Best laptop for a college student...

[luqman]

I would like to seek advice from all of u, which kind of laptop is the best for a college student? Fujitsu? Lenovo? Toshiba? Sony Viao? I am very confused.. Any idea.. What is the best spec that i need...

[sundaymorningstaple]

Usually money is an issue. Dell.

[luqman]

y dell? other laptop? i will be learning overseas....

[sundaymorningstaple]

Why pay 20% more, spec for spec? Or are you a typical Gen-Y that insists on "branded" goods rather that value for money? All the names you listed are all 20% or more higher than the more agricultural models that do the same job for less money (style does not equate to either performance or durability).

[bembenk]

I had a good experience with Dell. As sometimes we are careless, accidentally I spilled my drink to it, it turned blue screen, I tried to dry the liquid using fan, and it worked again. I believe some brands would say: it's the end of your laptop life, Sir.

[luqman]

any suggestion? So dell should be ok? But how is it customer service? is it easy to be located?

[aster]

How big of a factor is money? Sure you don't want to get a Mac? You'll have to shell out $1588 for the new Macbook, but on the bright side you'll never go back to using a pc again...

[banker]

Usually money is an issue. Dell.

Surprisingly a pragmatic and non-stereotype post from SMS

I agree with SMS on Dell. The reason is simple...

Beside Intel and Windows (most important parts) are common in all these laptops, with the OEM/outsourcing there are possibilities brand A and B assembled at the same factory in Taiwan/Malaysia so on.

Dell's advantage is it's business model - JIT, cutdown on middle man and so on. I don't regret to choose the cheaper one..

[Plavt]

Fujitsu are good and some models incorporate impact detection so the the read/write heads lift of the hard drive should the machine be dropped. The case is more solid than many other models.

However, they are among the more expensive and as far as I know the company is not very active in Singapore for some reason (that could have changed - I simply don't know). From personal experience Toshiba has provided me with a good deal at less than half the price of a Fujitsu. Although I would mention as I have before, both the quality and the technical support seem to depend on where you live in the world. Both Fujitsu and Toshiba assemble their machines in Germany which has good quality controls. Dell are reliable although I have never cared much for their technical support. Sony are good machines but there customer support for some reason is not so hot.

Since you say you are going to be using the machine overseas do check whether the warranty is valued internationally.

[luqman]

ok.. Thanks... But i had a bit problem.. as you said that fujitsu and toshiba is a good laptop, i just need to know, which is the best laptop? which is the most durable laptop? Is macbook is good as fujitsu or toshiba?

[Plavt]

I don't think anybody can define any laptop as being the best, it depends what your priorities are. As a student I would presume most of your work would be writing essays or doing figure work? In which case the software would be more important.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Unless he's a student like my son, who needed a high end unit as he needs Photoshop CS and runs a drawing tablet graphics pad as well. So, you are right, it depend on the course of study he's taking. He also might be studying architecture or Mechanical Engineering and needs to run Auto-Cad.

[luqman]

Ok.. I will not be using any Auto-cad. Yeah, i think the software is more important to me. Ok, from ur personal experience, which laptop do u encounter less problem and more suitable for students. Is toshiba m900 is ok for students? Or fujitsu s6520?

[Plavt]

See my earlier posts; Toshiba cheaper might suit your budget more, can't comment on the specific models you mention though and you might have to wait a long time for forumer(s) who have those particular models to see your post. Like getting married you just have to take 'pot-luck' sometimes (ask sms).

[durain]

if you want a laptop specified for student, then get the OLPC .

if not, then any laptop will do since you are not using the laptop to do rocket science.

imho, no particular brand is bad or the best. all will have bad and good. just get one that you can afford and live with.