Buying a laptop for college

fudgamfudgam Upstate New York
edited August 2008 in Hardware
I have no commitments to any brands and I am on the market to buy a laptop. I have also fallen off the tech wagon and could use some critiquing in my choices. And if there are deals out there floating around, it would be nice to get one of those.

I really do not need to run any demanding software such as Inventor or Autocad or Photoshop. I will do some relatively simple stuff with Maple and probably a little gaming. That being said, I guess I have the option to go for a very limited and cheap laptop ($500ish?) and save some money, or I can get something quite decent that will be reliable and have lasting power.

I am looking to spend a MAX of $1700.

I know I want:
15" screen. I have used a 13", its too small. 17" is too big for a lappy.
2 gigs of ram is a standard.
The Core 2 Duo processor seems to be the processor of choice now.
A dedicated GPU is a must. I don't play games like I used to, but a game every now and then is fun.

Shopping around on dell.com via the college's website, I can get an XPS M1530 with the following for $1449:

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PROCESSOR: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB, 3MB Cache)

OPERATING SYSTEM: Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate Edition SP1

LCD AND CAMERA: High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LED LCD (1440x900) & 2.0 M

MEMORY: 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)

HARD DRIVE: Size: 250GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive

INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE: Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)

VIDEO CARD: 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT

WIRELESS CARDS: Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card

BATTERY OPTIONS: 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

SOUND OPTIONS: High Definition Audio 2.0 edit

FINGERPRINT SCANNER: Finger Print Reader XPS M1530
**********************
My first thought is that is a pretty solid system and the standard Dell warranty is 3 years. What do you guys think? Think I can do better? I am currently running XP on my desktop, and I have used Vista a little bit. I find it kinda iffy, but I'm guessing that's because I have not spent an appreciable amount of time using the OS.


I am also thinking about getting a Macbook Pro. I hear nothing but great reviews from their cult following. I have used OSX a LITTLE BIT before and I am sure I can pick it up no problem.
I can get a refurbished Macbook Pro for $1699 at http://store.apple.com/us_edu_190480/product/FB487LL/A .
The specs are very similar to the dell lappy I posted above:

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Model: Refurbished MacBook Pro

Processor: 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Memory: 2GB (two SO-DIMMs) 667MHz DDR2 memory (PC2-5300)

Display :15.4-inch (diagonal), 1440 by 900 resolution, glossy widescreen

PCI Express Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory and dual-link DVI

Video: Built-in iSight camera, DVI, VGA (DVI to VGA adapter included)

Audio: Combined optical digital input/audio line in, combined optical digital output/audio line out, stereo speakers, microphone

Hard disk drive: 200GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm

Slot-loading optical drive: 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

Ethernet: Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit)

Wireless: Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11n); built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

Modem: Apple USB Modem (sold separately)

Input: Full-size, illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor; Multi-Touch trackpad

Expansion: One FireWire 400, one FireWire 800, two USB 2.0 ports, and ExpressCard/34 slot

Weight: 5.4 pounds

Footprint: 14.1 x 9.6 inches

Thickness: 1.0 inch

Video accessories: DVI to VGA adapter (other adapters sold separately)

Hardware accessories: 85W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, lithium-polymer battery
****************

The price difference is $250 and the dell has 4 gigs of ram (vs 2), a 250 gig Hard drive (vs 200), a 3 year warranty included with price (vs 1 year included). The rest is damn close to being the same.

I am leaning towards that dell I just put together. Any and all comments are appreciated.

Comments

  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited August 2008
    Laptops under $1700 at the Icrontic Marketplace.

    Using the marketplace, I found a NEW 15" macbook pro for only $50 more:

    http://icrontic.pgpartner.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=63387375/search=laptop/st=sort/sort_type=price

    You can set all your criteria, such as processor type, price, etc. Give it a shot.
  • bullzisniprbullzisnipr Topeka, KS
    edited August 2008
    just a heads up, and im sure if you're spending that much on a laptop you will do this. BUT if you get vista, be sure to AT LEAST get 2GB of ram, i highly doubt that will be a problem at that price range though :p.
  • MAGICMAGIC Doot Doot Furniture City, Michigan Icrontian
    edited August 2008
    Asus makes some swank ass notebooks with about the specs you want for a few hundred less than the dells, check newegg. And, they finance.
  • AnnesAnnes Tripped Up by Libidos and Hubris Alexandria, VA Icrontian
    edited August 2008
    What sort of games are you looking to play? If I were you I would check around PowerNotebooks.com and check things out. I've never purchased from there, but I know Keebs swears by them.
  • bullzisniprbullzisnipr Topeka, KS
    edited August 2008
    ' wrote:
    [v][AGIC']Asus makes some swank ass notebooks with about the specs you want for a few hundred less than the dells, check newegg. And, they finance.

    definitely. you can get an asus laptop with a dedicated 9600 mobile card, and its a sweet price too. with the extra couple hundred bucks, you can get yourself a nice mouse and a nice set of headphones and you'll be set.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220366
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