Laptop woes

collegekid1189 · 06-25-2008, 01:06 PM

My eyes absolutely hate small laptops. Screens that are 15.4 inches and smaller give me a big headache, so I have considered getting a 17 in 'desktop replacement' behemoth. However, the dimensions and weight of these machines are counterproductive to mobility. Do students at WUSTL (especially engineering majors) take their laptops to classes, restaurants, outside, etc? Or are they basically only taken to and from college during vacations?

showmethedata · 06-25-2008, 03:53 PM

for maximum flexibility buy a laptop and plug in a cheap external lcd monitor when you're working in your dorm room.

collegekid1189 · 06-25-2008, 05:28 PM

Hmmm, good suggestion. I am still curious, however, about how Wash U students use their laptops. Do many students bring their laptops to class? From other threads it would seam that students at some universities leave their laptops on their desks for most of their college careers. If this is the case at Wash U, it would probably be better for me to just pick up a larger notebook.

hermanns · 06-25-2008, 06:15 PM

If your never going to take it to class I would rather have a desktop any day. A 17" laptop is huge. I don't go to WashU (not yet at least), but I doubt you need a laptop to take notes or anything. That is what pen and paper are used for.

Trapper · 06-25-2008, 06:28 PM

Taking the laptop to classes means wasting your time surfing the web, unless it is necessary, leave it at your dorm. Most kids with small laptops have decent monitors in their dorms.

sgcollege · 06-25-2008, 06:39 PM

I would consider whether you'll like to work in your dorm or in the library. I take my laptop to the library a lot, and i have a pretty big one, and it's pretty annoying. I wish it were smaller and lighter. However, if you plan on doing most of your homework and studying in your dorm, it's probably not a big issue.

For some classes it's really nice to have your laptop because teachers use powerpoints that they put online, and you can take notes on the slides.

collegekid1189 · 06-25-2008, 07:56 PM

A desktop would not be practical for me since I want to be able to take my computer home during vacations.

sgcollege - Isn't it just as easy to print out the slides and write on them beforehand? Additionally, are there many WashU students without a laptop at all?

Iirokotree · 06-25-2008, 09:12 PM

I'm visiting washU right now and in the library i've seen that alot of kids have laptops...rather small laptops.

srunni · 06-25-2008, 10:15 PM

I have a 17", and don't really see a problem with them...it's not that big.

collegekid1189 · 06-25-2008, 10:27 PM

srunni - What model do you have?

purpleBoople · 06-25-2008, 11:46 PM

I use this:
Amazon.com: Compaq Presario C554US 15.4" Laptop (Intel celeron M Processor, 512 MB RAM, 100 GB Hard Drive, SuperMulti DVD Drive, Vista Basic): Computers & PC Hardware

I bought it a year ago for around 200 bucks. So its probably cheaper now. It runs well (running ubuntu 8.04) and is very durable <-- very important since i bring it everywhere.

note: watch out for bargain laptops running vista basic. Vista is such a bloated piece of **** that, unless you are willling to install some linux distro, it will make your laptop practically useless.

Johnson181 · 06-26-2008, 12:13 AM

Quote:

That is what pen and paper are used for.

Blasphemy!
How could you suggest such a thing?
/sarcasm
Unless it's a class with a lot of fun math symbols, I'll be taking notes on my laptop- it's what I'm used to.

Don_Quixote · 06-26-2008, 12:27 AM

To me, an external monitor would be worth it no matter what size your laptop is, having a second display (you can use two at once) helps me to work a lot more efficiently as I can look at a reference in one screen and my project in the other, etc... I bought a good 19" LCD for about $120 several years ago, which is well worth it, especially since they're probably less than that now.

srunni · 06-26-2008, 08:33 AM

Quote:

srunni - What model do you have?

HP Pavilion dv9700t. If you're thinking about getting one, wait a few weeks though, they're coming out with new models.

Quote:

Unless it's a class with a lot of fun math symbols, I'll be taking notes on my laptop- it's what I'm used to.

LyX: The Document Processor (or LaTeX project: A document preparation system if you prefer to use your own text editor)
Now you can take notes on your laptop even if there are a lot of "fun math symbols" ;/

Quote:

note: watch out for bargain laptops running vista basic. Vista is such a bloated piece of **** that, unless you are willling to install some linux distro, it will make your laptop practically useless.

I would prefer to get Vista Basic, as it saves me some money when I reformat the laptop for a XP/Linux dual boot ;/
Unfortunately, the lowest option HP offered was Home Premium

collegekid1189 · 06-26-2008, 11:36 AM

Quick Google search on the HP Pavilion dv9700t revealed that it weighs about 8 lbs. Egad! There is no way that I am bringing one of those to class. It would probably break the desk

However, since I prefer pen and paper anyway, it might not be a bad deal. The performance would surely be better than the average 15.4" and it would give me just enough mobility to transport to and from home (and maybe the occasional midnight library sprint).