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Location: SoCal | In the next couple of months, I've got a daughter heading off to college. We need to get her a laptop. Can't afford an Apple (minimum $2k) for something decent.
I'm thinking 2-3 gigs of ram, about 300 gigs for hard drive, built in video camera for staying in touch with her mother, wi fi, 15-17" moniter, decent battery life, etc.
Any suggestions? I'd like to keep the cost down to about $800. |
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Posts: 398
Location: So. Cal. | 13" macbook is under $1K, with education discount $50 off $999.... |
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Posts: 1119
Location: Michigan | Get an inexpensive one. Kids (even college ones) are tough on laptops and technology races past a durable computers life anyway. I would try costco or walmart.
My daughter is a grad student and always wanted an apple until she had to work on one and could not believe how slow it was compared to her old dell laptop. She, by the way spilled a glass of water into her laptop and fried the HD freshman year.
Battery life seems to be a crapshoot depending on who is making the batteries for that particular brand in any particular week. OEM dell batteries have been crap for me, while the cheap ebay ones work fine. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | 13" Macbook. It's pretty much the standard issue for college students these days. |
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Posts: 1486
Location: Cincinnati | Originally posted by playadamas:
13" macbook is under $1K, with education discount $50 off $999.... +1 My daughter and several of her friends have one. |
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Posts: 3969
| If all she's using it for is Internet access and standard school apps like word processing, then you can't beat one of the new netbooks. I bought my wife an Acer 150 (the one with an 80G HD rather than 16G solid state drive) & installed Open Office on it (does everything MS Office does - including file compatibility - only free). The screen size (10") is a bit on the small side for my old eyes, but a single charge lasts about 6 hours and it's light as a feather. Built-in wi-fi, mic and web-cam (great for Skype). You couldn't do DAW, video editing, or full-motion 3D CGI on it, but that's not what she'll be needing. Total price incl. shipping was $319. |
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Posts: 639
Location: NW of Philadelphia | You can get an 14" ASUS laptop for around $800.
Mine is a ASUS X83VM-X2 I got it when Toshiba died last year. Its a really nice laptop for the money.
Windows Vista Home Premium (free upgrade to 7)
Dual 2.1Ghz CPU or higher
14" screen
Nvidia Graphics card w/1G RAM (very good)
DVD burner w/Lightscribe
4G RAM
350 G HD
802.11N/G wifi
2-2.5 hrs on battery (can be longer if I set it that way) |
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Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | We're going to go shop. That's a small moniter... |
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Posts: 1889
Location: Central Massachusetts | Paul, the nice thing about the small screen is it's lightweight and easy to carry around to classrooms, library, etc. Get too big of a screen and it becomes a burden to carry around. You're better off getting a smaller screen laptop and then if she really needs more real estate (for graphics work, for example), get an lcd monitor for her dorm room.
Just something to think about without jumping into the Mac/PC fray.
Oh, and you can always add the lcd monitor later, for xmas or something. you can get very nice ones for under 200 these days |
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Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | One other thing she's looking for is a laptop with a numeric 10 key. She's going to be a math major and thinks it might be important.... |
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Posts: 1889
Location: Central Massachusetts | pretty sure that won't happen. she'll need a usb/bluetooth keyboard to do that. happy shopping! |
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Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Both mine got macs. The first because that's what the graphic designers used. The second because she liked the little Macbook. I thought the screen was too small, but she likes the little thing and is going on her 5th year. I quit trying to get them what I thought they needed and just went with what they wanted.
On the other side, I have a nice Roland keyboard that she had to have. It's cool, but she decided she didn't want it and I don't know how to work it. |
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Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Yeah, it's a PC... I just got new Toshiba L305-S5968 for $400, but it was off of evilBay.
They are alittle more at Office Depot, but you get a rebate, and you can get a printer for free with it by using another rebate.
Mine is 3GB and 320GB Hard Drive, 15.4" widescreen, wifi, webcam and that stuff, DVD+/-RW but no LightScribe, crappy teeny speakers but it takes headphones. Mine doesn't have a number keypad, but I think the the regular typewriter keypad is bigger. All in all it is a good computer but it is Vista.
