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Best Laptop for College?

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BrownBomber
Posts: 675 - Karma: 446
So im going to be a college freshman next year, and my Grandparents want to buy me a laptop as a graduation present. They want to know which one i want, taking into account that my grandma gets a fair discount on all HP's.

I was taking a look at the HP Envy, and i saw a commercial for the new Dr. Dre edition of it, which looks bad ass, but its pretty pricey.

So newschoolers, which laptop should i ask for? Like i said, ill be using it mainly for college work, but i want to be able to do media stuff like photoshop and making edits.
Apr 11 2011 4:33PM
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Poikenz
Posts: 1478 - Karma: 3,762
Maybe you should get out of bestiality.
Apr 13 2011 4:21PM
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factory81
Posts: 3967 - Karma: 63
You should get a notebook that can be serviced easy.

What I mean by this is you want a model that is widely available. The parts are interchangeable. The model is popular as hell so even if things do fail (out of warranty) you can pick-up spares very easy (and the repair guides will be PLENTIFUL).

HP / Apple have honestly the only warranty program worth speaking of. Reason I say this is because if an individual calls HP/Apple and has an issue and *especially* if their device is under warranty they will refer them to these partners. The partners get paid for handling your claim, and you get parts atleast overnighted. Convincing the guys at the service center to make your computer a priority is another thing....

HP/Apple have LOTS of service centers all across the country. These service centers do get parts overnighted and HP can even get SAME FUCKING DAY SHIPPING on some fuckin parts.... They pay the service centers WELL to repair your shit (under warranty!, buy that warranty basically....)


Dell, Lenovo, Asus......while there may be gems in the rough it is a bitch when you fucking find out your notebook needs to be sent in for service (aka you cant be sent the part and return a core, and you cant go to a service center because they don't exist). Dell has SPOTTTY warranty service. I heard bad things about like contractor technicians who work independently.


If you asked me to pick anything I would say a Macbook Air 13" with applecare is "the notebook to own". Portability is #1 in college. You can pack this thing and it also has a respectable processor. Core 2 Duo is fast enough to do all the things an i5 or i7 but your patience will be pressed another half a second. (joking). If you insist on an optical drive and you demand new technology the Macbook Pro 13" is the next choice.

If I had to pick a PC it would well...probably be whatever I can find on fatwallet or slickdeals that is in my price range and falls in to my very strict standards of "what portability really is". Aka 15" notebooks are not for people on the go.

HP ProBook's are HP's business line of notebooks. You don't find these things in stores, and they are ESPECIALLY common in service centers (These are the things that corporations buy by the dozens/hundreds). They have a ProBook for whatever your budget and size is...

The HP Envy is honestly just a hybrid consumer model with some sponsorship behind it. Dr. Dre and shit? Who gives a fuck? Whats he know about a notebook? Is it going to be liquid cooled with gin and juice?

Hype...

Trendy....

Just don't forget how important a warranty is when your burner dies, you don't know how to replace it, or your hard drive dies. It is the service centers responsibility to get your hard drive, reinstall windows and all the drivers at the very least....parts and labor paid for.

If you are going to SPLURGE on any items I would say its ALL ABOUT SSD and extended warranty programs if you want a notebook that gets ANY respect.

I would SOOOO rather have an SSD Core 2 Duo than an i5 or i7. Plus SSD do not have moving parts and they *never* need to be replaced.

Hard drives and notebooks are a dime a dozen. With as much as you move the computer while the drive is still spinning from the computer not suspending fast enough combined with the amount of vibrations and drops you expose it to makes so the average life of a damn notebook hard drive mys well be 14-16 months.....


