Thoughts on this Toshiba for college?

I've been casually looking for a laptop for my brother who is going to be a senior in high school but is getting a laptop that will hopefully carry him through college. I came across this Toshiba on SD. I am not familiar with Toshibas or mobile AMD processors. He does not game, he uses FB, youtube, and itunes. Screen res sucks, but he's used to my moms computer which is a 4:3 oldie. He does prefer the 17" though. Other than that he couldn't tell me the difference between a hard drive and CPU.

http://www.staples.com/Toshiba-Satellite-L775D-S7222-17.3-Laptop/product_331466&cmArea=CIRCULAR

I wouldn't do it. It will suck to carry around. Get a smaller laptop.

I would consider an Intel CPU based laptop with integrated graphics by Intel. That way there isn't a dedicated GPU to burn up.

Why not wait until he decides on a college and gets accepted? Many colleges and universities have large-scale purchase agreements with the big vendors and get much better prices than the general public, plus premium technical support for students, staff, and faculty who purchase through those programs. Also, if you buy this way the universities will pre-load the laptop with campus wide licensed software that students may use for free while in school. Lots of saving these too. It just takes so much hassle out of the equation for the student...they can focus on school and not on details. Plus, the IT staff has the task of making sure the machines are up to spec and able to serve the needs of users.

AQ_OC, not all universities provide deals on hardware and software. The deals I've found online are better than what my school provides.

I would never recommend a 17" laptop for school.

The laptop you link to is most likely an overkill for a non-gamer.

I would recommend something in the 12-14" department, something lightweight, with an Intel CPU and Intel onboard graphics, and most importantly - a good battery life.

I´m not sure how much they're going for in the states, but I would look at a i3 spec'd ThinkPad T410/T420's. You'll be getting a superior battery life, build quality, a laptop that will last him a couple of years without problems.

Like I said, he wants a 17" and he is a state champ swimmer and full time life-guard so I'm not worried about him getting weighed down. I used a 17" Inspiron 9300 for 6 years in of college and never had an issue. From what little research there is the A6 performs between an i3 and i5, which should be plenty for him.

I know about school laptop deals, and the three colleges I went to all were way the hell overpriced. So if the opinion of size is the main drawback I will show it to him. He wants one now because the family computer is slowing down and he would like a little privacy, as any 17 year old would.

I would like a 9 cell but I can just warn him of that I guess.

450 said:

AQ_OC, not all universities provide deals on hardware and software. The deals I've found online are better than what my school provides.

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Then you made the right decision for you. However, it is not true for all universities. Better to check first.

HeavensCloud said:

Like I said, he wants a 17" and he is a state champ swimmer and full time life-guard so I'm not worried about him getting weighed down. I used a 17" Inspiron 9300 for 6 years in of college and never had an issue. From what little research there is the A6 performs between an i3 and i5, which should be plenty for him.

I know about school laptop deals, and the three colleges I went to all were way the hell overpriced. So if the opinion of size is the main drawback I will show it to him. He wants one now because the family computer is slowing down and he would like a little privacy, as any 17 year old would.

I would like a 9 cell but I can just warn him of that I guess.

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It's too heavy and too big. Kids today carry about huge bookbags full of books -- all day long. Its not the right choice and just because you did it and just because he's a swimmer makes little difference.

The laptop you link to only comes with a 1 year warranty he has to last at least 4 years in college. When he has a problem, what is he going to do? Are you considering the cost of support or just looking at the base price? Will he be able to get support for this thing while at school? Will he have to send this off some place to get it fixed and what will he do when it is away and he has assignments to get done? Will he have to spend lots of time and effort getting software re-installed? The real cost of the laptop is not just what you pay when you buy it...the hassle factor down the road is what you give up when you buy that $500 machine instead of one that cost considerably more, but has a support structure in place -- on campus -- to keep things working well for the student.