Best Law School Laptop for the Money Forum

[hawkeye22]

So through my school i think i can get a dell inspiron15R w/ an intel i5, 4gb ram, and 320gb hard drive for ~$750. From the research i've been doing that sounds like a really good deal. any thoughts? its one of dell's fast track models that ship in 24hrs, anyone have any experience with theses?

I would go for the Acer Timelinex series: same price, similar components and way, way smaller.

[flyingpanda]

For a sub-600 laptop, how is this one?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=4965

[03121202698008]

For sub-$600, buy a used macbook on ebay.

[zeth006]

For a sub-600 laptop, how is this one?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=4965

It's fine. Asus rates it at getting a 11.5 hour battery life.

[savagecheater]

Warranties are so expensive.

The warrant on my new rig is about 20% of the price alone....

[JohnWild]

--LinkRemoved--

ThinkPad T410 laptop Performance Package

Intel Core i5-520M Processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3, 1066MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
14.1 WXGA TFT, w/ LED Backlight (WWAN antenna)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 5700MHD - AMT
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
Camera, 2.0 MP
500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)
6 cell 2.6Ah Li-Ion Battery - Dual Mode
Country Pack North America with Line cord & 65W AC adapter
ThinkPad bgn Wireless
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable


All for 891.65. Thoughts if this is a good deal? Other places I could get for cheaper?


Anything I need to add during customization?

[flyingpanda]

For sub-$600, buy a used macbook on ebay.

I like the asus because it's got really good battery life and a non integrated graphics card. Not really ready to ebay computers yet.

[beach_terror]

For those buying Lenovo's... they markup the prices on their RAM a ton. For my ThinkPad Edge, it came with 2gb installed, so naturally I assumed they gave me two 1gb sticks. However, I popped it open today and saw they gave me a 2gb stick, so I have a free ram slot. I can buy a 2gb stick on Newegg for ~45 dollars, which 40$ cheaper than doing it directly through Lenovo. I imagine this is the same for all other models that come with 2gb, but check first.

Installing ram is about as easy as it comes as well, so for anyone on the fence between upgrading ram, just do it through Newegg and not directly through Lenovo.

3gb from Lenovo - 40$ (Newegg price 25$ for a 1gb stick)
4gb from Lenovo - 80$ (Newegg price 44$ for a 2gb stick)

Just make sure the timings and voltages are the same.

[Mosca]

http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrary/co ... 3CE1BC569A

ThinkPad T410 laptop Performance Package

Intel Core i5-520M Processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3, 1066MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
14.1 WXGA TFT, w/ LED Backlight (WWAN antenna)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 5700MHD - AMT
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
Camera, 2.0 MP
500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)
6 cell 2.6Ah Li-Ion Battery - Dual Mode
Country Pack North America with Line cord & 65W AC adapter
ThinkPad bgn Wireless
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable


All for 891.65. Thoughts if this is a good deal? Other places I could get for cheaper?


Anything I need to add during customization?

That's a great deal. Add the code USXSUMMERSAVINGS and it takes off $44.58

[SAE]

Warranties are so expensive.

The warrant on my new rig is about 20% of the price alone....

Never buy extended warranties on anything. Period.

[kalvano]

Never buy extended warranties on anything. Period.

Unless you should. In which case, stupid blanket statements don't apply.

[SAE]

Never buy extended warranties on anything. Period.

Unless you should get suckered in to buying one. In which case, stupid blanket statements don't apply.

ftfy

[beach_terror]

Warranties are so expensive.

The warrant on my new rig is about 20% of the price alone....

Never buy extended warranties on anything. Period.

While I normally would agree with this statement, after working in IT, some people need warranties. The ineptitude even our generation has with computers and technology is astounding.

[savagecheater]

Never buy extended warranties on anything. Period.

Unless you should get suckered in to buying one. In which case, stupid blanket statements don't apply.

ftfy

tell me why to not purchase on-site warranty/accident protection when my school offers on-site next-day service under warranty.

[barryb]

I bought this one: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/ ... 0A1A0A0F13
$499.99
Also, Free Shipping after Coupon Code: ?8CN$RJ?W5TQ0C

It's a Dell (Inspiron) which I have always preferred over Acer, Compaq, Gateway or the other brands because of the customer service. It has the i3 and 4gb of RAM. I don't think you will find a better deal (even for those cheaper brands). I have looked for a few weeks and this one looks great.

