Laptop suggestions...

[ChevyBoy95]

Back to college as usual this time of year, and need a laptop since im getting into more classes dealing with EE. Plus i just need a laptop for ease of on campus work.

Budget is probably maxed at about a G. less is better. Will be used for microsoft office, matlab, etc. but i also want to run minecraft or some simple not too stressing games since i have a desktop at home for bf3, saints 3, css, csgo, etc.. Prefer not to be apple, i hate apple.

some stuff i would like:

decent battery life

decent processor

nothing too big

less weight is better since it will be hauled around

[john253a]

i like mac air, but batt doesnt last as long as the pro,

dont be fooled by the lower processor speed,

they dont bog down and go slow like pc

put it this way

my pc is I7 3.6, 24gig, 1ter hard

and my I5 1.8 mac air is faster, after i did a few updates, on the pc

less chance of virus on mac,

dont slow down as much

down side, harder to use a first

not all pc programes work,

[ChevyBoy95]

"i hate apple"

this is from my OP. i will never use apple, whether it be phone, laptop, desktop, etc. to much usability restriction. i would rather fight viruses than have issues every other day over compatibility.

[WastedTalent]

Since not Apple, and not sure i they even make much below your budget... I'd honestly pick out what you want, and start from there. Like 350gb hard drive minimum, 4 gb ram minimum. processor? Well... if it's quad core, you're set. If it's duo core, I'd research a little more. But all the other features, don't necessarily need. Things like the facial scanner, etc. Just make a list of what you want and then go from there.

But I would recommend Toshiba. Their lower models (forget the name) seem to struggle but their higher models (forget the name of those as well) do quite well. I'm currently on a Toshiba that I got in '08. Has had a few hiccups, as every computer (laptop or desktop) would have in almost 4 years (November would be 4 years). Runs good to this day though. Think the laptop, case, and shipping to me cost around $700. So you could get a really good laptop for a grand. Also there's HP. Crap back in the day but in the past couple years, have gained what they lost. Pretty solid brand. And Sony. Sony seems to be top of the line (or pretty close to it) as far as electronics.

I know many people that are computer people would say just build your own, as you can get better things and it costs less. While it's true, laptops are just complicated. Less room for things, just like a hybrid for the car world. complicated. So I would recommend just going to best buy or staples or whatnot. The support from there sucks, as I'll never go to geek squad or anything like that but not all that bad to buy from. If you're not in a rush, such as you can wait about a month or it to arrive, you could go to manufacturer websites and build one. Pick which CPU, how much ram, the harddrive, the optical drive, etc. Just takes awhile for them to build and ship to you. Think it's roughly 3 weeks.

[ChevyBoy95]

well, i was looking at the dell vostro 3560, has an i5 which is enough, windows 7, 6gb DDR3, and a 500gb 7200rpm sata HD. price is 750, which is easily doable, seems to have everything i want, just looking for input on others as well as this one if someone wants to check it out.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&model_id=vostro-3560&oc=bqcte3s&s=bsd&fb=1&vw=classic

[WastedTalent]

I say neigh. All because of 4 letters... D.E.L.L. I personally hate them, and computer companies (the ones that repair your comp and all that jazz) hate dell. It's not a bad computer, just when things go wrong, which they will (eventually every computer has things go wrong with them), Dell is the absolute worst. It's either next to impossible to get a replacement part or they're just of no help. Back in the day, their parts weren't swappable. Like you couldn't take out the ram and add your own, or just add more to what you already have. You had to go through Dell. It was a nightmare. Not sure if that problem is fixed (I'm pretty sure it is but might not be). All in all... even in my college classes, people say stay away from dell. Usually the first ones to break, and just hard to fix. But otherwise, I'd say that computer is pretty good. Decent CPU, good ram, good harddrive, etc.

Sister actually bought a dell years ago. She's the type of person that brags and makes it seem like she has the absolute best. Well her laptop crashed. She called a repair company (as to which she tried hitting on the guy and didn't work LMFAO) but even he said "you're laptop is about at the end of it's life since it's so old. so if and when you replace it, I would stay away from dell"

So dell... is one thing I'd stay away from. Otherwise, that seems to be more than dandy!

[Maebros]

Check out newegg.com you can find some decent laptops there with everything you need for probably less that you are going to pay getting one straight through dell. just avoid brands like acer,hp,toshiba. brands like asus,dell,lenovo are usually fairly decent bets. however read the reviews before you buy.

[WastedTalent]

And also, another thing about Dell... they bought alienware. Alienware was THE gaming company. If you were into gaming on pc (whether desktop or laptop), you had alienware. Dell bought them. They aren't so hot anymore. They've lost it. They still are solid computers but rather have a different logo/brand on my pc rather than dell/alienware.

[Maebros]

DELL is a pc. most of the parts used no can be replaced with aftermarket parts that meet the same formfactor. however OEM parts are a nightmare. this is trut for ANY pc maker. especially in regards to laptops. however laptops are so cheap now days its really not uncommon to buy one use it for 2 years or so until it takes a shit then buy a new one so what does replacing parts matter. if you buy a pc with future upgrades in myind then there is a good chance they know what they are looking for and will buy one accordingly. so what does it matter that a company doesnt make ALL of their laptops readily upgradable. as far as Dell buying alienware is concerned. alienware hasnt gone to shit they just got crazy overpriced. they still offer top of the line gaming hardware its just at a crazy high price because it became dells premier gaming line.

[ChevyBoy95]

well... all that being said. I bought my dell desktop through dell, when the hard drive took a shit, a guy came to my house and replaced it free of charge the next day. so maybe it was the coverage i was paying for. My brother dropped his laptop, also a dell, ordered through dell, he sent it in, got a new one back in 2 weeks. i dont know if we got lucky or what, but dell has done me right for the last 8 years including those last 2 in the last year. and i couldnt give a shit about alienware, im not getting a gaming laptop, i have already upgraded my dell desktop to run any game out right now smoothly on either high or ultra.

thanks for the input though guys.