Laptop for College?

[Joker]

One of ds' scholarships comes with money for a new laptop, which he really needs, but we have no idea what to get. In high school all his work was mostly done on the school issued iPad and he often uses a Windows based laptop at home for writing so he feels comfortable with either a Windows or Apple laptop. Would one be better than the other? He is an English major so it will mostly be used for research and writing. We mainly want him to get something that will last. I just use a Chromebook and dh is issued laptops through his employer for his work so we feel a bit lost here. 

He has $1200 from the scholarship to use but doesn't have to use it all. He could also spend a bit more if it's worth it since they are giving him that money. 

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

I have one kid who is very happy with a 13" Mac Book Pro and my other kid chose a HP Spectre x360 (chosen for next school year so still at the exploring and learning stage).  Both are very happy with their choices.  They went a bit high end but we want to be sure that the computer will last them for all four years.  Both are humanities students.

[Joker]

3 minutes ago, JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst said:

I have one kid who is very happy with a 13" Mac Book Pro and my other kid chose a HP Spectre x360 (chosen for next school year so still at the exploring and learning stage).  Both are very happy with their choices.  They went a bit high end but we want to be sure that the computer will last them for all four years.  Both are humanities students.

Those are the two we've been looking at the most based on researching online. It's such a big purchase though that we can't make up our minds on what to get. 

[Bootsie]

How certain is he that he will remain an English major?  Will he have any minor?   If there is any chance he will be a business major or minor, I would suggest a windows-based computer for compatibility issues with Excel and some of the software used in business classes.  

[Joker]

2 minutes ago, jdahlquist said:

How certain is he that he will remain an English major?  Will he have any minor?   If there is any chance he will be a business major or minor, I would suggest a windows-based computer for compatibility issues with Excel and some of the software used in business classes.  

He plans to minor in gender studies. I don't see him changing to anything close to a business major but it's definitely something to keep in mind.

[Pawz4me]

DS22 has used a Lenova laptop all through college. I've forgotten what model it is. We bought it through the university because it was the best deal we could find and because purchasing it through them meant he could have it serviced at their repair center on campus. He did have a couple of issues with it that were fixed and he was provided a loaner while it was in for repair. It's four years old now and still serving him well.

DS19 has a MacBook Pro, also purchased through his university. So far it's been trouble free.

[Lanny]

I am normally not one to suggest spending money on Extended warranties, but in this case, it would be nice to have a warranty that would provide a replacement machine, if the Laptop should be damaged, whether or not it is the fault of the owner.

[klmama]

Would he want to take it along with him to class?  They do add a lot of weight to the backpack.  My dc, who used a laptop all through high school, now uses a Surface Pro 4 tablet with keyboard cover and prefers it because it's so easy to use and doesn't weigh much.  YMMV, of course. 

[shawthorne44]

1 hour ago, Lanny said:

I am normally not one to suggest spending money on Extended warranties, but in this case, it would be nice to have a warranty that would provide a replacement machine, if the Laptop should be damaged, whether or not it is the fault of the owner.

 

I totally agree with that.   Combining the finicky nature of computers with something you lug around means that things are likely to fail.   When I traveled for work my laptop needed service of some sort 2-3 times a year.   Of course, that was before solid state drives.   But there was a non-hard drive repair at least once a year.  I even became friendly with the Dell repairman.  

[Wheres Toto]

Dh has decided that we will get a warranty every time we buy a computer now.  We've had three laptops have trouble within a year or two.  Brand new, expensive laptops.    One had a small amount of water spilled on it that fried the hard drive so was our fault, but the others were charging problems usually.  The charging ports get bent so easily.   He also likes the get them wiped and a new clean install before taking them home and those have been covered under the warranties we are choosing.

[Mom22ns]

If your ds is into creative things: graphic arts, video, and even writing, Macs will be more common. If he is in the business department PCs will. For school in general, it will make no difference. Many colleges provide free access to Microsoft Office for all students and he can download the version for either Mac or PC. Most papers are turned in, in Word and Mac & PC file formats are completely compatible. 

