Help Clavens buy a computer for college!

david · Post by **david** » 23 May 2006 17:34

Now I know the best student is one with a sharp wit in mental math and a love of chemistry and all that, but even brillance needs some technology to fall back on. When I go to Penn State this fall, I'll need a computer to do all of my basic reports/research on. Plus, I'll use it for all my basic computing needs that are non-school related (recipe searching, updating my postage stamp blog, checking 13 year old's myspaces). Just joking about the recipe thing.

Anyway, I know everyone on here lives on their computer, so who better to ask about computers?! My dad is like, a computer guy for a living, but he knows more about coding and stuff, not really about brands and such. My sister bought a Dell laptop for about 2 grand 2 years ago and it's a really good machine. Everytime there's a problem she calls up and some guy helps her. It holds all her shit, and it's super fast whenever I've been on it. But 2000 is a bit wack.

So the extent of my research so far is thus. I think I'm pretty decided on a laptop so that when I go home I can just fold it up and take it, and not have to worry about this huge big desktop. I know that you can get a shitload more for your money with a desktop, but something about having a laptop is just so sick. Like, I'd bring it to footbag tournaments and edit on the spot or something. I dont know.

As far as needs go this is basically it:
- Reliable company that won't wack out when I need support
- Big HD for vids
- Fast for multiple programs/system resource intensive things like editing (i think this is RAM?)
- A nice screen for shit like movies and such
- Preferably not some big ass thing
- Around 1500-1750

I guess this is pretty unspecific, but if anyone can even just tell me basic shit I should look for that would be great. I read Consumer Reports and it said HP laptops are the best (or at least, rated so far this year). It rated Dell 3 (what my sister has). But I'm not sure how much trust I put in that. Any input is awesome. Even just basic shit like, how much RAM i should get. And I REALLY dont want my system to be obsolete in like, 3 years. And i know that some of you guys might be all like "get linux or mac", but I don't think for me that's really the best option. Bill Gates being my uncle and everything.

Thanks,

David Clavens

HG · Post by HG » 23 May 2006 18:04

Just wait til i come to Penn State, I will help you find the newest prospects on MySpace!

Just wait a few years baby!

brinard · Post by **brinard** » 23 May 2006 18:16

if you buy a 1750 laptop from apple, you get a 30 gig ipod, and you should just buy an external hard drive.

apple has the market now. they are the big wigs.

the only thing i dont like is their logo... kinda weak...

but theyre small, affordable (and super open to student discounts!)

and they have all that tech support crap too.

i got a compaq last year, for like 400 buckaroos. laptop. its doing fine, and is pretty fast.. but can be slow too...

i find i dont really tote it everywhere like iwanted, but when ive needed to , its worth it.

basically, id say go with an ibook.

professor · Post by **professor** » 23 May 2006 19:55

If you want it mainly for video editing, then getting a mac is best. Macs are known for working wonderfully with video.

If you want a more all around computer, I would get a pc. They work with more software and are more common.

With $1,750 you can get a very good laptop. Check out newegg.com, they usually have pretty good deals.

I don't know much about hp's, but if you are deciding between a Dell and a Gateway, go with the Dell. I've had MANY bad experiences with Gateway and Dell's customer support is pretty good.

Really, just spend at least a month researching. With computers you need to be sure you know what you're getting.

JoFa · Post by **JoFa** » 23 May 2006 21:32

I have a Dell PC desktop and a Mac Powerbook G4. After we got the PowerBook, I've never touched the PC again.

Get a mac. You'll be glad you did.

SlashC · Post by **SlashC** » 23 May 2006 21:51

Laptops are really weak for video editing. Mainly because they come with really bad video cards and it's a pain to upgrade them. Apple laptops are a bit better, but software availabilty and cost can be a bit of a hassle.

I also find laptops to be awkward for notetaking in *most* university classes. Especially, any math or science class. Some arts courses are OK, but even then 99% of the time it is easier to just pen or pencil the shit down. This paragraph is possibly irrelevant.