/MY STORY FOR YOU
Apr 13 2011 5:16PM
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Anathema
Posts: 21048 - Karma: 5,061
dont listen to the cake eaters who are all about dropping a couple grand so you can play video games. it's completely unnecessary and as a freshman, who the fuck's got time for video games any way when there's that much fresh pussy to chase and bromances to build..
Apr 13 2011 5:23PM
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Emma_Watson
Posts: 4491 - Karma: 6,796
if i could suck my mac's dick, i would.
Apr 13 2011 5:33PM
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Scrambles
Posts: 2270 - Karma: 63
Uhh, lol? I've had my Satellite for over a year now and have had nothing wrong with it. runs the same as when i got it even after abusing the fuck out of it.
Apr 13 2011 6:21PM
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Moosen
Posts: 4285 - Karma: 2,585
http://www.hackintosh.com/ /thread
Apr 13 2011 7:23PM
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lahnabonny
Posts: 1260 - Karma: 35
I'm pretty sure I can run AutoCad, Rhino, and Ecotect software on my dual-booted Windows on a Mac and it works just fine.
Apr 14 2011 1:34PM
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Benjo
Posts: 709 - Karma: 23
don't listen to him.
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Apr 14 2011 2:23PM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
you are an idiot
Apr 14 2011 2:30PM
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Benjo
Posts: 709 - Karma: 23
not really.
Apr 14 2011 2:35PM
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dbstar
Posts: 2038 - Karma: 20
well unless your a massive gigabyte who is all tech savy and shit id get a mac. I bought mine in 2008 and have never had a problem with it and am using it now. I dont like having to fuck around with computer shit and this thing just seems to work... especially better than the "upgradable" pc's that would be so fucked after 8 months that the only rational upgrade was a new computer.
Apr 14 2011 2:50PM
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jibjunkie
Posts: 3807 - Karma: 191
wish i could read this....
Apr 14 2011 2:57PM
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Benjo
Posts: 709 - Karma: 23
click on it
Apr 14 2011 3:22PM
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UNREAL
Posts: 3989 - Karma: 23
I dont know about you guys, but who the fuck judges how good a computer is on specs anyway? judging it on feel is much more useful. My Macbook hasnt crashed once... so reliable and easy to use...does what i want. dosent fucking crash every time i try to fucking print... fuck windows
Apr 14 2011 3:23PM
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S.C
Posts: 3068 - Karma: 2,285
macbook pro
Apr 14 2011 3:34PM
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.cam.
Posts: 1852 - Karma: 48
I have had an hp envy for about 8 months and it is yet to crash on me. Literally windows seven is just as stable for me as my friends with macs. And for a lot of people, all they do is use the internet and do homework on it. If thats all your doing it really makes no difference whether you are on mac or windows.

Sometimes though, I wish i had a mac so i could run fcp but adobe premiere is pretty good too.
Apr 14 2011 5:22PM
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DaveM
Posts: 2936 - Karma: 1,558
Been a PC user my whole life, bought a mac last semester for school/skiing - great decision. Theyre popular for a reason. The simplicity of it is very attracting and makes everyday usage enjoyable.
Apr 14 2011 5:34PM
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Aaaron.
Posts: 11817 - Karma: 903
i have windows 7 on my desktop. the apple interface just makes much more sense.
Apr 14 2011 6:16PM
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Poikenz
Posts: 1478 - Karma: 3,762
simplicity= no right click.
Apr 15 2011 2:46AM
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Aaaron.
Posts: 11817 - Karma: 903
this wigged me out for the first week. then you realize that the only thing right click is good for is gaming
Apr 15 2011 10:17AM
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factory81
Posts: 3967 - Karma: 63
Well Mr. Fuckwad,

Step up to the motherfucking plate bitch,

You just threw down motherfucker.


FIND ME A MOTHERFUCKING LAPTOP THAT IS AS FAST AND PORTABLE AS THE MOTHERFUCKING MACBOOK AIR.

WAIT THOUGH, YOU CAN'T PULL THIS NON 320M BULLSHIT. SO DON'T EVEN FUCKING SHOW ME A GOD DAMN PIECE OF SHIT 11" ACER FOR $299.

