[Blue_Bird]

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good laptop? I'm going to be starting college soon and will be taking online classes, so I'll be using it a lot. I really don't know much about what's a good laptop for the price etc that's why I'm asking

[(JD)]

I have had wonderful results with Toshiba. My Dell is a delight except they never put in long lasting batteries! grrrrrr

With the influx of tablets, you should be able to get a good notebook for under $600, or a bit more if it comes with lifetime virus (McAfee, Norton) and software. It's easy to compare online...don't forget to check QVC and HSN (.com s but also on cable). They often have flex pay, not layaway (get the item now!) and a good return policy if things don't work out.

Notebooks today should have at least 5 GB of RAM and up to a terrabyte! of storage on harddrive. (Imagine that!) (My tablet which only cost me $100 has 8 GB ram and is expandable.)

Most new notebooks no longer have DVD burners...so look for one that does have that as I think it's still useful... make sure it comes with all the cables and adapters, car chargers or whatnot that you may want... but by comparing at the actual websites of Toshiba, Dell etc you can have several lined up side by side and choose.

[Travelinglady]

I like Toshiba, too.

[feral]

you could probably get an Asus G73sw now for a decent price. its a high-end gaming machine, so it can do anything. but its been out long enough that it should be affordable now. I wont lie I dont know for sure cuz I have not checked the price lately. I bought mine when it was new and it was about $1500 but thats for a Intel I-7 and a great GPU also.

[Grey Matter]

Currently, there are many college sales going on. I got my HP laptop (after having the same laptop for 8 years and ruining it due to online schooling etc) for $257 with rebates + a warranty included.

I would avoid Dells, especially if you're using this for schooling. The battery lives tend to be awful (from what I've seen on my moms) and they tend to crash quite a bit.

HP and Toshiba are always good choices.

[Blue_Bird]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone, I'll look into it and post back here when I do make a decision and buy one

[Grey Matter]

Good Luck!

[healingme4me]

I'm a fan of Lenovo. Good luck, in college!

[breakmystride]

I had an HP in college, and I liked it at first, but it required a lot of maintenance. I had to take it in and get something fixed or replaced every few months.

I'd never been a fan of Dell before, but I have a Dell right now and I'm actually really happy with it. I've had it nearly a year, and not had any issues with it.

Never used a Toshiba, but I've heard lots of good things about it. It's supposed to be the most reliable of the 'cheaper' brands.

[bronzeowl]

I've never had anything other than Toshiba or Vaio and I plan on keeping it that way. The only problem I have with my Vaio is that my friend's kid thought it'd be a good idea to throw it and effectively ruined the cord... so now it doesn't charge the battery properly. There, also, a specific model that has problems with the fan that you'd have to look into first (I can't remember which model). Toshiba, there's a reason you hear a lot of good things about it.

I, personally, wouldn't recommend a Dell. Dell makes decent enough desktops but I've had nothing but bad experiences with Dells. For that matter, I've had nothing but bad experiences with Acers, as well.

[Grey Matter]

Yeah, Acers tend to give out quickly like Dells. Especially if you know you're going to be using the computer for work. They are awful -_-

[IchbinkeinTeufel]

It would help to know for what exactly you want the laptop, for example: Microsoft Office, web browsing, some games, high-quality gaming, video/image editing, etc. What's your budget? Mac or Windows? If the latter, Windows 7 or 8? And so on. xD If or when you find a laptop you think might be the one, Google the model, and get as much info on it as you can, like user-submitted reviews. You don't want to buy a lemon, so it can do the world of good, to absorb lots of info on a particular model. If you go for a netbook/notebook, keep in mind they are designed with power-saving as a priority, so they will very likely be slow. I have a - possibly Acer - netbook that I bought not long ago, for £200 or so, and it's painfully slow, or it least, comparatively slow, up against my PC. If you just want something for Microsoft Office, the odd bit of web-browsing, E-Mails, and so on, then you really don't need to spend much at all. £100 would likely get you a nice enough laptop for those tasks. If you are insistent on buying one brand-new, then you're probably looking at £200+ judging by the prices here in England, at our high-street.

These 10.1" ASUS netbooks seems to be well received, and I confess, I wish I had bought one instead of my current, possibly Acer, one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-X101CH-...ds=asus+laptop

But yeh, look around and do some research, unless you wanna gamble more than normal. :P

As for software, I'd say you're better off with the proven-to-be-sufficient Windows 7; I think it's a brilliant OS. Some may like Windows 8, but as its still fairly new, and not exactly necessary, I'd just stick with Windows 7. If you absolutely have to go with Windows 8, you could remove it and install Windows 7 on there, but if you're not used to this stuff, I'd just leave it as-is.

For hardware, you're wanting at least a 2-core CPU at a guestimate of 1.7GHz - 2.2GHz, depending on the CPU type, or more, but for more demanding games, I'd go for a 3-4 core CPU at 1.7GHz+, depending on how badly you want to game. When looking for a GPU, keep in mind that regular desktop/tower versions will be better, because they aren't optimised so much for power-preservation, heat, and other variables applicable to a laptop. There is, for example, a big difference between a 660Ti, or a 660M, similar to the difference between a passively cooled card, and a regular bell 'n whistles card of the same type. For RAM, you do not need 16GB or some nonsense, unless you're doing some fairly extensive video editing, image editing, server-stuff, etc. If you're wanting some sweet gaming action, go for 6-8GB, the latter being the sweet-spot, these days. If you're after regular use, 2-4GB would do just fine, although the former may chug a bit, if you use a lot of stuff at once. If you're after value but still want some nice power under the proverbial hood, then go for an AMD-based system, as they tend to have your bank-balance more in your favor. AMD graphics chips/cards tend to be more favorable to a healthy price, or so I'm told, but I'm not convinced, personally.

There's some random bitties of info.

Hope I helped in some way.

Good luck!