p>To ec1234 and ucla<em>ucsd</em>dad:</p>
<p>I did mention the specs needed to run these sorts of programs. Typically I use Visual Studio and SQL Server at the same time, or Photoshop with big files and some compiler to do applets if I need, and I’ve been using my current laptop (I listed the specs) and it works perfectly for these things. I also have used AutoDesk engineering software. The only down side I could maybe find is that perhaps I could use 4 GB of RAM instead of 3 when I’m really doing something that requires a lot of huge apps to run simultaneously.</p>
<p>But yeah, I forgot that engineering can also encompass CS. Woops. However, you hardly need to go beyond the specs I listed. It just so happens that almost all laptops are coming out with those specs, and they are absolutely fine for what it will be used for. For instance, my laptop is better than the computer my father uses at work, and he’s a senior software developer at a large bank. Of course, he could be doing some remote accessing, but the point is that he does his programming and software design work on that computer. There’s really no need to have an i7 chip or whatever the latest thing is, if laptops even come with them. The only people who use those are gamers, and that’s because they need the graphics rendering capabilities and the high speed, obviously. Getting more than, say, a 2.4 Ghz processor is overkill in my opinion. I can’t think of any case where you will need so much processing power, and if you ever did, a laptop is not the machine to do that sort of work with.</p>
<p>Screen size is a preference, so I think it’s useful to tell people to make sure they’re comfortable with it by going to a store and seeing it from themselves (if they’re going to order from the internet, which is usually cheaper). Like I said, I use engineering software on my laptop and I have a widescreen 15.5" and it is rather annoying to have to zoom in and out so much, not to mention everything is a bit squished since it’s widescreen. I’d much rather use the 20" screens at the labs at my school. But again, it’s all preference…</p>
<p>Another thing to mention: your laptop is something that will be used a lot, probably for hours daily. Regardless if you care about being semi-up-to-date on technology or not, computers don’t have a huge life-span. Sure you can do a lot of things to take care of them, keep them clean and virus/spyware free, replace some parts and clean it, keep it away from harsh environments, but ultimately it probably won’t last you more than 2 or 3 years. And again you have the possibility of getting it stolen, losing it, breaking it, breaking pieces of it, having to replace a hard drive or the screen cracks, etc. You can get warranties, which won’t leave you screwed if something happens, but usually warranties don’t cover normal wear 'n tear. That being said, you’d be better off buying something at a reasonable price instead of $1800 which is, in my opinion, completely absurd.</p>
<p>To the OP: Do you atleast know the brand/model or specs of the computers they’re offering?</p>
<p>Here is the info I found from my sons school for the least expensive computer:</p>
<p>Dell Latitude E5400 Laptop</p>
<p>Base Unit
Latitude E5400, Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 with VT 2.53GHz, 3M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB<br>
Display 14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA LED<br>
Memory 4.0GB, DDR2-800 SDRAM, 2 DIMM for Latitude<br>
Hard Drive 250GB Hard Drive 9.5MM,5400RPMfor Latitude E5400<br>
Operating System Windows 7 Professional, 32-bit, w/ media<br>
Video Card Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
Keyboard-Mouse Internal English Keyboard Dual Pointing Device
Optical Drive 8X DVD+/-RW for Latitude E5X00, Cyberlink Power DVD 8.3
Wireless Networking Intel WiFi Link 5100 (802.11 a/g/n)
Wired Networking RJ45 10/100/1000
Power 90W 3-Pin, AC Adapter, 3-Pin Flat E-FamilyPower Cord
Battery 6-Cell Battery</p>
<p>Warranty 3 Year Next Business Day Limited Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis
Complete Care CompleteCare Accidental Damage Protection, 3 Year<br>
E5400 Price $893.00</p>
<p>Accident Care $108.00
Computer Price $1001.00
Accessory Package</p>
<p>Microsoft Office 2010</p>
<p>Ethernet Cable</p>
<p>Security Cable</p>
<p>Total Accessory Pack
$89.00</p>
<p>$5.00 - ethernet</p>
<p>$30.00 - security</p>
<p>Total $124.00
Total Package for the Latitude E5400 Bundle</p>
<p>$1125.00</p>
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</p>
<p>Caveat emptor! But, my two kids happened to attend colleges where the laptop package was as good if not better than what was available online; indeed, one college is significantly better with MS Office Pro included. Thus, not all colleges “try to rip you off.”</p>
<p>Charlottemom:</p>
<p>Using those specs and Dell’s website I came to about $1027 vs the $893 price for the laptop so the price itself looks reasonable and overall, $1125 for the whole package including accidental coverage is far from the $1800 price mentioned earlier. A few things though -
- Overall warranty - I suggest getting 4 years rather than 3 to cover him the whole time he’s in college.