My kids have MacBooks, but I'd go with whatever he prefers.

[G5052]

You might look at the college if they have a tech store. 

My oldest had to have a Windows laptop, and I was pleasantly surprised at how good their prices were. They also double the warranty and have free loaners while it's being repaired if you bought it there. They do onsite repairs. 

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

 

Double check what the campus uses mostly, but compatibility isn't usually a huge issue unless you are using specialized programs.  

DS18 is using a windows based computer since that is what is predominant in the math department at the school he chose. If he had chosen the other school he was thinking of we would have bought him a MacBook Pro. 

I personally prefer Mac. I have less computer issues creep up. But they are $$$. 

[Lanny]

This may be  OT but maybe it is dead on for this topic.  I believe that one should have a Backup machine, if at all possible.  If not, then the mentioned purchases from university book stores, where they have (hopefully quick) on site service available is a blessing.  And, if they would provide a loaner machine that's a blessing.

In my case, my main (newer and more powerful) Laptop is a Ubuntu Linux machine.   I have a backup Laptop, older version (they are both Dell Latitude machines). The older machine is running Windows 7 and I have one critical ancient Microsoft Application I need to use. Other than that, I could use Linux 100% of the time. Yesterday, in the afternoon, I got out the older Dell Latitude Laptop, which I'd updated and made a System Image of last week. 

POOF.   When I turned it on, the Display was solid and very bright White.   The first impression one might have is that the Display is toast or the Video Chip on the System Board has failed.  Fortunately, further investigation has shown that the Display is OK and apparently the Video Chip is working properly.

After Googling on Dell.com  I was able to get into the BIOS (after disconnecting from AC power and removing the battery and holding the Power button down for 20 seconds) and am now running the built in Diagnostics that Dell has for this BIOS version.

The Diagnostics have not finished (the RAM/Memory Diagnostics take a long time) but so far  all seems to be well with that machine.   ?

The moral to this long story is that one must have a great deal of patience with computer problems (especially Software problems) and not jump to conclusions and condemn a machine, before a thorough checkout.  If the problem continues in that machine after the Diagnostics finish, I will try to get it to boot from the Clonezilla Live CD and restore the most recent System Image backup that I made last week.  Hopefully, I will be able to boot into Clonezilla Live and not see only a Bright White screen...

Patience is hard to come by if it is your only machine and you have an urgent need to use it.

My suggestion is that if the Students do not have a Spare Backup machine, that they need access to a Loaner machine or they could be in deep stuff for awhile.

Obviously, all Data should be backed up, either to the Cloud (Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, etc.) in case the worst happens...

 

 

 

[Lanny]

Follow-on to my previous post about the issue with my old (probably assembled during 2008-2010?)   Dell Latitude E6400 laptop, which is my Windows 7 machine and my Backup laptop.  Yesterday, in the afternoon, it would have been easy for someone to assume (as I did) that the Display was bad, or that the Video chip on the System Board had failed or something...

I am both surprised and happy to report back here that the issue was (probably) a corrupted Video Driver.   I ran all the  Dell Diagnostics that are incorporated into the version of the BIOS it has and nothing in the HW (Hardware) was found to be defective.   I did go to the Dell Support web site and I Downloaded and Installed a newer version of the Video Drivers for that  video chip.

It seems to be working fine now. 

NOTE: If someone did not have the time and/or patience to fight a problem like this, they could easily pay a "Technician" many dollars per hour, for many hours, with no guarantee of success, to work on a problem like this. That's where having a Backup Machine proves to be very helpful. 

 

Edited June 6, 2018 by Lanny
Edit to change word from Windows to BIOS

[DawnM]

My each of my kids, we had to figure out what was recommended for their specific majors.  I didn't want to have to replace a computer half way through college because they didn't have the ones they needed.

Oldest needed a specific PC.  We went with a Dell.  It has been fine for the most part (I am not partial to PCs though, but it is what he wanted.)

