Question:
Advice of what laptop to buy for college student
1) What is your budget?
900 - 1200
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
d. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen
3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in.
4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
I’ve been looking at the Dell Inspiron 1521 v the Toshiba Satellite A200
5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Word Processing, very casual gaming and internet
6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
I will be bringing it to college and back on a daily basis.
7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Warcraft 3, Quake 4
8) How many hours of battery life do you need?
I’d like to have +/- 3 (for word processing at least).
9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
If there’s enough information and visuals
10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
I’ll try out Vista.. if I don’t like it I’ll switch to XP ?
Screen Specifics
11) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
I’m not sure. Either is fine?
12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Matte from what I hear
Build Quality and Design
14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Moderately important
15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
Probably 3-4 years
Notebook Components
16) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 200GB?
At least 100
17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
DVD-RW
---
These are the specs for the A-200 I'm looking at. ($1,099)
* Intel® Core2™ Duo Processor T5300 (1.73GHz, 533MHz FSB, L1 Cache 32KB/32KB, L2 Cache 2MB)
* Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
* Memory: 2GB DDR2
* Expansion Modules: 512MB, 1024MB or 2048 DDR2
* 200.0 billion bytes hard disk, 12.5mm height, S-ATA, 4200rpm.
* Built-in DVD Super-Multi Double Layer Drive functions:
* Read: CD-ROM (24x), DVD-ROM (8x),
* Write: CD-R (24x). CD-RW (4x), DVD-R (8x), DVD-R DL (4x), DVD-RW (6x), DVD+R (8x), DVD+R DL (4x) DVD+RW (8x), DVD-RAM (5x)
* Type: TFT Active Matrix colour LCD display
* Size (diagonal): 15.4” Wide XGA TFT with TruBrite™
* Native LCD Panel Resolution: 1280x800x16.7 million colours
* External Support and Max. Colour Support (dependant On CRT): Up to 2,048 x 1536 x 16.7 million colours
* Mobile Intel® 945GM Express Chipset with up to 256MB
* Realtek ALC861 Software Sound 16-bit stereo; Intel High
* Definition Audio, Built-in stereo speakers, Direct 3D Sound,
* DirectSound, DirectMusic, MIDI(playback).
* V.92 56K Data/Fax Modem
* 10/100 integrated Ethernet LAN,
* Intel® Wireless LAN (802.11a/g)
* Integrated 1.3 Megapixel Web Camera for Video over IP
* Integrated microphone for Voice over IP
* 2 memory slots - each slot has 1GB. Zero free slots. Slots can be filled with 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2 GB modules
* 1 Express Card Slot
* Ports: 5-in-1 Bridge Media Adaptor (SD Card, xD picture card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Multi Media Card), 4 USB 2.0, RJ11, RJ45, IEEE1394, external microphone port, headphone port, RGB, S-Video Out
* CANADIAN BILINGUAL KEYBOARD
* Full sized 87 keys with 12 function keys
* Dedicated Windows Keys.
* CD/DVD Control Function: Play/Pause, Stop, Previous track/Next track
* Dimensions: (WxDxH) 362 x 267.8 x 33.5/39.3 mm
* Weight: 2.72kg (6lbs)
* Color: Onyx Blue Metallic
* Battery Type: Removable, Rechargeable 9-cell
* Lithium Ion (Li-ion) 10.8V x 6000mAh capacity
* Dimensions: (WxHxD) 206 x 21 x 53 mm
* Recharge Time: Up to 4 hours off / 12 hours on
----
And this is the Dell Inspiron 1521 I've been looking at. ($1,059)
PROCESSOR AMD Turion™ 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-56 (1.8GHz/1MB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium Edition
SYSTEM COLOUR Jet Black Color with Matte Finish
LCD DISPLAY 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife™
INTEGRATED WEBCAM Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
MEMORY 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 Dimm
HARD DRIVE 120G 5400RPM SATA HDD
GRAPHICS CARD ATI RADEON® Xpress1270 HyperMemory™
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
WIRELESS CARD Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini-Card
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 15-months
HARDWARE SERVICES 1 Year Return to Depot Service and Technical Support
ONLINE DATA STORAGE DataSafe Online Backup 3GB (included with price)
BATTERY OPTIONS 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
SOUND OPTIONS Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™HD Software Edition
---
suggestions or advice on these laptops or if i should choose others would be greatly appreciated. thanks.
Answer:
Re: Advice of what laptop to buy for college student
I would recommend only going up to a 15.4 inch screen. For college use if you will be bringing it to the library, and carrying it around, 17 and above will be to much.
also assuming that budget is in canadian dollars?
I do not know which laptop is for you, but for your price range, and seeing you want to play games, im sure people will be recommending DELL, or HP.