Best Laptop for College Student?

[sarallyn]

I'm going to be entering college this fall, and I need a reasonably priced laptop. I'll be majoring in photography, so a laptop that supports large amounts of photos and programs such as Photoshop CS3 is a must. I'm really trying to keep it under $2,000, and I probably want to stick with a PC. Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[ArizonaSun]

HP has some nice laptops out. IBMs are nice too, but cost more than HPs

 

[D40]

Well, I just got the Dell 1525 for under $500..has 3 Gig of RAM and runs fine...I actually removed Vista and put XP (not easy) on it and now it is really a good running laptop...battery life is not the best though.

 

[ekool34]

I know you want to stick with a PC, but I would suggest getting a used MacBook Pro or a new MacBook. You can dual boot it and have the best of both worlds -- and when your using MacOS, the internet is a better experience.. No worry about viruses, spyware, adware, etc.. (at least, not yet)

Can't go wrong IMHO.

 

[ArizonaSun]

I htink Macs are over priced for what you get, they have less ram, and still ahve the same CPUs and graphics as other computers.

It would be more cost effective to by a pc and dual boot it into Linux.

 

[ekool34]

I htink Macs are over priced for what you get, they have less ram, and still ahve the same CPUs and graphics as other computers.

It would be more cost effective to by a pc and dual boot it into Linux.

You are really paying for the OS and the fact that you know the OS will work with the hardware 100% all the time. I think Linux has a much steeper curve then MacOS and there is a lot of software that wont run on it. Mac's obviously don't have the same software support as PC's, but it's 1000 times better then Linux.

 

[F1addict]

well she did say she wanted to stick with a pc...although a refurbished macbook can be a really good deal, then daul boot windows and it will do anything you want. Probably what I'll do when I find a need for a laptop

but as far as pc's go look at HP. Stay away from Dell, their cheap...and by cheap I mean unreliable and horrible. Had several Dell's and know a lot of people with Dell's, not a single one of them is or was a good computer.
Get as much ram as possible, a good daul core processor, and a good video card(about 256mb and up is generally considered good). stay away from integrated video cards and you should be fine.

 

[Andrew Sun]

HP laptops are great, they are reliable (which is the first and most important thing). I would also recommend a Macbook, Macbook Pro or Air as well as they are such industry standards in media work today that you really can't go wrong with it.

If you go with a PC Windows laptop, be sure to stick on to your Windows XP system, or you might also need to upgrade by downgrading - if you know what I mean =)

 

[ekool34]

My friend just got a bunch of Lenovo laptops in. I'm really liking the build quality and layout... they look like great laptops but I don't have any usage experience. They were priced reasonable though and I have read good reviews about Lenovo quality.

 

[itznfb]

well... i just went through a few laptops, a couple HPs a couple IBMs and a couple Dells. some for work some for play. the HP laptops were the best but they had the worst LCDs. kinda strange since they make some of the best desktop monitors. the lenovos i used were OK, the screens were a little better. i had one of them for 2 years and it started falling apart after 1. thats why my company switched to HP. everyones lenovo started falling apart after about a year.

my Dells have been the best. always top quality screens and if you go with a XPS or Studio they are top quality build. inspirons are still nice but not top of the line build quality. my GF has had a 1525 inspiron for about 1.5 years now, not 1 sign on wear. same with my M1330 XPS. i just got my Studio 1737 about two months ago but the thing is amazing for photography. blazing fast especially with RAID0 =]
hope my mindless rambling helped.

 

[ekool34]

I've owned a few different brands of laptops in the past and my Apples have by far been the best. I've never had a problem with one and I've owned 4. I still own 2 of them, the other 2 I've since sold but they are still running for my friends. I still have a 12" powerbook that's rocking strong!

 

[sarallyn]

I think I'll probably go with an HP... for now that looks like my best choice. I've still got a couple of weeks before I decide.

And yeah, I do think I'm going to stay away from Dells.

Macs are pretty much out of the question... I'm not too worried about viruses or spyware.

 

[manaheim]

Lenovo's tend to be well built with good portability features.

Most Dells are cheap, not the most rugged things in the world, but strong enough and work reasonably.

Macs are lovely, of course, but expensive to some degree and there are not quite as many software options available for them just because they don't have the same market segment hold PCs do.

Oh and AMIGAZ RULZ... just because I know that's where this conversation is headed eventually and I'd like to get the jump on it.

 

[mrodgers]

I stay away from Dell simply because I get a discount (we supply packaging at work.) With the discount, I've priced them at about 10% MORE than you can get straight from the website!

Some discount....

 

[Mike_E]

Lenovo bought IBM's laptop division a couple of years ago so if you want an IBM you're getting a Lenovo. Still a top line laptop. HP seems to be the most bang for the buck in mainstream laptops.

I would suggest that you download a copy of ubuntu (it's free) and dual boot with an XP load (very easy to do- just follow directions). I would go all the way with Ubuntu except that Photoshop CS3 Really doesn't like it. You can get practically anything else you want work in Ubuntu So if you back up your important papers to Unbutu from XP and vice-versa (open office works in XP unless you have a catastrophic hardware failure you will be good to go.