Best Laptop for College?

BrownBomber

BrownBomber

Member
So im going to be a college freshman next year, and my Grandparents want to buy me a laptop as a graduation present. They want to know which one i want, taking into account that my grandma gets a fair discount on all HP's.

I was taking a look at the HP Envy, and i saw a commercial for the new Dr. Dre edition of it, which looks bad ass, but its pretty pricey.

So newschoolers, which laptop should i ask for? Like i said, ill be using it mainly for college work, but i want to be able to do media stuff like photoshop and making edits.
 
I've owned Dell computers for the last 10 years (laptops and desktops), and just recently switched to a Macbook Pro, and I'll never go back. I fucking love the Mac. I would definitely recommend it.
 
Just think about the specs that you will need. Oh and dont get a big one. I though it would be better to have a big screen for watching movies and shit, but its just annoying, go for convenience
 
not to be a mac fag but i really love mine. its super easy to use and it is very sturdy. one thing i dont like about alot of other laptops is how they feel like they will snap if you look at them the wrong way. the aluminum body makes it so much stronger. it has kept my card reader working while it has broken on many other laptops.
 
personally, i would never buy an hp product, every one I have owned/used has felt incredibly cheep and low quality, same with most dell machines.

macbooks are the most popular student laptops for a reason, they are built with very high quality components, osx runs like a dream for students, and you can dual boot windows natively through boot camp should any of your classes require apps that only run on windows

if you are an anti mac guy, drop the money on a "gaming brand" laptop, IE alienware or falcon northwest, they both have a much nicer build quality then comparable HP/dell/acer/ect models
 
I have a dell inspiron and i dont like it to much. Its completely made of shit and had to get the screen replaced because it broke. I want a mac but mine is pretty new
 
I would recommend a Macbook. just a regular macbook, not the pro if you don't need it.

I had a Dell Inspiron for the first half of college and it was a nightmare, i had to take it in countless times to be fixed and i've never ever had one problem with my mac in 4+ years of owning it. it's faster, it doesn't fail, it was worth any extra money i paid for it.
 
To tell you the truth it all depends on what you are going into. Now personally I hate any sort of apple products, they are over priced and really not better than anything else spec wise. But if you wanted a mac you could just buy a cheap HP wipe the hard drive then install OSX on it for $30 (price of osx).
But I would go with toshiba, they hold up well and I never have problems with any of them. HP laptops usually break down, and if you get one that breaks down once there is no point in getting it fixed because it will just break down again. I have had multiple friends with those problems.
So the only thing you need to figure out is if you want something that has an i7 and an hour and a half of battery life that sounds like a jet when you have to get a laptop cooler for it or something that you just need for taking notes/ casual video editing.
 
Depends what you want to do with it. I'm doing undergraduate mech engineering and have an HP Pavilion dv6 with an i5, and the dx11 graphics card. Running windows 7 on it and have had zero problems, running multiple programs while in solidworks.

This computer kicks a macs ass.
 
Gdq61.jpg
 
This is either photoshopped, or not from the US, because while Macs are definitely expensive, they're not THAT expensive. $400 for Office Mac? I don't think so.
 
I've had a Dell Latitude E6500 for 3 years now. I've never had to take it in for any repair, virus fix, or anything. Never had any problems whatsoever.

It just all depends on what you are doing in college. My recommendation for these threads have always been very simple: If you are a business major, do NOT get a Mac. If youre an arts major or graphic design, then a Mac would probably suit you. I do not have much personal experience wit HP's but my friends who have them do not like them that much.

I can elaborate on why Mac's are not the best for business majors if you'd like. Just PM me.
 
Look for a refurbished MacBook Pro. It's a good way to save a bit of money and you'll forget it was ever a refurb. I used to have an HP laptop and spent countless hours troubleshooting, now that I've got a MacBook I haven't spent a minute troubleshooting after two years of owning it.

Are they more expensive? Yes, but talk to just about anyone that owns one and they'll tell you it's well worth it.
 
Don't get a 17" screen. It's good for design work/editing, but it's a bitch to transport. I had to go to three different stores to find a laptop bag that my computer fit in by the way.
It's a Sony VAIO by the way, but I'm running OS X on it.
 
you should get a 13" screen on whatever laptop you get. then get it hooked up to a 27" or so LCD TV on your desk that could double as a larger work monitor AND a tv. i'm 100% positive you can find a decent HP notebook.
 
