I used to work in a college IT department on all different makes and models, different operating systems and Macs so I know first hand that certain manufacturers are better in quality than others.

For students in an art type of major, Architecture, Interior Design, Fashion, I would hands down recommend a Mac due to the graphics quality. But there are equally good Windows-based laptops for school that are very popular. After reading this you should have a better idea of what to look for when shopping for a laptop and your personal preferences for things such as screen size and color.

The three best brands I’ve worked on are Gateway, Dell and Apple. You’ll want to go with an Intel Core duo processor or better for speed and a minimum of 2GB of memory. If you plan on using your laptop for games or using multiple applications at the same time (toggling between open applications) get 4GB.

Hard drive size is dependent on what you plan on storing. If you are just going to be storing documents for school any of the standard hard drives the manufacturers are offering now will work. For music and picture storage you’ll want to increase the size depending on your usage. For those who store a tons of music and large pictures, keep in mind that it takes up a lot of space and will ultimately slow down your computer. So you may want to invest in an external hard drive. But for the average person, as I mentioned before, all the hard drives offered in the new laptops have a lot of space, about 250GB or more and will work just fine.

It is important to get a laptop with Wi-Fi capability as it is probably needed in certain classes and every college now offers Wi-Fi on campus and in dorms.

Also keep in mind battery life – some last just 3 hours and others last 6.5 hours or more. Video and sound are dependent on what you plan on doing with the laptop. This is particularly important to gamers but for your average student, the standard video and sound feature offered by the manufacturer will work. Personal options to decide is whether you want a webcam, if you are looking for a laptop with Windows or a Mac Operating System, the screen size and weight. There’s some laptops you can customize the color but there’s also different styles of skins for purchase as another option and perhaps less expensive. All these latter options are based on personal preference.

I would suggest going with a Gateway, Dell or Apple Macbook. However, the best laptop computer for college students is the Dell Inspiron 15R or higher. This laptop has excellent standard features with Intel Core i3 370M processor (better than Intel Core Duo), 4GB memory, 500GB hard drive, built in wireless and webcam, CD/DVD burner and 1 year warranty just to name a few options! You can also check; Best College Laptops 2010 for more suggestions.

Whichever laptop you decide to go with, all three that I mentioned above have a much better quality than others on the market, and this is based on my direct experience fixing a variety of student computers on a college campus.

This is another guest post from John May, one of our long time readers. Thanks John!

The best laptop computer for college students definitely depends upon the student’s major field of study. Some people will tell you the only choice is a Mac; others might say that a PC is better. How do you decide which is for you? here is my choices for the best college laptops 2010.

If price is no problem, and user-friendliness is your major concern, in my opinion Mac is the best choice. With laptops ranging in price from $900 to well over $2000, it’s a lot of money to drop on a single piece of technological equipment. There’s also the question of transferability; Mac programs typically don’t read well on Windows machines. Thankfully, there are a host of programs to ease that gap, including free programs such as OpenOffice, which is an open-source version of Microsoft Office with a user interface closest to that of the 2003 generation. Macs are great for students in humanities or social science-related fields, as they typically require very little user attention when it comes to security, cache cleaning, and virus worries. They’re great for visual arts majors, as visual arts have used Macs for decades.

But what about PCs? If your eye is on your budget, Macs are most definitely out of the question.

Asus, Acer, and Dell all have netbook or netbook-like options that range in price from $300 – $500. Asus, in particular, has a fully-functioning computer that comes in a convenient, portable 10-inch size. While the keyboard is obviously smaller on these machines, and some of them don’t hold the most memory, they’re a great buy for a first laptop. They’re durable, the work well, and they get the job done.

The only programs college students absolutely NEED on their computers are a Microsoft Office suite, a photoshop-type program for visual arts majors, and a music player. Beware though: netbooks and similar machines very rarely, if ever, have a CD driver included. This is something that has to be bought separately and connected to the computer through USB cables. If budget isn’t a huge concern and you’re stuck on PCs, perhaps the best option is Toshiba. They build reliable computers that can last for years, and have security features available that can really blow your mind, including a fingerprint reader. Feeling like James Bond yet? Prices for these machines run anywhere upwards of $1500, so be prepared to shell out big cash for them. If your college student absolutely requires a Blu-Ray player with his or her laptop, Samsung has the best deal: You can get a laptop with a Blu-Ray player, top-of-the-line graphics card, and great additional features for between $700 and $900, which isn’t bad.

No matter what type of laptop you decide to buy, you need to be sure of one thing: buy the warranty. College is a place where mistakes happen faster than you can blink, especially if your student is living in a dorm, and that shiny new laptop may end up with pop spilled all over its keyboard, or stepped on, or somehow tossed out a window. It’s better not to take any chances; dish out the extra bucks for the warranty, and rest assured that the good money you spent on that laptop wasn’t wasted in the slightest.

READER QUESTION: What is your choice for best college laptop of 2010 and why?

This is a guest post by Sami Dee, a long time friend and reader.