Before you discount desktops altogether, check out how I roll:

My buddy added some extra blue LEDs and now it glows like that raspberry lemonade kool-aid. Unfortunately you'de have to find someone to build the system for you, which almost always results in the best bang for your buck. Just takes a little elbow grease.

If I had to recommend a specific brand of laptop..... I'de probably reco TOSHIBA. I have a 20 year old toshiba t3100e40 laptop that has like wizard powers or something. I don't think it'll ever run out of steam.

I'm not a big fan oF HP. My mom has a an HP laptop and I've had no end of problems with it. The motherboard is pretty much on vacation. It overheats and crashes if left on for more than 10 minutes. One of the USB ports is shot. The battery is always dead (it was supposed to be memory free). It won't even play harry potter.

DELL is alright. It's the safe choice. It's like shredding a line with only BOPS. The prices are fairly cheap, but then again so are the stuff they throw into their machines (no name mass produced mumbo). I've heard there service is pretty solid, but then again that's where they make all their money (I think you only get one year free unless you upgrade your service package).

You should definately find out if your campus has any WIFI hotspots. Like locations where you can use wireless internet (most new laptops have support for this). It's the phattness. You can just sit down on a couch in some common area, dial in, check modified (booooooring)... or download episodes of sex in the city, and then pretend to watch while thinking about your favorite sandwich. Probably a reuben. Chances are a lady will sit down beside you. The ladies love sex in the city. Maybe she'll make you that sandwich.

sampotter · Post by **sampotter** » 23 May 2006 22:43

Nice laptop, Rory!!

mosher · Post by **mosher** » 24 May 2006 06:29

I know it's not 'in' to say this but I REALLY REALLY recommend against anything apple.

I have never EVER experienced one that runs smoothly, it is the most frustrating shit ever. They are impossible to use smoothly and you can't run ANY programs or games on it.

Bleh! Apple! *barf!*

sampotter · Post by **sampotter** » 24 May 2006 07:13

Hooray for complete exaggerations.

jon · Post by **jon** » 24 May 2006 08:00

DUDE!

Since you said you don't want a Mac I won't recommend one

My experiences with dell has been mixed. I personally do not they they are as great as ever seems to think they are and the support they offer is average at best.

My family has three dell laptops (all the same model) and honestly they are terrible pieces of crap. However as I play with computers all day long I have seen a few good dell laptops around my campus. Really, in general I think they make much better desktops. If support is important for you then go with a big name pc company but if not I would get a local pc shop to build you a computer.

As for better companies for laptops I would look towards IBM and ***intosh. IBM's are probably more expensive then what you are looking for but they are honestly better.

With that said I would also not buy anything new with brand new technology. In fact I wouldnt even buy a computer at this point personally. If you need a computer for school and cant get an old desktop then go out and get an older model and save your cash. The most important thing for a laptop user at university in my experience is battery life. All the new computers are so fast anyways you don't need bleeding edge technology. If you don't play computer games you dont need a fancy expensive video card. Get something with a nice screen, a cd or dvd writer, at least 512 of ram, and good battery life and dont worry about anything else. They pretty much all have built in wirless cards and decent cpus.

Personally I would try and make due with an older desktop for a year. In early 2007 Microsoft will launch windows Vista and almost no laptops on the market will run it properly at this point. You will need realistically: a 512 meg video card and 1 gig of system memory. If you wait till January 07 then you can get a laptop that designed to run vista from one of the pc pc makers like dell or save a lot of cash when they sell off all their older now vista complient models.

Buying a new computer is a bitch.

---------------------------------------------
Post your question in here:
http://www.hardforum.com/forumdisplay.p ... 09ec7&f=40

You will get much more informed and probably better suggestions.

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 24 May 2006 10:07

Hey I'd like to think I know something here, after all I work for AMD.

JON- IBM doesn't make PC's or laptops anymore! Only servers! The PCs and laptops business was sold to LENOVO, a Chinese company.

