<p>I have a regular dell lap top from like 2006/7 and I was wondering if as a geology major, I would need to get a new one?</p>
<p>no, you don't. unless you want to.</p>
<p>The only thing I would say is look at your battery life and portability. I have a Dell E1705 that is in great shape hardware/software wise, but it's huge and doesn't last long off the battery, so I opted to buy an ASUS Netbook so I could take notes and research all day long without a pain in my back from dragging it around all day and trying to find outlets. If it's in your budget, you like to type notes and work on projects throughout the day, and your current laptop might not be up for long days off a cord and in your backpack, it could be worth looking into.</p>
<p>check your memory too. If you have only 1 gb, maybe you should consider upgrading the memory to at least 2 Gb.</p>
<p>I have 3 gb of memory, but it only has like 2 hours max battery life so maybe I'll buy a new battery? or if I get a completely new computer what would you recommend as good computer for geoscience majors that is not over the top with features you would never practically use?</p>