It is time...

...for me to start thinking about a laptop. I'm going to college in the fall, and I'm going to need a laptop. I've never owned one or shopped for one before, and I would like some tips on what to look for and what brands to buy and whatnot. I will definitely use it for gaming, but I'm used to desktops so I don't know what price range I'll be in.

Keep in mind that I want to wait for windows 7, so I'm just asking for some general tips in order to avoid making a stupid purchase in the summer. Just some past experiences and some suggestions will do. Thanks

Well when buying a laptop you generally want to think about hard drive space, the amount of ram, and the speed of the processor. My personal opinion i would go with Gateway, HP, Compaq. Just out of curiosity how much would be willing to spend on a laptop?
Here is a good one. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9172511&type=product&id=1218043606827

I believe my friend actually has that exact one (he just got it after his desktop died - theres a thread by me about it actually haha happened a few weeks ago) and it's very nice. I love the design on the gateways and I love that they dont bundle a bunch of crap with their PCs that you never use. Amazing price too.

Have the GTX GPU's gone mobile yet?

Having procured many different models of laptops for heavy use over the years, I would urge you to consider two things that most people don't think about: The keyboard and the service.

Everyone considers screen size and CPU and memory and other features, but your fingers will appreciate a keyboard with a solid feel and substantial key travel depth. If you have large hands, you will especially want to test drive the keyboard because you will want full size keys, especially if you plan on taking lots of notes and writing papers with it.

Also, since you plan on using your laptop as a primary computing device for school, you will want to know what sort of service to expect if something goes south. I have always had good luck with IBM Thinkpads. If ever anything went wrong with them, they overnighted a shipping container immediately after calling. When it arrived, I simply dropped the laptop in the box and gave it right back to the delivery person. I would always get it back within two (2!) days or sooner. This was before Lenovo bought IBM's laptop division--though I hear that the service is still good. It's a good idea to ask ahead of time regardless of which brand/model you decide to go with. I will tell you right now to stay away from Best Buy's extended warrantees. They are totally worthless. They will do anything they can to get out of servicing your equipment. I hear that this is common when buying from a retailer. If you do decide to purchase a service plan--make sure you read all the fine print--but believe only half of that.

As far as servicing goes, you will want to check with the school you are attending since many colleges have programs/agreements with certain companies that manage computer service for their students. Some schools will have centers where you can bring your laptop in for free service and even a loaner, but you may have to purchase from a list of approved models--whether you buy it yourself or directly from the school.

The Customer service is good... the dog chewed up my charger and i told them that it was broken and they were good about replacing it and it it came pretty fast.

I'm in the same boat, going to school in the fall and am looking for a gamer for under 2 grand.

So far I've narrowed it down to Asus, Lenovo, and Dell (maybe). I would never touch an HP, Compaq or Sony from personal experience and would advise anyone I know to do the same.

I've heard good thing about the Gateway listed above but unfortunately, they are not available in Canada so thats a no for me.

I don't want to go above 15.4" due to the fact that I will need some battery life and a 17" is just too big to be easily portable IMO.

Right now I'm leaning towards the Asus as it seems like the best bang for the buck gamer but the Lenovo is tempting as well. It's a little less powerful GPU wise but Thinkpads are pretty tough and the service is top notch.

No GTX in the mobile form yet, although ATI's 48XX series are just around the corner. Hopefully we will see those new graphics chips by the end of the summer.

I've used numerous laptops in my days (which are not long), but I've been through college with one and I have some wisdom for you.

Order of importance when buying a school laptop.

1: Build Quality
Don't kid yourself. You'll probably be living with some guys who will throw things, run into things, and break things. I had roommates like this, and even though they were great guys and are still great friends, they broke crap. Maybe you're roommates won't be as bad, but consider this. You will be moving this computer around a lot. Taking it to class, moving it from your desk to the couch in your dorm, taking it to the library, taking it to another dorm room, etc. It will get used and possibly abused, so make sure it's built well and not made out of cheap plastic. Larger laptops are more prone to suffer from flex and bending, so do yourself a favor and research your laptop before you buy it, otherwise it's not going to last you for four years.

2: Keyboard
This should be a no brainer, but it's not. You are going to be writing A LOT in college. You will be typing out more papers than you can imagine, and if you're going to be doing the note taking thing your keyboard will really get used. Make sure your keyboard isn't crappy. It needs to be sturdy with no bending or flexing and the keys need to be strong and have good feedback. You don't want to have a cruddy keyboard that gets sticky and a couple of keys stop working. That happened to me and there is nothing worse. My left shift key failed, so I had to learn how to shift with my right hand which sucked. Also, some keyboard layouts are strange so make sure you get one that feels natural to you.