DAVID- Glad to see you've nailed down your price range, that will be key

For college I went to Penn, not exactly the same thing as Penn State but hey who outside of PA knows the difference right?

I had a desktop and it sounds like for what you want to do, that may be the best bet.

Better video capability

Can't as easily be lost, stolen or damaged

Way more computing power and features for your money

And of course the cheapest way to get a PC is to build it yourself. There's a book called "Dude You Can Do It, How to build a totally SWEET PC"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/032133 ... e&n=283155

I highly recommend this book, it's great. If you still want to go the pre-built route, my advice is look around for the best price on the features you've decided on. OEMs I would recommend are Acer, HP, Gateway, NEC or Fujitsu.

david wrote:Reliable company that won't wack out when I need support

HP and Gateway have service support in the US, which beats the hell out of most companies that have outsourced tech support to overseas. Also keep in mind that most Universities have onsite free computer help where basically you open up a trouble ticket and someone comes to your dorm to help you fix your computer, so this may be a moot point. I had this job at Penn. Check into what PSU offers for IT support, they probably have a similar program.

david wrote:Big HD for vids

Disk space is cheap now so get whatever your little BSOS Nemisis heart desires. 200GB? Knock yourself out.

david wrote:Fast for multiple programs/system resource intensive things like editing (i think this is RAM?)

RAM and CPU. I highly recommend an AMD Dual-core processor. AMD's dual core chips outperform Intel's. Dual-core is the latest technology, it's basically two microchips in one which gives great multitasking capability. Also, AMD's are 64-bit capable which means you won't have to upgrade your chip when the next version of windows comes out.

1 GB or RAM with the capability to upgrade to 2 if needed should suffice.

david wrote:A nice screen for shit like movies and such

I recommend Sharp for the most bang for your buck on a good flatscreen. Sony's are nice but you will pay a big premium for the Sony brand.

If you want to do gaming or serious video editing you may consider getting a beefy video card as well. However, that's one realm I don't know enough to give you advice on what to get.

david wrote:Preferably not some big ass thing

Since AMD CPUs give off less heat than Intel ones, the cooling system is smaller and therefore the box is smaller. An AMD CPU will help bring the size down.

Good luck! You've got all summer to find or build the perfect PC for yourself. Have fun!

Bander87 · Post by **Bander87** » 24 May 2006 12:44

Laptops are loaded now, with dvd players and everything. As someone said, newegg has some good stuff for a cheap price. They are also friendly (helped sponsor my lan party).

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 24 May 2006 13:25

SlashC wrote:You should definately find out if your campus has any WIFI hotspots. Like locations where you can use wireless internet (most new laptops have support for this). It's the phattness. You can just sit down on a couch in some common area, dial in, check modified (booooooring)... or download episodes of sex in the city, and then pretend to watch while thinking about your favorite sandwich. Probably a reuben. Chances are a lady will sit down beside you. The ladies love sex in the city. Maybe she'll make you that sandwich.

lol. Sorry, off-topic.

hacksterbator · Post by **hacksterbator** » 24 May 2006 14:25

mosher wrote:I have never EVER experienced one that runs smoothly, it is the most frustrating shit ever. They are impossible to use smoothly and you can't run ANY programs or games on it.

apple just announced that you can now also run windows, why you would want to is beyond me. you can partition your hd into and apple and windows sections and run the various programs off windows or osx. gives you the best of both worlds, you can use the apple video and music editing softwear and run word and warcrack at the same time with out having to switch back and forth between systems (i believe).

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 24 May 2006 15:24

Yeah operating system is pretty much a software decision these days, you can run them on almost any hardware. If you wanted you could partition your hard drive into 3 chunks and run windows, mac os and linux if you were that much of a nerd

Hakker · Post by **Hakker** » 24 May 2006 15:28

You said you dont want a mac, but I think it really is the best system

check out their fly new laptop here

http://www.apple.com/macbook/macbook.html

Now it even comes in black!