<p>I am admitted to the UW this fall as an incoming freshman, and am currently in a little dilemma. I will be absolutely dorming at McMahon Hall, and have few questions. I will be double majoring in both Mechanical and Computer Engineering. Therefore, I know I would need a standalone machine that can access the latest CAD software and such, and so I am going to bring my desktop PC (I built the PC itself this past July and invested $2400 on it!), the PC itself is fast. But my problem is, portability, I know I cannot always work from a dorm room, as it eventually can lead to distraction (gaming). Therefore, because I spent so much money already, I was looking at cheaper laptops (don't mind used or new), and found a Lenovo ThinkPad T61 (Lenovo</a> ThinkPad T61 Laptop Computer Refurbished - Black 215905 - Micro Center). Of course, I am considering purchasing this laptop and installing Linux and using it mainly to bring with me to the library and study and typing essays and basic functionalities and such.</p>
<p>With all that being said, do you guys think this laptop is a great idea in terms of simple portability, something to use "in class" and to use my desktop when I am away from class/studying? </p>
<p>I know this question is really a matter of preference, but I am going to enter college, and am very anxious and understanding the right choice should be....</p>
<p>Actually, I was in a program similar to Running Start while in High School (I am OOS), and it knocked out my first two 1/2 years of required classes for MechE, and additionally took AP tests.</p>
<p>Good idea: getting a cheap(ish), portable laptop to put Linux on to carry around.</p>
<p>Not so good idea: getting a six year old refurbished laptop for $200.</p>
<p>ThinkPads are good machines and will stand up to some serious abuse, but you would be far better off spending the extra $100-$200 to get a new machine that has a full year warranty and a processor better than a core 2 duo. Also, a t61 is not really all that lightweight or portable. Compared to many laptops on the market today it’s downright bulky.</p>
<p>source: I’ve worked on these since they came out</p>
<p>What laptops come in mind for a cheap alternative? Being the machine would be at least somewhat compatible with latest technology, but also Linux friendly?</p>
<p>I’d recommend getting at least an i-series intel processor and 4gb or ram, but the rest of the specs don’t matter as much. You’re looking at closer to $600 for those, but a decent one could easily last you through college.</p>
<p>I’m a fan of Lenovo and they do have some that are fairly inexpensive. Around this time of year they have student specials and coupons that can take hundreds off their regular prices, too, if you order directly from them. Plus, many of the models come with a two or three year warranty instead of the usual one year.</p>
<p>Asus and Samsung have some sweet low end (ish) ultrabooks that could easily work.</p>
<p>Newegg is a really good place to look at the different options, but I prefer not to order anything with an LCD there because of their return policy. Thankfully most big box stores will price match, or as a student you can now get Amazon Prime for free and totally take advantage of that.</p>
<p>For carting it around you’d be better served with an S series [IdeaPad</a> S300 – 13.3" Ultraportable Laptop from Lenovo | Lenovo (US)](<a href=“Lenovo Official US Site | Laptops, PCs, Tablets & Data Center | Lenovo US”>Lenovo IdeaPad 1 Series Laptop | IdeaPad 1 (14” Intel) | Lenovo US) than something with a 15" screen. My primary machine is a 15" and there’s a reason I just bring my iPad to class. Also, depending on the classroom, some of those desks are miniscule and a 15" laptop means you have no room for anything else, and even that will be hanging off the edge.</p>
<p>Do you think the 1.5 GHz Intel Celeron processor will be enough? I honestly never purchased a laptop before, so want to make sure my first purchase is a logical one. </p>
<p>Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>Edit: Now, considering I am going after a ~$400 price range, would the Surface tablet be an bad idea over this laptop?</p>
<p>For basic word processing and connecting to remote servers it would be fine. You’d get a lot more mileage out of an i5, especially if you think you’ll be doing much multitasking, but that would push you up to $600+.</p>
<p>I have somewhat mixed feelings about the Surface. Windows 8 (even the stripped down version on the Surface) is WAY more useful on a tablet than on a desktop, and for the price it’s certainly an option to consider. The SD card slot is super nice to have, and battery life would be better than a laptop. However, they’ve been doing horribly sales-wise so support and updates are likely to be less than forthcoming. Office RT is kind of neat but has some limitations ([Office</a> 2013 RT FAQs - Office.com](<a href=“http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/home-and-student/office-2013-rt-faqs-FX103210361.aspx]Office”>http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/home-and-student/office-2013-rt-faqs-FX103210361.aspx)), and you’d have to buy it anyways (student discount isn’t so bad though).</p>
<p>If tablets are something you’re interested in, the iPad mini is only $330 and you’d get a $50 app store gift card right now. I have an iPad 3 and got a cheapo keyboard off amazon for the rare times I need it, and have a plethora of relatively inexpensive apps that I love. I love my mac ecosystem; YMMV.</p>
<p>There are a few different options, it just really depends on what functions and features are the most important to you.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t let me reply to your pm, and I’m guessing you didn’t get my email. Weird. Anyways, here was my reply:</p>
<p>Dell’s not quite the company it used to be, but that machine looks pretty good for the price. It’s a good compromise between size, power, and price, and in a year or three you could toss in a solid state drive for a speed bump and just keep on using it. The only caveat I can think of would be to make sure you’re getting the full warranty since it’d be coming from a third party vendor.</p>
<p>Of those four I’d probably pick the Dell, mostly because of the weight (if you’re going to be doing a lot of walking those two pounds can be more of a difference than you might expect, then again, I’m pint-sized so you may be fine), but also because the other still have the same screen resolution so even though they’re 2+" larger you wouldn’t actually gain any usable screen real estate. The only thing it doesn’t have is a CD drive which most people really don’t use anymore, but if that’s something you think you’d need, I’d go for the Asus since it’s got everything the Dell has plus a CD drive and discrete graphics card.</p>
<p>One other minor thing to consider, if your backpack doesn’t actually have a slot in it for a laptop, you might want to consider getting a hard case/sleeve of some sort so it doesn’t get crushed in your backpack. Just make sure it’s off completely (off/hibernate is okay, sleep is not) when you put it in there.</p>
<p>So, I guess I would go with the ASUS (primarily for the CD drive). And you are right, both the Dell and ASUS seem to sound identical. Just in a curious perspective, I know i5+ is pretty much considered good enough, How does an A-8 AMD Quad Core processor stack up against, lets say an i3? I do know the A8 series has a better edge for gaming? Just curious, never tried an AMD computer before.</p>
<p>With the AMD processors you usually sacrifice some performance, but for what it sounds like you’ll be doing the difference will likely be negligible.</p>
<p>No problem! I’m happy to help. Getting something that works now will mean less of a chance of me telling you ‘no that won’t work’ later, since I’ll be working at UWIT once school starts. (I’d still help out ;)) Have a fantastic year!</p>