future college student needs laptop

General Questions

1) What is your budget?

I would like it to be around $2000 or under, but can go up to $2500.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
a. Ultraportable; 12" screen or less
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
d. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen

17'' I think would be too big for my needs. I want more like the 14'' to 15'' range.

3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?

I multitask almost constantly. I'll be typing papers, doing online research, downloading music, and listening to music, and probably doing all that at the same time. I will also be watching DVD's on my laptop. I have a digital camera, but usually do not edit photos. If I do it is very basic editing like removing red eye and cropping my pictures.

I do not play games because I have an x-box that I use for that, and I don't edit video.

4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?

Most of the time I will probably leave it on my desk, but every now and then I will take it with me to class to type up some notes. I will also probably bring it with me on the weekends that I come home.

5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?

Solitaire, Minesweeper, and Pinball are about as far as I go into the computer gaming world.

6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

I'm getting a Dell.

7) How many hours of battery life do you need?

1.5 to 2 maybe? It will probably remain plugged in the majority of the time.

8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?

I do not mind, but I will probably end up visiting the Dell booth at a mall close by just to see what I'm ordering.

9) What country are you buying this in?

U.S.A.

Screen Specifics

10) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
a. XGA = eXtended Graphics Array; 1024x768; This resolution will give you the largest viewable text and images while offering the least amount of screen real estate.
b. SXGA = Super eXtended Graphics Array; 1400x1050; This resolution offers a middle ground between XGA and UXGA.
c. UXGA = Ultra eXtended Graphics Array; 1600x1200; This resolution will give you the smallest viewable text and images while offering the greatest amount of screen real estate.
d. WXGA = Widescreen eXtended Graphics Array; 1280x768 or 1280x800; This resolution offers the same as XGA except that there is more horizontal real estate; 1280 versus 1024. Popular for movie viewing due to support for widescreen.
e. WXGA+ = Widescreen eXtended Graphics Array+; 1440x900; This resolution is offered on 17" widescreen notebooks and is comparable to WXGA in terms of text and icon size versus available screen real estate. Popular for movie viewing due to support for widescreen.
f. WSXGA+ = Widescreen Super eXtended Graphics Array; 1680x1050; This resolution is comparable to SXGA in that it offers a middle ground between WXGA/WXGA+ and WUXGA. Popular for movie viewing due to support for widescreen.
g. WUXGA = Widescreen Ultra eXtended Graphics Array; 1920x1200; This resolution offers the smallest viewable text and images while offering the greatest amount of screen real estate.

I don't really know which one I prefer. I was leaning toward a WXGA TrueLife screen so my DVD movies will look good. I'm usually only going to use this in my dimly lit dorm room so I'm not worried about reflections, unless I will still get reflections in my dimly lit dorm room...

11) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?

I just want a good screen...

Build Quality and Design

12) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

Not at all.

13) How long do you want this laptop to last?

Till I graduate college, which is why I'm planning on getting the 4-year accidental protection package from Dell on top of one of the 4-year warranty packages. Someone please tell me if this is a bad idea...

Notebook Components

14) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?

I was thinking at least 100GB just to make sure I'm not cramped for storage space.

15) Do you need a DVD, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-R drive?

I do not NEED any of the above, but i would like a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive.


Also:
I was also looking at the expansion dock with stand that you can order from Dell with your computer. Is this a good product for a desktop set-up? I was planning on having it to leave in my room and have a keyboard and mouse hooked up to it for a nice place to type my papers. Has anyone used this product? Is it even a good idea? Should I get one, but just not from Dell, just wait till after I get my laptop and buy one from a computer store around town, or should I just not get one at all?

Thank you in advance for any input.

 

l'm not sure there are that many laptops that you could get not gaming-oriented in that price range. Is there a reason your looking at a dell? Because with that budget l'd look at the Thinkpad Z60M (build quality 10x better then a dell).

http://www-131.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/s...18425011252&dualCurrId=1000073&catalogId=-840

 

Well if you use dell's educational site you can get 12% off your laptop and configured as follows you would meet all your expectations for around 1400 dollars

Inspiron E1505 Intel® Core™ Duo processor T2300 (2MB Cache/1.66GHz/667MHz FSB)
(I would reccomend duo core becuase it sounds like you multi-task and this speed is more than enough.)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
LCD Panel 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife™
Memory 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm
Video Card Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Hard Drive 100GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
Combo/DVD+RW Drives FREE 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card (54Mbps)
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) No productivity suite- Corel WordPerfect word processor only
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) I chose McAfee included with the Starter, Silver, Gold or Platinum Package.
Primary Battery 53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Hardware Warranty 4Yr LtdWarr, At-Home,CompleteCare,30Day DOC,PC Training, 2Yr AntivirusSuite
Operating System Re-Installation CD PC Restore recovery system by Symantec


and save the rest of the money for all your college billz

p.s. be carefull dells educational site is not working right atm... you will not get the full 12% till they fix this

 

Welcome to the forums,

If you are wanting a dell, I would go with a Latitude D610 or 510. The latitudes have a better built. They are meant to travel everyday in case you want to take it to class. The latitude has a specific docking station ports.

Dell is about to update the latitude series in the next month or so to duo core, but that's usually more beneficial to gamers.

The inspirons are cheaper in cost, but the quality isn't as good as the latitude. Also, you'll get a Universal USB adapter.

 

Dell XPSM140 seems to me to be the best match in the Inspiron lineup. Perfect size for a college student. 2500 is a little high for anything but the big ol' XPSM170, The XPSM140 is also known as the 630m on the buisness site. Check it out. http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/inspn_630m?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

Also word a look is the Latitude D610c http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/latit_d610?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd. The lattitude line has better build quality.

 

thank you all for your advice.

 

Just because you can afford a laptop doesn't mean you should.

Also, I have heard the plastic inspirons have poor build quality. So if that's important to you, look elsewhere (like latitudes or something).