Sorta like this one.... Only mine's pretty silver with a bigger HD.
If you buy a laptop with Vista now, I think that you will get a free upgrade to Windows7 (But who knows if that is gonna be any good).
You can look around this website, but if you go to a physical Office Depot they always have Sales and Rebates and Bundles and Such.
I was just in there and they had a 17" 3GB 250HD for $379 with numeric keyboard and in-store price cut thingie.
(That was enough to annoy me, but never go price compare after you've bought something!)
But you can get a good laptop for much less than $800 if you shop around.
Happy Hunting! :cool: |
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Posts: 5575
Location: big island | there are many options with 10-key pads out there. my wife needed one also. several dell vostro models have them. we saw a few from hp in office max and walmart with the 10-key pad features. |
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Location: Cincinnati | Paul,
I have USB numeric keyboard that is designed to be used with laptops without the numeric 10 key. You're welcome to it. It's a Targus PAUK10. |
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Posts: 3969
| Most widescreen laptops regardless of OS flavor (BTW Macs are also "personal computers" or PCs) have a separate numeric keypad. But then you're getting into desktop replacements that hit the 7-9lb territory. Pretty big and heavy to lug around in a backpack all the time. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | And congratulations. Getting the kid ready to go off to college is a little scary, but lots of fun. I really enjoyed the "parent orientations" that the colleges put on for us. I don't think they offered those for my parents. Still didn't justify the cost of the college, but it gave me some warm fuzzies knowing that the schools were trying to give the kids a good education. I think my wife really liked the "back to school sales", but on a much grander scale. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Students know better what they need than we do. Give her a budget and have her pick it out herself. She'll be happier because she's invested in the choice. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | reason # 9,874 of why to not have kids. |
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Posts: 1889
Location: Central Massachusetts | Originally posted by lanaki:
there are many options with 10-key pads out there. my wife needed one also. several dell vostro models have them. we saw a few from hp in office max and walmart with the 10-key pad features. I stand corrected, many laptops do have separate numeric keypads, which seem to be commonly referred to as 10-key's these days. I had been thinking of the old-fashioned 10-key layout used for accounting/adding machines -- hopefully long forgotten. |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | reason # 9,874 of why to not have kids.
Did that for over 49 years...now I have two great kids: I wouldn't trade them for anything on earth... |
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Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Originally posted by Mr. Ovation:
reason # 9,874 of why to not have kids. Glad my folks didn't read your list! BTW, they probably could have added to it after my youth... |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | As I said above, I really enjoyed that part of the kids' lives. In fact I might have enjoyed shopping for colleges for them more than I did for me. They were much more mature about it. Graduations were the highlights of my life, even though I didn't even go to my own. Kids are the best. Glad my wife tricked me into it. |
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Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | I just bought myself a Toshiba that has an AMD Turion X2 Ultra 2.1 ghz Dual-Core 64-bit processor, 4 gig of RAM, 320gb HD, DVD super multi-drive, and all the other bells and whistles, including hi-def audio card and decent video card, built-in webcam, etc. $598. |
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Posts: 4071
Location: Utah | Be sure to consider the warranty cost. Many cheap PC's come with a very short warranty, like 90 days. You want at least a year, preferably 2. It may be worth investing in some kind of theft protection, either a lojack, a physical lock, or insurance.
We found that the Mac was a bit more expensive up front, but when you consider the warranty and the software that was preloaded, it was competitive.
Your daughter probably doesn't need a very powerful machine at all. |
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Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Originally posted by FlySig:
Be sure to consider the warranty cost. Many cheap PC's come with a very short warranty, like 90 days. You want at least a year, preferably 2. Mine came with a year, plus the Norton free trial stuff, even though I got it offa da Bay.
I really just wanted to comment on how a $500 computer is considered a "Cheap PC" :p |
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Posts: 2985
Location: Sydney, Australia | Don't get something with a big screen because big screen = big weight. As a student she'll be carrying it around all the time (along with a load of books) and every pound counts.
