Question for all of you college students.

tmh88tmh88 Pittsburgh / Athens, OH
edited June 2005 in Hardware
Hey, I'm going to college next year, and I want to get a great computer that will hopefully last me all 4 years. Anyway, ive been debating to get a laptop, or desktop. I've heard alot of people say that it is nice for some classes and stuff, but desktops are generally more powerful than laptops. I play alot of games so it is important to me that my computer is fast. I was planning on maybe the amd athlon 64 3700 for a desktop, which is pretty damn fast, but if i get a laptop with the same performance as it, it will cost a few thousand.


Anyway college students, would you suggest getting a powerful desktop, or a laptop which costs more, but is nice because of its portability. thanks

Comments

  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Our school required us to buy laptops. They were rediculously overpriced, but top of the line when they came out. I've had pretty much the same desktop since then - easy to upgrade, no need to buy a complete new system. My laptop gets the most use as an mp3 player when I go to sleep - I really only use it in class to play games. Build yourself a sweet desktop and pick up a cheap older laptop for taking notes. Or use a pen + paper.
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited June 2005
    shwaip wrote:
    Our school required us to buy laptops. They were rediculously overpriced, but top of the line when they came out. I've had pretty much the same desktop since then - easy to upgrade, no need to buy a complete new system. My laptop gets the most use as an mp3 player when I go to sleep - I really only use it in class to play games. Build yourself a sweet desktop and pick up a cheap older laptop for taking notes. Or use a pen + paper.
    absolutely right
    make sure you get an LCD
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    also, don't buy surround (4/5/6.1) speakers till you see your dorm room - I've been in 3 different types of dorms and haven't really had a decent way to set up the sattelites. If you find that you have space in your dorm, then get them.
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited June 2005
    and consider this, its very unlikely that your roommate is going to be okay with you setting up 5.1 around the room. even if he did, I doubt he'd be okay with you USING them most of the time

    just keep in mind, space is DEFINITELY a concern
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited June 2005
    I would suggest both if you can. A desktop for gaming and a laptop for taking notes in class. I usually end up browsing the internet in class and dont pay attention tho, so its not all good.
  • MiracleManSMiracleManS Chambersburg, PA Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    I think this is a great question. I bought a laptop to run while at school, and aside from gaming, it does everything and more for what I'd need. Here's what I suggest:

    If you're interested in gaming, I'd buy a decent desktop, but let it open for upgrade as you get money (instead of going balls to the wall) and also buy an inexpensive laptop for class use etc. Even having a laptop, I constantly find myself wanting a desktop system so I can sit down and relax with a game or two. And on that note, I'm sure if I only had a desktop I'd want the ability to fold up my laptop and take it wherever I need (especially since I take many road trips during both semesters, and need to do work while I'm gone). So, for what my two cents is worth, a decent above average desktop with a low line laptop for classes is what would be ideal.
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited June 2005
    if you're buying a laptop, you really shouldn't be buying it for taking notes in class. very rarely does that seem to help people, usually it serves as more of a distraction. if you are interested in a laptop for not taking, look into getting a tablet pc. it wouldn't be great for gaming, but you can load up powerpoints if your professor post them online and take notes right on the presentation, very nice
  • tmh88tmh88 Pittsburgh / Athens, OH
    edited June 2005
    I just got done talking to my parents and they said they will give me $1200 towards a computer. So what im thinking is use about $500 from my job and buy a cheap laptop for notes and that kinda stuff, and use the $1200 towards building a desktop. I already have a nice lcd monitor right now that i got on sale at bestbuy. samsung 17" 12ms response time, with a 650:1 contrast ratio. I couldnt be more happy with it, bright, vibrant colors and extremely sharp. I want to thank all of you for this great idea. So ill buy a cheap laptop, probably a celeron maybe even p3, which will then give me even more money to spend on the desktop. So I ahve about $1200 to spend on a desktop, + any extra money I want to throw in(maybe like $100-200).