3: Battery
Yup, its really annoying going to class and running out of batteries in the middle of a lecture. That happened to me a lot and it sucks. I'm not just talking about one class here! Usually you will have three or four classes in a day with little time to recharge in between. Get something that can give you three hours of battery life. If that's not possible then get a second battery. You will not regret it.

4: Display
You will be spending a lot of time on your laptop in college. If you get something with too little resolution you will get tired of switching between windows every two seconds. If you get something with too high resolution then you will get a sore neck and eyes from straining and leaning forward to read the screen. I currently have a 1920x1200 display on my 15.4" Dell. I love the display, but I can't spend more than an hour or two at the computer before I start feeling it in my neck and back. Be smart about this one! You shouldn't get more than 1650x1080 on a 15.4" in my opinion. If I were buying this laptop again I would probably go with the 1440x900 screen. Also, really think about LED backlighting. It will give you longer battery life and it will allow you to use your laptop outside. Standard backlight displays are useless outside, especially with the super glossy screens you see nowadays.

5: Service
You might think that you're a computer genius and that you can fix everything on your own. I made this mistake and only got the one year warranty with my college laptop. Here's the problem. Laptops are not like desktops and you can't just replace a part when something stops working. There are a lot of integrated components, and things just crammed in way too close. Things overheat, wear out, and break down a lot faster in a laptop than they do in a desktop. Do yourself a favor and cover your back for at least two or three years.

I'll add more if I think of it

juane414 said:

3: Battery
Yup, its really annoying going to class and running out of batteries in the middle of a lecture. That happened to me a lot and it sucks. I'm not just talking about one class here! Usually you will have three or four classes in a day with little time to recharge in between. Get something that can give you three hours of battery life. If that's not possible then get a second battery. You will not regret it.

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Juane brings up a good point about batteries. I will tell you now that NO notebook has adequate batter power that will last through a full day of classes. You will be lucky if a fully charged battery lasts through two classes (well, two hours of constant use) NO MATTER WHAT THE MANUFACTURER STATES IN THE MANUAL OTHERWISE. A second battery is a must. Also, keep your batteries COOL. Li-Ion batteries have pretty much overcome 'memory' issues, but heat will kill those batteries faster than anything--and this is true even when the laptop isn't even being used. Do not leave them in hot cars or store them in hot areas (make sure there is no room heater/element by your desk in your room). This is why Li-Ion batteries have regulators built in to prevent overcharging since the charging process does warm the batteries. There is a past thread somewhere in OCForums dealing with the care and handling of laptop batteries.

One other consideration you might want to make is about the availability of a docking port. USB docking dongles work OK, but they don't have the ease of use and compatibility that a dedicated docking port allows. It is a nice feature for a student (or anyone who uses a laptop as a primary computer) to be able to plop his notebook onto/into a dock and immediately, he/she has access to instant charging, wired internet connection, full size monitor, mouse, local printer/scanner, and any other peripherals you might be using. You might also consider buying a second charger--one for the docking port and one to carry with you when you are mobile.

If you have limited space, you might be considering buying a flat panel TV that can double as a monitor. If you are planning this, make sure the TV really supports computer input and that your laptop supports the resolution of the TV/Monitor. Some laptops do this better than others and some allow easier configuration than others as well. It's worth a little extra research if you are planning this.

Also, relating to the battery deal, you have an option now that was not available when I went to college. Netbooks! I've never owned a netbook myself, but if you get one of the Asus netbooks with the 6 cell battery, those things are supposed to run through 7 hours or so. If you have a $2000 budget you could easily afford a decent gaming laptop and a netbook. The gamer could just sit on your desk in your dorm most of the time and the netbook could be your class buddy. I would have jumped on this if it were available when I was in college because my laptop was a secondary computer to begin with. My desktop was my primary baby, and it sucked hauling my 14.1" laptop to class. It would have been heaven on earth if I could have owned a netbook in college!

Wow some great info guys I didn't realize there was this much to laptops. All very much worth considering though, I mean a college laptop will be yours until you graduate (even more for some people but I'm a gamer so I prefer a new PC every 3-4 years or so).

Looks like I've got a lot of research to do.

What exactly is a netbook?

jmt391 said:

Wow some great info guys I didn't realize there was this much to laptops. All very much worth considering though, I mean a college laptop will be yours until you graduate (even more for some people but I'm a gamer so I prefer a new PC every 3-4 years or so).

Looks like I've got a lot of research to do.

What exactly is a netbook?

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Netbooks are very small, light computers that, while very underpowered (no games need apply), their battery life is much better than a full-function laptop. However, if you use them heavily with the screen brightness turned up and the wireless always on, are still limited in useful battery life.

Also, they are very inexpensive (~$300) and are often loaded with Linux and built for basic surfing, email, and light office apps and utilities. Since you are planning to game on this machine, these are probably not for you.

