Please help me pick a laptop for College Student

[pattilohr]

I'm planning to purchase a laptop for my daughter for college. I don't know what's best or how to compare "such & such or better" that her schools website recommends. I also don't know if a mac or windows laptop is better ... I want to spend $1000-ish +/- ... Here are the minimum requirements for her school:

Recommended Macintosh Laptop

Models: MacBook or MacBook Pro
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 or higher
Processor: 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo 2 or higher
Memory: 2 GB memory (RAM) or higher
Optional: 4 GB memory (RAM) for virtualized Operating Systems (i.e. Windows)
Hard Drive: 120 GB hard drive
Optical Drive: SuperDrive 8x
Built-in Ethernet for on campus connections.
Wireless G/N (802.11 G/N) for on campus wireless access
13” screen or larger

Recommended Windows Laptop

Processor: AMD Turion Dual Core or Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.2 GHz or higher
Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
Memory: 3 GB RAM
Hard Drive: 160 GB SATA Hard Drive
Optical Drive: 16x max. DVD +/-R/RW
Built in Ethernet for on campus connections.
Wireless G or N (802.11 G/N) for on campus wireless access
15.4” Screen or larger

Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you!

 

[WR2]

Hello pattilohr;

Any of the Mac options is going to push your budget right to the limit. The are nice machines though, just over-priced.

It's interesting the recommended Windows laptop starts out with a 15" or larger screen when the Mac starts at 13". What's up with that?

Here is a good deal on a Dell XPS 14" Corei i5-480M CPU laptop for $700
It's a nice performance upgrade on the recommended spec's, is a nice 14" size. Has upgraded speakers, a nice aluminum style case and a fast 500GB hard drive. And room left in the budget for a laptop case and a security lock with a good amount left over.
Dell XPS 14 Review

An even better deal on the 15.6" model. Dell XPS 15 15.6-inch Laptop Core i5 "Sandy Bridge" CPU $644
Blows the doors off the performance of the recommended specs. Has all the nice XPS touches mentioned above. Costs less for better performance.

 

[pattilohr]

Thanks so much for the responses! I've never asked a question on any forum so didn't even know if I'd get a reply....yay!

I also wondered about the different sized screens...part of why I knew I was in over my head! She is going to Humboldt State University so the info is from their website &, I would assume, probably the general recommendations for all California State Universities.

I should also have mentioned that I'm sure she will want to download lots of music & photo's....

I'll check out the recommendations right away, thanks so much!!!

 

[pattilohr]

I'm concerned about the Dell XPS 15 being to big/heavy (even though it's what's strangely recommended). I can't find where Dell tells the weight but it seems rather large.

The XPS 14 is no longer available. It seems I would be safe to configure another Dell w/the same specs but sometimes the processor & other hardware are a different name, etc. I'm going to check the links that you recommended though WR2....

Cloudy2010 - That Lenova looked nice but the $500 coupon code wouldn't work which brought the beast to almost $1500 w/Microsoft Office Home & Student (she needs Powerpoint) Thanks though!

 

[WR2]

Dell XPS 15 basic weight is 5.9lbs. The 14" Dell Inspiron 14R is 5.24 lbs and the 13" Macbook is 4.7lbs.

I should be able to find a 13" windows laptop for comparison too.

 

[WR2]

13.3" Lenovo IdeaPad Z370 Core i3 CPU @ $549 looks promising. 4.41 lbs.
When do you plan to make your order?

 

[burnley14]

From personal experience, I would definitely suggest you go with a 14" or smaller laptop. Having just completed my college classes and lugging around a 15.4" beast, I can tell you with certainty that you don't notice the loss of a couple inches of screen real estate nearly as much as you appreciate the lighter laptop and better battery life.

 

[pattilohr]

WR2 - I'm hoping to purchase in time to receive by June 17th. After reading brunley14's first hand experience about size, I'm inclined to look for a 14" or smaller. The Lenova you mentioned might be good. Looks like the size of a Mac but cheaper.....but do you know if it's comparable? I can't tell! Also, is the core i5 worth paying more for vs. the core i3? Thanks so much for your help!

burnley14 - Great advice, thank you! Also, what battery size would you suggest from your experience?

 

[pattilohr]

Dell is having a gift card sale: $50 free for every $300 gift card bought. Might like to buy there to get an extra $100+ "discount", so to speak...

