Best Laptop for a first year student

[SMB6]

I need to buy a laptop. Could someone recommend one for a first year student.

Thank you

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[347932]

I'm a Mac lover so I would recommend a Macbook Pro. If you need Windows you can always partition the drive using Bootcamp and then have a Windows side and a Mac side. I have done that on my Macbook and it works flawlessly. The Mac OS is still WAY more stable than any Windows platform.

I've burnt out laptops in under a year (HP and Dell), but my Macbook is still going strong two years later with NO issues.

The cheapest PC Laptop can be had for under $400, but you get what you pay for. If money is tight that's the way I would go but expect to have to replace it within a year if you're a heavy user.

 

[PeaJay]

I would go with a Macbook Pro if you have the money. My macbook pro has worked like a dream and the only program I've had trouble running is some image processing software for confocal microscopy (I doubt POD schools will have you running anything like that).

 

[air bud]

for what you are doing, buy come cheap pc at walmart. I HIGHLY recommend spending 200 bucks on a large monitor. This assumes you can study at your apartment. having a very large screen is incredibly useful/helpful. I cant stand trying to get any work done on a small laptop.

 

[dyk343]

IMO it doesnt really matter. I've had the same Dell inspirion laptop for 4 years and its still going strong. I think it was somewhere around $700 new. I cant stand macs but thats a personal preference

Buy the insurance. You will be carrying that thing around with you every day and the chances of something going wrong are high.

 

[emericana]

IMO it doesnt really matter. I've had the same Dell inspirion laptop for 4 years and its still going strong. I think it was somewhere around $700 new. I cant stand macs but thats a personal preference

Buy the insurance. You will be carrying that thing around with you every day and the chances of something going wrong are high.

I third the macbook pro....

plus if you need windows you can dual boot it using bootcamp...

you can also triple boot it with linux if you need that for some lab stuff if you do research...

I got mine in 2007 and have had little to no issues with it. phenomenal computer.

 

[347932]

IMO it doesnt really matter. I've had the same Dell inspirion laptop for 4 years and its still going strong. I think it was somewhere around $700 new. I cant stand macs but thats a personal preference

Buy the insurance. You will be carrying that thing around with you every day and the chances of something going wrong are high.

They don't build PC based laptops the way they used to lol.

 

[dyk343]

They don't build PC based laptops the way they used to lol.

If you drop a laptop you drop a laptop. It doesnt matter if its a macbook pro or a Dell.

 

[347932]

If you drop a laptop you drop a laptop. It doesnt matter if its a macbook pro or a Dell.

I never dropped them. Faulty hardware every time. Nice assumption though😀.

 

[dyk343]

I never dropped them. Faulty hardware every time. Nice assumption though😀.

Ah, I misunderstood your first comment.

I agree that Dell has had some problems lately.

But either way Im still not sold on Macs. The one I had to use at work was terribly frustrating.

 

[bonvivant07]

I would buy a Dell. Order right from their website. A studio line is pretty good!

Also buy the Complete Care package! Basically you are covered to up to 4 years if you want, from anything happening to your laptop. It is well worth the money! I spilled coffee on mine. I was reaching for my keys and whipped around and my winter coat hit the coffee mug and it splashed all over the keyboard.

Used a hair dryer to dry everything and was able to opened it long enough to get the 10 page paper I was writing saved to a thumb drive Then it shut down and I smelled something burning.

Remembered I had complete care, so I chatted with online support, took about 10 minutes and gave them my address. Basically told them, no I will not run a diagnostic, no I will not try to turn it on because it doesn't turn on! lol The next day, I got a empty padded package in the mail, with a free mailing slip included and packed it up and sent it in!

3 days later, my laptop came back with new wiring, new unsticky keyboard, battery, and hard drive and who knows what else.

basically it was fixed!!

I have heard stories of people who accidentally ran over their laptop and Complete Care covered it! The only thing they don't cover is fire, intentional damage (DULL!!!) and normal wear and tear like battery.