IM TALKING APPLES TO APPLES (heh). Aka, find me a motherfucking notebook that compares to the macbook air in terms of EVERYTHING

T6600 cpu. Yeah good luck, all these ultra portables have been single core SU series intel chips. Suck my motherfucking balls
320M - I don't give a fuck if its crippled ass 320m integrated. This is an nvidia gpu doing real work. not some piece of shit intel chip. LET ME ALSO ASK YOU just what the fuck are you expecting a 11" notebook to do? Play motherfucking crysis 2? CAN I JUST FUCKING KILL YOUR ARGUMENT HARDER?

SSD - Yeah okay its not a FULL BLOWN MOTHERFUCKING INTEL X-25 but its FUCKING SSD BITCH. I know your ass is not retarded enough to even compare Macbook Air SSD vs. a traditional hard drive or you mys well just kill yourself.

You know I don't even have time for this bullshit.

Closest someone has came to finding a Macbook Air comparable was a $1580 Lenovo. Beat it. The Macbook motherfucking Air was cheaper

AND BITCHES WILL LOVE YOUR BALLS WHEN YOU SAY YOU HAVE A MACBOOK AIR, AND NOT A TOSHIBA L644-1302SRX Ultraportable!


im done here

this is just over
Apr 15 2011 1:17PM
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DaveM
Posts: 2936 - Karma: 1,558
Exactly, and whenever I game I just plug in my mouse so this is not an issue.
Apr 15 2011 3:50PM
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jibjunkie
Posts: 3807 - Karma: 191
hmmmm what if i said i could get you a 256 gb ssd with a core i7 8 gigs of ram in an 11 inch computer for only 300 more bucks than a crapbook air.....im just gonna leave this here
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Apr 15 2011 4:41PM
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rhcp
Posts: 2598 - Karma: 18
Lenovo Thinkpad T series.
Apr 15 2011 5:11PM
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factory81
Posts: 3967 - Karma: 63
the m11x is over 2x as heavy as the macbook air and costs $300 more.

the m11x is overpriced and bulky.

My argument has never been defeated yet.

Closest "pimp baller status" whatever you wanna call it pc is the sony z series

The Sony Z series actually weighs 3lbs, packs a tonnn of power, and will demolish the Macbook Air, but you want your sony z serviced with any warranty you may have bought? good luck. best buy = fuck their warranty plan. there isn't a sony service center to fix your sony computer.

you can take your apple to service centers all across the country that will fix them for you parts and labor included providing it is under warranty. you have no idea how many BRAND NEW machines have the most retarded issues. The one issue that is happening at an alarming rate in my opinion on PC's (and new a1342 white Macbooks) is trackpad/mouse click retention issues.

Literally tearing apart brand new Sony's i5's over a fucking trackpad. Toshiba and acer have also had a fair amount of trackpad issues.

It sucks when you see "real notebooks" (aka $1300+) machines with failures and they are not even 1 year old yet. Same happens for Apple computers.......but that person is getting theirs fixed for free (parts and labor), meanwhile I charge the Sony computer customer $95/hr plus parts with a 20% mark-up. Yeah, it sucks to be them.


Apple computers rule just because you can buy that fucking $249 applecare plan, and you can take it to any of their service centers and viola. Shit is magically fixed. No sending it in. No waiting weeks on end.

I swear PC's just love to help their owners part with money sometimes.
Apr 15 2011 10:12PM
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Lemuel
Posts: 14486 - Karma: 10,635
I'm going to go ahead and say Mac, unless you are strictly business in which alot of colleges require tablets. I used to hate on Macs so hard, my sister got one for college and I just didn't like it, it was so confusing after using a PC for the past 8 years. But what do you know, I ended up with a Macbook and couldn't be happier. I love it. So easy to use and I rarely have issues with it. The only setback, it does not come with a microsoft paint comparable application, but you can download paintbrush. You never know how handy paint is until you don't have it.
Apr 15 2011 10:17PM
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Poikenz
Posts: 1478 - Karma: 3,762
Now it might be bulky compared to a macbook air since it does have a dvd-rom drive and an i7, and yes it is overpriced for what you get- gaming laptops are more or less pointless.

BUT it is only $300 more than a crap ass macbook air which comes no where close computing power wise.