One of the biggest purchases most college students will make before starting their college career is a new laptop computer. Finding the best laptop computer for college students can be a daunting task because there are so many different brands and models available to choose from.

Currently, one of the most popular laptops for college is the Macbook Pro. This laptop is fairly expensive starting at $1199 for a 13 inch model and $2299 for a 17 inch model. Compared to the price of a PC with similar specifications, you will be spending quite a bit more money. What you are paying for in a Macbook Pro is the Apple operating system (Apples do not run on Windows), the style, and the build quality.

One of the benefits of owning a Mac is that there are fewer viruses targeted at Macs. Another perk of a Macbook pro is that it is one of the most stylish laptops on the market and is sure to be impressive among the college crowd. Because the Macbook Pro is rather expensive and most college students are unable to afford it, Macbooks are a viable option. These laptops also run Apple’s operating system but do not have the same high price tag (starting at $999) and conversely do not have quite the same power and style as a Macbook Pro.

Apple’s other major offering, the Macbook Air, is a good choice only if it will not be your main computer. Starting at $999, the Macbook Air is built for portability and not heavy use. If you will be taking it to class every day and want something light to put in your backpack, it is a great option, but it will not have the performance that other laptops have and you may run into problems with the computer not having enough power. PCs (running mainly on Microsoft’s Windows operating system) still outsell Macs today and the primary advantages of PCs include lower prices than Macbooks for models with similar specifications and a larger variety in brand, model, size, and style.

Many users also still prefer to use Windows because it is the operating system they are most familiar with. Dell and HP are currently two of the best selling brands in PC laptops and have a similar line up of notebook computers. These product lines start with fairly inexpensive netbooks (computers with screen sizes usually under 12 inches and usually priced between $299 and $599).

Netbooks are fantastic for portability, but do not have the same power as many full sized laptops and are, as their name implies, most commonly used for surfing the internet. The best screen size in a laptop computer for college students who will be taking the machine to class every day is between 13 and 15 inches. These laptops provide for greater mobility while still offering higher performance. Specifications to look for in laptops include the newest processors (such as Intel Core i3, i5, and i7), at least 3 or 4 gigabytes of ram, and a hard drive of at least 320 gigabytes to store all your files over the next few years.

Overall, the best laptop for college students depends on the student who will be using it. For some users, power and performance is the number one concern, but for others it is portability. PCs generally offer the best value in terms of price compared to performance.

Another major concern among students is price. While most students will greatly enjoy a Macbook Pro and a 15 inch Macbook Pro will likely meet both style and performance concerns, the price may be an issue. In this case, it is time to look into a similarly configured PC for a lower price. Many PC makers are trying to keep up with Apple’s popularity and offer great alternatives that may be even better than a Macbook pro with a lower price.

The best place to start when hunting for a new laptop is by exploring the various PC manufacturer’s websites and comparing specifications with price. Every student is different, but there is sure to be a laptop on the market that is right for each one of them.

(Editors note: This review was written by one of our readers Helen R).

One of the best laptops for college students is the Apple Mac book 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 Mac book comes in a small 13.3-inch package that makes mobility simple. This will make transport of the Mac book 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 making it one of the best laptops for students in college.

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, in my opinion, the best laptop for college students, 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.

Reader Question: For those that have owned a Macbook, why would you recommend it for a college student?

Of all the best college laptops I’ve owned, my favorite is my Mac Book. I bought a basic model Apple MacBook when I entered law school. This was the first time that I had purchased a Mac. I did so because I wanted to make sure that I had a laptop that was portable and durable.

Indeed, my Mac Book has been both of those things. It is easy to carry which makes it good for a student that wants to bring it to class with them. I was very surprised when I went back to school after eight years of working, how many people now take their notes directly on their computer. It’s definitely one of the best laptops for college. Another really nice thing about the MacBook is how long the battery power lasts. There is room in my classrooms for every student to plug in their own computer but I imagine that is not the case at all schools.

My Mac will last for note taking for several hours on a full charge. It is also a great help that the computer automatically goes to sleep when you close it and you do not lose very much power at all. It saves a lot of time and frustration as you do not need to reboot your computer every time you go to class. In fact, you can leave your computer on all the time, even as you carry it from place to place. You should not be concerned about programs not working with Mac. Most software automatically converted. Many schools have agreements with Mac through which students can get discounts for a computer and software. Some schools even offer the software for free (although the cost is probably included in tuition).

The MacBook that I have is very light weight. It is not a “thin” laptop but it is much easier to carry then the PCs that I have used before. It fits easily in a backpack. Instead of a carrying case I use a memory foam sleeve which so far has protected it very well. The charger is also compact and fits in the front pocket of my backpack. My Macbook also has a built in camera which is very useful for video conferencing with friends and family. If you are going to school far away from home this is a must.

My Macbook is a very basic model and does not have a lot of memory but so far that has not proved to be a problem for me. As far as good college laptopsgo, it’s one of the best in my opinion. It runs very fast and I have plenty of room to store my files. I chose a basic model because Macs in general were pricey but it is worth it to me, as a student that depends on my computer, to have a laptop that is durable and reliable.