Middle starts this summer and his major required a MacBook Pro.  He wanted a 15", so we spent quite a bit on it.  However, a great tip is to look at B&H Photo online.  They are an extremely fantastic company in NY, have great prices, and no sales tax.  We got his $2,700 Macbook Pro with all the bells and whistles, for $2,099.  And no tax.  So we saved about $780.

We have bought several big purchases through B&H.  

[Lanny]

After my experience this week where my Backup Laptop went South and became unusable (fortunately it was resurrected) I am going to throw out another idea for the consideration of the OP and others who read this thread, which is a topic that comes up frequently.

Laptops are more problematic than Desktop/Tower machines.  They are more prone to failure.  Whether it is a Laptop or a Desktop or a Tower, and Laptops take up much less space, I think another, possibly less expensive option, would be to purchase two (2) Used machines that are the same model. They may not have all of the same components, but many of their components will be interchangeable.   If one machine dies, even temporarily, as my Backup Laptop did this week, the user is not "dead in the water" and can continue to work on their school work.

The thought of any computer working for four (4) years, without having issues, is unlikely.  I believe that's especially true for "Consumer grade" machines, which are  sold in Retail stores or web sites.  Even "Enterprise grade" machines like we have in our house (6 of them) have failures. "Enterprise" grade machines are of higher quality, but they are machines and machines are prone to occasional failure. 

Two (2) Reconditioned or Used or Incomplete Laptops, of the same model, might be a good way for many people to go, instead of buying one Brand New machine.

[catz]

If he doesn't need a Mac for specific software for his major etc, I would get a Windows laptop with a Microsoft office subscription.  I do like laptops for youth.  Even my teens are so much happier with a laptop.   However, I do agree they can be problematic.  For teens/college students, invest in the extended warranty.  AND I would also invest in an online backup subscription as well.   I might even encourage my kid to back up important workings docs, etc to a flash drive that they could take to the library if necessary.  

[DawnM]

14 minutes ago, FuzzyCatz said:

If he doesn't need a Mac for specific software for his major etc, I would get a Windows laptop with a Microsoft office subscription.  I do like laptops for youth.  Even my teens are so much happier with a laptop.   However, I do agree they can be problematic.  For teens/college students, invest in the extended warranty.  AND I would also invest in an online backup subscription as well.   I might even encourage my kid to back up important workings docs, etc to a flash drive that they could take to the library if necessary.  

 

Make sure you also check with your college before purchasing an Office Subscription.  Many times they are free or $10/year through the Univ.

[catz]

16 minutes ago, DawnM said:

 

Make sure you also check with your college before purchasing an Office Subscription.  Many times they are free or $10/year through the Univ.

Very good point!  My kid is dual enrolled at a community college and got a subscription for free!

[Heathermomster]

DH and I purchased a Mac with an i7 processor for son’s graduation gift.  We are a pc/Windows family so purchasing a Mac is a big deal to us.  We selected the Mac because it is 13”, light weight, and has a better battery life.  All of son’s work will be saved to the cloud.  The uni’s library allows students to check out Chromebooks and hotspots for free.

Office 365 is free to any student with a valid school address.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/students/default.aspx

[Bootsie]

You may want to consider a Surface or some other type of computer/tablet combo.  Some professors will allow a tablet that sits flat on the desk but not a laptop as the screens block views in the class and are a greater distraction to those sitting nearby.

[KarenNC]

We ended up getting our daughter, also a dedicated humanities kid (English, history, etc--not visual arts), a Samsung Notebook 7 Spin convertible 2-in-1 laptop as a combo graduation/birthday present. She has had a 15.6 inch Dell for high school and dual enrollment, but it is a bit heavier with the dvd drive and tended to live at home unless absolutely necessary. She wanted something lighter to carry around campus and mine needs replacing, so I'll inherit her old one for now. She doesn't game, do movie editing, digital art, or similar activities, so power for that wasn't a consideration. She's a writer and researcher, likes to surf the web, stream movies and tv shows, and most of her storage is done in Dropbox currently. We did take her to a couple of stores that carry a variety of laptops so that she could lay hands on the keyboards and get a real feel for the differences in size and layout. A 13-14 inch display was the sweet spot for her. My husband (network admin) wanted a SSD rather than a spinning hard drive if possible and at least 8 GB RAM. The Notebook 7 Spin is 13.3 inches, 256 GB solid-state drive, touch screen, Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, weighs 3.2 lbs, and can be used as a laptop or tablet. It runs $899 reg at Best Buy, but I've seen it on sale now twice in the last month for $699 (we bought during one of the sales). 