- Accident care - I think this is a good idea for a laptop in a college/dorm environment which can be rough on them but I’d opt for the 4 year package rather than the 3 year one.
- Ethernet cable - he probably won’t need one and can probably just use wireless instrad (depends on his college) but if he does he could buy one later - they’re cheap.
- Security cable - this is a good idea and I hope he uses it.
- Ethernet for $5 - I assume this is for the ethernet cable.
- Security for $30 - I assume this is for the laptop cable.
- MS Office 2010 - Is this the real product at no cost or just the free ‘starter’ one?</p>
<p>If it were me configuring this I’d consider -
- Upgrading the LCD display to the WXGA+ one for $50 which has a higher resolution (he’ll spending all his time looking at the screen)
- Changing the hard drive from the 250G 5400 rpm one to the 160G 7200 rpm one (faster but lower capacity)
- Possibly upgrading the video card to the next level one for $89 if your S plans to play games</p>
<p>Overall I think it’s a reasonable package at a reasonable cost. You could go cheaper and forego the warranty, accidental coverage, get a cheaper version of Windows, less memory, etc. but I’d opt for this one over those if I was you.</p>
<p>hadsed:</p>
<p>I think we’re relatively on the same page (or at least chapter) on this. When it comes to computers it’s usually a compromise somewhere along the line as to what’s needed for the anticpated usage and the anticipated time the laptop/desktop will be used vs cost. I’ve never purchased a laptop, desktop, or server where I haven’t compromised at some point. </p>
<p>For the average student I think they should expect to use their laptop for the 4-5 years they’re in college regardless of the expected technological life of the laptop (which is where the 2-3 years comes into play - not the physical unit but rather the technological life). If one has an adequate warranty, including accidental coverage to take care of spills and drops, it should be adequate for the 4-5 years.</p>
<p>For the display, if he finds the laptop display too difficult to deal with he can opt later for a larger external display to plug into it. I suggest seeing if he can live with this one first.</p>
<p>Thanks so much ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad for checking that. Since I know virtually nothing about computers this is all very confusing for me. My son seems to think he can get a better (faster/more memory?) computer for less than that. He says he went to Dell.com and even added the full coverage (spills, etc.) warranty to a computer and came out with a better computer for less $$$. </p>
<p>His school has a Dell/Apple repair center and therefore I was leaning towards a Dell computer. I have a Toshiba laptop that has been great. I don’t mind spending a little more for peace of mind but this is driving me crazy.</p>
<p>When your S goes to the Dell site to configure the laptop he really needs to make sure he’s doing oranges to oranges comparisons. It’s easy to get a lower price by just changing some basics like the basic model, processor, memory, hard disk, display, operating system (business vs home edition), etc. Have him go to the Dell site and configure this exact same model to validate whether the college’s price for that model/specification is reasonable or not. Assuming he finds it reasonable (as I did) then he can play around with how to reduce the price but he’ll be making decisions on all the items in the specs that I mentioned above and he may find that he doesn’t really want to reduce the level of the components (and might want to increase them as I suggested).</p>
<p>One possible way to save some cost might be to change the model but otherwise opt for the same specs - i.e. go from a Dell Latitude to a Dell Inspiron or Vostro, etc. If he does this but still gets the 4 year warranty and accidental coverage and can save money then it should be fine. My D’s Dell Inspiron survived 4 years at college (albeit with a couple of warranty repairs and a few batteries) and she’s still using it.</p>
<p>Regardless of what some people think, almost all the components in laptops, including Apple’s laptops, aren’t actually made by those companies - they’re made by other manufacturers. For example the processors and many parts on the main board are made by Intel and the memory chip manufacturers, the hard disks made by one of the few hard disk manufacturers (Hitachi, Seagate, etc.), the DVD drives made by someone else, the LCD screens made by someone else, etc. Remember the battery overheating problem of a couple of years ago that afflicted Dell, Apple, and others? Those batteries were all made by Sony hence they all had the same issue. Of course some packages are designed better with better cooling flow and a better chassis, hinges, etc. but otherwise they tend to use about the same parts.</p>
