The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Uh you really don't "need" any accessories... It all depends on how much you want to spend and what you want...
For school you might want to get:
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Printer. It's useful but you can also use your University's printers and it saves you some room (if you live in a dorm room).
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USB jump drive. Very useful to have.
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Backpack (or other bag) to carry your notebook with you.
General things you might want:
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Mouse. I just hate using a touchpad.
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Speakers. Speakers are a good idea for your room if you have people over or for parties... You might want to invest in an external sound card if you don't like the sound quality of your onboard soundcard.
- You can get a
lock if you want extra safety.
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External HDD to backup your stuff or if you need more storage.
A 2nd AC adapter. One for the dorm room, one to keep in your backpack
at all times. Just so you don't have that "d'oh" moment the minute your battery dies and you realize you left the power brick at home.
Depending on your situation, I'd switch to either headphones or speakers. If you are purchasing a printer, wouldn't hurt to find an all in one with a scanner in it as well.
Must haves: Something to carry it in.
USB flash drive.
Probably should have: An extra battery.
An external mouse, preferably wireless/bluetooth
A lock (to keep your bag secure)
A decent pair of headphones/external speakers
Would be nice, but you don't really NEED: An external sound card.
A hard mouse pad.
An external HHD
In case you like to investigate the laptop, a computer kit (screwdrivers and others tools) would be good. Some people will use regular tools and damage the laptop.
If you're interested in maximizing the efficiency of your notebook (the cooler the faster), or your laptop gets uncomfortably hot (my laptop's keyboard gets very hot after hours of continuous use), a
notebook cooler would be a great buy.
Here's a list of what I have, even though they've all been mentioned it still can't hurt:
Extremely Useful Mouse (Wireless if you're not a hardcore gamer)
USB drive(s)... I have several, they are amazingly cheap and useful
Headphones to listen to music or movies w/o bothering/waking your roommate
Backpack/Carrying Case for transport to/from class, weekend trips, etc.
Extra power adapter. One for room, one for backpack/class/etc
Also recommended All-in-one printer. Only need 1 between you and your roomy, just agree to split ink costs based on how much you each use. Some dorms have wireless networked printers in lounges, if yours does, you can probably make do with that... just hope it's not broken or out of ink the morning before that big paper is due!
USB Hub: A decent 7-port usb 2.0 hub is dirt cheap, and since most notebooks only have 2-3 ports, they are very handy. Between mouse, cooling fan, sound card, ipod charger, external HD, printer, and whatever else you have, it can be a real hassle constantly switching out plugs.
External Hard Drive: 500gb-1tb drives are pretty cheap from stores like Circuit City and Staples if you wait til they go on sale, or order online. If you aren't the type to accumulate lots of music and movies you could skip this.
Cooling Fan, especially if you tend to leave your laptop running a lot, or do lots of gaming, media type things, etc that cause your notebook to heat up.
Extra battery. I've gotten by without having one, probably because I have an extra power adapter, but it can't hurt. They can be kinda pricey though.
Speakers- I'm the type of person who generally always has music playing regardless of what I'm doing, and sometimes you (and hopefully anyone else living with you) are just in the mood to blast some good tunes. Could probably skip them if you have a speaker-dock for an mp3 player or something similar.
Sound Card- Goes hand-in-hand with the speakers, and if you end up trying to have a party or something, you'll definitely feel like an idiot if all you have is your laptop built-in speakers.
Docking Station. I'd only really recommend this for a Dell user though, since the general consensus on third-party docks for notebooks is that they're worthless.
Lock. Almost always a good idea, and you might even want to use it while your laptop is in your room if you tend to leave your door open/unlocked.
You may want a nice large monitor if you have the desk space for it, and do a lot of gaming or watch a lot of movies. Some people like to have a wireless router for whatever reason, I've never really seen the need though. And if it's not secured, you're likely to be held responsible if other people abuse it and violate your school's internet policies and whatnot.
I think that sums it up for the most part. I'm starting to get all my crap in order for school starting up again in the fall, if I come across other random stuff that I've forgotten but would recommend, I'll be sure to edit them in.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
