Need advice on a laptop or netbook for school

[Jokerzwyld77]

Going back to school after a long time in the real world and was wondering if I should get a Laptop or if a Netbook will do. My area of expertise is in the desktop realm and I tend to stay away from Laptops unless I have to repair them for customers. But to be honest, I have never bought a Laptop in my life.

With the new netbooks out there that all seem to want to run Win 7 on 1 gig of ram, Will it be a waste to get one instead of a normal Laptop?

I have my home PC that is in my sig for anything that I want to do at home such as gaming and all the other stuff we all do daily, so this will be for nothing but school and maybe my wife using it to play facebook games in the bedroom / living room on the Wifi.

Since I am just starting back to school after being out for so long, to be honest, I have no idea what all I will need a Laptop for at school.

So which do you guys think? Laptop or Netbook?

 

[Diggrr]

I just bought my first notebook, an Asus K50I, and I gotta tell you it's a great bargain.
Out the door for 6 and change with a MS bluetooth mouse.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+...bolsp-app03-16?id=1218202472261&skuId=9963747

4 Gigs of ram, Dual core 2.3, and Win7 64, nice large screen, and a keyboard I don't fatfinger too much. I'd bought a couple of their netbooks for my kids, and I honestly find them slow even with XP, can't imagine what they're like with 7!
Go ahead to BB and kick the tires on one, I love mine.
btw, I don't game, that's not what this one's for, but I have no doubts it would handle what your Mrs. wants to do.

 

[Jokerzwyld77]

I guess what I am wondering first off is this, What will be the main uses of it at school?

I feel like such a n00b going back into school after so long that I really have no clue what I would need one for. My PC experience has all been learned hands on over the last 18 years but now I need to get my degree to get back into the field with some of the larger companies where I plan to move to when I am done with school. Hell, when I was in school you took notes with a pen and paper and the internet was something out of a Science fiction movie so I am at a loss here.

I will look at that one Diggrr thanks, BB is one of the stops I have planned when shopping.

 

[Jokerzwyld77]

Also, I see a lot of factory refurbs on newegg / amazon and was wondering if anyone had bought one and what they thought of it. Basically I need something to get me through a 2 year degree program then it can become a paperweight for all I care really. I don't have much use for a laptop at home and in 2 years if I need one for work I will be buying a nice one.

 

[White_Pawn]

honestly if you are just using word processing/internet etc. Just get a netbook. I'd recommend a 12inch by asus, ie. 1201PN or if you wait: 1215N.

 

[attack]

I'd so no to a netbook. They're too limited even if they have decent battery life. You're gonna be mad when you get a netbook and find you need to run more software or open up a pdf only see 1/4 of it.

I'd get a 13.3 or 14" laptop. Asus U30 series and U80 series are great. Also IBM T400's (last years model) with a 9 cell battery are great as well, although they may be a tad thicker, they're high quality.

Bottom line, if you're gonna be using a netbook for productivity, you''re gonna be disappointed.