Software & Services
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
New 2010 Intel® Core™ i3-350M 2.26Gh (4 Threads, 3M Cache)
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3
320GB 5400rpm
Personalize
1 Year Basic Service Plan
McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months
Also Includes
Intel® HD Graphics
Lithium Ion Battery (6-Cell) – Up to 4 hours, 2 minutes of battery life*
Inspiron 15R
15.6" High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife™
HD Audio 2.0 Support SRS™ Premium Sound
8X CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive) - w/ Roxio Burn 1.0
Dell Wireless DW1501, 802.11 g/n 1x1 Half Mini Card
Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam
Integrated 10/100 Network Card
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0
1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection
Microsoft® Office Starter 2010
Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year

[SAE]

Never buy extended warranties on anything. Period.

Unless you should get suckered in to buying one. In which case, stupid blanket statements don't apply.

ftfy

tell me why to not purchase on-site warranty/accident protection when my school offers on-site next-day service under warranty.

Let's see.. Because it costs money.

Unless you are totally technology-inept or are planning on playing soccer with your laptop, you probably won't need the extended warranty.

If there is anything wrong with the hardware, chances are pretty good that it will show right away, long before the extended warranty period.

[ResolutePear]

Warranties are so expensive.

The warrant on my new rig is about 20% of the price alone....

Never buy extended warranties on anything. Period.

This is the most retarded statement I've heard all month.

It's like saying you're not going to take out auto, home, health, or life insurance. Shit happens; the world isn't static. Get back to me when the used car you bought without warranty randomly blows up.

[zeth006]

Warranties are so expensive.

The warrant on my new rig is about 20% of the price alone....

Never buy extended warranties on anything. Period.

This is the most retarded statement I've heard all month.

It's like saying you're not going to take out auto, home, health, or life insurance. Shit happens; the world isn't static. Get back to me when the used car you bought without warranty randomly blows up.

I can attest to this. Shit. Just. Happens. I took really good care of my Dell Vostro. I never dropped it once or banged it against any surface. But guess what? Some things are just out of my control. My 8600M GT GPU crapped out 1-2 months out of my warranty. I'd get all these pixellated images on my screen while playing Guild Wars after 15 minutes of playing. I found through a little research that the fault lay with Nvidia for a design defect. Dell refused to cover the problem for free but offered to repair the GPU for what pretty much amounted to the cost of the warranty itself.


But the problems didn't end there. About 1 year and 9 months from the day I first bought that notebook, my screen dies on me. A quick visit to eBay shows that the equivalent screen replacement costs at least $150. This is without considering the fact that the screen itself may not have been the only problem. It could've been any number of components connected to the screen! I wasn't in the mood to shell out money to make guesses as to which part(s) needed replacement.


Moral of the story: If you can get a 3-year warranty or better cheap, buy it. A Square Trade warranty for a $1,000 notebook will cost $130 after their usual $30 off coupon. That's $130 for SQ to guarantee they'll either fix your notebook or refund you the full price that you paid for your notebook minus taxes/shipping all within 5 days. These guys from what I hear and read are legit and well-known.

Sure, you can opt to not pay for the warranty. But just remember that many repairs can cost as much as or more than the warranty itself. If you're not a computer techie like me, sometimes it's better just to pay extra for a little peace of mind.

[09042014]

For sub-$600, buy a used macbook on ebay.

no. Buy a Dell with education discount unless you hate windows.

[Thomas Jefferson]

no. Buy a Dell with education discount unless you hate windows.

Fuck Dell.

[09042014]

no. Buy a Dell with education discount unless you hate windows.

Fuck Dell.

Can't beat them on the low end.

[03121202698008]

Let's see.. Because it costs money.

Unless you are totally technology-inept or are planning on playing soccer with your laptop, you probably won't need the extended warranty.

If there is anything wrong with the hardware, chances are pretty good that it will show right away, long before the extended warranty period.

Extended warranties are where they make their money. Only like 3% are ever used. Most hardware failures will show in the first 2 months if not out of the box. While cdroms/power supplies do occasionally die...it usually isn't until the 3-4 year mark at which point you are probably buying a new laptop anyhow. If not, parts are usually cheap by that point and ebay is flooded with parts systems.

Though my analysis is predicated on you being able to replace parts/reinstall software yourself.

[03121202698008]

no. Buy a Dell with education discount unless you hate windows.

Fuck Dell.

Can't beat them on the low end.

Unless you get one of their notoriously shitty systems and then have to do without a system while they fix it. http://arstechnica.com/business/news/20 ... puters.ars

[09042014]

no. Buy a Dell with education discount unless you hate windows.

Fuck Dell.

Can't beat them on the low end.

Unless you get one of their notoriously shitty systems and then have to do without a system while they fix it. http://arstechnica.com/business/news/20 ... puters.ars

A study done by a company that warranties computers showed Dells failure rate to be about median. Only slightly worse than Apple.

Apple shipped out millions of faulty IPhones, it happens to all tech companies.

[Thomas Jefferson]

no. Buy a Dell with education discount unless you hate windows.

Fuck Dell.

Can't beat them on the low end.

Asus does.