    Anyway I know im going to go with an AMD 64 because I love my 64 3200+. and I tried out my cousins 3500 and it was fast as hell. We also have a dell in my house, p4 3.2ghz and my pc benchmarks higher at 2.2ghz. Which AMD 64 processor do you think i should get given the price range i have? :scratch:
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited June 2005
    what all will you be reusing?
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited June 2005
    my parents will buy me a laptop, so I'll probably bring that and my pc (whatever one that is by then with w/e specs). I'm only a sophomore in hs now, so it'll be a few years :)
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    when I head off to college in two years (still havent thought bout it yet) my parents are gonna get me a lappy and I'll end up taking my main rig wit me,Id rather them give me money for the main rig and buy a lappy on my own, only thing I'd use it for is for surfin the internet durring class :thumbsup:
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited June 2005
    i can see myself taking notes... for the first 2 weeks ;D I know i'll be looking at porn, checking email, doin all kinds of stuff
  • qparadoxqparadox Vancouver, BC
    edited June 2005
    The cheap laptop + good desktop is a great way to go. When buying your desktop do consider the amount of heat it'll put out in your dorm room and whether your dorm room is air conditioned. An overclocked 400W egg fryer might not be the best idea. An LCD is a must.

    Try to get as much ram as possible on your laptop .. if you can get 512MB included in a $500 laptop that'd be awesome. This might be different if you're mostly doing word processing .. but I do a lot of math simulations on my laptop (I'm in engineering physics) and the ram is a requirement. I'm scraping the piggy bank to try and get 2x1GB SODIMM's. The ram will also cause the laptop's slow HD to be less noticeable. You never want to be using a 4200 rpm drive when an app starts swapping to disk :). I've seen some awesome deals on used IBM thinkpads (probably off lease but they're solid as a rock) locally, I'm sure there's some around where you are as well.

    If you're into helping people fix their computers (even just simple spyware / adware) then a bringing along a cheap $10 wired router can be very useful. Our university likes to disable ports when people start spewing virii and the girl next door will definitely need her dell laptop connected to the internet to be fully patched and repaired ;). And if you're not too up to date on the adware .. you may want to practise your diagnostic skills in the spyware forum.
  • teflemingtefleming
    edited June 2005
    qparadox wrote:
    If you're into helping people fix their computers (even just simple spyware / adware) then a bringing along a cheap $10 wired router can be very useful. Our university likes to disable ports when people start spewing virii and the girl next door will definitely need her dell laptop connected to the internet to be fully patched and repaired ;). And if you're not too up to date on the adware .. you may want to practise your diagnostic skills in the spyware forum.

    I agree with all the advice previously given except the quote portion above. At my school, a router will get your port shut off more quickly than viruses (which will only get you moved to the quarantine segment.) Better bet is to have an external HDD for backing up data to do OS reinstalls and have a pen drive loaded with MS Antispyware, Spybot SD, Adaware, and HJT. You can download the updated definitions for them before going on a call.
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    I'm an engineering major and no one uses their notebooks to take notes in class. Most of my friends that actually have laptops never take them anywhere as they are afraid of breaking them (negates the entire purpose of owning one imho). Of the people that own them and take them to class, no one uses them during class because it pisses off most professors which can kill your grade in a small class.

    My first two years of college I was desktop-only. It did and does everything I needed/need to do except be there for me all the time. I bought an IBM ThinkPad later to supplement my desktop; now I can use a computer nearly anywhere. I find my laptop most useful at work where I can pop it open and have a working machine with Internet access to help me diagnose problems with other computers. It's also great for getting Internet access and checking your professor's notes and e-mail before class.

    So yeah, it all depends on your own usage patterns. I ended up buying a laptop with abilities similar to my desktop (read: 2.1GHz Dothan, Mobility FireGL T2, 1GB RAM, 60GB 7200RPM hard drive, DVD burner, 1600x1200 15" LCD vs 2x Opteron 248, AIW Radeon 9800 Pro, 2GB RAM, 2x160GB 7200RPM RAID0, DVD burner, 2048x1536 21" CRT). It's nice to have two computers because I break one or the other on a regular basis. I'm hell on software. ;D

    One last thing: TheBaron is absolutely correct: forget speakers. You can't use them. Go spend $100 on an awesome set of headphones and a headphone amplifier if your sound card doesn't have one (most don't). I like Sony MDR-V600's though YMMV.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited June 2005
    wow those are some pretty nice computers you got there. My parents bought my sister a laptop for college this fall. She's going to A&M. She's not a realy literate computer person, so having a bit slower processor like this really wont matter to her. I don't like at ALL how its a widescreen display though! It's some weird resolution ratio.. oh well. http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=i6000S4&s=dhs
  • tmh88tmh88 Pittsburgh / Athens, OH
    edited June 2005
    Well, anyway now that I think about it, I might upgrade my pc now to 1.5 gigs of ram, and I'll probaby buy the nvidia 6800 GT so I can pwn you in counterstrike source more easily :D:D:D:D:) Anyway yea I'll just make my pc now alt better (spend a few hundred) and then use the rest of the money to buy a laptop.