For accessories, the school offers Microsoft Office 365 and Adobe Creative Cloud for free, and we're sending her with an extra stylus, an external cd/dvd drive we already had, and a couple of larger thumb drives. We'll probably also send her with the Kindle Fire we picked up very cheaply a couple of years ago in case she needs something larger than her phone but smaller than her laptop, easy to drop into her purse. Not really useful for typing, but fine for other tasks. Her grandparents are giving her a water-resistant backpack with laptop compartment and we're looking for a separate waterproof sleeve for the laptop itself, may also get a raincover for her backpack just in case, though she will of course have an umbrella and a poncho. It rains a lot down by the coast. The one thing I'm still working on is some sort of lockable storage that will fit the laptop as well as smaller documents, etc. She will be in a shared room on a traditional hall first year, so won't have as much control over who comes in and out as if she had a separate lockable individual bedroom in a suite. There are no lockable drawers in the desk, unfortunately. I think we may settle on a standard wheeled dorm trunk, with a padlock and an anchoring cable lock https://www.everythingsummercamp.com/anchoring-cable-lock.There should be room under the semi-lofted bed. If anyone has a recommendation for something smaller that will still hold the laptop, is still reasonably priced and reasonably portable, I'd love to  hear it.

[Pawz4me]

10 hours ago, KarenNC said:

The one thing I'm still working on is some sort of lockable storage that will fit the laptop as well as smaller documents, etc. She will be in a shared room on a traditional hall first year, so won't have as much control over who comes in and out as if she had a separate lockable individual bedroom in a suite. There are no lockable drawers in the desk, unfortunately. I think we may settle on a standard wheeled dorm trunk, with a padlock and an anchoring cable lock https://www.everythingsummercamp.com/anchoring-cable-lock.There should be room under the semi-lofted bed. If anyone has a recommendation for something smaller that will still hold the laptop, is still reasonably priced and reasonably portable, I'd love to  hear it.

I suppose a lot depends on the university, but we never got anything for our boys to lock up their valuables. DS22 made it through four years and never heard of a thing getting stolen. He's horrible about locking doors (to this day I don't think he and his roommates ever lock their apartment door), and DS19 has never mentioned hearing of any petty thefts on his campus. They're both at large public universities, but theft just doesn't seem to be an issue.

[Chris in VA]

We are getting an Asus brand laptop from Amazon. Our computer guru says $750-900 is all you need to spend. He recommended not buying an Apple product. I have no idea about these things. Ds had a macbook pro because the film program used editing software that only ran on macs. Dd will be in music, so no such need. 

[Kassia]

6 minutes ago, Chris in VA said:

We are getting an Asus brand laptop from Amazon. Our computer guru says $750-900 is all you need to spend. He recommended not buying an Apple product. I have no idea about these things. Ds had a macbook pro because the film program used editing software that only ran on macs. Dd will be in music, so no such need. 

 

We have two kids with Asus laptops and they have both have terrible experiences with the laptops and customer service.  Hope you have better luck than we have.  

[Chris in VA]

2 hours ago, Kassia said:

 

We have two kids with Asus laptops and they have both have terrible experiences with the laptops and customer service.  Hope you have better luck than we have.  

Oh, I'm so glad you warned us! I had heard from this person they were really great, but I will look further into it!

[Kassia]

6 hours ago, Chris in VA said:

Oh, I'm so glad you warned us! I had heard from this person they were really great, but I will look further into it!

 

Please do!  I don't want to stop you from buying a good affordable laptop, but we have only owned two Asus laptops and both had serious issues with terrible customer service from Asus.  

[Katy]

If he's going to stay in a creative/English field a Mac is a better choice and with the AppleCare will likely last through college. You can get a good deal by checking returned items at the Best Buy stores near you.

