New laptop

[Schmidt19891]

Hey all,

I'm due for a new laptop. I'm a sophomore in college, so I dont have oodles to spend, and would like to keep it under $800. I have a printer already that works great, so i'm not looking for any bundles or anything.

I watch a lot of movies on my laptop, and listen to A LOT of music. So audio is a pretty big thing for me. Despite the fact that I watch a lot of movies, i'm not really looking for anything with a huge screen. I think around 15" is perfect, thats what I have now and its perfect for me.

One of my majors is journalism, so I do a lot of typing, and an illuminated keyboard I think would be very cool.

One final feature i like is the camera built in. I did buy a camera, so it's not a massive priority, i just think it would be nice because my roommate from last year now lives in Tunisia (Africa) and I do talk to him a lot.

This isn't anything i'm in a hurry for, I was hoping to wait around winter break to get maybe a better deal or something.

Anyway, thanks so much for any help you guys can offer.

 

[Gamputer]

So my guess is that you don't really play computer games.

This means that the main focus would be on CPU, RAM, HDD and optical Drives.

There can be many notebooks with same specs but sold under different brand name so I'll post the recommended specs here:

CPU: 2.1GHz + (+ means go higher if you want)
RAM: 3-4 GB RAM (they would probably not post if it's DDR2 or DDR3 for non-gaming laptops near your budget).
GPU: Any integrated card would be fine for non-gaming purposes.
HDD: go for as much as you need 300GB+
Optical Drive: DVD drive

I've found this one for $700:
http://configure.dell.com/dellstore...ca&l=en&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1&kc=laptop-studio-1555

 

[rohan23]

http://www.sagernotebook.com/product_customed.php?pid=144485

 

[Gamputer]

http://www.sagernotebook.com/product...php?pid=144485

Sager is an excellent laptop brand overall too. Esp fine in gaming laptops, but nevertheless;

Good job Rohan for posting that.

 

[jmacavali]

CPU: 2.1GHz + (+ means go higher if you want)

I think it is important to look at the type as well (not just the speed). Make sure it's a Core 2 duo or higher.

RAM: 3-4 GB RAM (they would probably not post if it's DDR2 or DDR3 for non-gaming laptops near your budget).

A little over kill in my opinion. I don't know if it would be cheaper but I'd say 2 Gb is probably enough.

GPU: Any integrated card would be fine for non-gaming purposes.

Agreed

HDD: go for as much as you need 300GB+

"LOTS" of music means I'd look for a 300 Gb+++ as in 500 or even 750 depending on how much a 'lot' is.

Optical Drive: DVD drive

Make sure it's a DVD/CD Burner. Not worth buying imo if it's not.

 

[Gamputer]

Yea, forgot about that...my bad.

Go for Core 2 Duo, but my guess is most laptops that you will buy will most likely be using core 2 duo processors.

In terms of RAM, my guess is he likes to listen to music while working on school assignments (that he is a multi-tasker). Since my guess is he needs the laptop throughout the rest of college, why go for 2GB RAM?

Regards to HDD, he said he listens to alot of music, but that could be from youtube or whatever.

If he's referring to downloaded music, yes go for 500GB+ HDD space.

 

[vampist]

Yea, forgot about that...my bad.

Go for Core 2 Duo, but my guess is most laptops that you will buy will most likely be using core 2 duo processors.

In terms of RAM, my guess is he likes to listen to music while working on school assignments (that he is a multi-tasker). Since my guess is he needs the laptop throughout the rest of college, why go for 2GB RAM?

Regards to HDD, he said he listens to alot of music, but that could be from youtube or whatever.

If he's referring to downloaded music, yes go for 500GB+ HDD space.

People people people!
300GB's is PLENTY I have ~4,600 songs for a total of ~25GB's.
So even if he has 8,000-15,000 he isn't going to need A 500GB+.
Most people don't even have this much.
Take note that most of my songs are 320kb bitrate.

Second, even if he DID need such space, why not suggest a SATA to external usb connector?
He already has a perfectly good HDD he could use for all of his music.

Third, he won't need anymore than 3GB's of ram and that is pushing it.
I do lots of multitasking on all of my computers all of which except one have 2GB's of ram. Hell the one that doesn't have 2GB's is only 1GB...

Now, for GOOD audio I would recommend you buy yourself a nice pair of headphones dude. Most laptop speakers are crap.

 

[Schmidt19891]

Hey all, thanks for all the help so far.

I do have a pair of good headphones (Shure E2C), but the higher quality i can get, the better as far as the sound on the laptop.

I feel like the HDD would be perfectly fine at 300, I have less than 20GB on my itunes, and thats basically all I store on my computer other than word documents for school and some pictures from my camera (Olympus E-500), so they're big files, but still, 300 is PLENTY.

I usually do listen to music while typing up assignments or even reading or doing whatever. Like I said, I do watch a lot of movies online (I have a netflix account). Anyway, thanks for all the help guys!