blinkangel44

So my dad is heavily pressuring me into getting a Mac, but I'm just not that interested. I'd rather stick with a PC (but I suppose I'm not entirely against getting a Mac).

I'm undeclared right now, but I'm thinking of going into International Affairs, so I shouldn't really need anything special for that.

Primarily, I'm concerned about disk space. Both the desktop and laptop that I have had my iTunes library on have subsequently had severe disk space problems. My music is 30+ GB, but I have about a dozen movies that I plan on putting on to my new laptop, and I hope to get an iTouch whenever they release a 64 GB one, so I'll need room for apps and whatnot as well. Also, I might be installing Sims 3, so long as it isn't going to totally ruin anything.

Of course, battery life would be nice... I'd also like something that won't overheat (although I suppose that has more to do with maintenance).

I'm going to Northeastern, and they are certified to fix problems with Macs and Dells, so I thought it might be best to look primarly at Dells. I've heard from a few people that HPs are the best PCs, but my mom said someone at Northeastern highly advised against them.

I don't really have a price range; I'd rather invest some money into something that I know will fit my needs and last.

Btw, am I totally stupid for not wanting a Mac? Vista's certainly not the best, but I'm used to it, and it doesn't really bother me all that much.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Another_Adam

Well, for your needs, a Mac would be fine. Even with a standard configuration, there should be more than enough disk space, and the battery life is immaculate.

Applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch are relatively small. Some games will be large, but most general use applications are only a few megabytes, if even.

What exactly is it that you don't like about the Mac? Or is it just unfamiliarity?

blinkangel44

Mostly unfamiliarity. Forgive my ignorance And I was just thinking I'd save my parents some $$ but my dad seems much more willing to pay for a Mac than a PC (this is my graduation gift).

And I want Microsoft Word, but I guess I can indeed get that on a Mac.

ThisCouldBeHeavn

There's no reason to get a Mac if you're comfortable with Windows.

blinkangel44

I'm really liking the Dell Studio 17. I'm just worried about portability, which it obviously lacks. I've lugged around an excessive amount of books throughout high school, so I'm not too concerned with how much it weighs, but I guess that is a negative.

srunni

I thought the _exact_ same thing going into college last year and bought a 17" laptop, but I was completely wrong. You walk around a lot more in college than you do in high school, so you definitely don't want to take a 17" laptop unless you're going to be leaving it in your room most of the time.

Over winter break I replaced my 17" HP laptop (which also had quite a few hardware issues) with a Lenovo ThinkPad T400 (14.1"), and things have been great ever since. I would strongly urge you to take a look at the ThinkPads, as they offer some of the best build quality for very affordable prices (the T and R series laptops in particular are great). They are of much higher quality than any Dell offerings and definitely better than your average consumer laptop. Make sure you don't get an IdeaPad though; those are Lenovo's consumer laptops and aren't very good.

I know several people who bought consumer laptops who have run into hardware problems after just a year or two. OTOH, a ThinkPad will last you for 4 years (and probably more) without any hardware problems.

blinkangel44

^Thanks for the suggestion! I'll look into the ThinkPads.

I also figured if I did go with the 17" laptop, and it became too much of a hassle, I could get a netbook and leave the laptop in my dorm.

srunni

If you do that, you might want to just get a desktop instead of the large laptop. Netbook + desktop is actually a pretty popular combination these days.

blinkangel44

^Hmm, good point! Why are there so many options?!!!

OperaDad

Because there is no government control of the PC market.

There is no "need" to buy a MAC over a Dell. They will both meet your need. If you did not know Vista and Microsoft Office, I would recommend following your Dad's desire and get the Mac. However, if you have already learned Vista and Microsoft Office, there is a lot to be said for not having to learn something new (plus the Dell is cheaper - feature to feature).

nysmile

Dell Studio 15 (15.6" display) is a good choice. Display is very nice--great for watching DVD's. Configure it with an 8600 processor and it runs smooth and fast. It runs much cooler than my MacBook. The backlit keyboard option is great.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218090329155

^
If you don't want to configure your own version of the Dell Studio 15 (15.6" display), Best Buy has a nice
pre-configured one without the backlit keyboard and a T6500 processor. The price is reasonable.

blinkangel44

Thanks again everyone! I really, REALLY appreciate all of the input!

The Dell Studio 15 is probably going to be the best option for me. I'll have to give up my dreams of having a laptop with a built-in number pad But I guess my back will thank me for that

nysmile

Dell : Logitech Cordless Number Pad : I/O Devices : Home & Home Office

^maybe you could purchase something like the cordless number pad in the above link. You probably won't need it but if you really want a number pad, this might be a good compromise.

blinkangel44

^I just might do exactly that, because I'm silly like that. But $36? :/ I really do want it though! hahaha.

The only other complaint I have about the Studios is the interior color scheme (if that makes sense...). I like how the HPs I've seen are all black when you open 'em... the Dells, though, have the black keyboard with the gray border area. But I think there are more important things to consider when investing this much $$

I do have another question... should I be upgrading to a 6GB memory? I just really do not want to have any memory/disk space issues and would rather spend the extra $100 or whatever to avoid that. Mostly concerned about iTunes and potentially Sims 3. I don't really know exactly what memory is as opposed to hard drive size. Which does the size of my iTunes library impact?

nysmile

4 GB is fine. Re: the gray area around the keyboard---gray tends to show less smudges (your palms rest there when you type) than black.