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/...ient_support/completecare_svc?c=us&l=en&cs=19

Oh and I also got LoJack, which basically is what the name implies. Anyone that steals my laptop, I call Dell, activate the tracer on my laptop and cops are called in to retrieve it! LoJack can not be deleted by wiping the hard-drive either!
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/.../bsd/services/services_lojack?c=us&l=en&cs=04

Also, if somehow the thief never goes online with your stolen laptop ( which will never happen cus why have a laptop if you never go online?) Lojack company will pay you if they can't retrieve it.

Good luck and do your research! IMO, I think Macs are too expensive.

 

[podpal]

I had a Dell, it's not bad but is a desk top. I HAD a Toshiba laptop, was a great system. I'd get another Toshiba, easy to navigate around if you are using cracked or bootlegged software. If you are buying all your software new, not from "other" sources, then most PCs are probably fine.

Most importantly get a MOZY account to back up the PC files that are important. My Dell desk top's hard drive totally died but was backed up by MOZY. Somehow it lost a few pics but all the main files were recovered. MOZY only backs up a main file on my system, not everything. You can get a small amount of data saved through MOZY for free, but if you are wanting to save pics you'll probably have to pay for an acct.

 

[PADPM]

I'm by no means a computer whiz, but I purchased Mac's for both my kids when they went to college, and that's what I'd recommend. Many of their college friends who purchased other products ended up with significant problems.

I'm fortunate enough to live close to 2 Apple stores, so service and/or questions are easy and accessible.

 

[pacpod]

I would go with a Mac if you can afford it. They are well worth the investment and last quite a long time as long as you take care of it. Also, the AppleCare team is awesome if you ever have a problem.

If not, I agree with the Toshiba. Not too bad, but I just prefer the Mac OS.

 

[malleolusman]

If your budget is tight, then go for a net book. Those little guys are super portable, and will last you through professional school. They are just right for word processing, viewing ppts, and those occasional youtube sessions in class. Check out slickdeals.net , they occasionally have good offers on them.

 

[air bud]

yeah, i agree on the MOZY thing. I have carbonite. it is 50 bucks or so for a year. GREAT investment. DMU gives you a hard drive to back stuff up on to, but that requires manual backup. Get carbonite/mozy and it is automatically done for you as long as you have an internet connection. Everybody should do this.

 

[GimliSonOfGloin]

macintosh user are ****ing stupid they swear that laptop lasts so very long they spend 1500 on a peice of **** computer device that dell etc can make for you for 600. Have you ever walk into the macintosh store? It ****ing smell funny and the people are all ugly with armpit stains and acne. Plus they all get viruses now n andyone who tells you different is a lying sack of ****. But hello if you got the money n want macintosh buy it cause it is your choice.🙂

God Bless and God Bless America

-Gimli, Son of Gloin, Son of Groin, Son of Farin, Son of Borin, Son of Durin

 

[PeaJay]

macintosh user are ****ing stupid they swear that laptop lasts so very long they spend 1500 on a peice of **** computer device that dell etc can make for you for 600. Have you ever walk into the macintosh store? It ****ing smell funny and the people are all ugly with armpit stains and acne. Plus they all get viruses now n andyone who tells you different is a lying sack of ****. But hello if you got the money n want macintosh buy it cause it is your choice.🙂

God Bless and God Bless America

-Gimli, Son of Gloin, Son of Groin, Son of Farin, Son of Borin, Son of Durin

LOL, you can't be serious.

Everyone has their preferences and experiences, but it is my experience that Macintosh produces high quality products (albeit over priced) that seem to hold up better than most mainstream pc products. That doesn't mean that windows based computers are beneath macs. It just takes a little more know how and research to find a quality windows based computer. Grabbing the cheapest computer off the Bestbuy shelf will likely produce many headaches. With macs, it seems that you can just grab one off the shelf and expect a quality product.

Those are just my thoughts

 

[347932]

macintosh user are ****ing stupid they swear that laptop lasts so very long they spend 1500 on a peice of **** computer device that dell etc can make for you for 600. Have you ever walk into the macintosh store? It ****ing smell funny and the people are all ugly with armpit stains and acne. Plus they all get viruses now n andyone who tells you different is a lying sack of ****. But hello if you got the money n want macintosh buy it cause it is your choice.🙂

God Bless and God Bless America

-Gimli, Son of Gloin, Son of Groin, Son of Farin, Son of Borin, Son of Durin

Please don't feed the troll.

