Which laptop computer is best and why? (for an incoming freshman college student)?
Which laptop computer, including Mac’s and PC’s, is the best laptop computer for me? I will be a first-year college student next year.
Thanks.
Which laptop computer, including Mac’s and PC’s, is the best laptop computer for me? I will be a first-year college student next year.
Thanks.
If you want personalized, reliable and quick advice, you should check out this site:
http://www.procompare.com/top/laptops
They have a recommendation engine that ranks laptops based on reviews from computer consultants and other users. They also have a cool personalization slider that lets you optimize the results based on the criteria that are most important to YOU.
Hope you’ll find this answer useful…
Hi there!
Since you will be going off to college you probably want a laptop that is not too heavy so that you can take it to class easily. Also, many college students watch DVDs on their laptop, so you probably will want one that has some multi-media capabilities. You should take a look at the Dell Studio 15. It has a 15.6" screen but it still light enough to take to class. It also has a fast processor and 4 GB RAM. Another great option is a Sony Vaio NW. It has similar specs, but also has some cool creativity features you might like. You can compare the two and check out other laptops using a tool called PC Scout: http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/pc-scout/laptop-set-criteria.aspx?mode=landing#.
I hope this helps!
Cheers,
Isabella
MSFT Windows Outreach Team
With further details of what you want and what you will be doing, it’s hard to give a single recommendation. So here are general recommendations that will guide you in the right direction of what to look for.
Netbook – These are smaller, more lightweight, and battery lasts longer between charges, and less expensive, They have ~8" to 10" screens, no internal optical (CD/DVD) drive, smaller hard drive, and have low end processing power, which means no high-graphics games. So they are good if you want to carry it around a lot, do only basic application work like word processing, and will be doing mostly internet activity. Some may come with only wireless, some also ethernet port.
Regular laptop – Usually larger and heavier (~12" to 17" screens). They are complete desktop replacements with optical drives, ports, larger hard drives, full internet capilibilities, may or may not have a dedicated graphics card, more powerful processor, etc. There are a lot of variations, some low end laptops with minimal performance too, but high end laptops are powerful gaming machines if that’s important to you. Depending on how well configured a machine you get, it can also be much more expensive.
Tablets – I’ll also throw this in as an option. There are 2 form factors: slates with only a screen, and convertible tablets which come with a keyboard. Mac option is only a slate (no keyboard). So slates aren’t really practical for a sole machine. Convertible tables come with a physical keyboard and it has a single hinge that you can open, spin around and fold flat against the keyboard so you can use the screen like a tablet and to hand notetaking.
Macs vs. PCs – That’s really your personal preference. Don’t get caught up in the crazy PC-Mac debates. If you’re used to one OS, you will have frustrations learning a new OS. Get whichever system you’re used to working in.
If you’re completely new to computers, Macs will be easier to learn and use.
If you like tweaking and customizing things, Windows is a lot more flexible to do that.
That should be enough info to get you started at least looking at the right category of laptop you want.
I would have to agree with the other guy, Get a netbook , They are small light weight and can fit discreetly in your bag or backpack, will do all your word processing tools, some have built in mics so you can record your lectures. Also most have easy wifi/bluetooth connection abilities so u can browse freely around the campus.
The downside is smaller screen, and not so good graphics so u can’t waste your time playing games. but you can still buy external hd and dvd readers if needed.
Only get a laptop if you can safely leave it in your dorm without the risk of it getting nicked as the cost of insurance is always high for students.
If you can afford than go for a MAC book
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26x%3D0%26ref_%3Dnb%5Fsb%5Fss%5Fi%5F1%5F3%26y%3D0%26field-keywords%3Dmacbook%2520pro%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Delectronics%26sprefix%3Dmac&tag=bestdeals-y-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957
For cheaper price you might consider ASUS N61JV-X2 16-Inch laptop
Intel Core i5-430M Processor 2.26 GHz with Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.53GHz
4GB of DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM, 2 slots, 8GB Max
500GB Hard Drive (7200 RPM); Super Multi Optical Disk Drive; Wi-Fi 802.11 bgn
16-Inch HD LED LCD Display; 2.0MP Webcam; HDMI Port; NVidia GT325M Graphics Engine with 1GB DDR3 Dedicated VRAM
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00352LQYO?ie=UTF8&tag=bestdeals-y-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00352LQYO
I just finished my first semester with my dell netbook. its really handy being do small and lightweight
plus it has alot of space for movies and games n music
only thing i dont like is the screen size being so small
definetly worth the 400bucks i spent on the netbook
hopefuly this helps a lil..lol
the mac book. macs are the best. end of story. they last TWICE as long, dont get even CLOSE to as many viruses as PCs do, are way more reliable, dont have NEAR as many problems, and man i could just sit here typing for 20 minuets on how their better. i even did do that a few times. here it is. http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook?mco=MTM3NDcyODY the battery will last like 3 times as long as any pc battery. and you get a student discount or whatever it was called for using it for school. its like 100 bucks off that one and if you get a better mac then it could be 150 or 200. but i recommenced gettin this one. read about it. this is the way to go. macs are way better then pcs. AND if you have like a lot of games or something for a pc you could put windows on there to run them. so you’ll have the mac OS and windows. you could just buy XP off ebay or something for not that much at all. BUY THIS