<p>Both of my sons, #1 at Carleton and #2 at DU reccommend that students think about putting their money into a netbook, which can be had for as little as $250 or so. This can easily go to class for notetaking and is wonderful for all kinds of travel. It fits easily almost anywhere. These guys are pretty into their gaming and music so they also have a desktop in their room but, even combining these 2 options, a student who isn’t super into powerful gaming can have both a reasonable desktop plus the netbook for about the same pricing as a full size laptop that would be comparable to the desktop.<br>
Also, there really is not a terrific advantage to buying your “college computer” this far ahead of the game. Deals can be had later on as well. Also, windows 7, if you go that way, will have had time to work the bugs out. Really, I’d would encourage the netbook idea and have your student wait on the “other computer” to see what they might want when they get to campus.
(Btw…I’m a college library director at a small cc. The netbook will serve their academic purposes quite sufficiently for starters.)</p>