So back to my original statement, they are both equally pointless and even though the m11x is overpriced all macbooks are overpriced by even more.
Apr 16 2011 11:59AM
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Furrer92
Posts: 784 - Karma: 341
ASUS UL30A-X5K

* .98-inches thin
* 3.74 lbs
* 1.3GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
* 13.3 HD LED LCD
* 12 hour battery life
* 4GB of RAM
* 500GB spinning disk hard drive
* 10/100 Ethernet, VGA, HDMI, 3 USB 2.0 ports
* $579

MSI X360

* .23- to .88-inches
* 3.3 lbs
* Intel Core i5-520UM CP
* 13.3-inch TFT LCD
* 9 Hour battery life
* 4GB of Ram
* 320/500GB SATA hard drive
* Gigabit Ethernet, VGA, HDMI, 2 USB 2.0 ports


Both are pretty dope PC alternatives to the Macbook Air
Apr 16 2011 12:17PM
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jibjunkie
Posts: 3807 - Karma: 191
hmmm that might be if u are a retard who bought a computer from bestbuy but i am not. i bought my dell through my university and am able to bring it to them with any problem for the next four years and they will fix it and provide me with a loaner if the problem requires time. and im basically done with this thread but can someone answer me why no macs have hdmi or more than two usb drives? i use hdmi basically daily for my external monitor and usually have all four of my usb drives in use.....
Apr 16 2011 2:48PM
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Aaaron.
Posts: 11817 - Karma: 903
1. mDP

2. I would much rather use a bus than have 4 usb wires running out of my laptop, also using a powered bus makes sense when you're running USB powered devices, such as audio interfaces, midi controllers etc.

Apr 16 2011 2:52PM
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factory81
Posts: 3967 - Karma: 63
you get a display port to hdmi adapter on ebay for like 13 bucks, and you get a usb hub.

pocket usb hub4 lyfe
Apr 17 2011 5:35PM
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factory81
Posts: 3967 - Karma: 63
These are nice on the budget but they are less powerful.

they are definitely a college student notebook if you are in need of portability and not majoring in CAD or anything that requires rendering on your computer.

Air still has a nice rounded computer tho. t6600 core 2 duo, ssd, 320m, 13.3" 1440x900 LED LCD screen.

No one got all that lovin for $1200 new
Apr 17 2011 5:37PM
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Poikenz
Posts: 1478 - Karma: 3,762
A 128 GB notebook ssd costs $240. So taking that into account you have roughly $950 to spend on a laptop, for $950 you can get:

An Asus N53JF-XE1 notebook

i5 (2.53GHz) < compared to the 1.6GHz core 2 duo of the air

4GB of ram < compared the the 2GB of the air
Nvidia GeForce GT 425M <compared to the 320M of the air

1900x1080 <compared to the 1440x900 of the air

It also comes with a blu-ray player and has a USB 3.0 slot (for when they come out with 3.0 items 3.0= faster) and a card reader.

Yes it is 15.6" and weighs more, but for the price it is a hell of a lot better.
Apr 17 2011 6:18PM
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jibjunkie
Posts: 3807 - Karma: 191
i shouldnt have to use adaptors....
Apr 17 2011 8:05PM
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Aaaron.
Posts: 11817 - Karma: 903
except a mini display port is much more practical than an HDMI out, so much so that HP and Dell are incorporating it into a number of their laptops(2-3 years after apple invented it, btw) , and i bet we'll see it in even more computers in the future

Apr 18 2011 11:28AM
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Msully
Posts: 575 - Karma: 21
GsBtp > apple care on macbooks, id rather have my macbook protected if some retard came into my dorm and dropped it and fucked it up. While macs surely run better and cleaner (they dont utilize .exe programs thus giving them an advantage in the windows with viruses debate) you over pay for something that as long as you arent full retard a toshiba protege r705p35 will give you for 699.99 at a local best buy.

Working at geeksquad the last few months has shown me 90% of the problems that pcs have are induced by their owner. The problem will always be lie between the chair and the keyboard.

If you want some advice:

Avoid dell, acer, gateways and compaq. I see atleast 15 of these come back with hardware failures within the 2/3 year protection plans we offer.

