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College:laptop vs. desktop

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gotthelove
Posts: 70 - Karma: 10
is a laptop rediculously more conveniant than a desktop or is it not worth the extra $$$. Ill be making videos and shat so im gonna need space, and the desktop has more of it.
Jun 27 2008 8:11PM
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comeatmebro
Posts: 10720 - Karma: 66
get a laptop with an external hd. problem solved.
Jun 27 2008 8:12PM
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KarmaInitiative
Posts: 2028 - Karma: 174
ya, laptop with a hd & external dvd drive
Jun 27 2008 8:16PM
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brenker
Posts: 3188 - Karma: 71
^BINGO. i gotta 250 gig hard drive for like 100 bucks, such a good deal. so much music + movies can fit i nthere, and you can pick n choose what u wanna take on the go with u (in classes).
Jun 27 2008 8:17PM
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Malcolm
Posts: 15951 - Karma: 9,451
.
Jun 27 2008 8:18PM
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finssidedown
Posts: 509 - Karma: 10
It's nice to be able to take you computer to class and group study sessions.  If you go home often then it's nice to take that computer home so you can access all your school stuff.  I vote laptop.
Jun 27 2008 8:21PM
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ATLskier
Posts: 8203 - Karma: 406
yup. a laptop is great for taking notes in class/going on ns or facebook in class. portablility is key.
Jun 27 2008 8:22PM
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philipc
Posts: 6651 - Karma: 1,286
word i think ive been persuaded, ill drop the extra 200 on the laptop
Jun 27 2008 8:38PM
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finssidedown
Posts: 509 - Karma: 10
Yeah but he said he'll be doing video and imaging or something so I bet it's going to be a lot more than $200
Jun 27 2008 8:40PM
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Ender
Posts: 2348 - Karma: 112
its definitely worth it
 i edit video too i have a macbook pro and a 750gig external
Jun 27 2008 8:44PM
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Powdered_Donuts
Posts: 2180 - Karma: 187
you can get a good desktop replacement, i.e. a laptop thats beefed the fuck up.
i built a good inspiron e1705 with specs better than the xps desktops at the time, make sure you get a wuxga panel (widescreen, highdef, high res), big hard drive and lots of mem, core 2 duo at least
you'll be fine
Jun 27 2008 10:58PM
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Ryno
Posts: 31125 - Karma: 336
If you're going to go the laptop route make sure it has a good fucking video card built into it because you can't upgrade them afterwards and if the one you have sucks it brings down the whole package (huuuuge bottleneck).
Jun 27 2008 11:08PM
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2+2=5
Posts: 3676 - Karma: 18
yeah thats what im thinking for my university setup. buying a laptop and keeping my monitor and when im at home just plugging it into my monitor. such a good idea
Jun 27 2008 11:16PM
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Powdered_Donuts
Posts: 2180 - Karma: 187
you can upgrade, cost you about 300+ easy depending on the card you upgrade to. if you get a dell or something you'll have all those options so really no worries. if your not bad with computers its not hard to replace/upgrade it yourself, did my inspirons in about 25 mins.
Jun 27 2008 11:22PM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
Generally, a laptop with a lot of power would be more expensive than building both your own desktop, and buying an ultra-mobile laptop.  In this case, you would have a desktop with lots of power, and all the right parts, along with a laptop that you can take anywhere. 

As a warning, any laptop that can compete with a desktop will be really heavy, really big, and have a super short battery life, so keep that in mind, especially if you want to bring it to class.

The bottom line on laptops, you pay more for less power.


Jun 27 2008 11:54PM
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.KYLE.
Posts: 1891 - Karma: 59
Get both, Problem solved...


For about 700
(450$ for base computer (dual core amd), 100$ for 500 Gig internal hard drive.. 50$ for 2 more gigs of ram... 100 for a somwhat lame graphic card, (good enough for dual monitors))  

Iv got a pimped out desktop with dual monitors, 4Gb of ram,250Gig and 500Gig of Hard Drive, (not including an external 500Gig) And a bunch of other crap... the secret is dell refurb. then upgrade.
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THEN
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on black friday, get a cheap laptop, i got a pretty decent  compaq for 300, not for games or anything, but more than good enough to surf the net..