 

[Googlymello]

Go with mac. I have one and I have never been disappointed with it.. definitely worth the money.
Yes, they might be a little more expensive than a dell or hp, but if you consider the fact that they last longer, then it is definitely worth the price (instead of replacing hardware or the entire computer every year).

 

[dyk343]

LOL, you can't be serious.

Everyone has their preferences and experiences, but it is my experience that Macintosh produces high quality products (albeit over priced) that seem to hold up better than most mainstream pc products. That doesn't mean that windows based computers are beneath macs. It just takes a little more know how and research to find a quality windows based computer. Grabbing the cheapest computer off the Bestbuy shelf will likely produce many headaches. With macs, it seems that you can just grab one off the shelf and expect a quality product.

Those are just my thoughts

At work, The mac I used constantly froze up (daily) and was slow as could be... For that computer we were running a lot of programs on it so maybe ill give it some slack.

The other mac in the corner? My boss fried the hard drive while surfing the internet. It was less than a year old.

Macs (as do PC's) have their own problems. Mac sales currently make up ~10-12% of the market. so its still a pc world.

You know the pod boards are slow when there is a mac vs. PC argument going on... lol

 

[darazon]

I am PC user. Always have been. However, If I could go back to the beginning of my first year, I would have bought a Macbook Pro. Too many problems with my HP. Multiple students in our class have switched to Mac b/c of problems with PC laptops. No complaints from the Mac users in our class either.

I'm just glad I did buy the extra insurance. It has been in to get repaired 3 times now in a year and a half.

 

[air bud]

Listen,
Nobody is going to the MAC vs. PC argument. The fact of the matter is that as a podiatry student, there are NOT a lot of uses for a computer, at least as the curriculum currently stands. You need internet, word processor and powerpoint. Some type of media player to watch videos. Thats all. There is no reason to buy a MAC unless you have other outside interests or want whatever type of warranty that they offer. You dont need some great studio design software or whatever other fancy programs a mac has. If you want a bare bones computer strictly for pod school use, get a $500 or less PC. It somehow breaks? buy 2 more, then you are even with what a MAC costs. If you want a more functional, well rounded computer that you can use for a long tme and to serve other purposes than pod-related stuff, then consider getting a MAC.
Again, consider getting a separate LARGE monitor, makes life MUCH easier. Also, get carbonite/mozy for automatic online backup.

 

[Paulywog]

Hey SMB6, You asked what computer you should get for Podiatry School. Hen everyone started having a Mac attack. In order to find a laptop that will work best for you, you have to answer the following questions:
How big of screen do you want? Tablet vs. normal laptop? doing any gaming, video editing or photo editing? do you want to hook it up to a HDTV? Color preference? PRICE RANGE? Do you need a DVD/CD drive? Battery life?
These are some good questions to answer, then we can all help you decide.
Remember...Custom orthotics fit better than prefab...A corvette is faster than a Honda Accord. Macs and PCs are not comparable. You can compare an individual model of Mac to a certain model PC laptop. You can not compare them on a general scale. none of my PCs have ever had a virus and one PC laptops lasted 7 years another 2.5 years. I absolutely hate the arguments for Macs being better and all my classmates know this. A $1700 Macbook Pro BETTER be a better laptop than a $600 HP laptop. For the price of a Macbook Pro, I could buy a large netbook (2 year costco warranty), a 50" HDTV, and build a monster PC computer for the price of a Macbook Pro. It's a no-brainer if you compare on the price alone (PC will always win out). Longevity doesnt matter to me anymore because the technology advances fairly quickly and after a couple of years, it is time to upgrade. If you prefer the Mac Operating System over PC, then get a Mac.
If mommy and Daddy are going to buy you a computer and price is no object, then get a Mac

 

[beyoncefan]

I need to buy a laptop. Could someone recommend one for a first year student.

You're going to be in the Jan. class of NYCPM, right? I think they sent out an e-mail with our laptop requirements.

 

[347932]

Don't buy a new Mac. Please. The new World of Warcraft expansion runs beautifully on it and it will distract you from your studies. You just don't need that kind of distraction!

 

[dyk343]

:troll:

Kidsfeet... this is not at you. A comment from gimlisonofsomething was erased.