Hp/Toshiba/Asus : they get good price/preformance ratios and have relatively good reliability.

Macs: you cant go wrong with the preformance and reliability. You pay a bit more for the product, but its a product that will last you for years.

They both are great computers, a pc needs some work done to it to achieve what a mac comes out of the box.

Office- 2011 on a mac has full support for all office products pc/mac file extensions aswell.

Only downfall ive seen with macs is people cant wrap their brain around a 2 finger click gives you the right click options.
Apr 18 2011 12:39PM
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Furrer92
Posts: 784 - Karma: 341
exactly, I said the above because of weight, if were bringing computing power into this for a bit of weight change Asus will blow mac out of the water. I got an Asus N82J for 1010 taxes in

Intel Core i7 with Turbo Boost
NVIDIA GeForce GT335M 1GB graphics card,
4GB DDR3 RAM
640GB hard drive
USB 3.0 port
14-inch display
Apr 18 2011 12:42PM
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Benjo
Posts: 709 - Karma: 23
haha you just went full retarded.funny.
goddamn thinkpads (x series are portable and powerful, the x series convertible tablet is super handy and shit) are better and cheaper than macbooks.
Apr 18 2011 2:36PM
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Samsquanch
Posts: 450 - Karma: 26
Mac Book Pro for sure...I have had three dells and they have all crashed on me, lost all my music each time
Apr 18 2011 2:49PM
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Msully
Posts: 575 - Karma: 21
you bought a dell 3 times? after each one died? c'mon thats real smart
Apr 18 2011 3:14PM
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jibjunkie
Posts: 3807 - Karma: 191
assuming u own an ipod i dont see this as a major problem getting your music back....
Apr 18 2011 3:17PM
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BrewskiJr
Posts: 5738 - Karma: 1,478
The fact that you don't back up your files after 3 crashes makes it clear you have no idea how to take care of your computer.

If you take care of your computer, and aren't an idiot, you can prevent your PC from crashing. A simple antivirus (AVG or Malwarebytes Anti-Malware) running automatically once a week will prevent most PC problems. The rest of it risk is on you (not clicking popups for and shit).
Apr 18 2011 3:18PM
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Msully
Posts: 575 - Karma: 21
I just got this new anti virus program called Internet Security 2011, it keeps telling me i have all these viruses. It seems real good except it wasnts 45 bux to remove them

any help?
Apr 18 2011 3:21PM
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Benjo
Posts: 709 - Karma: 23
this program is a scam. remove it if you can. install malware bytes, or microsoft essentials.
Apr 18 2011 3:27PM
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Msully
Posts: 575 - Karma: 21
well i bought it, deluxe edition it wsa 130 for 2 years apparently and it removed the viruses it said i had
Apr 18 2011 3:33PM
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Benjo
Posts: 709 - Karma: 23
not sure if troll or just very stupid
Apr 18 2011 4:53PM
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Msully
Posts: 575 - Karma: 21
im just messin, i deal with enough idiots at geek squad everyday that get rogue, we tell them its 199.99 for  tech support (unlimited virus removal, optimization etc for 3 computers) they come back a week later telling us they bought the program and that it went away then came back.

:)
Apr 18 2011 5:11PM
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rewand0
Posts: 315 - Karma: 14
I just have a dell laptop that I got after it was referbed. Its cheap and nice. And as long as I don't watch porn on it i don't get no viruses. WIN.
Apr 18 2011 5:14PM
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doitbig
Posts: 4818 - Karma: 315
keeping in mind i've only ever used a mac here is my recommendation. i bought my powerbook g4 5 months before i left for school. 6 years later it's still going strong with only one additional battery replacement. all of my friends dells, hps, whatever shit out after their 1st or 2nd year at school.
Apr 18 2011 5:23PM
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factory81
Posts: 3967 - Karma: 63


I don't know bud. I don't follow your logic. We are talking about ultra-portable lightweight machines here. That Asus N53 is anything but. Completely different class of computer here.
Apr 18 2011 6:26PM
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