OneDayDoc said:
My old laptop is on its last legs and I'm trying to decide if I should get a new laptop that I could bring to med school classes next year (I'm applying now) or save money on a desktop.
If you are trying to decide between the two - wait until the last possible moment and get a laptop. You will not be saving *that* much money on a desktop.
If you get a laptop now - make sure you get a core duo (get the 667MHz, not 533Mhz processor), upgrade your video card if possible, upgrade to the 7200rpm harddrive, and buy as much RAM as you can. This should make it last through med school. Also, do buy the RAM from a third-party vendor like newegg.com. You'll end up saving ~50% depending on how much you buy.
As for vista - most new laptops now will run Vista - yes even the Dells with integrated graphics. A more important question is can they run the Aero glass interface - which will be sweet. Again, most decent laptops you buy today will, just remember to load the computer down with RAM if you end up getting a ****ty video card - some new graphic chipsets will utilize system memory if they need to.