I'm a college student, looking for a reliable laptop thats not ridiculously expensive. What should I get?

Question

I was hoping for something with wireless internet built in so I could bring it back and forth to school with me, and be able to get on the internet from anywhere.

Answer 1

They all have wireless nowadays. This is a good deal on a popular model;
HP DV-6426-US - $650
Link to Product Deal Circuitcity.com has the HP DV-6426-US Intel Core Duo T2450 15" Widescreen Notebook PC for $649.99 after $50 rebate. Features include: 6.1lbs; 15.4" ws; 2GHz; 1GB RAM; 160GB HDD; DL DVD+/-RW; 802.11a/b/g; Vista Home Premium.

$50 rebate Exp 9/29/07


[added 7/30/2007 | expires 9/29/2007 11:59:59 PM

Depends what expensive is, if you want to go a bit higher check out the Dell 1420.

Dell and HP are the top sellers and offer the best in value and choice.

Answer 2

The HP DV2000T series are great laptops for the money.
You can find them as cheap as $599 from places like Best Buy and Circuit City. What I would do, is buy the Sunday Paper and look at all the "tech store's" ads to see if they have any specials going on right now - since it's back to school time.

As far as wireless, just make sure is says something like "wifi" or "802.11 g" somewhere. Most newer laptops have wireless built in. Also...the smaller the screen size, the better the battery life. 14.1" laptops generally have the same number of pixels (picture viewability) as 15.4" (1280x800) but the pixels are more condensed, making the picture sharper.

So, if you want good battery life...get a 14.1" laptop. Anything that is a Turion or Core 2 Duo processor will probably work wonderfully for you. at least 512MB ram (1GB preferred). Also, upgrade the battery if you get the option..you can always do it later on. My Dell laptop with a 9 cell battery vs. the normal 6 cell gets right at 5 hours battery life with the wifi on the entire time, and the screen almost all the way bright.


BTW...these people bashing certain brands, don't listen to them.

I've had a Dell that works flawlessly, and my brother had one that he just had to replace the motherboard on, out of warranty after only a year of use. My friend had a toshiba that he said was a piece of junk, but other people I know have had ONLY toshiba's because they were so reliable. The real story is that many of these laptops have the same exact hardware - they are just packaged a little differently. The LCD's are made in the same Chinese factories, the CPU's are made in the same Malaysian factories, etc... Any big brand makes a good product. Its longevity usually depends on how you treat it.

Answer 3

Hey there, I'm also heading to college soon, and I've helped my friends a bit with this sort of thing too.

First of all, check your school's bookstore/supply store to see if they support any specific laptops. Sometimes they can recommend very expensive ones, though, so don't feel obligated to go with them. (Mine hooked me up with a $2000+ Lenovo Thinkpad, and I only paid the price because I knew it would last longer than most computers)

At Best Buy with one of my friends last week (he was looking for something along the same lines as you), we found a computer made by the obscure manufacturer Acer. I forgot the exact model name, but it was around $1200 (cheap for some people, expensive for others), and was rated better than almost every other laptop in the store. I was personally impressed by all the high-end hardware that it included for its price (If I remember correctly, it had a Core 2 Duo processor, and an nVidia 8600 graphics card, among other very nice features). I would definitely recommend it, if you can find it.

Don't worry too much about having wireless internet. Most laptops that can be bought new will come with wireless internet access built in (It never hurts to ask the sales associate, though).

Answer 4

We have 7 Dells in the family and have never had any issues at all. So I do recommend a Dell.

My brother just bought an Inspiron on sale for $550. It had a 15.4" Monitor; 160GB HD; 2G RAM; built in Wi-Fi; Windows XP; CD/DVD +/- Burner. All in all a good buy. It was on sale and down from $850.

If you are not in a major panic to buy a laptop and watch the sales at Dell, you'll be able to find some very good buys.

I'm not a believer in spending a lot of money for a Vaio, Toshiba; Apple, etc. and be doing nothing but spending a lot of money just for the name/logo on the pc.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

If your looking for a good looking laprop that is fast and reliable I would reccomed an HP it is the the number 1 seeling laptop brand in the world. Sony is a really good computer looks good great graphics card but they are EXTREMELY expensive and they load up the computer with bloatware and all sorts of crap you dont need. I have a HP and Ive had it for about 4 years. And most all computers have a wireless card. Go to Sams club they usually great deals on laptops my laptop cost over 1000 dollars but I got it at Sams Club for 400 dollars. NEVER get a dell they are over priced and horrible and never get a apple thay are overpriced and over rated.

Answer 6

You can buy a Compaq, or a Toshiba for about $500.
Best buy is having a sale, but Circuit City always have good prices
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Compaq-Presario-15-4-Widescreen-Notebook-PC-F572US/sem/rpsm/oid/185304/catOid/-12963/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Answer 7

go to best buy