What laptop is right?

College Life
#1

<p>My brother got a 2k scholarship from school to buy a laptop for college, and he has no idea where to start, so I said I would help him.</p>

<p>He really has no specifications, and he might as well spend the 2,000, so finding a really cheap laptop isn't of importance.</p>

<p>All I know is it needs to be able to have Word/excel/etc and it CAN'T BE A MAC.</p>

<p>I have no idea where to start, he wants to have a big screen, and to use it for entertainment largely, he is most likely majoring in history btw.</p>

<p>I did a search and this came up?
<a href="http://shopper.cnet.com/notebooks/lenovo-thinkpad-w510-4319/4014-3121_9-33959672.html?edId=3&merId=243495#info-5%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://shopper.cnet.com/notebooks/lenovo-thinkpad-w510-4319/4014-3121_9-33959672.html?edId=3&merId=243495#info-5&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>as well as the dell adamo XPS</p>

<p>i have no clue about laptops tbh, which one is better? we really have no clue where to start</p>

#2

<p>What about an HP Envy 17?</p>

#3

<p>nah ignore those searches. Does he already have a portable laptop? Many college students have 13'' - 15'' laptops. So, off the top of my head...</p>

<p>HP Envy 17- great power, screen resolution, and battery life
Dell Studio Xps 16- great power and screen resolution, but mediocre battery life
Sony Vaio F- great power and screen resolution. Sony often adds in a blu-ray for free.
HP Envy 15- more portable than the 17''</p>

<p>Portable laptops:
Sony Vaio Z- beastly laptop! Has all the things above in a 3.6 lb, 13'' package
HP Envy 14- comes out mid-June. Same as the other envys</p>

<p>How about telling your bro to just get a "good" 1k laptop and spend the rest on a TV, xbox 360, ps3, games, movies, or something else? That's what I would do.</p>

#4

<p>Well, he said he wants it to have a large screen, so that's why I suggested a 17". Also, the Envy 17 has a Blu-ray option, whereas the Envy 15 doesn't have an optical disc drive at all.</p>

#5

<p>How about a 15" laptop so when he uses it around campus the screen is big enough, but when he is back in his dorm he hooks it up to a nice large Samsung monitor? A 17" inch laptop gets really heavy, really fast.</p>

#6

<p>Anyone here have any experience with the new Sony Vaio CW series? Any opinions on the new i5 configurations of them? The only bad thing I've read about them is the short battery life (approx. 2½ hrs.).</p>

#7

<p>If you're okay with a 14" screen, the new HP dm4 is fantastic.</p>

#8

<p>The HP Envy 17 is getting absolutely rave reviews right now. Keep in mind that a 17", even an Envy, is going to be heavy and tough to carry. The HP Envy 14, on its way in a few weeks, is also very popular. The older line of Envies (the 13 and the 15) have good reviews but a few serious faults depending on your computer needs.</p>

#9

<p>If you want to spend as much money as possible, emphasis on a big screen, and want an entertainment laptop, I definitely agree with the HP Envy 17. I'm not a big fan of HP's laptop, but the Envy is definitely a leap above their usual quality.</p>

#10

<p>weight really doesn't amtter, but will the hp envy 17 break a lot and when it does how easy will it be to fix?</p>

#11

<p>The Envy 17 itself is a newer model so reliability reports aren't exactly out yet, but the smaller Envy 15 was released before the 17, and is considered to be a very reliable and sturdy laptop. The body itself gets very great reviews because of its build quality. Truthfully, I think it rivals the MacBook Pros in terms of build quality and beats it in terms of sexiness (those minute curves on the side make a huge difference!)</p>

#12

<p>Alright, so I just told him to get the envy 17, i can't believe i just decided how he would spend 2k dollars over what someone said on a random forum.</p>

#13

<p>Overclock.net</a> - Overclocking.net</p>

<p>It's my home forum filled with many computer enthusiasts; you can ask there in our laptop forum if it makes you feel safer :)</p>

#14

<p>to pitch in:</p>

<p>Product</a> reviews and prices, software downloads, and tech news - CNET
Laptop</a> Reviews - Notebook Reviews and Netbook Computer News & Reviews</p>

#15

<p>the right laptop is the one that brings the most good to yourself and others</p>

#16

<p>How about two laptops?
powerhouse laptop + netbook?</p>

<p>powerhouse laptop = desktop replacement
netbook = ultimate portability since it's small and it has LONGER battery life than 90% of the laptops out there.</p>

#17
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