Also, being a gamer, keep in mind that you should be looking for a laptop with a dedicated video card by ATI or NVidia (Intel? Fuggetaboutit). Some laptops offer discreet video cards that can be upgraded (somewhat). There is no standard for laptop video cards (yet) so be careful if going this route. Be forewarned--you will pay more for the better video card and the better video card will draw much more power (you shouldn't be gaming unless you are plugged in).

mbigna said:

Since you are planning to game on this machine, these are probably not for you.

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This is why I suggested that he get both a gaming laptop and a netbook, as he would be able to get both for less than $2000.

Well, I wouldn't be gaming unless I was in my dorm or at a friend's, so I would always be plugged in while gaming. I don't really mind carrying around a 9 pound beast with me, although I would definitely need to look into battery life on those (I know how quickly laptops go dead but If i had to spend a little extra on a second battery that's fine).

I know to buy a laptop with a dedicated videocard, I would never go another way. What do you mean there's no "standard" yet for laptops though?

one thing to avoid - hp laptops with glossy keyboards and palm rests. mine was great to look at, but impossible to see in low light/bright light/any light unless angled towards your face. and it's impossible to clean.

other than that, they have great keyboards.

jmt391 said:

I don't really mind carrying around a 9 pound beast with me

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I thought the same thing you know. I'm not saying you can't do it, but I was not able to haul my "beast" around for four years. If you can do it then you will be a better man for outlasting me! After watching my friends with their nice little 12" and 13" laptops for four years, my thinking was completely refashioned. My laptop weighed more than all of my books combined (granted I didn't really have any massive textbooks) and it seemed silly to bring it with just for taking notes, so I ended up taking most of my notes by hand.

Also consider that your super powerful dedicated graphics card will require a fan. Another reason why I opted not to bring my laptop to class was because of all the looks and glares that I received from classmates. Your average Joe college student doesn't have a powerful laptop. They usually have the Best Buy shelf model, or nowadays a Mac, with a whisper quiet fan. You don't want to be the guy running the hair dryer in the back of the class.

Alright thank you all for making some interesting points about laptop shopping and poitns to consider. I still have awhile to think about it, but it's nice to be prepped to make a smart purchase.

When things start getting closer, we'll start talking models .

Thanks a lot everyone I appreciate it!

i have a Macbook pro for school and i get looks all the time. lol

maybe its because they cost more than a highpowered gaming laptop grrr.


Apple has awesome customer service also ...
my OLD macbook pro had a HDD and LCD problem along with some graphics drivers issue , they took that one back and gave me a brand new 17inch with the LED display.

Here is my recommendations after owning (and currently typing on) my current laptop, I hope you can learn from my mistakes

1. Find a cool running one.
My laptop for now is an Everex xt5000t, about 2 years ago this was a great deal on a laptop, Dual core processor (have sence upgraded) dedicated GPU (7600 go), wireless and the works. The biggest problem with this laptop is HEAT, and the lack of management for it. I have it in my lap right now and I can already feel myself sweating from the excess heat. The cooling system on this thing is a joke, there is a heatsink about the size of the palm of your hand cooling the GPU, the GPU AND the CPU are all connected using a SINGLE heatpipe. There is also only one fan.

2. Find a quiet laptop
The biggest reason why I'm getting a new laptop is because of the noise this one makes at idle. It screams trying to keep itself cool, and never stops being noisy. This is really annoying and embarrassing when I'm sitting in a quiet classroom

3. Comfortable keyboard
This is one of the things that my laptop does great. A comfortable keyboard will allow you to write down your notes in time.

4. A good screen
A good screen will reduce eye strain. Try to keep it around 13''-15'' to help battary life and allow for good portability. (My laptop has a 17 inch screen and is a pain to carry around, but the screen is a good quality)

5. Big battary
In my old collage, I had to get to class early because I needed to get a plug in before everyone else decided to plug there laptop in.

6. Quality Quality Quality
Make sure that you get a laptop made out of quality materials. This will prevent cracking, and future loathing due to the cheap feel of the laptop.

I came across an article that reviews a handful of the 'universal' (USB) docking stations. So, if the laptop you buy doesn't have a dedicated docking station available, this might be an alternative for you. Keep in mind, the one thing these USB stations cannot do is charge your laptop when attached.

http://www.computerworld.com/action...wArticleBasic&articleId=9128862&source=NLT_AM

i thought i would say if your gaming you want a larger screen but the bigger screen carries a price on battery life. try to get a screen with LED backlighting, should offset the cost of battery life quite a bit, that is if you dont mind hauling arround a big laptop.

my laptop is 14.1" and its hard to see, its got a good screen its just, i am used to bigger. and i game some one it now but i will more here real soon if i cant shrink my desktop with a mATX