Jun 28 2008 12:18AM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
go lappy with an external HD and a monitor for video. and like someone said get a good graphics card to start out
Jun 28 2008 2:15AM
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Static
Posts: 8553 - Karma: 4,082
get a good desktop that will last you at least 6 years, and then buy a shit ass cheap laptop( I mean the cheapest new one you can find) that you can take to class to take notes or go online. That way once you drop it or someone steals it, the loss will be minimal.
Jun 28 2008 3:51AM
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eheath
Posts: 61590 - Karma: 122,945
Laptops are clutch in class i would die without it.
Jun 28 2008 3:54AM
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k-rob
Posts: 14217 - Karma: 2,891
building your own pc will save you a lot of money if you know what you're doing and you take good care of it actually. i can build a pc, quality almost top of the line for about $1500 if the person i'm selling to is on a budget, and i've never recieved a complaint about one of my systems yet, and i've sold 37 already. besides the fact that if you phone up dell and ask them to fix your computer, you won't get jack shit for customer service. shopping for parts is pretty easy if you buy a $6.00 pc magazine, they're always reviewing top-of-the-line or quality low-budget parts for the readers. it's a matter of laziness and knowledge. building your own computer shouldn't take any longer than it takes to build a bed from IKEA.

and in response to this thread, a laptop with an external hard-drive will suit you better than a desktop. once you get yourself a laptop, you'll be impressed with how wonderful it is to be able to take your work with you almost anywhere.
Jun 28 2008 4:02AM
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anton...
Posts: 119 - Karma: 10

laptop ftw!!

and lets not forget that when you got lady friends about, you can rip laptops in half... thus instant street cred...

Jun 28 2008 5:16AM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
I can't stand prebuilt shit, you will either get a budget PC with shitty parts, or a setup with quality parts but it costs a ton.  I get angry running into problems with prebuilt motherfuckers, you can't oc, and upgrading pretty much any part (spare RAM) seems to be a bitch. 

A good reason to build in the first place is because you can pick each and every part out yourself, and if you study up on all of it, you can get a great machine put together.  The person you should trust the most is yourself, not some woman from HP on the phone in India.
Jun 28 2008 7:53AM
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SARTRON
Posts: 2969 - Karma: 87
ive never used my laptop in class, always hand noted....BUTTTTT get a laptop
Jun 28 2008 7:56AM
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Karcher
Posts: 3788 - Karma: 1,934
a desktop would be suck. labtops are so much more convenient
Jun 28 2008 1:20PM
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gabfreeski
Posts: 1459 - Karma: 23
laptop is better when you go to school
you can bring it everywhere
Jun 28 2008 4:12PM
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sarahskis
Posts: 1587 - Karma: 41
Whats the significance of an external HD?
Jun 28 2008 7:49PM
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Dylan_
Posts: 9824 - Karma: 1,403
go laptop, portable, can bring it to class for notes/online use and such, bring it home when you need to do work at home.

laptop is the way to go
Jun 28 2008 8:03PM
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finssidedown
Posts: 509 - Karma: 10
Think of a flash drive (like the little sticks you put in your USB to hold pictures and stuff) but this holds like a shit ton more stuff.

You can snag a good one for less than $100 and have more space for pictures, music, movies than you'll need int he next 5 life times.


Jun 28 2008 8:08PM
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Santa-Cruz
Posts: 2236 - Karma: 11
yea get a external hd at staples they had a 500gb external hd for 80$
Jun 28 2008 8:33PM
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i.ski.troll.
Posts: 4692 - Karma: 247
word
Jun 28 2008 9:14PM
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sarahskis
Posts: 1587 - Karma: 41
/\ Thanks.  Makes sense to me
Jun 29 2008 6:54PM
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Ryno
Posts: 31125 - Karma: 336
Yeah you can do it with certian name brands but its by no means simple to do. Its not like buying a videocard from Futureshop and plugging it in...
Jul 1 2008 8:56PM
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gmack24
Posts: 4636 - Karma: 31
I love my dell, but just recently discovered the battery life dies immediately after the warranty is up, and costs like 200 to replace. Every single customer on their website testimonies had the same problem, and a replacement battery will die in a year. Get a mac notebook.
Jul 1 2008 9:00PM
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Ryno
Posts: 31125 - Karma: 336
This statement is so wrong.

The differences between a $1200 custom build and a $1200 box-store comp will be substantial quality and performance wise. Box store components are so garbage they have no choice but to offer better warrenties to make up for it. On the other hand if you buy quality parts in the beginning (which come with their own warrenties most of the time) you save yourself the hassle of trouble shooting problems and dealing with box store 'customer service.'
Jul 1 2008 9:01PM
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user098123
Posts: 6072 - Karma: 18
I wouldn't call it completely wrong. It's only practical if you need a serious rig for gaming or for editing. Desktops aren't that practical in general anymore due to the price and convenience of laptops. They are slowly getting to the point of being outdated unless you need serious power.
Jul 1 2008 9:04PM
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Ryno
Posts: 31125 - Karma: 336
Computers are not difficult. I know its the motto of the IT guy and job the sale clerk at Futureshop to make you think so but in reality they are not that difficult to work with and people shouldn't be scared into thinking so. People work on their own cars all the time, why should computers be any more difficult/dangerous?
Jul 1 2008 10:38PM
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