Laptop for college

[Jedi Mind Trick]

1. What is your budget?

Under $1500, but the cheaper the better

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

15.4-15.6"

3. What screen resolution do you want?

720p or 1080p (is it worth it)

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

Doesn't matter

5. How much battery life do you need?

enough for classes (3ish hours?)

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

Medium at least Medium-High preferred

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)

None, yet...

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

500gb should be fine

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

Newegg, Amazon, Malibal, Xoticpc, Bestbuy (not a big fan but I have seen good deals there)

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

As long as possible

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

Blu-ray, if not I would like it to be replaceable so I can add a blu-ray drive later

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

So far I like Sager (just not the price, even though its probably worth it) and Asus. I don't have any problems with Samsung, Sony or Toshiba. HP and Dell are okay. I don't want a mac, my mom has one and I think they're over priced. I don't want anything flashy (anther reason I liked the sager/clevo laptops) as I feel it will draw unwanted attention (i.e potential thieves)

13. What country do you live in?

USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

I don't really have any preferences, but it does seem like the Intel processors (i5 and up) are better than the amd counter parts (when discrete graphics are present). I don't really care if it has nvidia or amd graphics.

**Also, what are some thoughts on buying a nice laptop for college (I am kind of paranoid about it being stolen)

 

[AntiZig]

well for security there are some options for you to consider:
- most laptops have a slot for kensington lock, which is $20-30 purchase of steel wire with a key that you pop into the corner of your laptop and to a desk or similar object. It might be bulky and look silly but it gets the job done. This option will work best if you leave it in your room most of the time and occasionally take it with you.
- another alternative is to install lojack on your laptop, you have to pay for this service and I'm not sure what the prices are. you can probably do some research yourself on this. This option is better if you want to drag it with you every day, it saves you a chance of you forgetting the thing somewhere or somebody lifting it from your table in the dining hall while you're getting food or in bathroom.

To answer your 720p vs 1080p, most new 15" laptops will come with 1080p screen.

Now regarding the laptop recommendations.
All the websites you listed are good places to look for deals.
Sager NP8150 (even stock the hardware is great) they are great laptops, I think I even saw an option on xoticpc where they can give you a laptop with no logo on the lid (so it won't even say sager) consider saving on OS if you have a copy available to your or you'll be able to get one cheaply at your school.
Asus is another great option. G53/54 should do the trick.
Toshiba has a Qosmio series laptops that feature gaming GPUs but those might be too flashy ( i think they come with red lights or finish)

That's about it, I think you have a pretty good idea of what you want. 8gb ram is plenty for today's games. The only big thinking is on the hdd whether to get a really big one now or get a smaller one and in ~2 years swap in an SSD when prices drop a bit.
Alright, best of luck if you have any questions/concerns don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Jedi Mind Trick]

Thanks, I completely forgot about laptop locks, and yea, I like the fact that the sager ones don't have windows with them. The G53 looks really nice too, as does Asus's one year accidental warranty. I'd like the Qosmio if it wasn't so ugly. And yea, the tough question is which hdd to get, but I guess like you said I should just get an ssd when they become cheaper.

**Also is it do you recommend the no dead pixel policy for the sagers, because I feel like they must have a stock of bad panels that they give to people who do not get it.

 

[AntiZig]

I didn't get it on mine and the screen is just fine after 5 months. I think $75 for just 30 days is too much, but it's your call if you want to be double sure.

just to put some things in perspective, my old dell xps developed 1 dead pixel in 5 years of work.

 

[Jedi Mind Trick]

Thanks, also, which laptop did you get?
What games do you play (if any) and at what settings?

 

[chumly]

Get an XPS from the dell outlet, same warranty and same parts for like 30% less money.

 

[AntiZig]

Thanks, also, which laptop did you get?
What games do you play (if any) and at what settings?

I got NP8150, games, well, whatever comes out latest.

Get an XPS from the dell outlet, same warranty and same parts for like 30% less money.

lets see you get a quote for a 15" xps with same parts and then eat your own words buddy.
it's been proven time and time again that xoticpc is cheaper than dell

One more question:Which brand of computer well.What do you think and what you worry about that it maybe being broken and it is correct.

this forum is in english, your message is not. I'm sure your question would be answered if you bothered to read and understand all the posts above you.

 

[chumly]

I got NP8150, games, well, whatever comes out latest.

Get an XPS from the dell outlet, same warranty and same parts for like 30% less money.

lets see you get a quote for a 15" xps with same parts and then eat your own words buddy.
it's been proven time and time again that xoticpc is cheaper than dell

One more question:Which brand of computer well.What do you think and what you worry about that it maybe being broken and it is correct.

this forum is in english, your message is not. I'm sure your question would be answered if you bothered to read and understand all the posts above you.

From the OUTLET. You can get a quad core sandy bridge setup in a really nice aluminum (not plastic) laptop with 2 years warranty for $770. Find that on xotic. I know gentech, I know cyberpower, and I know xotic as well.

Beat this price with the same specs:
http/outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?rn=6424&c=us&l=en&s=dfh&cs=22&PLikeId=1_906007_1_491999_1_933008_1_290798_1_475016_1_301787_1_951007_&Flag=1

It's factory refurb but they are like brand new, warranty and everything.

P.S. I went and looked, the same specs on any computer from xotic is at LEAST $950. I'm sorry but you are dead wrong.

 

[andywork78]

portable and looks good laptop for college people.
Try apple laptop.
They are price but great laptop.
Try to buy less memory and HDD size.
then upgrade with only $100 both memory and hard drive.
If you purchase upgrade from apple store, they are over price.
Good luck with your purchase~

 

[Jedi Mind Trick]

@andywork78 "I don't want a mac" I said that in my original post.
@Chumly Link does not work
@Antizig Thanks, I think I'm going to go with the either the Sager or the G53

 

[Jedi Mind Trick]

Best answer selected by jedi mind trick.

 

[AntiZig]

From the OUTLET. You can get a quad core sandy bridge setup in a really nice aluminum (not plastic) laptop with 2 years warranty for $770. Find that on xotic. I know gentech, I know cyberpower, and I know xotic as well.

Beat this price with the same specs:
http/outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?rn=6424&c=us&l=en&s=dfh&cs=22&PLikeId=1_906007_1_491999_1_933008_1_290798_1_475016_1_301787_1_951007_&Flag=1

It's factory refurb but they are like brand new, warranty and everything.

P.S. I went and looked, the same specs on any computer from xotic is at LEAST $950. I'm sorry but you are dead wrong.

well conveniently, the link 404s. Oh and you're trying to cater a refurb as being the same as new? sorry, I'm in no way wrong.

you went and looked, same specs on any computer? I'm sorry did you only look at the CPU column? cause there's no way the multitude of things they have is all the same specs.