I have 13" macbook and ideally would like something lighter, getting lighter than that means missing out on other stuff.
You can buy an external monitor to leave on her desk - it's really easy to use two screens and have different windows on the different screens (e.g. a pdf of an article along with Word). |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | My Mom was asking about those 10" $299 computers she had seen advertised. (I recommended No)
You can get real small with no DVD driver and a teeny HD. Basically a big cell phone.
The real question is will this be her only computer?
If she has a full computer at her residence, she can use a small computer and swap files around.
(That way both computers can share the same viruses)
But if she is only gonna have One Computer, you will want something with similar features as a desktop.
She should also spend $100 or less on an external hard drive to put back-ups onto...
I have an HP Pocket Media Drive (320GB $79). It is designed to slide into my desktop, but it will also connect to my laptop with a USB cable.
That is how I just transferred about 8GB of music, and a coupla movies. |
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Location: Portland, OR | Paul: I don't know jack about computers but if she is going to need one in class, the school should have some recommendations and maybe some plans. UO law school did when my #3 was considering that. And then they have ports at the desks. My kids have all gone though and toward the end I was amazed at how much teaching and learning is done in the emails with profs. It's the Socratic method at its best. And the kids can't hide in the class like I did. They're the better for it. |
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Location: So. Cal. | ...math majors don't use numeric keypads (10-key), accounting/booking people do! |
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Posts: 3145
Location: Marlton, NJ | Originally posted by Old Man Arthur:
She should also spend $100 or less on an external hard drive to put back-ups onto... I've been seeing ads for 1 TERAbyte hard drives for $79... simply astounding. I still have card decks and printouts from college. |
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Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | Originally posted by playadamas:
...math majors don't use numeric keypads (10-key), accounting/booking people do! Just telling you what she said.... |
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October 2008
Posts: 639
Location: NW of Philadelphia | Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
One other thing she's looking for is a laptop with a numeric 10 key. She's going to be a math major and thinks it might be important.... You can get that as a USB peripheral. Those are fairly inexpensive. |
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Posts: 1486
Location: Cincinnati | Originally posted by Auriemma:
Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
One other thing she's looking for is a laptop with a numeric 10 key. She's going to be a math major and thinks it might be important.... You can get that as a USB peripheral. Those are fairly inexpensive. |
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Posts: 194
Location: Las Vegas, NV | Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
Originally posted by playadamas:
...math majors don't use numeric keypads (10-key), accounting/booking people do! Just telling you what she said....
Oh, and not only is a larger screen heavier, they are huge power-sucks, requiring larger power supplies, which generate more heat,... |
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Posts: 416
Location: On the Coast - Halfway between SF & OR | Moody,
You won't find a small, affordable laptop with a 10 key. I agree with your daughter about wanting one and the suggestions for a usb pad is a great solution. I use one for everyday work and find it much easier than using the laptop's number keys or the keyboard's number's lock function. No, I'm not an accountant but doing any calculations at all on the laptop keyboard I find to be slow and cumbersome.
I understand your not wanting to go with a Mac, but if your daughter decides SHE wants one, I suggest going with the basic MacBook Pro instead of the MacBook. The case is more durable, the screen is better, it has a SB card slot, the battery life is better due to the different screen, and the resale value after a few years is great. She would probably be able to upgrade to a new Mac in 4 years by selling this years model for 1/2 the cost of a new one. Just check out what old 12" G4 Mac laptops (2 generations old) sell for today. Yes, the Pro's are $200 or so more than the MacBooks.
My favorite source of Mac equipment is www.PowerMax.com in Oregon - free shipping and no sales tax. |
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Posts: 4071
Location: Utah | Don't forget that there are excellent student discounts available. The school's bookstore will have a computer section with all kinds of discount stuff, but you can probably get the same discount online or at the manufacturer's store. |
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Posts: 1498
Location: San Bernardino, California | I'd get her a "graphing calculator" as well. When you get to calculus, they're a gotta have.
Especially if the teacher designs tests based on the assumption that you have one. |
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OT: Laptops