Dell Laptop vs Apple laptop ?

College Life College Computers
#1

<p>I'm looking to buy a new laptop for a 4-yr college, and I saw that the school I'm going to be going to has mostly dell and apple computers. Because of that, I'm thinking about getting one of those two laptops, I've always had either a HP or Gateway computer, so I'm not sure if you needed to know that or not. </p>

<p>Anyways, my question is, which one do you think would be better? I'm undecided in my major, though I am leaning towards having either a science, engineering, law or spanish major, possibly a double major. Also, one that could last for some time, since I'm probably going to be using it for undergrad and graduate college (unless of course, I can find/afford a better one within 4 years).</p>

#2

<p>I think you need to use what you like and will be comfortable with. Dells are standard. Macs too. Will you need to run specialized software? Like CAD software, for engineering? You're going to need a powerful PC-based laptop for that, like a higher end Dell.</p>

<p>The Mac/PC debate really depends on who you will work with most and what specialized software you need and which platform is better.</p>

#3

<p>You need to expand your pc-side horizons. Some manufacturers I'd recommend over Dell with confidence: Lenovo,Asus,Sony,Toshiba,& samsung</p>

#4

<p>personally im not a fan of dell, but thats mainly because the dell desktop i have has given me nothing but trouble</p>

#5

<p>Thank you everyone for your suggestions.</p>

<p>Actually, I've actually decided (not 100%) about majoring in intergrated media, and having either a double major in science, or minor in spanish. </p>

<p>For the intergrated media, in the end would getting a Mac be better in terms of that? Pretty much my workload would be spilt in half (half graphics, and half papers), so with that in mind, which would be better do you think?</p>

#6

<p>You can get a solid laptop with much better hardware for half the price of a mac, if price is a factor. I'll probably be buying a desktop replacement Lenovo (Ideapad Y560 or 570) for around 900-1200 which will have a quad-core Sandy Bridge i7, 8gb RAM, a 1gb dedicated video card, and more. To get a mac with these specs, prepare to pay well over 2000.</p>

#7

<p>Again, as I said in another thread, for college, a professional class machine. The following:</p>

<p>Lenovo Thinkpad Line (not ideapad)
Dell Lattitude Line (not inspiron nor vostro)
HP Envy Line (not pavillion)
etc.</p>

<p>I specifically don't recommend Toshiba nor Sony because support is not as far and wide as the above three companies. That doesn't mean those aren't great machines. They are just more specialized from a support standpoint. HP, Dell, Lenovo are supported by everyone. My opinion, for perspective.</p>

#8

<p>Yes, the Dell Lattitude is supposed to be much more durable than the Inspirons. </p>

<p>Take your time and compare discounts - never pay the first price you see if you go into a manufacturer's website from their homepage. </p>

<p>The conventional wisdom is that Apple products are better than PC products on the whole IF you can afford them.</p>

#9

<p><<the conventional="" wisdom="" is="" that="" apple="" products="" are="" better="" than="" pc="" on="" the="" whole="" if="" you="" can="" afford="" them.="">></the></p>

<p>I'd agree that Apple has top shelf components because it does not sell "basic models". If you compare a Dell Inspiron to any Mac, absolutely, but a Dell Inspiron can be had for $300-750. If you were to compare a Dell Lattitude, or Lenovo Thinkpad ($600-1700) you would see the same components, but also choice, something you don't have in the Apple world.</p>