College Laptop Guide
If you’re headed to college, besides new clothes, bedding, and a shower caddy, the one thing you definitely want to bring with you is a new college laptop computer. But as a new student dealing with tuition and room and board, you’re also going to want to save money. What are some of the ways that you can accomplish both of these goals?
First, consider that you don’t necessarily have to have the newest and most trendy computer. If you are not going to be doing complex programming—in other words, if you’re like most students, using your computer for word processing, surfing the Internet, sending email, and for music and videos—you can likely get by with a less expensive machine than others might need.
Second, less expensive brands can be just as useful as some of the trendier, more expensive models. For example, you might pay upwards of $1,000 for a basic Apple MacBook, even with Apple’s student discount. But if you’re on a budget and looking to save money on your laptop, why not compare it to models put out by Dell, Toshiba, or even Acer? These days, all of the programs you’d want to run are likely available for just about any machine running any popular operating system, so you’ll probably be just as happy with another brand.
Third, shop online. Laptop computers like the one you’re buying for college are commodities. That means that they’re the same thing whether you buy them from one retailer or another. So, you should use that to your advantage by comparing prices online, and even ordering direct from the manufacturer where that’s available. You’ll be amazed at how much money you can save by doing this.
Fourth, if you’re really on a budget, consider purchasing a used laptop for college. You can often find good deals on eBay and craigsist, where you’ll be able to buy your college laptop for $200 or less. The drawback is that there won’t be a warranty, of course. However, if you do go with a used machine, be sure you’re buying a modern enough version to meet your needs; there’s nothing worse than ordering a laptop only to realize it doesn’t have a wireless internet connection for example, because you’ve never seen one so old that it didn’t have one! Also, be sure to reformat the hard drive and add your own software once you buy the laptop. You never know what kinds of sketchy viruses the previous owner might have downloaded by accident, but by formatting and starting over you can enjoy an almost-new laptop experience!
A word of caution: You may be tempted to consider buying one of the less expensive netbook laptops for college, which can run as little as $300 or $400 for a brand new machine. However, if you’re strongly considering this, make sure you go into the store and play around with them for a while. Those small keyboards and tiny screens might be okay for occasional use while traveling, or as a backup machine so that you don’t have to rely completely on the desktop computer back in your dorm room. But if you’re going to be writing papers and virtually living with your computer as many college students do, you might find that a netbook simply isn’t big enough to fit your needs.
One last tip: Call or email the bookstore at your new college and tell them that you’re planning to buy a new college laptop. You may find that they have great deals for new students that could beat anything you’d find anywhere else. No matter when or where you get your new laptop, though, make yourself a promise. When you outgrow it, keep it. Stuff it in the back of a closet somewhere. Someday years from now, you’ll get a kick out of booting it up again to read all those old papers you wrote back in college. You’ll look back with nostalgia at a machine that will be an antique then, and you’ll smile as you think about all the things you learned while using it.
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Best Laptops For College Students: Apple Macbook
One of the best laptops for college students is the Apple Macbook laptop. The Apple Macbook is Apple’s most affordable laptop yet it still features the high quality components and the highly acclaimed Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system that people have come to expect from Apple. The Macbook comes in a small 13.3-inch package that makes mobility simple. This will make transport of the Macbook to all areas of campus, including on trips home, a breeze.
The Macbook also features a built-in seven-hour battery. This will give students flexibility in their use of the laptop away from the dorm. It will allow them to venture out to class without a charger or any sort of wires. This makes setup in classrooms simple since the computer will go from sleep to active in a matter of seconds.
Like other Apple laptops, the Macbook features a wireless ethernet card that allows students to network with their school network connections. This is important to a student because it enables wireless connectivity everywhere they may want to go.
In addition to the hardware specifications of the Macbook laptop, the Snow Leopard operating system supports various graphics and advanced media programs, which are of particular use to graphics design students. As anyone in the design community will tell you, Macs are the premier graphics design vehicles and there are many programs that run exclusively on that platform.
Besides being incredibly useful in the classroom, Macs are also great entertainment devices for students. Given the constraints of cramped dorms, the Macbook is useful in providing an entertainment center to students. It is versatile enough to serve both as a television from which to stream and watch movies, a stereo system from which to download, listen, and store music, and lastly as a gaming platform in which students can play games on.
The Apple Macbook’s greatest asset to students is its price. It is competitively priced at under $1000 for its base models. Should the student or user require additional memory, hard drive space, or software; the user is able to customize their laptop to suit their needs. Additionally, Apple offers amazing student discounts that further reduce the price of their computers thereby making them even more affordable. Check the back to school laptop sales for even more of a discount.
The Apple Macbook is clearly the laptop designed for the contemporary college student. Its multiple uses, both for schoolwork and for entertainment, combined with its incredible value make it a best buy for any college student.
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Best College Laptops – HP Pavilion DV6 Notebook
I’ve bought a few laptops over the years and each time I’ve bought a different brand. Why is that you ask? Mostly because of the fact that each one that I’ve bought in the past had something I didn’t like about it. I figure that eventually I’d find the “one” that would feel right without too many software/hardware issues
This last time (three months ago) I bought the Hewlett Packard Pavilion dv6 Notebook with Windows 7 as the operating system. The notebooks size is an acceptable one with it’s 15.6″ diagonal high-definition2 Brightview LED display. The overall thickness of the laptop is just 1.33″. I’ve had keyboards that were thicker than that. It weighs less than seven pounds. This laptop has been the first one that I’ve own that didn’t need a cool pad.
As for it’s ability, I found it to be so much faster than any other laptop that I’ve had. As a matter of fact it has the same amount of RAM (4GB) as the one before the HP. I”m sure using Windows 7 as it’s operating system doesn’t hurt either. The HP Pavilion also came with a 6GB hard drive (it can be expanded to 8GB), which makes it one hell of a stout little laptop. The Pavilion also has 4 USB ports, as well as a HDMI and VGA port. The 6-cell batteries that comes as the standard type will last to up to 5 hours (depending what programs and how many you’re using),
This post is mainly to talk about the laptop, but I do have to mention that Windows 7 has been a much better operating system than any other Window version. I’ve heard some negative concerns, but on the most part, it’s been receiving praise and positive reviews.
I purchased my laptop at Best Buy instead of going through HP.com. Not only was it cheaper at Best buy, but I was able to have them remove Norton Security program and install Webroot instead. All I had to do was wait a few hours and go back and pick it up. buying a laptop online will always take any where from 4-10 days before you get it. At least that has been my experience every time I’ve bought one online. Either way you buy the Hewlett Packard Pavilion dv6 Notebook PC, it’s money well spent and is one of the best laptops for college students.