# "Ideal" laptop for senior graduation



## hunters (Jun 13, 2005)

After much research is still am not sure which laptop would be best to send my son off to college with. Any other parents out their that have had experiences with this?


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

whats you budget and whats he doing with the laptop - graphics or just word etc.


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## peril0us (Oct 13, 2003)

None. Laptops are unnecessary and a waste of money/distraction.


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## kiwiguy (Aug 17, 2003)

Sacrifice performance for lightness if you need to.

The lighter they are the more expensive, but weight would be the #1 consideration in my view.

Generally lighter (expensive) ones are well specified for such things as wireless etc as well.


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## hunters (Jun 13, 2005)

the college that he is looking at is all wireless. I don't know how much to spend. Because he will have some access to the schools computer lab. But times to access the lab are limited and he will have curfew. (Private University). would a desktop be better? He will be about 12 hours and will probably fly home for all holidays.
I think that light is better. Macintosh or windows?


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

i would say windows - gives lots more choice of applications and software - games etc   

agree laptop would be lighter and portable - esp as they have wireless - also nickable

most laptops have wireless inbuilt these days - you still havent said how much you want to spend


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## itachi_leo (Feb 25, 2006)

peril0us said:


> None. Laptops are unnecessary and a waste of money/distraction.


I couldn't agree more..


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## bosshogg151 (Jan 18, 2004)

You will get far more computer for your money with a desktop, and they are harder for someone to walk away with when your son is busy looking at a cute coed.


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## houston1981 (Mar 6, 2006)

One thing to consider is that with lighter laptops they not only sacrifice performance but also battery life. The question is, will he be using it mostly on the go, or using it as a desktop replacement while occasionally having to take it out with him?

Also a lot of the ultra slim/light laptops have no CD / floppy drive built in and require an external job. As well as the fact that the screens are tiny (to me anyway) and the keyboard is cramped (generally speaking of course).

For what he is looking at i would look at the lightest desktop replacement you can find, not top of the line performance wise but enough grunt to make it worth it. 

I would definetly recommend a Centrino based pentium M if he is going to be using wireless on the go, although i dont have much experience with the AMD equivelent, TURION is it?


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## Tapeuup (Apr 6, 2005)

peril0us said:


> None. Laptops are unnecessary and a waste of money/distraction.


what a joke.


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## linskyjack (Aug 28, 2004)

Just visited my daughter at college. It seems like the vast majority of the kids have laptops---mostly PC's but a liberal sprinkling of Macs. Very few have desktops. The concept is that kids like working in a variety of places on campus and the laptops are good for that. Most have electrical outlets to access so battery life is not an issue. Also, like most campuses, my daughters has wireless access throughout. 

By the way, PerolOUS--how old are you?


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## kevblah (Mar 10, 2006)

I would recommend a somewhat weighty but near top of the line performance. Assuming your son is attending the university for four years, buying a so-so laptop now is very unwise. By next year, the laptop will be outdated and not up to today's standards. As an 18/19 year old, a few extra pounds isn't going to kill them. Besides, they're not going to go out jogging with a laptop. I don't hold weight as a very large factor. For four years, performance will slowly dwindle, so try getting the best deal you can for a laptop. Also, the integrated wireless on laptops usually suck, at most 54mbp. If the campus has the speed at 108, try getting one of those wireless cards.


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

hunters said:


> After much research is still am not sure which laptop would be best to send my son off to college with. Any other parents out their that have had experiences with this?


Look to see what your son is taking in courses and get a recomendation from the college or his advisor.
Some science and engineering courses are going to require more in the way of specs than, say, liberal arts courses.


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2006)

