College Computer

[Mike]

Just wondering what kind of computer y'al are bringing to college. I think i'm going to get a laptop, maybe a mac, but probalby a dell.

[ean]

You seem to change your answer a lot. I think it should be a plastic box, which would be a huge jump from card board...It would be somewhat water proof.

[ean]

I remember a couple of summers ago you were going to buy a laptop, but good thing you waited... Whatever you get it should be fine, as long as it isnt that hp (Aka card board box).

[Tom]

personally...i would go for a laptop under $1000. Not too crappy but good enough for word processing and internet surfing and some other basic usages. Then with the laptop, have a good desktop for your main needs. When you get a laptop, i highly recommend Intel Centrino. They are low power suckers so you'll get hours of battery life.

[Sean]

i'd suggest either a low powered laptop (an ebayer or a refurbished) and then a performance desktop or just one really high powered laptop

my reasoning

you want to have one computer that can take a beating, for those high demand programs (excluding games) which you may not use very much now but you may in college (because some of those programs cost 3000+ dollars) an example of this would be a few of the CAD programs. pluss its nice to be able to hold your weight for some gaming in college =). now this high performance comp can be either laptop or desktop just remember that the high performance laptops give off a LOT Of heat and are generally kinda noisy.

additionally you'll want a laptop to take notes, preferably one thats quiet and has a low batery (cries out for centrino) centrino isnt a "high performance" processor, but it does do the job quite well especially with low battery. dont expect to load in seconds with a centrino though.

i am, so far, happy with my shuttle pc for my desktop mainly because for college, space is an issue an d this sucker is small =) (31cm x 20cm x 18.5cm)

the ups to a high perofrmance laptop is that then you just have 1 comp, downside is you jsut have 1 comp

just my 2 cents

[yankee3508]

I bought a sony vaio. AWSOME COMPUTER. it retails for $750.. but I waited untill black friday (Day after thanksgiving) to buy it for $399. It is pretty fast, nice screen, and quiet. Realy, anything somewhat new should work. Try to get some where around an 80GB HD, just so you know you have enough room. And the Intel Centrino is a good proccessor. Nice, fast, and quiet. Try to get a computer with a great battery. It sucks when you are surfing the net, and you 'low battery' light comes on..(ARG!) that's pretty much it. I'd search ebay to find some good deals. I personaly like either sony, toshiba, or I love dell. I wouldn't recomend a compaq cuz.. idk. i've had some problems with them. Go with the little more expensive, but a well upgrade. HAVE FUN IN COLLEGE! lol. (that is what i think of what computer to get.)
~Josh~