Long Lasting Laptop

sativan

Honorable
May 13, 2013
1
0
10,510
I am buying a laptop for college and many features are important to me (10-key number pad, backlit keyboard, performance, size/weight, <$900), but the most important is the longevity of the computer. I need the laptop to last all four years of college and still be able to run at a useful rate when I am graduating. My majors are business and computer engineering based, so I only need processing power for basic uses, video streaming, and some programming.

I am sure a low-voltage dual core i7 would be enough for me now, but I am not sure if it will hold up over the four years. Would it be worth it to spend more on a quad core system, or would the dual core still hold its own in 4 years if well maintained?

(If you are interested, the two laptops I am considering are this heavy powerful HP (http://goo.gl/nqvmB) and this lightweight, but slightly less powerful and non-backlit Samsung (http://goo.gl/ewtgv))
 

seriousgamer

Honorable
Sep 26, 2012
142
0
10,660
Follow the instructions on this page to get a I7 3630QM with a GT 750m (with a slot to install ANOTHER GT 750m) for $809.
This has a backlit keyboard, great FHD screen (Glossy), great processing power, 1tb HDD and 16gb SSD Cache.

I am going to buy this laptop for college as well! It is a great laptop and it will last you many years.

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/94978/lenovo-lenovo-ideapad-y500-laptop-core-i7-3630qm-2.4ghz-8gb-ddr3-1tb-hdd-16gb-ssd-15.6-1920x1080-led-2gb-geforce-gt750m-win-8


I saw the HP that you listed above. From personal experience (My brother owns an HP DV6 and a friend of mine has the DV6 Beats edition - Not positive on the name) they are complete crap! I'm saying this and I have a relative who is a high ranking employee at HP, so I'm not discriminating towards HP. My brother's laptop continually lags even though it has an I5 (he only uses it for MS Office and Youtube, Fb, Etc)

My friend's HP's camera stopped working the week after he bought it (From overseas, but still) He couldn't return it for a warranty because of that.
 
Not all HP laptops are bad. I have one that I have had for years and it performs as well as the day I purchased it. The only fault I have with it is that the memory upgrade is so expensive when compared to other laptops I have owned. I have an even older Toshiba that has held up well. That being said, the Lenovo Y500 listed in the link in the post from seriousgamer has a great reputation and I have seen it recommended many times here in the forums. The specs look great and the only fault I find with it is Windows 8 but that's just a personal bias.