I'm nearing the end of high school, and am going away for college, so I figure it's best to leave my bulky desktop home and buy a nice laptop I can carry to class, library, or outside if it's nice weather. I've never bought a laptop before, so I'm not quite sure what to look for in terms of brands or non-desktop specs. Here are two laptops I looked at that look nice:

Sony VAIO VGN-FZ240E/B
HP Pavilion dv6375us

I want to keep the price conservative, so I'd rather not go far over $1000.

My main uses will probably be internet browsing (wifi and ethernet are a must), writing/coding, and DVD/video watching (so a nice screen, but not too big, because the laptop should still be portable). However, there's a chance I might do other things with it, like video editing, gaming, etc. so high ram and cpu (and decent video) are good. Also, video output is good, in case I ever need to do presentations for a class, and want to show a powerpoint over a projector.

I'll let you know if I remember anything I've forgotten. Please, let me know what you think of the two laptops I posted above, and if you have any suggestions. Thanks! smile.gif

Update: Just had another thought. Anyone who is in college now with a laptop, what you do you use it for? Do you take it to class to take notes on, or do you just use it for reports and such? Do your professors have a preference either way? Also, does anyone have a tablet pc (laptop with a touch screen)? It might be useful for math classes where I find it easier to solve equations and such by hand, but I'm not sure how convenient it really is, or if it's worth the extra price. Also, I suspect that tablet pcs with swivel screens are less durable than traditional laptops.

Tablet PCs are indeed less durable, but I'd never be able to use a conventional laptop, having had two tablet PCs for my two laptops ever. The first was a Toshiba m205, a 12.1", 3lb laptop that I found perfect to carry around if a bit underpowered. My current machine is a Gateway cx2620, a beast of a tablet weighing in at about 7lb with the extended battery. I've been very happy with it, save for a few minor issues with excessive heat while playing 3D-intensive games. I take it just about everywhere with me, including taking notes in class. Unlike most colleges, very few students use laptops in class, so having a tablet helps me to be unobtrusive about taking notes on a computer in class. As I said, I find paper and pencil totally insufficient for notetaking now, and I also use my tablet for sketching and drawing, as some of you know. I'd recommend a tablet if you don't mind sacrificing some features for the tablet functionality, but if what matters most to you is power and you don't really see yourself handwriting notes or sketching, I'd go with a conventional 14" or 15" laptop.

I agree, first off, would you prefer to type of write your notes. If you want to write, get a tablet, if not, I would get a laptop in the 13 or 15.4 inch screen range. I bought a 17" laptop, and when I have the space for it, great thing to have with the high resolution (1920*1200) and the numpad on the right side of the keyboard, but it is bulky, heavy, and just a pain to deal with at times.

If you have a desktop that you plan to run a lot of things on, then I would even consider a small or mini laptop, as they will work for most of your note taking and stuff, and then you sync up with your desktop to store notes and when you need more horsepower.

I take all my notes on my computer, some don't care one way of the other, some like the fact that some of us use them, some are not a big fan, but I have never had a professor say to me not to use my laptop (though there were a couple of my high school teachers who were that way with my old laptop).

I would probably recommend any machine with the latest Centrino Duo chipset in it. You will get a Core 2 Duo, and 802.11 a/g/pre-n card, and Ethernet built right in. If you want a machine to watch videos on, I would make sure there is at least some Nvidia or ATI graphics card in it. Video viewing shouldn't matter too much, but if you do want gaming, then look for a better card (they can be found).

For an operating system, do not get Vista Home Basic. You will most likely be getting Vista, get Home Premium or Ultimate. I have Ultimate, and enjoy using it much better than XP is everything I do. If you get Ultimate, your graphics card should go up a bit (as you will want to run Dreamscene if you get Ultimate). Also, make sure that Service Pack 1 is already installed on whatever version you get. (I don't want to start a Vista/XP/Linux/Mac war here though)

The laptop I own is a Gateway NX860XL. There are a number of different versions of it, and I custom ordered mine also with all the high end hardware also (you can't get it configures like I have it anymore). I like the machine a lot when I have room to use it. Btw, if you spend a lot of money on this, spend money on getting LoJack for your machine (peace of mind is worth it), and consider the warranty. I have sent mine in already for warranty work, and mine machine is not a year old.

