Getting a new laptop

[sombre acorn]

So I'm getting a new laptop before I head off to college and I was wondering if I could get some help cause I'm pretty new to this stuff. I'll mostly be using it for school stuff but I'd like something that can play higher end games either on steam one's I buy. Also I do have a lot of music so something that can work with that.
Any help you guys can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[RobbieThe1st]

Quite a few people go through this each year, let me just give you a few tips:
If you have space for a desktop, GET ONE. Laptops are /not/ designed for gaming, even "gaming" ones: They are seriously underpowered compared to what you could get in a low-end desktop, get hot and loud, and when /not/ gaming your battery life is horrible.
If you can use a desktop for most of your gaming, you can get away with a light Netbook for your notes/web browsing in class - It's generally the way to go, as they can easily have 4-8 hours battery life; No need to plug in during most classes. Alternately, a high-end Android tablet can do much the same job(with a bluetooth keyboard) and have even /better/ battery life.

If you can't use a desktop, be aware of how much battery life and how noisy your potential machine is: You really /don't/ want to be gaming on a machine that's screaming like a jet engine. You're going to /need/ to make sure that any machine has a Nvidia or ATI /dedicated/ graphics card: Intel just doesn't cut it for newer games(Runescape, sure, on mid settings. CoD? No)
Another thing to look out for is durability: You're going to be lugging your chosen device between classes every day for at least two if not four years. Low end "consumer" laptops often won't last two years under those conditions. "Pro" or small-business laptops are a lot better that way, but often have weaker graphics cards and are more expensive. Check out Lenovo's ThinkPad line for a good example of the "better" small-business type laptops. Macbooks are another example of this type, though you'll find that ThinkPads are better and cheaper.

That's sort of general advice. If you want more specific advice, we're gonna need to know your budget.

[sombre acorn]

Wow thanks for all the advice. The only thing I'm concerned about with desktops if the price. If I get a desktop I probably won't be able to get a decent laptop as well. I coild maybe pull throgh with my old one but it's old, slow and has about an hour of battery life. If theres a way to get a decent laptop and a good desktop I'd be all over it because I need both.

[RobbieThe1st]

Wow thanks for all the advice. The only thing I'm concerned about with desktops if the price. If I get a desktop I probably won't be able to get a decent laptop as well. I coild maybe pull throgh with my old one but it's old, slow and has about an hour of battery life. If theres a way to get a decent laptop and a good desktop I'd be all over it because I need both.

As I said: we need your budget.
I mean, you aren't going to get away with a good gaming laptop for under $1000+. You can certainly get a $500 PC and $300 netbook for that... But depending on the budget, you don't want to get the lowest grade things unless you have to.

[sombre acorn]

Oops I thought I had tbat in there. I could probably spend $900-$1000 tops.

[RobbieThe1st]

Oops I thought I had tbat in there. I could probably spend $900-$1000 tops.

Alright, that's a good budget. What sort of program are you taking at college?

[sombre acorn]

Haha thats the big question for me. Im thinking about going into aviation and what not but I'd also like to do something with computers like programing or web design or something. I haven't really fully decided yet.

[RobbieThe1st]

Haha thats the big question for me. Im thinking about going into aviation and what not but I'd also like to do something with computers like programing or web design or something. I haven't really fully decided yet.

Well, it sort of does depend: If you're going into say Game design, Graphics or anything like that, you'd end up wanting a tablet PC of some sort so you could draw on it too. If you're going into programming, you may want a bit heftier laptop than otherwise. Web design won't require anything special; even an old P3 1ghz would do fine(not that you'd get one anyway), and otherwise, you'd only be using it to take notes and look things up online, so something light and with good battery life is your pimary concern.

[sombre acorn]

Sounds good thanks for all the great advice. I think I've got everything I need.

[RobbieThe1st]

Sounds good thanks for all the great advice. I think I've got everything I need.

Well, if you want we can help pick stuff out for you.

I would ask one thing: If you find something you really like, post it here: I'll look over it and make sure you don't make a big mistake.

[sombre acorn]

Sounds good thanks for all the great advice. I think I've got everything I need.

Well, if you want we can help pick stuff out for you.

I would ask one thing: If you find something you really like, post it here: I'll look over it and make sure you don't make a big mistake.

Ya that would be great! Do you have anything in mind?

[RobbieThe1st]

Sounds good thanks for all the great advice. I think I've got everything I need.

Well, if you want we can help pick stuff out for you.

I would ask one thing: If you find something you really like, post it here: I'll look over it and make sure you don't make a big mistake.

Ya that would be great! Do you have anything in mind?

Lets see. For netbooks:
1. Single-core models are cheapest, but like all single-core devices, don't try to do massive multitasking on it if you want it to respond fast: Playing media and running firefox won't be an issue, but swapping between them may take a second or two.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... 28%3A45068

2. Dual-core models start a bit higher, and there's 16 or so to choose from:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... geSize=100

I'd pick out about three models you like, post em and I'll see if I can't give you some more guidance.

For desktops, the absolute best thing to do is build your own. It takes about two hours to do(for a novice), and you'll get /far/ more bang for your buck than otherwise. It's not that hard: There's plenty of picture instructions included with each piece, and you can always ask us if you get stuck.
However, if you aren't comfortable doing that, I'm sure I can find something suitable. Let me know if you're willing to build it.

Also, what(if anything) do you have now? For example, if you've already got a screen, that's an extra $100 you don't have to spend and can go towards better components.

Let me know which

[avwolf]

Robbie's already doing such an awesome job, I just wanted to back his advice. I got a full-scale laptop in college, but it was heavy and taking notes on it turned out to be impractical (I had to draw too many diagrams), and I already had a good desktop, so it pretty much never got used. The desktop was simply better at everything except being portable, and the laptop wasn't convenient enough for that. I got a netbook, and I'm using that thing all the time. It's lightweight and has great battery life, so it works fantastic for going somewhere, surfing the Internet, listening to music, and writing things. Since it's not like I'm going to be playing high end games at a coffee shop, it doesn't have to be good for that, and it's worth it to pack up my desktop and cart it around if I'm going to LAN parties anyway. Having a netbook and desktop gives you the best of both worlds.

[sombre acorn]

Here's some of the I like:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834152261

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834220987

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834220847

As far as building my own desktop I think that would be great and if it would save me some money that's even better but I have no idea where to start, I do have a screen already though.

[RobbieThe1st]

Here's some of the I like:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834152261

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834220987

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834220847

As far as building my own desktop I think that would be great and if it would save me some money that's even better but I have no idea where to start, I do have a screen already though.

First and second are basically the same; I'd go with the first of those two.
The third is a dual-core; more powerful. It's up to you if you want to go with a more expensive, more powerful model, or a cheaper, less powerful model. Both of them have the same graphics and ram; only real difference is the CPU speed and number of cores.