WR2, I see that you own several Dell machines....you're happy with Dell products then I would guess?

 

[burnley14]

It's hard to give a specific battery "size" because there is so much variation between models. But in general to get a larger capacity, higher cell count is preferable. Be aware that sometimes this will change the form factor of the laptop (i.e. make a bulge out of the back/bottom) that makes it less streamlined and thicker and more difficult to put in a bag or backpack. So it's a tradeoff.

 

[Gamer-girl]

Is she really a fashion conscious type? if so a mac will be more suitable, I know i have a sister that cares more about the styling and looks of the laptop rather than speed. If she likes the apple brand then all the more reason to get a mac

Is she going to carry it around to classes alot?
Then weight really matters, especially if she will be using a shoulder bag (like an over-sized handbag) or something that only goes on one shoulder.

My sister also has the white mac book and she either makes me carry it in my backpack or leaves it in the car unless we go to the library. She says it's too heavy i carry around a hp 2710p elitebook which is pretty light but then again i carry my laptop and my sister's and can hardly feel it.

Does she need any other programs other than power point?

might want to look at a macbook air if she doesn't need a cd/dvd drive.

 

[pattilohr]

Thanks for more insight Gamer-girl! She is fashion conscious and would love a Mac but more-so would rather have something else that is comparable or upgraded for considerably less $$ if she was given the choice I think. She's very practical for a teenager! She will be carrying the machine around all of the time and I think she may need the cd/dvd drive but I'm not positive.

I guess my confusion is mostly in how to know what processors meet the minimum requirement (stated in the original post above) or are better? ...And is AMD as good or better than Intel? Or is that just a personal brand preference?

Everything else seems fairly obvious, ie.usually the same or larger number/gb (or whatever) is obviously right on or better....right?

 

[WR2]

Have you got a feeling on what major or career path your daughter will choose? That might help the Mac vs PC choice.
My working theory is it's better to get a stylish laptop bag and accessories than pay extra for a stylish laptop.

Everything mentioned so far exceeds the recommended laptop spec by a fair margin.
Here is a ranked list of laptop CPUs (and some desktop CPUs for comparison):
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html

The AMD Turion II / Intel Core 2 Duo of the 'recommended' spec starts about #150-160 in that list.
The Lenovo Ideapad Z370 Core i3-2310M falls around #64. The Core i3-380M of the Dell Inspiron 14R is ranked #53. 13" $900 Macbook has it's Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz CPU ranked #93. At least I think it's around #93 - Apple doesn't exactly say which CPU is actually installed.

 

[bnot]

Patti, regarding CPUs in my opinion Intel has been the safer choice than AMD in laptop sectors for some time now. AMD Fusion might change the picture *** bit, but the amds, while being cheaper, produce more heat and that usually means more noise. I'd definitely go with i3 or i5 if the price difference isn't much, but frankly, if the performance requirements are music, maybe movies and standard office tools, then i3 is more than plenty.

For your budget you won't get same performance with macbooks, but pretty much everyone i know who are casual users say they wouldn't change back after trying *** macbook, it's worth consider. Only thing you have to check that the corresponding software for Office use (word, excel) are equally useful.

Sizewise, absolutely 13 to 14, not bigger. Dell XPS is bulgy looking imo and heavier too than many other ones. Samsung has some decent looking models., if you go for pc instead of mac.

--
bnot

 

[pattilohr]

Wow, you're all so helpful! It seems as soon as I make a decision, then new info, etc. appears! Can't someone just tell me what to buy?? Haha!

WR2 - She has not declared a major yet. General Ed to start with. Does the deal at the link below sound good? Seems like tons more than is required for a pretty good deal (should last her a few years...) What do you think about HP overall?

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11642973&whse=bc&Ne=5000135+4000000&eCat=bc|84|56670&N=4047229%204294899839&Mo=6&pos=1&No=1&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC5-Cat84&topnav=

 

[Gamer-girl]

HP depends, their lower end laptops have always had quite a high percentage of returns compare to other brands.
While their high end (business models) tend to be more reliable. Most people buy the low end so a lot of complaints, but then again most people buying that range would be newer users/casual users and it could just be user error.

I would suggest getting a Asus for reliability, something like this;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220951

It also comes with a 1 year ASUS Accidental Damage Warranty - Drops, Fire, Spill, Surge
That might come in handy, last time i checked it can only be used once.

