[rockin_amigo14]

Well I have a few questions. I'll be starting school in the fall and was wondering from other college-level students if laptops are especially useful or is it better to just stick with the desktop i already have?

Anyway, I've been looking at laptops in the Dell Refurbished section, as my school offers discounts on Dell as well as free repairs for Dells on campus. It does the same for Macs, but those are a little too far out of my price range. I'm paying for this myself, so I'd like to spend less than $700, but the less, the better.

I don't do anything unusually demanding while computing. My normal activities are:

-Web browsing
-Multimedia (music, movies, etc.)
-Games (Starcraft and Counterstrike 1.6 ONLY)
-Spreadsheets
-Essay writing
-can't really think of too much else.

anyway I found a Dell Inspiron 1420 for $479 with the following specs:

-Intel Pentium Dual Core T2370 (1.73GHz/533Mhz FSB/1MB cache)
-2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 677MHz (2 DIMMs)
-Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
-120 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
-Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
-8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
-14.1 inch WXGA TrueLife Laptop Screen

Any thoughts on these specs for what I need? I should mention two things: HDD size isn't important since I'll most likely be buying an external HDD as well. And I'll be erasing Vista and installing XP (kept my CD for it thankfully)

 

[srozzman]

If I was you, I would cough up the extra dough for the dedicated video card (8400 in this case, I believe), unless you enjoy running the games on lowest possible detail. Other than that, the setup looks good to me.

 

[Kirosia]

Yeah, go for the vid card since Starcraft II and Diablo III are a coming

 

[soloz2]

Personally, I find desktops to offer better performance and reliability. Really the only reason you would need a laptop is if you regularly take your computer to class to take notes or plan to study away from where you live.

One suggestion:
If you already have a decent desktop then you don't need a beefy laptop. Get one with great battery performance and integrated graphics. I'm a gamer and yes it can be frustrating playing games on the lowest settings or not at all, but if you have a desktop then play games on it and get a functional laptop that will allow you to take notes, browse the internet, email and watch movies. Everything else can be done in your room.
Battery life will degrade and you'll likely need to replace the battery after a year or two depending on usage.
Also, you'll have to lug it around campus with you so you don't want anything too heavy.

Above all else, invest in an external hard drive to back up your data, and back up regularly! moving your computer around will almost surely kill the hard drive at least once in 4 years of college. I went through 7-8 and my wife went through 4-5 of them in 4 years of college.

another thought: unless you are computer savvy and can fix things yourself (no offense but it sounds like you aren't) then purchase the extended warranty so you aren't hit mid semester with a couple hundred dollar repair fee when something happens. Also, your parents can take out insurance on your computer/valuables as an add-on to their home owners insurance for only a few dollars a month just in case something gets stolen or damaged beyond repair.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Do you really want to take a laptop to class? I found it to be a pain - finding a place to plug in, worrying about it getting stolen, and so on. You can't even go to the bathroom without packing up and taking it along.

I got through something north of 300 units with just legal pads and a good pen. No accessories or power cord needed and no one will steal your legal pads. You might want to browse the Pen-Fi thread, too. I'd recommend the Parker 51 or the Sheaffer Snorkel. Or you could get both for under $100.

 

[Kirosia]

I agree, I've yet to need a laptop. I take good notes with pen and paper, I'd only consider getting one if it was vital to my major or your school requires it.

 

[meat01]

Shouldn't this be in gear-fi

I agree with others that a desktop would probably be better, but if you decide to go with a laptop, a business model (Thinkpad, Lattitude) will hold up better than a consumer model (Inspirion). Of course a new Thinkpad is probably out of your price range.

 

[rockin_amigo14]

so i have yet another question. if i were to get a desktop, could i theoretically take the DVD/RW and graphics card on my current PC and put it in a dell?

 

[DevilDog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockin_amigo14 /img/forum/go_quote.gif so i have yet another question. if i were to get a desktop, could i theoretically take the DVD/RW and graphics card on my current PC and put it in a dell?

Probably, as long as the graphics card slots both are PCIExpress, no problem.
The DVD/RW wouldn't be a problem at all.