I hope this helps you out and not confuses you deeper. If you have other questions, I will be happy to answer them.
(btw, I think this is my longest post on Cemetech)

Sorry, but dreamscene is retarded. I could do that shit on Linux years ago - it was stupid then, and its still stupid. Aero is cool, but thats on Home Premium. Ultimate is a waste unless you want some of the Business level features (such as remote desktop or the hdd encryption - both have free alternatives, so it isn't worth the price hike). Likewise, it doesn't matter AT ALL if SP1 is pre-installed or not - its free to download, its pushed to windows update, so who gives a flying fuck if its pre-installed?

@OP: Get a basic 15.4 in laptop UNLESS you will be flying often - then get something smaller (15.4s need more room than is available in coach - it'll work, but it'll be uncomfortable.)

Tablets are kind of cool, but I would hate to have one as a primary system - they just have too small of a screen and are too slow for my tastes.

This system is hot in the specs, but its price makes me a bit unsure ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115458 ) Seeing as other notebooks in the same power category are ~$500 more makes me question its quality, but its from an OK brand, so...

But really, just go down this list until you find a nice balance of price/performance that suits your taste: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2030260032+103980226+1039323203

Don't worry about how much RAM it has, more is extremely easily added and quite cheap to add yourself.

I actually have two laptops and my gaming desktop with me. One of the laptops is given by the school, so I take that to all my classes and use it extensively. The other is an Asus I got as a HS graduation present from my parents. It is an Asus F3SV-B1 that I absolutely love. The singular complaint that I have about it is its meager battery life of about 2 hours (which I knew about before I bought it - so it didn't come as a surprise at all). An extended battery is available, but I don't really care - I have it plugged in 99% of the time anyway. It is incredibly in every other way, though, so definitely check out Asus notebooks.

How about the Lenovo Y510?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=y510&x=0&y=0
It's got solid reviews at NewEgg and other sites (just google Y510) and a nice feature set, for under $1000.

Sure, just know that you won't be gaming on it unless you get the Y510 with the 8600M GS ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146444&Tpk=y510 )

I'm on a Lenovo Z61p right now. Its OK, but I'm not a fan of Lenovo notebooks. I don't like the keyboard, and the mix of having both the nub mouse and trackpad means you are stuck with a stupidly small trackpad that is unuseable - although the Y510 shouldn't have that problem, and I've had several problems with it (although that is likely due to the school's crappy XP image that has old drivers, ugh)

Yeah, if I get a Y510, I might get that one. However, I'm not a big gamer, and usually my games are low-requirement stuff (point-and-click adventures, or old games). Also, my current desktop has a Pentium D 3 GHz. I understand that Core 2 Duo is better than Pentium D, so it's ok that the clock speeds look lower, but how do they correspond? Like, is a 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo good, or should I get a 1.8 or 2.0 GHz one? It's all so confusing...

I understand that a small trackpad would be annoying, but this is an IdeaPad, not a ThinkPad (the new IdeaPad line is more for home and entertainment use, while the ThinkPads are more for corporate use) so it has no mouse nub, and apparently the trackpad is large, smooth, and very responsive.

The MicroCenter near me should have some Y510s in stock, so I plan on going there to try it out in person. I'll pay attention to how comfortable the mouse and keyboard are.

The 1.6ghz-2.0ghz C2Ds are all very fast. Since you aren't gaming, I can't think of all that much else that would need high CPU requirements. I have no idea what it will equate to a Pentium D - but I would estimate about 2x-3x faster clock for clock, depending.

I personally love fast computers, so I would go with a 2.0ghz or faster one myself...

Ok, so it sounds like I'll probably get a Lenovo IdeaPad Y510. I'll still go into MicroCenter to see it in real life (and hopefully try out it's facial recognition software!) and let you guys know how it is. Thanks for the advice!

Did you go see it yet? What did you think of it?

Actually, I decided to get a T61, because the Y510 had a too glossy screen. I ordered it customized online, and it shipped in four days, with an expected shipping time of two days (from China! Awesome!) So I should be getting it tomorrow, and I'll let you guys know how it is.

Ah, I've heard good things about the T61, hopefully it's good for you.