    So say I put about $300-400 into this computer I'm using now and bring it with me to college, and then use the other $800-900+ any money I want to throw in, to buy a laptop. do you think this would be a good way to go?
  • tmh88tmh88 Pittsburgh / Athens, OH
    edited June 2005
    I'm not re-using anything except for my monitor :D A whole new fresh system, so basically I need everything. I just use the onboard soundcard cause personally I can spend the $70 on something else thats more useful. So I need a mobo, processor(an amd 64 not sure which one yet), ram, hd, vid card, and a case. Any suggestions on the processor and mobo part. I dont know a whole lot about mobos, and I havent checked out hte AMD's since I got my pc which i have now(which was like last september)
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited June 2005
    tmh88 wrote:
    and I'll probaby buy the nvidia 6800 GT so I can pwn you in counterstrike source more easily :D:D:D:D:)

    me? lol i dont know who you are
  • tmh88tmh88 Pittsburgh / Athens, OH
    edited June 2005
    lol, I suck at counterstrike, but I try anyway. :)

    and when I said you, I meant everyone. lol I'm such an idiot :scratch:

    Now halo pc, thats another story. I can take on anyone......
  • qparadoxqparadox Vancouver, BC
    edited June 2005
    tefleming wrote:
    I agree with all the advice previously given except the quote portion above. At my school, a router will get your port shut off more quickly than viruses (which will only get you moved to the quarantine segment.) Better bet is to have an external HDD for backing up data to do OS reinstalls and have a pen drive loaded with MS Antispyware, Spybot SD, Adaware, and HJT. You can download the updated definitions for them before going on a call.

    MAC address emulation? Or does your school require some proprietary software installed on your desktop to connect?
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Supposedly MAC address emulation will get routers onto our school network but mine fails even with MAC address emulation turned on. They can't use proprietary software because not everyone uses Windows or even x86. I ended up building a Linux router out of a spare PII machine to save on troubleshooting hassle. It's probably a better router than a network appliance anyway, if much larger.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Our school doesn't care if you have a router or not. There are plenty of people who set up wireless routers. The more technically sound ones set them up as Access Points, allowing the school's DHCP server to assign IPs. The other people just get their bandwidth limit reamed ;D
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited June 2005
    here's a question for you, WHY does a router get your port banned?
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Our school used to not allow routers because people would plug the wrong end into the WAN port and it would start serving out addresses to anyone on that segment whose lease expired. We allow them now, but it isn't easy to get one set up since the support policies aren't really there.

    How it works for us:
    After attaching a new computer to the network, the school's DHCP server leases an address and blocks all traffic to that MAC address until a web form (the only webpage you can access) gets filled out. The form essentially associates your MAC address with your Student ID. Then, if you run Windows on x86, the form installs an ActiveX virus scanner that checks your machine. After you reboot, you get a new IP with Internet access. I couldn't ever get my router to lease the first IP, it would always read 0.0.0.0. YMMV

    -drasnor :fold:
  • MiracleManSMiracleManS Chambersburg, PA Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    drasnor wrote:
    Our school used to not allow routers because people would plug the wrong end into the WAN port and it would start serving out addresses to anyone on that segment whose lease expired. We allow them now, but it isn't easy to get one set up since the support policies aren't really there.

    How it works for us:
    After attaching a new computer to the network, the school's DHCP server leases an address and blocks all traffic to that MAC address until a web form (the only webpage you can access) gets filled out. The form essentially associates your MAC address with your Student ID. Then, if you run Windows on x86, the form installs an ActiveX virus scanner that checks your machine. After you reboot, you get a new IP with Internet access. I couldn't ever get my router to lease the first IP, it would always read 0.0.0.0. YMMV

    -drasnor :fold:

    Juniata has just adopted a very similar policy. The only difference is, we'll still be able to use a switch. They've been the same way with routers (install a wireless one in an already wireless area and watch them complain ;D ) but they're fine with switches. They just discourage computer farms *looks at GeneralKeebler :p *
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