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What is the best laptop you can buy for high school and college that is under $1000?

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Short answer: pick the laptop that best matches how you'll use it, not the one with the biggest brand name. Several replies here focus on price and brand — ’s purchase and ’s comments on Dell illustrate that — but the buying decision for a student should hinge on a few practical trade-offs: battery and weight for mobility, a comfortable keyboard for long notes/essays, and simple upgradability so a $1000 machine can stay useful for several years.

Practical checklist (priorities in order)

  • Portability: aim for the lightest model you can live with; 13–15" screens are the sweet spot for students.
  • Battery: real-world battery life matters more than advertised minutes. Removable/replaceable batteries or high-capacity options are valuable.
  • Upgradability: tools-free access to RAM/HDD makes future upgrades cheap — check that the laptop lets you add memory or swap the drive.
  • Warranty/service: a campus or manufacturer student discount and a decent warranty (on-site or carry-in) save headaches; check local repair options.
  • Keyboard and screen: full-size keys, good key travel, and a matte screen reduce eye/typing fatigue.
  • Balance of performance vs. price: integrated graphics are fine for essays, browsing, and streaming; choose discrete graphics only if you plan to game or do heavy multimedia work.
  • Storage: larger-capacity HDDs are cheaper; a faster drive (or SSD) noticeably improves everyday responsiveness if budget allows.

Buying tips and cautions

  • Look for education deals, refurb/“open box” units from reputable sellers, or buy a base model and add RAM yourself to cut costs.
  • Don’t overpay for bundled software you don’t need.
  • If the OS is a concern, lighter alternatives (or reinstalling a clean OS) can extend usable life, but factor in any campus-required software.

This approach keeps you under budget while maximizing durability and usefulness across a full school career.

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Member Avatar for joshSCH

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread80793.html

Heres my dell specs:

1 223-0456 Inspiron E1505N, Intel Core 2 Duo processor T5600 (2MB/1.83GHz/667MHz)
1 320-5155 15.4 Inch UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-screen WXGA+ for Inspiron6400/E1505
1 311-7354 1GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm for Inspiron 6400/E1505
1 320-5634 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 TurboCache, for Inspiron E1505N
1 341-3316 120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive for Inspiron 6400/E1505
1 420-7153 Ubuntu Edition version 7.04
1 313-3959 8X DVD+/-RW Drive for Inspiron 6400/E1505
1 313-4217 Integrated High Definition Audio, Inspiron
1 430-1918 Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Mini Card (54Mbps) for Inspiron 6400/E1505
1 312-0403 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for Inspiron 6400/E1505
1 312-0405 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery, for Inspiron 6400/E1505
1 950-3337 1 Year Limited Warranty
1 950-9057 No Warranty, Year 2 and 3
1 985-3578 Dell Hardware Warranty Plus Return To Depot, Initial Year
1 980-2860 Type 12- Mail-InService, 24x7 TechnicalSupport, Initial Year
1 960-2780 Warranty Support,Initial Year
1 310-8314 Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor

All for $943.93

I bought the 512MB ram b/c it was the smallest possible that you could buy from dell.. it would cost another $275 for 2 gigs of ram.. which I can easily buy off newegg for $75.

Hope this helps some.

Member Avatar for jbennet

Yeah dell, cheap, cheerful and fairly sturdy

acer, hp or toshiba otherwise

Member Avatar for joshSCH

hmm.. I think dell and hp are prolly both really competitive in the laptop industry.. 2 of the best, no doubt.. although, I have heard many bad things related to HP laptops (break more frequently, customer support terrible, not as good as dell) which is why I went with the dell.. but, it really just comes down to personal preference, and what you want your laptop optimized for.

Member Avatar for jbennet

Yeah, you need 2gb ram to use vista properley. Dont ever buy a vista laptop with 512 or 1gb.

Member Avatar for joshSCH

Unless your planning to buy the ram cheaper from newegg :)

Member Avatar for scudzilla

For a student.. Those laptops with cheap graphics so gaming will be limited. lolz

Member Avatar for Duki

i prefer dell over all vendors. Noone can touch their support or MS prices. They're the #1 Microsoft reseller in the world... you won't find a better price than dell if it's made by microsoft.

Member Avatar for joshSCH

Yea.. and I'm sure ALL of you would buy dell over hp if you got a $500 discount..

Member Avatar for jbennet

one of these days MS should start making PCs

Member Avatar for joshSCH

haha.. they'd surely be taken down by the dems for monopolizing the industry :(

Member Avatar for jbennet

i wonder why the big companies dont to that if they have so much money

i mea, how cool would it be if microsoft baught apple and Dell and IBM baught sun and HP

Member Avatar for joshSCH

Anti-trust legislation.. AT&T has been busted, Microsoft has been busted.. Apple is being sued over it.

Member Avatar for Duki

Yea.. and I'm sure ALL of you would buy dell over hp if you got a $500 discount..

:P

I've heard rumors of a MS computer... you pay for it monthly or something. It will be used in public places where people can come up to the computer and pay a fee for an allotted amount of time; if i remember correctly.

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