Best laptop for school at a good price. ?

Question

Im looking for a small laptop for college. Does anyone know if the mac air laptop any good? I heard its not compitable with alot of programs at school, is this true? Are there any problems wirh these computers? Thanx for the help

Answer 1

The entry level macs are great, a little much, but good. The macbook pro doesnt have anything youll use, all its has is a better graphics card, which is pretty useless on a mac unless you are dual booting with windows.

They do have problems like any other computer, the typical things, but mac is pretty good about replacing them. The only thing is that they can be infuriating to figure out, since they arent set up like a windows pc. It takes some effort to get used to.

If I was you, I would get a laptop from Lenovo, for several reasons. Number one, they have ridiculously long battery lives, half of them last over 5 hours. Not a single mac lasts longer than 3 hours.

Some of their models like the X200 have battery lives of over 9 hours.

Their best model is the T400 and T500, which have 5-7 hour battery lives, have extremely good hardware, such as a ATI 3670 graphics card cmbines with a WXGA+ monitor, a 2.1ghz or faster core 2 duo cpu, and all available for under $1100. There are simply no other combinations of better power, price, and battery life.

I will be buying a T400 to replace my current laptop.

Answer 2

I just came across a site that sends you a laptop for free! I'm ordering mine right now, it's a Sony VAIO and it looks really hot!  

Answer 3

The Macbook Air is a piece of c**p. The hard drive is way too small and it (the Macbook Air, not the hard drive) breaks very easily. Go with a regular Macbook, the black one if you can afford it. It's true that the operating system that Macs use (it's callled OS X) is not compatible with a lot of applications, but that problem can be easily remedied by using Bootcamp, which lets you install windows on your Mac so that you can use both operating systems.

In my opinion, Macs are pretty great computers. A good thing about them is that they aren't as susceptible to viruses as windows computers are. There are barley any (if any at all) viruses out there than can affect Macs. However, that doesn't mean that the windows part of your computer (when you install windows, your hard drive is parted) can't get viruses, so if you install windows on your mac, get a good anti-virus.

If you decide to get the Macbook now, that would be great because you can get a student discount on it (I believe it's about $200) as well as a free ipod (it's free after a mail in rebate)

Hope I helped! =)

Answer 4

Alrighty then, lol.

If you’re buying a laptop, there are a few things to consider.

1.     The processor. Most, if not every decent laptop in today's market has dual-core technology. This means that it has two processors working as one to compute information. Now, what's the difference between speeds? In all reality, for a common user (that is not a hard-core computer geek like some of us), the difference between 1.8GHz and 2.0GHz is negligible. The only areas you will be able to notice will be in gaming, and video encoding.

2.     The memory. If the OS (Operating System) is a "32-bit" then it can only read approximately 3 GB of RAM. Only the "64-bit" processors can understand 4+ GB of RAM. RAM is what the computer uses to store temporary information, like open programs (internet, word processing, music players, etc...). A general rule of thumb is that the more RAM, the faster the computer will load programs/files to a point (as with everything). An industry standard nowadays is around 3 GB. The faster the "clock speed" of the ram (the higher the PC xxxx), the higher quality the RAM.

3.     Hard Drive space is what you store the more permanent information on - word files, music, videos, programs, etc....If you have an extensive music library (5000+ songs (legal songs)), then you should be looking at a computer with at least 250GB (1 GB = 1 Billion Bytes). If you don't really need all that space, then a laptop with 160+ GB of Hard Drive space would suffice.

4.     Graphics Processor!!! If you will not be watching many DVD's or playing any games, then you can settle for an integrated video processor such as the INTEL X3100. If you want the security of being able to play the occasional 3D game, then I would recommend a dedicated graphics card with dedicated memory (256MB or 512MB). You can check whether or not the card is integrated by going to "http://www.notebookcheck.net"

5.     Most laptops now feature DVD/CD Burners. Some offer a built in feature known as "Lableflash or Lightscribe." This will allow you to "etch" images on special CD/DVD's. It makes the finished CD/DVD look more professional.

6.     Price Comparison. Expect to spend $550+ for a decent laptop nowadays. You can sometimes (or during really good sales) find ones cheaper around $450.

       The first laptop I would recommend is the Toshiba M305D-S4829 from Circuit City this week. I just purchased it last Wednesday, and am typing on it right now. It has a ton of power, like seriously. I was playing BF2142 last night with no problems. It costs $699, but It'll be running strong for a few years before anything begins to become too demanding for it. The sound quality on this laptop is phenomenal. It has Harman/Kardon speakers that are Bose quality. It has 4GB of RAM, an ATI Radeon 3100 processor, which is nearly equal to most mid-range dedicated graphics processors. It support 802.11b/g/n networks. It has a standard webcam (not to mention facial recognition software for extra secured log-ons) and all the other features you need lol. The style on this laptop is phenomenal.

       If that is slightly out of your price range though, I would say go to Best Buy and pick up the HP DV5-1002NR. It costs $679, but it is nearly as good as the above laptop with only a few exceptions (it is actually better in some areas as well, lol). The touchpad on it has a glossy feel which is fine for cooler weather, but if its humid out or your fingers are the least bit sweaty, it becomes quite difficult to move the pointer. It has a slightly better video processor - the ATI Radeon 3200 (the main difference is that it has a HDMI output). It has a slightly larger screen at 15.4" WS. Its half a pound heavier, which isn't really a big deal to me at all. It also runs the 32-bit OS of Vista which will only support 3 GB of RAM, which is fine for nearly everything. I hope this helps you in your quest!

       The next two are right about tied for abilities if the above prices are a bit out of your budget. I would recommend testing each one, and then deciding which one you prefer better.

       The first one is the Toshiba L305D-S5868 from BestBuy this week at $549. It features the ATI Radeon 3100 which is capable of handling many 3D games, and in fact - it is the same video processor as the laptop that I am using. It features a built-in webcam, as well as standard DVD/CD re-write ability. It has a 250GB hard drive running at 5400RPM. One feature that it could improve upon is its stock RAM. From the store, it only comes with 2GB. This can be easily upgraded to 3GB from any computer retailer (including www.newegg.com). It also comes with a user-friendly touchpad as well as a nice blue form factor. Although it doesn’t necessarily have all of the extra-goodies, this laptop is perfect for the common pc user, and comes at a great price!

       The second one is the Toshiba L305D-S5881 from Circuit City. This laptop is nearly identical to the last l