Laptop Question

[asta]

I know that this isn't really a technical board but it can't hurt to ask. I need to buy my daughter a laptop and wonder if anyone has a strong reccomendation. She starts college in the fall and I am fairly clueless on what to buy. At home she is used to using a pretty powerful Dell desktop, but I know that she will want something fairly light weight. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

Dell 710m or whatever the Mac 12in is. I have a Dell 12in and everyone I know with bigger laptops wants mine. It's so light and portable.

 

[helenabear]

I just got the Dell XPS 12.1 inch widescreen. Small, but not so tiny it is hard to read/use. It's also very lightweight. Good machine.

Looked at the Macs for a brief moment. Just too expensive for what you get. They also aren't designed to use the Intel processors to the fullest. I would also NOT get a Mac for college. Working at colleges I know most the software out there is designed for PC and not Mac. We had both, but the support out there was almost always PC based.

Don't just get cheap though. You get what you pay for. A $800 laptop will not hold up as well or last as well as a $1500 one. You aren't just paying for speed, you are paying for the quality of the components inside.

I love the XPS line, and the Latitude line (small business part of Dell) is a good one as well. That's the line my DH's company uses exclusively at work.

 

[NewJersey]

I have the mac 12 inch powerbook and LOVE it. My friend actually just got one too and had a Dell laptop and it's a world of difference between the two.

I'd go with a Mac.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

Recently got a Sony VAIO on sale at Best Buy.
So far so good.

 

[asta]

What model of the Sony Vaio did you get and what was your deciding factor? So far I am leaning toward this brand. They seem to get good reviews.

 

[helenabear]

I should say that I also have a 3 year old Sony that I just replaced. They are decent, but mine had over heating troubles.

Of course my model is not being built anymore, so I can't help give out any info on those at the moment. I really would kind of shy away from that brand. Not the worst, but you are paying more because it is simply a "Sony" brand name product.

 

[HOGFAN]

You need to check with the college to see what they recommend. They will probably only guarantee to support what they recommend. If she has trouble down the road with a computer(software issues,etc) they could help her. Otherwise she might be on her own.