just sack up and spent the extra $300 get a macbook. it'll make your life a lot easier. Do not get HPs. they load their laptops with a shitload of bloatware. Whenever I recommend laptops for business (PC) I always say Lenovo is probably the best. Toshibas have had a great reputation as well. Dell has really gone downhill, I don't trust them anymore.
When I get a new laptop I'm going to get another Gateway, they are good computers that last forever. The Gateway I have now has taken one hell of a beating between me, the dog, and the cats, AND has basically run non-stop for two years and it's still going strong. This is probably the best value you can get in a laptop right now. http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16834101226 The problem is that Newegg sells out almost as soon as they get some in stock.
Gateway is horrible. they succeeded in the late 90s because of their retail stores, but then their parts and quality fell to all hell. not sure about them recently though. I think they got bought by ASUS.
What the hell are you talking about? Gateway's have been highly recommended by experts since they where bought by Acer, and their laptops are often on the top of best buy lists in various categories.
Lenovo Thinkpad. I have owned 3. They are powerful, durable, reliable and have a great keypad. What else do you want?
Thoughts? http://www.amazon.com/Asus-K50IJ-X3...8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&qid=1277663153&sr=1-53 http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Satel...TF8&coliid=I341EF2ZJRCM6I&colid=2YXN1ZIKTRP60 http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Satel...UTF8&coliid=IN3TRLLTSC9TU&colid=2YXN1ZIKTRP60 Can you stop embarrassing me in front of my friends?
I have a 17" laptop, and at first I loved it. Now, when using the misses 15" mine seems so heavy and bulky, and hers has much better battery life. I would say for the purposes you listed don't waste the money on a 17" screen unless you plan on watching a lot of movies on it. Also, the new Intel "i" processors are amazing and I strongly recommend them.
I might check out Best Buy tomorrow. What would the ideal specs be for my laptop? For the most part, I'm lost in that department.
For cheap? Ideally 1366x768 15.x inch screen Core I5 processor 4G of RAM if you can get it, 3G is likely for cheap Windows 7 64 bit version at least 320G hard dive (7200 RPM is fast, 5400 less so but more likely for cheap) DVD RAM/ROM drive Built in WiFi
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...3&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&kc=laptop-studio-1555 $599. $699 with the 1080p resolution screen. Another $100 gets you an i5-430M @ 2.26GHz/2.53GHz turbo. Do those upgrades and you will have a laptop that might well last you 4 years of college. If you only do one, do the screen.
Every workstation and server where I work is Dell and they work great. For me, the draw of this laptop is the screen resolution. 1920x1080 is going to look way nicer than one of those 1366x768 screens.
