best laptop for your buck?

[Katie]

my mom's about to start shopping for my graduation present, a laptop, (she loves to surprise, you see) but has no idea what she's looking for. other than "cheap and good."
I don't know anything about laptops, I know that the better/cheaper computers are generally built by a comp-smart friend or dad or something, but I've never heard of one building their own laptop.
I have zero experience with the things, my family's never owned one, and I had one friend in 6th grade with one she used only sometimes. yay.
since it's for college, I'd like it to be pretty carry-around-able. and somewhere to plug in a real mouse, I hate those finger-rubbing things they come with 8(

all suggestions welcome, thanks :)

[youdontknowme]

I hate those finger-rubbing things they come with 8(
what about touchpad? :p

My thoughts:
-Get a Pentium M or AMD Turion.
-512mb+ ram
-screen size and hard drive size depends on your preference
-internal wireless adapter might be nice. :)

Try looking into dell or hp notebooks.

[mr_pikachu]

I'm no expert on smart computer shopping, to be frank. But if you want to use your laptop to get on the internet, try to find out if there's a WiFi network near you. (Many places like coffee shops, fast food restaurants, college campuses, and even libraries are beginning to set up WiFi systems.) If there is, a wireless adapter will be all the more useful.

[Sceptile_Master]

iBooks aren't too bad. That's if your going for a cheap laptop which you seem to be doing so, therefore I recommend an iBook. Then get a wireless mighty mouse. You'll be loving it. Plus they are pretty small. Easy to carry around and stuff. I just like them. They have built in wireless, 512mb ram, and the very stable G4 processors.

[youdontknowme]

iBooks aren't too bad.
Ah, forgot all about Apple!
I'd love a MacBook Pro. :|

The only drawback might be if your college provides you with some sort of program (if any) that's Windows-only. But I guess you can get Virtual PC to emulate Windows...

[Perfect Chaos]

My dad was thinking of getting me a Macbook Pro for my graduation gift.

What do you guys think about Macbook Pros?

-Sean

[youdontknowme]

What do you guys think about Macbook Pros?

They're awesome is what I think. :D
There has been some minor problems with the MacBooks but Apple has good customer service so...

[Sceptile_Master]

A MacBook Pro is like the dream laptop. Snatch it up quick.

[Katie]

hey sorry about not replying until now. I don't want anything mac. sorry. I've heard good things about dell laptops, and that seems to be what my parents are looking into. I learned the budget today too. mom says around 1000, dad says maybe a bit more. this is the one they showed me:
http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/entnb_e1505?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
said something about customizing it.
I think they're aiming at the first listed option, but I think all I really need is the second... I'm not a gamer, and I have a TV, DVD player, and CD player.

=)?

[youdontknowme]

the only difference with the first and second is cd/dvd+rw drive and 512 more ram. you'll be fine with the second one. Heck, maybe even the third one. Like you said, I don't think you should get the first one. I doubt you'd be doing anything that needs that much ram for your laptop (and since you're not a gamer and all...). And unless you're gonna burn DVD's, you won't be needing the combo drive either. If the situation calls for it, you can always buy an external one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=SubCatDeals&SubCategory=420). And you save $100+! :D

I believe my friend got the same notebook and he says that he's quite satisfied with it. :)

[Chris]

My dad was thinking of getting me a Macbook Pro for my graduation gift.

What do you guys think about Macbook Pros?


Here's what I think about MacBook Pros: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1864582

[Roarkiller]

It really depends on your needs.

For Dell, you can actually get something cheaper than that and still get more than what you want. The processor's a duo-processor, and if what you say is true, then I'd suggest getting the 4th option instead, since I doubt you'll need that much processing power unless you intend to use mammoth programs or serious multitasking, in which case you'd better upgrade to at least a 1.73GHz chip. And 40GB of space is usually enough for the casual user who don't carry around many large files.

You're not a gamer, nor would you use it for watching DVDs or such as you say, so I don't think the absence of the graphics card specs would bother you much.

The only recommended upgrade I would suggest is getting the latest Office suite, but that's what you'll probably get anyway. After all, a college laptop should at least have an Office suite to work with.

About mice, I think a visit to a local computer shop would suffice. As the other said, a USB wireless laptop mouse would be a viable option, and that goes for than than $10.

[youdontknowme]

Here's what I think about MacBook Pros: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1864582
other than the heat problems, i'd say they're good. but it doesn't mean that the macbooks suck since it's a manufacturing problem. Meh :| I just hope that Apple starts listening to the customers about this and starts doing something about it.

[Sceptile_Master]

Yeah thats apples only real problem. It does need to listen to customers more. Never used a better laptop than a macbook pro though. They are still ace.

[Perfect Chaos]

Well I got myself a regular black MacBook for graduation and it is AWESOME!

I thought my desktop Mac was alright when I used it. Once I started using my MacBook, my opinion on my desktop Mac: "Why the hell is it so goddamn slow?!"

The only problem is, as Chris pointed out, is that it overheats. When I charge the battery at night, the following morning, my MacBook feels so hot from being charged that I have to "restart" it (don't ask). But other than that, I'm MORE than happy with its performance.

-Sean

[Saffire Persian]

Ah. ^^ I'm getting a Mac, too. Though the 'overheating' problem is problematic. Hopefully by the time we get a Macbook (in two months) they will have fixed this problem. Seriously, it can't be that hard to fix.

[pokemasterfrank]

Well, I've been looking at laptops for a while, and I like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834115226

Has a very good balance of power and battery life with a decent price (considering all the good stuff in it), though, you probably don't need such a performance heavy laptop if you aren't a gamer and aren't going to watch DVDs and stuff.