im heading off to college next year and need a good, portable, durable, and most of all capable computer for the coming year.
my budget is around 1500-1600 american dollars.
here is what i was thinking if i got the dell:
its a bit over 1600 at 1653 but ill just have to pay that remainder myself. as you can tell, its got a nice video card, good sound, and a very beautiful screen (i couldnt believe my eyes when i saw it on my dads friends laptop). its got a big and fast HD, and a capable processor at least for what i need it to do.
the only drawbacks i see are 1) windows vista, which i hear drains laptops of their power pretty quickly and 2) only 2 gigs of ram but i plan on upgrading this soon after getting it because of the relative ease of doing so and the cheaper memory price from the aftermarket.
is 2 gigs even enough to run windows vista smoothly?
and then we have the apple macbook. i dont need to explain too much about this one because the customizable options arent very much. it has a good processor, good amount of RAM. drawbacks include: very low end graphics card, screen (it still looks good just not as good. i dont think its HD either), and a slow HD at 5400 rpm. i also cant see any upgradable options for sound either...
but i hear the macbook has windows vista beat in the software department and in the wireless connectivity one as well.
so basically it boils down to the dell have superior hardware and the macbook having superior software and connectivity. im really at a loss as to what i should do here. i dont play too many games, just some odd ones every now and then such as Counter strike source and neverwinter nights and other RPGs similar to that.
part of me is telling me that i dont really need all the hardware strength but i find myself saying "there are a few games coming out that i do want to play..." but ill be at college so i dunno if i should really let games be my number one focus (besides, im sure someone will bring their 360 or wii).
with that in mind, which laptop do you recommend?
so yeah, quite a long post but hopefully you get the predicament im in.
anyways, thanks for all the help
my budget is around 1500-1600 american dollars.
here is what i was thinking if i got the dell:
its a bit over 1600 at 1653 but ill just have to pay that remainder myself. as you can tell, its got a nice video card, good sound, and a very beautiful screen (i couldnt believe my eyes when i saw it on my dads friends laptop). its got a big and fast HD, and a capable processor at least for what i need it to do.
the only drawbacks i see are 1) windows vista, which i hear drains laptops of their power pretty quickly and 2) only 2 gigs of ram but i plan on upgrading this soon after getting it because of the relative ease of doing so and the cheaper memory price from the aftermarket.
is 2 gigs even enough to run windows vista smoothly?
and then we have the apple macbook. i dont need to explain too much about this one because the customizable options arent very much. it has a good processor, good amount of RAM. drawbacks include: very low end graphics card, screen (it still looks good just not as good. i dont think its HD either), and a slow HD at 5400 rpm. i also cant see any upgradable options for sound either...
but i hear the macbook has windows vista beat in the software department and in the wireless connectivity one as well.
so basically it boils down to the dell have superior hardware and the macbook having superior software and connectivity. im really at a loss as to what i should do here. i dont play too many games, just some odd ones every now and then such as Counter strike source and neverwinter nights and other RPGs similar to that.
part of me is telling me that i dont really need all the hardware strength but i find myself saying "there are a few games coming out that i do want to play..." but ill be at college so i dunno if i should really let games be my number one focus (besides, im sure someone will bring their 360 or wii).
with that in mind, which laptop do you recommend?
so yeah, quite a long post but hopefully you get the predicament im in.
anyways, thanks for all the help