[wsdretired]

Hey, my grandson wants one for college. I want to know the postivies and negatives AND brand names for suggestions for each. Thanks.

[troyw3412]

Originally Posted by wsdretired

Hey, my grandson wants one for college. I want to know the postivies and negatives AND brand names for suggestions for each. Thanks.

You'll get the best recommendations when we find out what the laptop is predominantly going to be used for; general class use (typing papers, general Internet surfing) or if he is going to need it for a specific purpose. Let's say he's a graphics/multimedia, he may need something a little beefier than a general laptop.

Anyway, I highly recommend the Toshiba Satellite series, Acer (my personal favorite, the best bang for the buck), HP and Sony series.

General recommendations would to be the Turion64 or Centrino series processors. They'll generally provide you the best battery life. Celerons and Mobile Semprons are still pretty good processors but are not great for battery longevity (operating time without being plugged into an AC power source).

I'd also recommend a minimum of 512 MB Ram, and hard drive space would depend on the data he will need to store. He'll need a larger drive if saving a lot of pictures, video, music, etc. A 40GB is usually standard anymore.

I'd steer clear of the Gateway/eMachines (if they are still around). While the computers are good, the cases are not. I have not seen a single Gateway/Emachine with any sort of age that does NOT have cracks in the screen housing near the hinges.

Acers are generally the cheapest of all the brands I recommended. Check out http://www.tigerdirect.com for the best values/rebates.

[Mulderator]

I'd recommend Dell or Toshiba or Sony Vaio. I have always owned Dell laptops myself--at least since "real" laptops came out--I did have an old Toshiba "laptop" 286 processor, but it weighed like 30 pounds!

[Gibble]

I'd go with a Toshiba, allthough I've been happy with my Gateway, allthough I made sure all the specs were what I wanted before purchase.

[deh]

Also if you can afford it i would highly recommend getting the warranty that covers accidental damage.
I am not sure about others but Dell's Complete Care which covers accidental spills, drops is separate than the standard warranty and does cost more but if you can afford it i would get it.
If you go with another company you may want to check to see if this is included in the warranty.

Replacing an LCD is expensive and unlike a desktop if you spill a drink in your keyboard on your laptop you will likely wreck your motherboard. Seen it happen. Actually the person sent it into Dell since it was under warranty they took it apart realized it was due to a spill and returned it not fixing it because spillage was not covered under the standard warranty.

[Gibble]

Also, you can probably get a rider on your house insurance for something like $10 that will cover it if it's lost/stolen, etc...and considering it's a laptop, it's probably a good idea!

[tr1290]

Gateway is generally a good brand - but like someone else said, it depends on what it will be used for.

[Nick8539]

I recommend a MacBook! I'm not going to explain why, I just do.

[MrBills]

ACER Brother has had 2 of them and said that you can't beat them with a stick. Loves both of them.

[Gibble]

Originally Posted by tr1290

Gateway is generally a good brand - but like someone else said, it depends on what it will be used for.

That's what I've got...it's been good...but then, I spent and got one of their better ones.

[Yankee Rose]

Most manufacturers are going to be implementing the new Merom chip (Core 2 Duo) soon. You might want to hold off as long as you can to get this newer, faster chip.

Good luck.

[sleekluxury]

Im a full-time college student, so hopefully my experiences can help you out. =)

Definately the Dell E1505 is something you shud look into. I see a lot of laptops on campus and the majority of them are Dell E1505/E1705 models. (I dont recommend the E1705 because he'll never need that big of a screen, its bulky and drains battery) You can get a good one with LoJack for laptops (definately something u need if your going to college - as laptops do disappear a lot around campus and losing your papers for class that are saved on ur laptop can set you back a full quarter of work sometimes) You can get it all for about $900

Pros: Cheap, Durable & still everything he'll need, excellent warranty plans, rated #1 for college students, Accidental Damage Plan (GET IT! In the dorms, theres always someone ruining their laptop cause they/a roomate spills something on it or drops it), Ordering through dells EPP program (MAJOR discounts if your laptop is for college usage)

For the College Discounts:
http://dell.eprize.net/btssearch/ind...&noflash=flash

Cons: a tad bit heavier then the comparible ACER/Toshiba ones, battery life is nothing with the 6-cell (you NEED the 9 cell - which was around $90 when i got mine)

But definately look into the Lojack, the Accidental Damage Plan, AND a notebook lock! I recommend the Kensington Microsaver (The Microsave DS is the best one - but its pricey at around $50) There's always someone waiting for an abandoned laptop in the library or in the dorms. Get up to get your paper from the printer or leave ur room for 5 mins, and it might be gone if its not locked. Happens a lot, its not unusual for a laptop to go missing in a matter of minutes at any University. It's a sad irony when the kids who don't have the laptop locks say "nobody will steal my laptop" and then its gone a few weeks later when they left their room for just 5 minutes.