<p>Note on that above MBP link, make sure you use the educational store.</p>
<p>I have a IBM Lenovo Thinkpad R61. It’s awesome!</p>
<p>we going on PC specs now? </p>
<p>Antec P180B
Core 2 Duo E6600 OC to 3.2Ghz
4GB DDR2-800
2x 250GB RAID-0
ATi Radeon HD4870 512MB
Seasonic S12-500 PSU
Scythe Infinity HSU
MSI 975X MB</p>
<p>I have a Lenovo Thinkpad T61, toooo! I like it a lot.
But, Thinkpad’s aren’t really popular at UCLA… I see a lot of Dells and Macbooks (North Campus is filled with Macbooks).</p>
<p>wow loopster you have a razer mouse, mousepad, and keyboard haha.</p>
<p>i was actually considering the windtunnel. instead ended up getting the antec 1200</p>
<p>I bought my 15" Macbook Pro last year and It was worth every penny. Its light, fast, reliable… everything I could ask for in a laptop.</p>
<p>I posted this link in another topic but for my fellow mac users, check out [Circus</a> Ponies NoteBook - Award-Winning Mac Application - Organization for a Creative Mind](<a href=“http://www.circusponies.com/]Circus”>http://www.circusponies.com/)
It was by far the most useful app i have found and its like $20. Its a ridiculously amazing note taking program…check out the videos for yourself.</p>
<p>Alright thanks for the great suggestions.</p>
<p>First off I know macs are great in performance and speed but I find that I wont have to time to learn and adjust to using a mac osx processor because I was a pc user all my life. Also, the price is pretty up there. Also I heard that some softwares that professors recommend we have are not mac compatible, is this true?</p>
<p>HP I had the dv4000 for about 5 years now but I am having lots of problems with it-overheating, slow speed, etc.</p>
<p>I am considering the HP g60T with a 2.53GHz Intel duo 2 core processor and 250 gb hard drive. costs around 809 bucks with tax</p>
<p>I am also considering a sony vaio because of its sleek design and its efficient processing speed. And if I do choose a vaio which do you recommend?</p>
<p>Also another I would like to throw out there is the alienware laptop. (the one that costs 1009 bucks) Does anyone know how well this one works?</p>
<p>One last one: ( most important)
so would it be cheaper to buy laptops online or at a store like best buy or Frys electronics?</p>
<p>Don’t waste your time with Alienware, that’s enthusiast territory and is basically a premium priced dell nowadays. FIne if you have extra cash on hand, but not effective by any means. You should consider weight and battery life + customer support as key items to be concerned about. If you look out for online deals, they’re usually pretty good. Fry’s > Best Buy. just make sure you can make returns if needed and pay with a credit card to double your warranty.</p>
<p>I have a MacBook Pro now, but I used an HP zt3000 for ~4.5 years before that (since senior year of high school). It was mostly reliable, except the LCD backlight died within a year (really quick turnaround from HP mail in service), and the ethernet port crapped out over a year ago. Still runs today (brother is using it for now).</p>
<p>I’m sure both HP and Dell make pretty reliable machines for the most part, but since they are heavily mass produced consumer products, you are bound to hear horror stories of failures.</p>
<p>As for Vaios, I was considering the Vaio FW before I bought my MBP. I don’t know if that’s too big for you or not, but I think that’s their nicest looking model.</p>
<p>Online deals are typically better than in store.</p>
<p>I’ve heard a lot of bad things about Sony. But they look nice.</p>
<p>You can’t go wrong with a thinkpad.</p>
<p>i’m planning on getting a Thinkpad X200 or X301.</p>
<p>[Thinkpad</a> X series](<a href=“http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087¤t-category-id=135A781CA29B4ECB9ADAD8E72CF6FD61]Thinkpad”>http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087¤t-category-id=135A781CA29B4ECB9ADAD8E72CF6FD61)</p>
<p>^Good job. Those are soooo nice. My friend got one cause her Dell XPS 13 inch (the bad line) died and then I was extremely jealous. Sighs.</p>
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<p>It does not take much time to adjust to OSX. It is not a completely different system. And just about all Mac users used Windows for all of their life until they switched.</p>
<p>Price should only be an issue if you want to spend much less than $1000. Speaking of which, you haven’t said anything about price.</p>
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<p>If you really want Sony, any will do, assuming you don’t do anything taxing. The only differences are price and portability (weight and footprint).</p>
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<p>Don’t bother with Alienware. They’re all just overglorified Dells.</p>
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<p>generally, it’s cheaper to buy online, but if you buy at a store, it’s easier to do returns and repairs.</p>
<p>Make sure to try out whatever computer you’re looking at, or at least a similar model, before buying online. All manufacturers have their design idiosyncracies, which you may or may not like. For example, I don’t like Toshiba’s keyboard layout, HP’s touchpads, or IBM/Lenovo’s keyboard and plastics.</p>
<p>I have an older 2008 Macbook Pro. If I were to go back to Windows, I’m not sure what I’d buy…probably Asus, Dell Latitude, or a Thinkpad (even though I dislike the construction). From my experiences working on computers, I don’t like HP, Toshiba, Sony, anything Dell besides the Latitude, cheaper Acers, and certain Asus models.</p>
<p>I have a Thinkpad T61. It is pretty durable and has taken some abuse (spilled water, dropped, etc…). It is also easy to take part. The only bad thing about it is the heat.</p>
<p>Keep in mind the battery power and weight if you’re going to be bringing it around campus.</p>