<p>Just a fun memory. My college (Clarkson) was one of the first schools to require computer purchase. It was early 1980s. I was an upperclassman, and it only applied to freshman. They charged $200/semester, and student owned it at graduation (but obsolete by then). The justification was giving all the same “tools”, so that rich students had no advantage. Had they not done so, they would have needed to invest in new mainframe which would have resulted in tuition increases anyway. </p>
<p>Newsweek had an article bemoaning computers and the the loss of students “reading a book under a tree”. So of course my geeky pals had to run an extension cord into the courtyard and set up a computer for the “photo shoot” for their letter to the editor. </p>
<p>Wow, computers have come a long way! Heck they have hard drives now ;)</p>
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<p>I agree. You can buy a darn nice laptop these days for $700 (one that is even sufficient for most gamers), $1,500 is very high in today’s market.</p>
<p>I would also add that we were long-time Dell users (10 years+). We used them at home and for husband’s office where he has a half-dozen employees and needed to upgrade computers every few years. Over the years we probably purchased 2 dozen Dell’s. Dell’s quality has deteriorated considerable over the last few years and I, for one, will never buy another - especially since they tend to be pricier than a lot of brands to begin with. The last Dell I had was a piece of junk and Dell refused to do anything other than blame the operating system. The hard drive crashed almost weekly on this thing - it was only a year old and still under warranty. It was a Latitude laptop, BTW. I replaced it several weeks ago with son’s $400 Acer Aspire (he got a Samsung to take to college). The difference in quality between the Dell and the Acer is very noticeable.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/technology/29dell.html?_r=1&src=busln[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/technology/29dell.html?_r=1&src=busln</a> - Suit Over Faulty Computers Highlights Dells Decline June 28, 2010</p>
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<p>Thanks so much everyone!</p>
<p>My son seems to think he wants a 17" laptop and I was told by a friend to get the newer i-5 processor (?) instead of the i-3.</p>
<p>My son is keeping his eyes open and looking online for deals. I guess we will eventually pick one and that will be that…</p>
<p>Does your S plan to be carting his laptop around much? If so he should really think about whether he wants a 17" model because of its greater bulk and weight. Just lifting it for a couple of seconds in a store doesn’t really tell the same story as lugging it around campus all day in a backpack. Even just carting it back and forth to home or more, to a study abroad or something, it’ll likely be noticably more of a pain. Of course regardless of that, some people still want and buy 17" models. Again, a 15.5" or so model’s a pretty good compromise and if he wants to use it for gaming, a larger external monitor might be nice and give him the best of both worlds - smaller and lighter weight for carting around and a bigger screen for where he spends most of his time. If he thinks he wants to go with the larger external monitor I suggest he try it without it for a bit first though since most people are pretty adaptable and he might find he doesn’t really need one or want to give up the space for one.</p>
<p>Thanks ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad - I thought about the size too! He is a big guy (6’ - 200+lb) and says he has thought about it but still wants the 17". I told him he needs to be sure because he won’t get a second chance once its ordered!</p>
<p>Hi
we called today and our homeowner insurance agent told us my son’s laptop is covered while he is out of state in college. It is covered for coffee spills and accidental breakage. We may need to pay $10-20 a year for this but it is much less than buying this package from Dell or HP.</p>
<p>Also, since his school has a computer service that repairs laptops for free, do we still need to buy the extended warranty from Dell or HP?</p>