If there's any chance he'll switch to business or accounting a PC is better, and he should go cheaper and plan to need to upgrade in 3 years.

[katilac]

On 6/28/2018 at 10:27 AM, Katy said:

If he's going to stay in a creative/English field a Mac is a better choice and with the AppleCare will likely last through college.  

 

 

How so? He's going to be researching and writing. I would not pay the Mac premium for that! With so many products going to cloud subscriptions for either OS, including the Adobe suite, I'd think long and hard before getting a Mac even for a digital design student. The Mac will likely last through college, agreed, but someone who needs it for stuff beyond Adobe suite and similar will likely need to replace it anyway - not because it breaks, but because it becomes slow and outdated. My nephew did digital design before the cloud subscriptions days; he did need a Mac, but he went through 2 of them in college because the software began requiring more than the old laptop could give. 

I'm biased because I was pretty disappointed in my first Mac, lol. It was just as annoying and troublesome as any PC, and twice the price. 

I would go for a Samsung Spin or a Microsoft Surface Pro. We have one of each for my two dds, and they both love them. My artist actually has an iPad Pro she got a couple of years ago in addition to the Surface Pro, and she says they are each better at different things. 

If the main purposes are research, writing, email, and internet browsing, he could continue using a Chromebook - but, if he has money slotted for it, I'd get a one of the above or another hybrid. He will not need a DVD drive. 

[Katy]

1 hour ago, katilac said:

...

I'm biased because I was pretty disappointed in my first Mac, lol. It was just as annoying and troublesome as any PC, and twice the price. 

...

 

Because the machines are more stable and cloud computing requires less hardware updates. We've had multiple macs for me, and PCs for DH and while the one that gets used least often can be troublesome if you want to use it and need to spend a few hours running updates first, even the updates take less than half the time of the PCs. IME even if things are in the cloud they are STILL easier to use on a mac because the instructors are going to be giving shortcuts that only work on a mac. Yes, there are PC shortcuts for most things, but if you're going to use that software for a job you're going to have to do twice the work to memorize the shortcuts in both systems. And there is still software that doesn't work on PCs at all from smaller companies, stuff like Highland for screenwriting. And because even with software that converts documents, the formatting is frequently lost going from one to the other.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

On 6/27/2018 at 6:44 PM, Chris in VA said:

We are getting an Asus brand laptop from Amazon. Our computer guru says $750-900 is all you need to spend. He recommended not buying an Apple product. I have no idea about these things. Ds had a macbook pro because the film program used editing software that only ran on macs. Dd will be in music, so no such need. 

 

 

While I prefer Mac, my boys have Asus laptops that are working great. The only issues have been standard pc/windows nonsense. 

[AngieW in Texas]

The laptop that we got our oldest for college died after two years (don't remember what it was). She has a Toshiba Satellite now and it's going strong.

My middle dd started off with a Macbook Air. It lasted until halfway through her 3rd (and final) year and then we replaced it with a Toshiba Satellite.

My poor youngest has had two laptops die in 4 years. The first was a Toshiba Satellite and the second was a Dell Inspiron. We just replaced the Dell yesterday. A is a heavy gamer and really stressed out both laptops, but has a gaming desktop now.

My current Toshiba Satellite has lasted me for 4 years so far, which is longer than my last two desktops combined. But it is taking a long time to load pages and disconnects itself from wifi multiple times during the day.

[TCB]

My dd has a scholarship for a laptop but they've told us it has to be bought through the tech store at college. She's always used a PC before but to be honest the PC choices at the college do not seem great. We've now started thinking about a Mac but are wondering how difficult it will be to adjust from PC to Mac. Does anyone have any experience with this?

[katilac]

It's not difficult at all to adjust, just some different commands here and there. There many be Windows programs she wants that won't run, but there is an add-on program you can solve that problem with if needed. 

[Pawz4me]

DS19 started early college high school at 14, having only ever used Windows based computers. The early college program provided the students with Macbooks. He had a short learning curve, but it wasn't a big deal at all.