New Laptop for a Student

I'm looking at this too, cj. K has her orientation next week. I'm hoping the school has some suggestions.

Re: New Laptop for a Student


I'd go for an HP with a price of $500-$1000 plus a cheap ($40) HP printer.

It all depends on what the laptop will be used for.

If mostly for taking notes in class, then long battery life might be the most important feature.

Some things to consider -

at least 200G hard drive
memory of 2G (2048MB)
DVD burner
At least Vista Home Premium
It must have wireless (almost all laptops come with it these days.)

The trade off of screen size vs weight. A 17" screen is great for the dorm room but might not be ideal for lugging around to classes.


If you want to go cheap you can pick up a closeout at one of the office supply stores (Staples, OfficeMax) for under $500. (Toshiba, Compaq) Just check their weekly ads.

Remember you will probably have to buy software for the laptop as well. Microsoft Office is a must but you can get the Student version. You could end up spending $500 or more for software.

Dell might be the easiest way to go because you can order the laptop with all the software already loaded. Plus you get the Dell service if it has problems.

Yeah, I recommend Dell for a student -- affordable and good service. Also, a good protective sleeve or bag is a must.

I've had better luck with HP/Compaq laptops than with Dell, but I was thinking Dell anyway, because the the software thing.

I've only owned IBM and HP laptops. The HP is a real work-horse.

I have an HP nc6220 here at work which I lug home every night. It's a heck of a machine, but the screen is a little small. I use Extended Desktop at work with a 20" LCD.

You could always try a mac -- not cheap but there is a discount for education.

Yep, considering Macs as well.

Make sure the school supports the use of macs in their computer labs. We have an Imac here and their HS uses Windows for in-school work. There's a problem with moving MS Office files back and forth between the two platforms to continue working on them later.

Yeah, I need to look at that for sure.

For a long time, I had a Compaq laptop and my wife had a slightly older HP -- essentially the same machine in a different box. Both were heaps of junk. They couldn't keep cool, and the fans running all the time sucked the life out of the batteries. Eventually my Compaq fried a memory card slot, went to see about having it replaced and the guys said to just replace the thing. Got a Dell that I'm pretty happy with. Spent a little more than I did on the Compaq, but there's a world of difference in terms of reliability with it. Just my limited experience with them.

All experiences/advice appreciated. Thanks!

I own an HP Pavillion that is a piece of junk - just had the power adapter fixed, it worked for a few months, then completely died. Won't turn on. Stupid design put the power plug on the side instead of the back - which is just asking for it to get broken.