College Laptop

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derekbannatyne

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Sep 15, 2007
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I'm getting ready to purchase a laptop for when I leave for college in August, but I'm still not set on what to get. I'll be going into engineering (not sure which field yet), so I figure that I'll need a relatively top-end laptop with a decent graphics card.

I plan on keeping this for the next four (or more) years, and here's what I had in mind:

Dell XPS M1530
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB, 3MB Cache)
Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
Memory 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
LCD, Color and camera High Resolution widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1440x900) & 2MP Camera
Video Card 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
Hard Drives Size: 320GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Combo or DVD+RW Drive Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
Sound Card Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition
Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Mini-card
Primary Battery 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery 6BAT [312-0638]
Warranty & Service 4 Yr Ltd Warranty and At-Home Service ATG4OS
Accident and Theft Protection Add Accidental Damage and LoJack Theft Protection to 4Yr Warr.
SECURITY Finger Print Reader XPS M1530 FPRDR [467-2337]
Bluetooth and Wireless USB Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)

I could get the above for around $1400, does that sound like a decent deal?

Is it worth it to get the four year warranty? I can get pretty much the same configuration for $1050 if I don't opt for the four year warranty (instead replaced by a one year warranty). Thanks for the help!
 
I will let somebody else comment on the machine, though keep in mind after 4 years you will probably want a new one anyways.

Check the warranty prices for a lower warrenty. I know with my thinkpad 3 to 4 years was a huge jump but 1 to 3 years was not that large. The 3 year warranties generally tend to be the best deal all around, above that they get high because the failure rates start to rise (I would imagine I don't have stats off hand).
 
If you are going to be working with CAD, go with a T61p or an HP 8510p. Both have Quadro based cards.
 
The warranty from three to four years is only an $80 jump, but they're offering a free $70 gift card, so it basically makes the difference negligible. As for CAD, I have a desktop as well, so if there's any need for an upgraded graphics card I can easily (cheaply) do that. I'm not even sure if I'll be using CAD, as the only fields that require it are civil and mechanical engineering. I'm just looking for a decent computer that'll get me through all four years of undergrad without becoming overly outdated. Thanks for the help!
 
I would still rather have a business line as these can carry 2 batteries vs the 1530's single 9 cell. Also build quality will be better on the HP or Lenovo machine.
 
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