My sister is graduating from HS and want to get her a laptop for college. Any recommendations for a good solid laptop in the 600-700 (maybe 800) range? I looked on amazon and seems HP is popular. I never thought very fondly of HP but maybe times have changed? I'm also hesitant on Dell and Toshibas, they tend to get really hot and overheat, but I've been out of "the game" for a while so not sure where to start. Side note: she is not majoring in graphic design or attending an art school so she won't need a large screen size. She will probably need a versatile computer that she can carry around (when needed) but one she can use as her primary computer. Thanks..!
HP is getting out of the laptop game, so you have to consider 1. they are going to have great prices for what their selling, but 2. When are they officially getting out of the business and therefore won't be able to help you if any issues come up. Just make sure you get an I5 and good battery life and she'll be fine.
Honestly for the purposes you mentioned, just get a mac air or macbook pro. I regret buying an HP for college because they are so heavy, poor exterior parts (however the new models are now much better and are not made of plastic anymore), and poor battery life. I'm buying a new highend HP this summer to use as a work/home office computer and am buying the cheapest macbook pro for class/living room purposes because of the battery life. Add to the fact that she's a girl and she will want to look "cool/hip/fashionable" apple seems the way to go. This will probably be the most neutral post as I am a huge PC fan and hate the Mac operating system because of its impracticability for business/Microsoft office purposes. But I will admit the exterior/portability/battery for the Macs are superior.
I would recommend a netbook because it's really small and can basically fit in your pocket, and really cheap. But probably not good for a primary computer. Most college students I know today uses a Mac. I've never used one and it sounds like a hassle for Office programs. But they seem happy about it. I myself use a Toshiba. It's durability is amazing.
Another thing, my school makes only certain programs available on PCs so that is another thing, and some professors notes only work on PC(very few times this is the case though). However, whatever University she attends there should be plenty of computers on campus she can have access to in case her Macbook is not compatible.
Yea same here. No complaints with Toshiba laptops. I bought one for maybe $250 in 2009 and its still going strong. Also they made Toshibas much lighter than they used to be. Very easy for me to carry around.
That's a good point, I haven't realized some professors use PC compatible programs. Personally I like Toshiba. But if OP's nephew has been using windows from a young age, I would continue with that culture. My Toshiba Satellite is also still running hard. Been through so many ****, viruses, and drops. Still going. All the while I've had 2 other laptops and a netbook break after I bought my Toshiba.
If your looking for something I have this: http://www.microsoftstore.com/store...ger-Games-Special-Edition/productID.245603200 retails at $1050 and with tax about $1130 I have it brand new, never open, with warranty etc I just have no use for it cause I have a laptop already. 13 in, lighter than a macbook pro, up to 9 hours on a charge, HDMI, I5, 4GB Ram, 128GB SSD. Vist the link for full specs. I'm asking 775, if your interested LMK through a message or email le081488@yahoo.com
If you're getting a macbook be sure to ask itune for permission before making the purchase. Just saying...
Thirded - my Toshiba from 05 Fall is still great. Did a reformat only once in its lifetime, two years ago and it is still fast enough. I paid $1500 for it at the time and it's certainly worth it. That said, a $700 Toshiba will also work for a while. I bought my dad the old version of this one last August: http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Satellite-R845-S85-14-0-Inch-Laptop/dp/B005KP0BJU/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&srs=2530648011&ie=UTF8&qid=1336458090&sr=1-1
For my money, the Toshiba Portege is by far the best value for a PC in your price range: http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Portégé-R835-P94-13-3-Inch-Magnesium/dp/B006YL1AMG/ref=dp_ob_title_ce Only 3 lb weight, good keyboard and multi-touch mousepad, USB 3.0, a DVD drive, and a legit 7 hr battery life at the perfect form factor (13.3") IMO. No SSD, but she shouldn't notice the difference in boot times, and if it's her primary computer, she'll appreciate having 640GB of storage for pics and video. I've only ever noticed it getting hot if I'm trying to encode DVDs or playing a game. The speakers are god awful, but I'm sure she'd use headphones anyway. Toshiba really did an amazing job cutting corners in all the right places; it won't win any beauty contests, but I personally like the understated design, and since it basically has the same form factor as the Macbook Pro, almost every sleeve will fit it like a glove. If you want to get into the ultrabook market with the latest Ivy Bridge processors, you'll probably be upwards of a grand; the form factor will be much nicer (thinner, backlit keyboard, superfast SSD), but I have yet to see any that are truly compelling yet, particularly for a non-power user.
You may want to check with Apple and see if they have any offer to the students in the university your sister going to attend. Other notebook vendors have similar offers too I believe. The link below may be helpful: http://store.apple.com/us-hed/findyourschool
I've been looking at the Lenovo Y470P and Y570P's lately. I'm going to buy a laptop as we get closer to Summer, and it'll probably be something along those lines. These might be perfect for your sister, too. Lenovo Y570P.
Not sure where you heard HP is getting out of the laptop business, but it is definitely not true. There was some talk last year about getting out of PCs completely, but the end decision was to continue making them. You might want to get something in the 'ultrabook' category, but it might be priced a little bit higher than your pricerange. On the plus side they are normally light and portable with good battery life. If you're looking at HP, it would be the Folio 13. I've tried out the Acer S3 and the Asus UX31 and didn't like them from a keyboard standpoint. Haven't looked at the Lenovo or Toshiba offerings in this segment particularly closely.
If she's going into graphic design get her a Mac. You can dual boot and run windows if you want. Office programs haven't been a hassle on macs for over 10 years. Almost all major design studios and art agencies us macs. Windows boxes are still a rarity in the field.
