[JanusX]

I'm going to be getting a laptop for college sometime soon and I'm hoping for any and all advice you might be able to get me. The three primary functions for the lappy will be moderate gaming (emulation, some near-current gaming), multimedia (watching video/music) and of course school work.

So far I'm pretty sure I want a Centrino, but I don't know anything about possible competition, nor the differences between pentium m's.

Is there any details that I need to keep an eye out for? I've only used desktops mostly, so although I'm very proficient with desktop hardware, my laptop knowledge is minimal.

Finally what brands and websites would you recommend? So far I've mostly been looking at Dells and Sagers. But I'm completely open to any ideas.

Price quota is going to fall somewhere $1000-2000.

Thanks for the help :thumb:

 

[Chrono Archangel]

i heard Acer makes pretty good laptops. my friend has one like that and it seems to run very nice.

like a desktop pc, you gotta check what kind vid card your lookin for.., ram, dvd player (burner)? integrated wifi?

 

[Badaro]

- Get one with the best videocard available, since those usually aren't upgradeable;
- WiFi is a must-have, get one with 802.11g support;
- If you care about battery life, get a Centrino;
- Sagers are pretty good, I have a Sager 4080 and I'm very happy with it.

[]s Badaro

 

[Proto]

In my experience Acer's laps are pretty fragile for a student... In my uni every student is required to have a laptop, so we have taken out some statistics in terms of resistance ^_^. The best brands out there seem to be Dell, Toshiba and IBM, with IBM being the most resistant for the rude trait students usually treat them (Personally, I have a Toshiba Satellite and it have turned out to be pretty resistant, it has fallen 6 times from my bag into the floor, and 5 times with my bag, and it is still going and working without major problems ... I have also seen IBM's marketing people standing and jumping on IBM's laps without scratching the case at all)

Yeah, I think the most important aspect of a student laptop is resistance from bad traits ^_^

 

[JanusX]

The resitance aspect hadn't crossed my mind at all. I do like the little mouse/tab/thing that some laptops have in the middle of the keyboard. Works so much better than a touch screen as far as i can tell.

Aieeee I'm in love with this one: http://powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=99 I just wish the price could get chopped down. Also no Centrino/Pentium M, but I'm not sure which is better...

 

[D.D.]

i would recommend the same brands as Proto, with preference for Toshiba and Dell.

 

[KillerShots]

Actually, around this time last year I did a "spare no expense, get me the biggest baddest" bit of research and buying. I ended up going with HP (Admittedly, I had some... odd requirements - preferred dual-CPU, settling for HyperThreading... of course, no dual CPU laptops easily available, so HT is was - I am doing development work that requires real simultaneous operations). Still a good laptop a year later, handles all the latest games.

Alternatively, we use Panasonic "toughbooks" here at work - basically something you can run an M1A1 Abrams over and it'll still work (it has happened before).

 

[Valcrist]

Get an ibook .

 

[Sampah]

not long ago I saw a PC gallery in my place, there's a laptop from Acer that interested my eyes...but i forget the name, the specification is:
-Pentium Centrino...I forget how many Ghz I think is around 1.6 or 2.4
-512 MB RAM (DDR2)
-VGA Nvidia Geforce 6200 go PCI Xpress 16x
-HDD 40 GB
-14 inch TFT LCD display
-got WiFi, LAN, built-in modem

the price is $999, not bad.

 

[JanusX]

Well I think I'm definitely going for a centrino, the problem is there is two kinds now: dothan and sonoma. Any one know where I can find reviews or know the advantages of the newer one?

 

[Esturk]

Get an ibook .

I know you're just kidding.

Definately get the newer chipset.. I hear the Sonoma (915GM) has the 533Mhz FSB, PCI Express, DDR2 Memory. Basically it's a nicer chipset, might as well get it if you can.

There's a nice article here at Tom's Hardware. http://www.tomshardware.com/mobile/20050511/index.html

 

[Proto]

There is another thing you should consider when buying a lap for academic purposes. Wheter you like it or not, the main use of the laptop will be for schoo, so powermongers are a big nono. Even if it has not so good graphic card, or even an onboard sound chip, get whatever gives you the most time for your battery, unless you are considering taking a graphic rendering course or something of the like

 

[D.D.]

i just took a look at those toughbooks ... definitely impressive

 

[Demigod]

There is another thing you should consider when buying a lap for academic purposes. Wheter you like it or not, the main use of the laptop will be for schoo, so powermongers are a big nono. Even if it has not so good graphic card, or even an onboard sound chip, get whatever gives you the most time for your battery, unless you are considering taking a graphic rendering course or something of the like

I find a lot of students plug in their laptops though. Of course I myself would get nothing but a Centrino/Sonoma for its power saving features, but it seems a lot of students don't rely on the battery too much.

 

[JanusX]

Battery life is definitely important, Generally I should be able to plug it in, (most of the classes have plugs available) But most I've looked at advertise a 4 hour battery life which is as long as I think i'd need without access to a plug.

 

[Valcrist]

My ibook get roughly 6 hours real time . Its fast, has 512mb or Ram, decent video...well kinda decent. Nice screen and everything works great .

 

[Proto]

Yeah but you can't jump on it or drop it from 2 meters

 

[Valcrist]

ACTUALLY, its very VERY durable, the material the case is made from is the stuff in bullet proof vests. It also has a motion sensor on the hdd to keep it from doing anything while its moving ...well moving enough to hurt it. Its plenty more durable than my dads dell laptop, or even my freinds acer.

 

[D.D.]

if even the product's website doesnt talk about its durability ....

ah well, its all talk until we see some action ... how many ibooks can pass any single one of these tests : http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/rugged_reliable.asp (click each and go to the video)

 

[Valcrist]

meh my laptop could take that