Advice on a new laptop

secret agent mansecret agent man
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I am going off to college in the fall and I need a good laptop to get me through my four years.



I have looked at DELL, Gateway, Toshiba, and some of the other lesser known brands of computers.



I decided to look into an Apple for my computing needs.

Here are my questions...



Which apple laptop would you reccomend for a college student, with a budget of approx. $2000?



What would be the benefits of using an Apple PC over a Windows based machine?



What can a mac offer me that a windows machine cannot?



I also must admit that I am a gamer. I can't completely stop playing games once I get to college.



Will I end up trashing most of my current software just to replace it with new software only for macs? Someone here must have been a gamer that switched over to a mac.



Basically I'm looking for a few good reasons to make the switch.



Thanks in advance for any replies.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    cubedudecubedude Posts: 1,556member
    First off, what games do you normally play, and do you play via a network?



    Secondly, what other software will you need for classes(Office, etc)?



    Thirdly, a Mac can do most things a PC can, if not all.



    Other than that, I would reccommend either a tricked-out 14" iBook, or a base 15" PowerBook.
  • Reply 2 of 17
    secret agent mansecret agent man Posts: 24member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by CubeDude

    First off, what games do you normally play, and do you play via a network?



    Secondly, what other software will you need for classes(Office, etc)?



    Thirdly, a Mac can do most things a PC can, if not all.



    Other than that, I would reccommend either a tricked-out 14" iBook, or a base 15" PowerBook.





    Lately I've been playing lots of Warcraft III, a few bits of Max Payne, and the occasional FPS... UT, UT2k3, Deus Ex etc.



    If I do play on a network it's not in my own home, I have to go to a net cafe to get my LAN games. Generally, I just play Single player stuff.



    The software I will need for classes is Excel, Publisher, Word, power point.
  • Reply 3 of 17
    malokatamalokata Posts: 197member
    There are more than a few good reasons to make the switch - the "next generation" OS, general reliability, laptop scores you dates, etc. Gaming, although historically a weakness of macs (vs PCs), is really very often just as good on a Mac, if you get one with a proper graphics card. However, regarding your question about having to buy new games: yes, you will. Although you can in most cases get the same game, you'll have to buy a Mac version of it. To make it less painful, many companies offer discounted prices on the Mac version if you already own the PC version, though sometimes you have to email and ask for it. (Side note: don't even think about using Virtual PC to play games.)



    As a closer, I love my Powerbook, I just bought it a few months ago and intend to go to college with it this fall, having used PCs all my life. I'm very glad I made the switch. I'd second CubeDude's recommendation of a 15 inch PB, although I'd suggest you wait a month (till after the Expo) to see if they update it and/or slash prices on the current model.



    [edit] All the titles you listed are available on the Mac, and many would argue Office v.X is actually better than the current PC office version. [/edit]
  • Reply 4 of 17
    secret agent mansecret agent man Posts: 24member
    Really the only reason I want to still consider a windows based machine is the fact that there are some kick ass games coming out this year (Half Life 2, Doom III, Deus Ex 2). However, I am willing to play those games on my windows machine at home.



    My only other concern is regarding the school's network. They reccomend a 3-Com ethernet card for PC's. They really didn't say for macs. Would I have to buy a separate etherenet card, or does it come pre installed?



    If I had to buy a card, what would you reccomend?
  • Reply 5 of 17
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    did i see warcraft III?? dude, check the box the mac version of the game is INCLUDED (AFAIK) actually, check the system requirements on the box of any of the games you play, sometimes the other platform versions are on the same cd...



    for $2000 I would recommend the 12" Powerbook ($1500) the edu version of office ($200) and a 15 gig iPod ($370-$200 rebate) don't forget that as a college student you are entitled to a discount on Apple hardware... that total should come out to $2070+tax but it doesn't include the games or the $200 mail in rebate that comes when you buy a laptop and an iPod... check which games you would need to buy and then fill out the rebate to pay for them, shouldn't be more then $200 or so...



    what college are you going to? Do you need a printer as well? you can get a free (after rebate) HP printer with your mac also



    let us know what you decide





    Edit:

    no ethernet card needed, apple's computers come with that all built-in



    you say you frequent internet cafés to do online gaming, why not just do all your gaming there on the superior hardware and save some $ and a headache?
  • Reply 6 of 17
    secret agent mansecret agent man Posts: 24member
    I had no idea about the college student discount. If I can get the prices you stated I will probably go with your recommendation of a 12" PB with an iPod. Although I might have to spring for the more expensive PB and go with a superdrive, more HD space and more RAM.



