Laptop suggestions?

**Infamous** · 01-04-10, 11:18 PM

Dell XPS WOOT WOOT.

**reject_wolf** · 01-04-10, 11:20 PM

17" laptops are a nuisance to use in class. Go with something smaller. A good brand name is Asus, but your best bet is to read reader reviews and find out what the pros and cons of the laptop are. You don't want to be stuck with a laptop that has hard drive failure every 5 months.

Also, a laptop might not be necessary for what you are taking at the community college and will just be a distraction in class. Unless it is suggested by other people in the same program to buy a laptop, don't bother and wait until later on. No need to waste money. My school also has two computer labs I use, one for general use, and another for engineering purposes that is filled with programs used often by the students, making a laptop unnecessary.

**bust331** · 01-04-10, 11:23 PM

Well my counselor recommended that I get a laptop, I suppose it's not desperately needed for community college, but it does make life easier. And it will make it a hell of a lot easier once I'm out of community college and into a 4 year college.

**Potemkine** · 01-05-10, 12:05 AM

I am going to be strait up with you. DO NOT get a 17" laptop. Its heavy, its bulky and for the small ass desks that you sit in...its rediculous. Your best bet honestly is to get like a 14" not quite a net book but not your standard 15.4" stuff. That can get you through to major college and serve as your note taking tool. Try and get a tablet version. Those things are CRAZY effective for note taking its scary. Also, use onenote 2007. ITS SO AWESOME. Once you fully understand how to use it, you'll never go back to word for taking notes.

Once your in actual dorm rooms etc. get a desktop. They are a lot harder to steal and its REALLY hard to misplace it.

**Too Much Damage** · 01-05-10, 12:44 AM

Originally Posted by Infamous

Dell XPS WOOT WOOT.
<lame picture here>

Thats not even a helpful comment. In the OP it says <$1000. You cant get a new XPS laptop for under $1000 base price. Besides he wants it for school and only wants to play Eve or MMOs on the side, not MW2 on near max settings. So come back when you have something of value to add.

When I was in college I really liked having a full sized keyboard. It made my typing and note taking a lot smother. I have larger Viking hands so so fat fingering keys on laptops was a common thing for me. May not be an issue, personal taste.
But as stated earlier, smaller laptops are better in class. And more often then not are more of a distraction than anything.
Something to note about laptop video cards is that they rarely get updates. Basicly the drivers you buy are the ones you are stuck with. And its not like you can upgrade the hardware.

Here are the min system specs for Eve
http://support.eve-online.com/Pages/...le.aspx?id=124

**flame** · 01-05-10, 01:31 AM

I bought the wife an ASUS for christmas... along with a bunch of other crap(spoiled little $%*&#)
It is nice no problems as of yet. I have been a toshiba fan for a while, had mine for 6 years with minimal troubles. Trust me when I say 15" and light weight. I carried mine to school and its 17" and about 10lbs. Most campuses have lots of stairs, it gets old. I used the shit out of mine during college, definately worth having. I read an article(shoulda saved the link) that said asus was tops right now for fewest hardware failures. HP was worst. My thoughts for what they're worth

**Red_Lizard2** · 01-05-10, 03:54 AM

i have a lenovo and it works fairly well, the main recommendation for them (as now its harder to find ones with good spec then when i got mine) are as durable little fuckers. They somewhat of a beating and keep ticking. I've had mine whacked by doors, smashed into the dash of my car, fell out of my lap onto a hardwood floor, and probably other things. The only bad things that happened was the HD got some volume errors, but still ran.

Service wise, they have one in Texas, and as long as you are under warranty it seems you can get about anything replaced for free. The Tech support is also American (as far as i can tell) and easy to deal with.

Downsides are they get hot (flaw back when it was IBM as well) but no ill effects here yet, and they are some heavy fuckers (well and aren't "pretty" if thats an issue).

Also agree lighter is better, carrying around a heavy laptop with books just becomes a pain in the ass after awhile.

**salty99** · 01-05-10, 04:01 AM

Originally Posted by Red_Lizard2

i have a lenovo and it works fairly well, the main recommendation for them (as now its harder to find ones with good spec then when i got mine) are as durable little fuckers. They somewhat of a beating and keep ticking. I've had mine whacked by doors, smashed into the dash of my car, fell out of my lap onto a hardwood floor, and probably other things. The only bad things that happened was the HD got some volume errors, but still ran.

Service wise, they have one in Texas, and as long as you are under warranty it seems you can get about anything replaced for free. The Tech support is also American (as far as i can tell) and easy to deal with.

Downsides are they get hot (flaw back when it was IBM as well) but no ill effects here yet, and they are some heavy fuckers (well and aren't "pretty" if thats an issue).

Also agree lighter is better, carrying around a heavy laptop with books just becomes a pain in the ass after awhile.

ditto. 15" or less is the way to go

**Too Much Damage** · 01-05-10, 04:12 AM

Also one of the fatal flaws of laptop design is the fans on the bottom. It is recamended that you elevate the back of them laptop so the fans can actually cool the computer. Some people go out of there way and buy expensive coolers. I think this is a waste. What I did is I went to the dollar store, and bought some erasers shaped like 1 1/2 inch dice. It may look ghetto but it works just fine. $2 is way better than $40+ that some products cost.

**HeavyG** · 01-05-10, 04:16 AM

Yes, get either 14" or 15.4". Anything else is just too heavy. Also, get the more powerful battery... it is the best upgrade you could ever ask for. Nothing is better than being at the library without a place to plug in watching everyone's laptop die due to low battery life, but your laptop is still at 50%.

I built an 15.4" HP about a year and a half ago, and it is still running strong. I also have a 14" Dell Studio which is nice, but I think I like the build and design of the HP.