Tips for buying a laptop for college (from a current student)

As a current college student, I think I can help you out a little bit on advising you on what type of laptop to buy. Retailers such as Best Buy, Circuit City, and many many others are advertising great laptops…but you must remember something that people often overlook: the weight of the laptop and the battery life! These two things are very important to consider for a college student, and I’ll list some more stuff below!

• Weight of a laptop: Try to find a decent laptop under 5 lbs, 5.5 lbs max. If you are going to a big university and will be walking from class to c lass, it is important to have something that is convenient to carry around. Just because your laptop is easier to carry around than a desktop computer doesn’t mean your laptop is completely convenient! The more weight you have, the less space you have in your bookbag and the more weight you have to lug around from class to class!
• Battery life: You want to buy a notebook to use it without having to keep it plugged in. Simple enough. Strive for at least 4 hours minimum battery life (because you won’t end up getting that anyway). The battery life estimates are usually given in “ideal conditions” with screen set on a dim level and only certain number of features being used. 12-cell batteries are pretty good.
• Software: You will need some software for your computer if you plan to attend college. Your university will probably have their own minimum specifications, but you will most likely need Microsoft Office. The Home/Student version of the software runs for around $100. If this sounds a bit pricy, you’re right. But it’s pretty much the standard software and while there are free alternatives out there (OpenOffice is perhaps the best known)…but once again it takes time to adjust to a different word processor when you have been using Word/PowerPoint/Excel for a long time. Most laptops DO NOT come with Microsoft Office installed unless specifically stated.
• Warranty/Service: As a student, you will be carrying your laptop around everywhere, meaning you are imposing the risk of damage to your computer from shocks (hard drive damage) to spills, drops, and just any form of technical error. It is good to know that you can get service locally and quickly…instead of having to ship your computer to another state. If your university has a program for you to buy your laptop with them, I would seriously consider it. It is usually more expensive, but you will know that your laptop will be protected and you can get help on campus. My university has 24-hour tech support…and they speak English without an accent! haha, I’m from India I can say that
• Processor: A dual-core processor is pretty much standard now a days, and you will enjoy the benefits of having a dual-core chip. If you are not familiar with it, a dual-core processor allows your computer to perform two different tasks simultaneously without compromising performance (each chip handes each task). Well that’s the simplified version. A single-core processor is pretty much obsolete and/or will become obsolete within the next year or so. DON’T BUY A SINGLE CORE even if you get a great deal on it, because the fact of the matter is that most people will be using a dual-core soon and companies will develop software that is designed for such processors, meaning your single core laptop will take forever to load stuff up.
• Memory: 2 GB or more is essential. You can get by with 1 GB, but you will end up having to upgrade in the future because you will be tired of your computer taking forever to do simple tasks. This is especially true if you are getting Windows Vista (which I don’t recommend…but it comes standard and you can’t buy new laptops with XP on them easily).
• Peripherals: A printer could be unnecessary if your university has convenient/cheap places to print. At my college, printing is like 5 cents a page which is really cheap! You can print 200 pages for $10! 200 pages on a printer would probably empty out a cartridge and cost you another $30 or $40 to replace! Also, a web-cam/microphone is a personal choice, I don’t use them so I don’t have them…so I can’t say much for them. However they could prove to be useful if you are going to college far from home. Wireless/Wired notebook mouse is a good investment, but is not essential. You will be doing more typing than cursoring (is that a word?) around. External speakers will probably be necessary as most laptop speakers are weak.
• Mac/Apple/Linux???: So you want to be different or you are a techie-geek? Well that’s cool and all, but if you are going to be majoring in certain fields, it will not be useful to have a Mac. For instance, Business majors that deal a lot with presentations will see some issues with connections/formatting. Science majors might have trouble installing certain software that is only designed for Windows. But then again, if you are an English major or Music major, a Mac could actually be beneficial. Check with your university with compatibility and also see which you really prefer. The compatibility/formatting are annoyances…but still many people at my university use Macs and they love them and don’t have any problems.

More tips coming soon.