    In regards to the printer, I might end up needing one unless my roomate has one that he is willing to share.



    I am going to Bradley University in the fall.



    I might just end up playing XBox or PS2 in the dorm rooms for all my gaming needs, although I hate consoles.
  • Reply 7 of 17
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Secret Agent Man

    I had no idea about the college student discount. If I can get the prices you stated I will probably go with your recommendation of a 12" PB with an iPod. Although I might have to spring for the more expensive PB and go with a superdrive, more HD space and more RAM.



    go to

    http://store.apple.com

    click on education in the top right hand corner

    on the right hand side of the next page (under shop for yourself) click on find your college or universitylink



    find your school and checkout the discounted prices!



    iPod bundle
  • Reply 8 of 17
    secret agent mansecret agent man Posts: 24member
    Thanks for the link, it's a big help.
  • Reply 9 of 17
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    oh and don't buy apple's overpriced ram, but do upgrade your HD to 60 gigs for only $47 thats a good deal and buy 3rd party ram, just as good for half the price



    no problem man, really my pleasure
  • Reply 10 of 17
    secret agent mansecret agent man Posts: 24member
    I've never actually upgraded or installed RAM into a laptop. However, I have installed RAM into a desktop with no trouble. Is there any major difference?



    Is the RAM different for macs than it is for PC's?
  • Reply 11 of 17
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    no, Apple uses industry standard ram. also there are step by step instructions all over the net (if you look in the right places) for all different types of macs



    check out www.dealram.com and www.ramseeker.com for more info
  • Reply 12 of 17
    secret agent mansecret agent man Posts: 24member
    If I were to go with a 12" Powerbook, how would I go about ordering it without RAM, so I could upgrade the RAM myself?
  • Reply 13 of 17
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    well thats the problem... the lowest amount of ram you can buy with the mini book is 256 (128 soldered and 128 you will have to toss when you get a 512 stick to put in there) but you still save $ by doing it yourself even-though you get stuck with a perfectly useless 128MB stick... its the worst part about the 12"ers... its a shame really... \
  • Reply 14 of 17
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    just so you're aware, there is an excellent chance that there will be a new revision of the 12" model coming out. however, it may not be before school starts. just a friendly reminder to always hold off on computer purchases until right before you actually NEED them.



  • Reply 15 of 17
    bioflavonoidbioflavonoid Posts: 723member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by alcimedes

    just so you're aware, there is an excellent chance that there will be a new revision of the 12" model coming out. however, it may not be before school starts. just a friendly reminder to always hold off on computer purchases until right before you actually NEED them.







    Agreed. I'd buy when you need it, not ahead of time... so that you can have a better chance of not pissing yourself off by buying a PB that's outdated. BTW, if you do buy it and new ones come out right after, you can send it back to Apple within 2 weeks to recieve the new one (I tried to do it with my 15" PB... but I was like 3 days overdue... I wanted a 12" so bad ... I love my Tibook, though ).
  • Reply 16 of 17
    malokatamalokata Posts: 197member
    However, if you're a switcher, you might want to buy a little early just so you won't be frustrated arriving at school with a machine you're not entirely sure how to use.



    (though the interface is pretty intuitive for anyone who's used a computer in the last 10 years, and should only take you a week or so to master)
  • Reply 17 of 17
    frawgzfrawgz Posts: 547member
    Your choice of major at school might also be a factor. If you go into engineering or any sort of specialized field, you might find that your classes require you to work with nonstandard, Windows-only software. That could be a pain.



    Other than that, you'll be fine if you don't think you'll want to play games all the time on your Mac. You will miss a few key titles, such as Max Payne and Half-Life.
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