As i am about to go to college myself, I would advise just a few things: first, look at the college, does it have any computer requirements?
I know that the university i will be going to REQUIRES a laptop format computer (specifically a tablet PC - ew), MAC in other depts. If it is a smaller college, it wouldn't hurt to email a department chair and see what they think would be an acceptable setup, then do more than that. What i mean is, and how others have pointed out, a student will be hoping to use this laptop for 4 years, so if it is a midrange laptop today, next year it will be lower range etc. 
As for integrated wireless, I would perceive it to be no worse than regular wireless . Most campus' will not have greater speed than 802.11 g, which is 54 mbps. 
Also, check through your college's website to see if they offer any discounts. I know at my university, they have worked out a deal with some major brands to get something like 10% off if you buy through the college's website. 
Weight should be a factor, yes, but you want this laptop to survive for 4 years , so you may have to add a little weight (as sometimes the lighter notebooks sacrafice performance to be lighter) to get some longevity.
I would expect to spend anywhere from $1500-1800 for a solid notebook. I would recommend at least an 80GB harddrive, CD-R/W drive, integrated wireless, LAN port, 1GB RAM , and an Intel Core Duo processor. Some of these things may be expensive now as they are "new" technology, but remember, in 2,3,4 years, they will NOT be as "new" as they were when you bought them. Hope this helps!
edit: one more thing!!
wait as LONG as you can before your student goes to college to buy the laptop so you can be sure to get the most up-to-date components available! thats at least 2-3 extra months of "oldness" you can eliminate from the laptop


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## keyser.soze (Mar 26, 2006)

As a small (convenient for travel), but powerful (suitable substitute for a desktop) piece of equipment, I have found the Dell 700M to be a terrific piece.

Granted, there are new models available all the time, and I would suggest checking them out, but for the money ... I have been very pleased.

Of course, you could cave in and get a MacBook Pro.


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## Tapeuup (Apr 6, 2005)

Inappropriate image removed.


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## williesbest2 (Jun 13, 2005)

Laptops are cool, but so are desktops. How much are you willing to spend? Most laptops run greater than $1000, which includes some that are under that. Desktops run about I would say $800 up. Depends on how much your spending on what you should get.


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2006)

tapeuup, that was totally uncalled for and offtopic!!:down: :down:


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## Tapeuup (Apr 6, 2005)

shadowman25 said:


> tapeuup, that was totally uncalled for and offtopic!!:down: :down:


 go get a sense of humor I come here everyday and most know mine. push the







icon if you have a problem with it.


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## Cookiegal (Aug 27, 2003)

Tapeuup said:


> Inappropriate image removed.


Tapeuup, you should know better.


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## Tapeuup (Apr 6, 2005)

Inappropriate??? a woman sitting on a man's lap, I would think that would be an "Ideal laptop for senior graduate" but I'm from the old school and your the Boss! Sorry Cookie


Hey shadowboy, see ya in 6 months when you stop by again.


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## redivivus (Mar 30, 2006)

Im actually in university Tapeuup and a laptop is unnecessary. Atleast for me - if you were doing programming or engineering you might need one. I am in sciences and why would i need one? Its just a major distraction to play games, chat with friends, etc. There are computer labs here that i can use to research and i can type up my assignments (couple a year) at home.

As for taking notes on a laptop - whats the point? I dont even take notes in most classes. Its better to listen and understand and read the text and make notes on your own time.


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## Mulderator (Feb 20, 1999)

I don't understand you people who are saying a laptop is unnecessary?  Of course they are unnecessary in the strict sense of the word. Owning a car is unecessary, but it certainly makes life a lot easier. I can't imagine anything more useful to a college student than a laptop. They can be taken anywhere--to study groups, to the cafeteria, to the library, to class--you name it--an invaluable asset. I just went back to my law school last week to serve as a moot court judge and the professors I spoke with said just about every single student now has a laptop. They are going to start requiring them as they can now teach classes interactively using computer aided techniques in the classroom. I suspect colleges will be doing the same eventually.


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## Mulderator (Feb 20, 1999)

In terms of interactive teaching using laptops and the web--check out these links:

http://dbserv.pace.edu/execute/page.cfm?doc_id=18018

http://www.csc.ncsu.edu/news/news_item.php?id=168

http://home.ubalt.edu/ntsbarsh/interactive.htm

Those are just the first three. Any parent buying their kid a desktop may end up having to fork out cash for a laptop anyway, especially if the kid is an engineering or computer science or math major.


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## Tapeuup (Apr 6, 2005)

Mulder said:


> I don't understand you people who are saying a laptop is unnecessary?


they say this only because they don't want to admit that they cannot afford one. I really don't need one but it has to be one of the best purchase's I have ever made. Laptops are very convenient if anything, I have never met anyone that owned one that stated it was a waste of money, you just have to ignore such ignorant's


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## hunters (Jun 13, 2005)

Wow what a lot of great advice. I expected to spend about $2000.00. I will contact the university and see what they offer if anything. This has been very helpful. Keep it coming!!!
By the way tapeup my son got the joke (unfortunately). It did lead to what not to do in college! 
I have 2 desktops and one laptop (IBM Thinkpad). All are usefull!


