I'm looking to purchase a laptop... Although there are a few things to consider. 1. I'm a college student -- looking for something small, probably 11"-13" 2. I'm big on quality. I want a laptop that's going to last. 3. I was going to worry about memory, but I figured I should just buy an external hard drive. 4. I don't plan on gaming too much, but I wouldn't want it to be worthless if I decided to. 5. I'm thinking something in the price range of $500-$600 6. Also, I'm a big fan of Windows 7. I guess with my price range, Mac is out of the question anyway. Where's the best place to look? Are the best deals usually online? What's Best Buy like with laptops? Or is this one of those things where I should just look everywhere?
This. Also, steer clear of HP laptops. Since you're a student, you might get a copy of Windows 7 at your Uni for a discount. I know I get it via UT (I work there) for $38. I also get it at UMASS for $78, since I'm a student there. So it varies. It would pay to find out what you're eligible for, buy the bare minimum OS on the laptop and then upgrade it yourself.
I don't single these things out for no reason. I'd say that 80% of absolutely dead laptops people bring me are HP/Compaq (same thing).
Check out deal sites like SlickDeals.net. For example, on the front page (larger than you want) : Dell Inspiron 15" Laptop: Intel Core i5 -430M CPU, 3GB DDR3, 500GB HD, 15.6" HD WLED w/ Webcam, Windows 7 Home Premium : $550 You can search through the SD forums to find more. The sub 14 range is getting into a netbook or ultraportable. Netbook will be less specs than you probably want for your primary machine and ultraportables will be more expensive than you are looking for (ULV processors, higher build quality, etc). If you're stuck on that size, I would look at the Acer Timeline series or Dell Vostro V13 (took the form-factor of the original Adamo) -- sexy, quality build, small form factor, decent specs, etc). Dell has edu discounts, but usually with searching SD's, you can do better.
Best deals are online, but that doesn't mean you can't physically check out the ones you're considering at microcenter and frys.
There's one component that doesn't do that, unfortunately: the battery. Most laptops come with a Lithium Ion battery which loses capacity per recharge (among others). I think it takes about 100 recharges for a Lithium Ion battery to lose all its capacity. So how long it's gonna last will depend on how much you use it. This also makes it wiser go for the larger capacity battery, if possible. You'll need less recharges which means it'll last you longer.
