Looking for a good student laptop

Science & Technology Information Technology, Gaming, Machines, Gadgets
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Hey guys, I was wondering if all you computer savvy people could help me out.
Im in the market for a laptop. My current one is kinda old, like 4/5 years, so I need something a bit newer.

These are things I am looking for:

  • Good battery life…really important because I’ll be using it on campus all day
  • Light/Thin… (same as above)
  • Speed…good speed
    -Reliable…good for the next couple of years
    -Reasonably priced

Style doesn’t really matter, just don’t want something too bulky. I dont’ need somthing for gaming or graphics. I have dvd/cd etc…so would still like that on this new one.

Gateway, IBM Thinkpad, and Toshiba…any of them worth it?
Dells im kinda iffy about…
Macbooks?
Im staying away from Compaq, because I have one right now. It worked fine for 2 years, after that it started to deteriorate. One of the fans broke, so it gets over heated and the battery died later on.

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Re: Looking for a good student laptop

IBM T42/43 or a X41 if you want more mobilaty i.e. on the road a lot.

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Re: Looking for a good student laptop

Look towards Acer and Fujitsu as well. Those are not as well advertised brands but are solid machines.

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Re: Looking for a good student laptop

IBM Thinkpad could be bit expensive, but are reliable ones. I have been using a T43; it's thin/light, sturdy and i like its design too. The only problem i have is that it's keyboard gets bit hot when i use it a lot (something like after 2-3 hrs). It's wireless card is pretty good, and once in a while i use it to work from home (through VPN) and continuously use it for 8-9 hours and had never any problem, Alhamdulillah.

I think on an avg. laptop you'd get the battery life of 3+ hours or so. For the whole day use at campus, you might need to get an extra battery. OR just take your cable, i'm sure there'd be places to hook it up.

If you are not looking at Dell, then other options you can look for are Acer and Toshiba (for a bit cheaper category).

were we dumb??
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Re: Looking for a good student laptop

I’ve heard Acers are getting better :halo:

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Re: Looking for a good student laptop

Try Acer.. the best price/performance.. Choose anything with Intel Pentium M .. preferably 1.8Ghz or more.. 5400rpm drive and at least 1GB RAM .. (if 512MB, make sure it's one stick and u get a slot open to upgrade later).

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Re: Looking for a good student laptop

Actual my 2 yr old Vaio laptop has a 1.6 ghz centrino and with the drive it came with (60 gb 5400) i used to get between 5-6 hrs of battery life. But then I later upgraded to a 7200 100 gb drive and it went down. And then for some stupid reason I started testing on weather the battery life gets killed if its continually plugged in and that killed my batter totally. Now I’ll be lucky if i can get 30 mnts :hehe:

First Test @Karachi..... Pakistan Vs Srilanka
First Test @Karachi..... Pakistan Vs Srilanka
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Re: Looking for a good student laptop

my opnion... HP would be nice for you... I am currently using that,, since 2+ years.... But it is not second hand,,,, all new brand:D

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Re: Looking for a good student laptop

I'm using a X24 costs £1800 just over 3 years ago around £300 on ebay now. I get 4 hours from it's battery. Remember it's much older power saving features than todays laptops. To top it off it's a tiny 12.1" ultra portbale.

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Re: Looking for a good student laptop

hmm...looks like Acers are worth looking at...will do that!

Thinkpad looks good, but kinda pricey..What about the new MacBooks? Anyone try them out yet?

Pakistani Abroad...the macbook has 2.0 ghz, 512 mb, 5400 rpm and intel. I've considered Mac, only thing is that I've never had one, so Im a little hesistant. But everyone I know who has one, say they love Macs. Plus I get a discount on anything apple from campus.

Asif...HP/Compaq...really don't want to take a chance....

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Re: Looking for a good student laptop

Apple not renowned for build quality. Other than IBM I would only buy a mid/high end Toshiba. Pansonic Toughbook, Itronix get a shout in but probabaly not what you are looking for.

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Re: Looking for a good student laptop

My Experiences with laptops.

1) Sony, Only buy if u have extra dosh in ur pocket, more show than performance. I have some Viao Model that only my wife uses. I dont even bother using it. (Its 1.2Ghz CPU, with 256 MB RAM, 40GB HDD)

2) HP, lacking in everything, though comes with most of the gadgets not very good when comes to reliability. I have N6120 using now from company (Even with 1GB RAM & 1.8Ghz Pentium M, it struggles)

3) Compaq (Now HP), a little bit better machines but not solid, good in performance. I have my own Presario X1020US, I bought two years ago, still working like a charm. Even after two years, the battery will works for 2 hours 25 minutes. ( 1.5Ghz Cent 1GB, with 80GB HDD)

4) Dell, I have used Latitude models and cannot complain. Solid with good performance. I had a some Latitude model in my previous job, it was 2.8Ghz (or 2.4, dont remember correctly) Pentium M. (1GB with 60GB HDD)

5) IBM, Solid & extremely good in performance. Gave me occasional problems on minor issues. Used it for few months when I was working in Canada, pretty soild machine. 1.6Ghz Cent. 1.5GB RAM, 80GB HDD

One of my mate has Toshiba, I have checked that too, its a pretty nice machine. So Toshiba can be a good choice too.

I dont know about Acer or Fujitsu etc.

I haven't used any kind of Power/MAC books, so dont know about them either.

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Re: Looking for a good student laptop

BTW, one thing I forgot, all the machines I mentioned above (apart from Viao) are mostly business machines, designed for professional work in offices.