I love my macbook pro,
Pros: Best iTunes integrationVirtually no virusesFastEasy to UseTouchpad is nice
Cons:Not really a gamer's computerCan't run windows based programs (.exe)
 
get a toshiba protege r700. they have a few different models but all are much cheaper than the shit ass mbp's. the protege is thinner than a mbp while still packing an optical drive hdmi 3 usb with one esata/sleep port. with all this comes a 3 year warranty. the battery claims to last 10 but u can realistically get 6 out of it unlike everyones mac i know who cant beat 5 hours. for everyone saying get a mbp: shut the fuck up your systems are shit and arent the be all end all. ease of use is a very personal opinion. macs arent easier to use, in ways they are harder because apple dumbs down the interface so much that they dont expect you to want to do certain things. i currently have a dell studio 14 and while it is nice i wish i would have gone for the toshiba. just my two cents.
 
my macbook (regular) gets school work done but thats about it. I wouldn't buy another one because of all the incompatibilities with programs that are commonly run everywhere
 
The new macs are amazing. They just came out and they're faster and more powerful. And to that picture on why not to get a mac up there ^ somewhere, that's fucking insane. You don't HAVE to have that on your mac. You can buy it separately and install it yourself. My bro had a Mac Book pro with 2gb of RAM, and order 8gb for $100 on Amazon, he installed it himself (Easy as cake) and it works awesome now. Graphics, mmm... I don't know how that works. But there are cheaper alternatives that are the same thing, but require you to do it yourself. That picture sucks and should never be posted again.
Mac all the way. They're awesome. Also, OSX Lion is coming out this Fall, and you can get it for free or for $20 even if you buy your computer before Lion comes out. They give you an upgrade warranty for free.
 
macbooks and macbook pros. and depending on what school you go to or what high school you went to, you can get laptops cheaper. If you want I can find a link but its somewhere on the apple website.
 
why don't you run windows in bootcamp then? honestly that is something that makes macs the best computers on the market, you get the best of both worlds
 
If you can, get a Macbook pro. They are much more efficient, so they seem a lot faster for a longer time, could probably last your whole time at college. They work so much better because the same company makes the software and hardware. Whether you like mac or not, its hard not to see why that wouldn't work better. Plus it comes with a lot of extra software.

If you want something cheaper, but still reliable, check out something like this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ASUS+-+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i3+Processor+/+15.6%22+Display+/+4GB+Memory+/+640GB+Hard+Drive+-+Burgundy/1775024.p?id=1218290441039&skuId=1775024
 
this is such a stupid picture to post in this thread.
This would be a relevant picture if the OP asked... "Should I upgrade through apple or should I do it myself"
I mean of course upgrading through apple is too expensive. I have a MBP 15" and I've upgraded everything in it myself because it's less... but that is not a reason why you shouldn't get one when you can get components for it on other sites for less.. just a reason you don't buy upgrades from apple.

ignorant post is ignorant.
 
get a mac. their SO aestetically pleasing. the keyboard is BLACK. the eges are ROUNDED. thusly its 2000 dollars more.

that being said i have one so...yeah
 
depends on your major, but if you are anything other than math or engineering, get a macbook. seriously the best trackpad on the market, you never need an external mouse. great keyboard, good battery life. all you could need in a college laptop
 
i wanted a macbook pro so that when i went to the coffee shop on campus people wouldnt think i was a poor college kid who will be struggling to pay off massive student loans for the rest of his working life. then i discovered that they were equally as fucked, so i saved some money and got a just as reliable and efficient pavilion dv6. my buddies and i play starcraft, they have macs which obviously cost a lot more, and i can kick their ass on high graphics while they are stuck in low. more universally accepted, durable (ie, has an aluminum body that the coveted MBP has) and has a 3 year warranty that will get me through the remainder of college should anything go wrong. IMO, go with a HP, i dont know why these people are all aboard the mac train, i have one at home an like it, but windows is so much more efficient.
 
I actually have a hp envy with beats audio and like it. It doesnt feel cheap at all, is powerful, has 3d, a big screen and hasn't given me any issues yet. the only time i notice the beats audio is when using headphones with the computer. the built in speakers are nothing special imo.
 
dude this should sell you right here

except not. not trying to hate haha except for on macs. for the price of a pro or some shit you can get a custom built pc that kicks ass, the processing power per dollar is so lowballed compared to some high end gaming pcs, and the graphics/processor/ram/hd are equal at the least of a mac just for less buck /machate

p.s. i expect my comment to insinuate lots of pc hate
 
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