Plus the 2 year warranty which includes the 1 year accidental it's not 1+2=3 years

Another reliable brand is Toshiba, Sony Vaios are pretty good but they tend to be on the higher end.

 

[WR2]

That CostCo HP dm4x package with the included MS Office Home & Student included looks like a great value.
I'm less sure that $25 shipping & handling charge is anything more than a surcharge to the price. $825 plus any tax.

For comparison you can get a student deal on MS Office 2010 Professional for $80 which is a nice upgrade over the Home & Office version.

And you can get a dm4x from HP for $700 and free shipping. Choose the Umber color to get the lowest price.
I make that out to be ~$780 plus any tax for a better software package.
The CostCo option isn't configured identically - 8GB vs 6GB RAM, 750GB vs 640GB HDD for example. But I'd give up the differences for the savings anytime.

Check and see if the laptop is covered by your personal property insurance. If not you might want to consider student personal property coverage (more than just the laptop) from http://www.nssi.com/nssi/coverage

 

[WR2]

I couldn't find any reviews of the just recently released i5-2410M Sandy Bridge CPU equipped dm4x.
But this review for the previous dm4 version should be a very close match especially about the basic case and parts beside the CPU and graphics card.
HP Pavilion dm4 review

Another look with some better pictures: HP Pavilion dm4 review

 

[pattilohr]

I can't tell you all how much this has helped! I think I'm almost there with a decision.

I really like some of the ASUS laptops because they all come w/the 1 year accident insurance (I KNOW my daughter will eat/drink while working on her laptop) and they have some great deals.

BUT, I'm going to go into my local Costco and check out the HP mentioned above & to see what's available in store (sans shipping cost). I just noticed that on the website they are also selling an HP 2 year accident insurance w/LoJack for $89.99....sounds like a deal.

I also found a Toshiba Satellite for $550 w/Intel I3 330M (I think), 4 GB & 500 GB Memory (did I say that right?) but no accident ins. & I'd have to buy the word processing program (same w/ASUS's though) so it may not be a better deal at all.

Thanks so much for all of the help, it has been invaluable! I'll post what I end up buying (if anyone is interested)!

 

[pattilohr]

I did check my homeowners insurance and they cover for theft or damage caused by fire or flood or something of that nature but I'm pretty sure my deductible is $1000 so it wouldn't help anyway....makes the accident insurance pretty important I think...or has anyone heard/experienced that it's a crock?

 

[WR2]

The $90 ADP/LoJack option from Costco (through HP) is a relative bargain. It's $170 on the HP website. As far as I can tell in a quick look at the details the LoJack option offers to help you locate a stolen laptop BUT does not include any payment or replacement in the event it's not found.
With the 2nd year warranty extension and the included MS Office suite the Costco dm4x is looking pretty good.

If you went with the NSSI ADP/Theft insurance you'd pay $110 for 2 years with a $100 deductible. But you'd get true theft insurance in this case.
It's tempting to want to add the insurance for the more expensive laptops. But I'm guessing most students skip the ADP type insurance.

Did you have a link for that $550 Toshiba laptop? i3-330M/4GB/500GB is the right way to mention the basic specifications but I'm thinking it might be an older model since it's listing the 330M and not one of higher models of i3 CPU like the i3 380M.

 

[bbzoe]

Check out http://www.microsoft.com/student/en/us/office/default.aspx for office. It might be cheaper to buy there instead of having it added on.

 

[pattilohr]

Great idea, thanks!

 

[pattilohr]

My mistake, it is the 380M, not the 330M (boy that all gets so confusing!). Still haven't bought a machine yet. Better this week though for Graduation on the 17th

 

[burnley14]

I just picked up a Vostro 3350 from Dell and absolutely love it. You can get it with an 8-cell battery that provides a battery life of 7-8 hours while doing work (Wi-Fi on, typing, browsing, etc.). It also comes with the Core i5 2410m, which has been more than enough power for me. There are some other features such as backlit keyboard, fingerprint reader, etc. that your daughter will probably appreciate, and the laptop can be had for about $700 (less if you choose a smaller battery and i3 processor). The rest of the money in your budget can buy Office and an extended warranty, if you'd like.

Link: http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/vostro-3350/fs?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~ck=mn