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

I bought a Toshiba Satellite in Sept. P4 3.4, 512 ram (I upgraded to 1 gig for an extra $60) CD-DVD Writer, 17" screen  for $1175 (plus the extra ram). Got it on EBay from a company that specializes in factory returns. Said to expect minor scratches, etc. on the case, it came in pristine condition, like it had never been turned on. I was quite impressed and am still happy with it. Use it as my desktop replacement


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## Chicon (Jul 29, 2004)

Since I have a laptop, my life is more easier in my company. I do not need anymore to move my 40 pounds desktop when I have to work temporarily in another office.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

40 lb? 

My monitor alone weighs 65 

Gotta love those 21 inch CRT monitors


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## Chicon (Jul 29, 2004)

AcaCandy said:


> 40 lb?
> 
> My monitor alone weighs 65
> 
> Gotta love those 21 inch CRT monitors


I still had an old 17 inch CRT monitor (1024 * 768, the higher resolution I can have) to do some Java stuff using JBuilder ! 
With my laptop (15 inch), I have a higher resolution but I have to put my glasses. I tried to lower it : the texts in my editor are blurry.


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## Tapeuup (Apr 6, 2005)

hunters said:


> By the way tapeup my son got the joke (unfortunately). It did lead to what not to do in college!


I am glad you pointed it out as a joke, thats all it was. Telling kids what not to do will surely lead them to do so.


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## redivivus (Mar 30, 2006)

I guess it depends. If your son is going to take his laptop to "the daily study groups" and use it to do homework in the cafeteria while hes eating then its probably a good thing. I think Mulder though is wrong in assuming that most university students have a strong desire to put 100% of their day into studying.


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## Zeppfan (Apr 20, 2006)

_Laptops are for convenience. I am presently in college and have two computers. One is a E-machines desktop I have upgraded with more RAM and a DVD RW. I purchased the desktop a year ago and used it constantly until I purchased my first laptop. Since my laptop, I rarely go to the computer room in my home for anything,unless I need some data from my desktop. When I have the desire to do some class work, I can open my laptop anywhere in my home. Notice,I said desire. One more thing,, my laptop cost me under $1000. You can check my specs. I think I got a good deal, I have quite a few programs installed on it already with no ill effects. Dreamweaver, Office2003Pro, VisualBasic, even iTunes. I can run nearly any program and listen to iTunes Radio. 
As for your Senior going off to college, take the Pros' advice you have already recieved here in this forum. These techies know their stuff._


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## hunters (Jun 13, 2005)

I will look on e-bay and see what I can find.
Thanks for everything. 
I like your idea AcaCandy about finding a used one.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Look at the Dell and Gateway sites for reburb units. I've had a few friends buy especially from Dell, and they've always been pleased with them.


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

I just got a laptop a couple months ago as a bday gift and its nice. After reading through the other posts and me knowing its specs you may want to look into it. It gets about a 5hr battery life and its not the lightest laptop in the world but its light enough and has a nice 2GHZ processor so its got plenty of power. Also comes with some nice power management software to control how much juice your guzzleing up. Check it out: 
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7335289&type=product&id=1122652836448
Not the most top of the line pc but it should be good enough to get him through 4 years.
Let me know if this is any good.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

new tech guy said:


> I just got a laptop a couple months ago as a bday gift and its nice. After reading through the other posts and me knowing its specs you may want to look into it. It gets about a 5hr battery life and its not the lightest laptop in the world but its light enough and has a nice 2GHZ processor so its got plenty of power. Also comes with some nice power management software to control how much juice your guzzleing up. Check it out:
> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7335289&type=product&id=1122652836448
> Not the most top of the line pc but it should be good enough to get him through 4 years.
> Let me know if this is any good.


Nope, horrible, horrible, horrible. Pack it up immediately and mail it to me. I'll pay postage


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

What's wrong with it? lol.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Just send it to me and I'll let you know  I need to do a hands on inspection


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## new tech guy (Mar 27, 2006)

I posted a link to the pc. And specs are in my pro. There you can check it out. So far only trouble i had was somthing really dumb with the wireless card causing some connection problems. It simply turned out to be a power setting. Turned that off and have not had a problem with the pc scince. I would look into it as I beleive it has a nice balance of power and battery life.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

It sounds like a good laptop choice


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