Recommended laptop for University?

[PhaperPlane]

Hey everyone. I'm going to University this year studying Computer Science and I'm looking for a laptop with some power behind it (since I'm going to need it for my course) and I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a decent laptop? Money isn't an issue but I don't want something which costs 3K+ (in case it gets stolen), I'd prefer it if it had a laptop dock (to connect it to an external monitor, mouse and keyboard) and a bit of gaming power. I have already found 2 possibilities and I'd like your feedback.

 

My first possibility is the Dell Precision M6600. Or more specifically, the M6600 Essential:

Processor; Intel® CoreTM i7 2720QM (2.2GHz/6MB cache)

Operating System; Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-Bit

Display; 17.3" UltraSharp™ FHD(1920x1080) Wide View Anti-Glare LED-backlit with Premium Panel Guarantee

Memory; 8GB6 Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz

Hard Drive; 500GB7 SATA hard drive (7200RPM)

Video Card; 2048MB NVIDIA® QUADRO 3000M

Optical Drive; 8X DVD+/-RW Drive Tray Load

 

My second possibility is the Sony Vaio F Series VPCF13Z0E/B (click the link to see the specs, it would take up alot of space on the post and make it a wall of text.)

 

I'd like some feedback on these choices and also post your own suggestions.

Thanks! :thumbup:

 

EDIT: Changed the Dell Precision graphics card as it wasn't 1000M, it is in fact 3000M.

[Guy]

I'm not sure if dell are still as bad as they were before, but I haven't heard massively good things about their products. 500GB may be a little small - you should take that into consideration by your self.

[cheeky16]

Those seem like nice set ups. I'm also not certain about the Dell's past issues, but they still seem to be rated lower for break downs than other brands. We do have a Dell XPS desktop upstairs that seems to have ran fine for 2-3 years. There are other brands you may want to consider and take a look at. A fellow student of mine was using an ASUS laptop and said he was very happy with it. His brother also had one similar and they both had great luck. Last I checked they were rated #2 for reliability and overall value right behind Apple Macbook Pro. For a computer science major I definitely don't recommend Apple though. I'm certain you'll be doing programming which isn't supported on OSX without dual boot.

 

So you have two great systems it seems, but it would be worth checking into the ASUS laptops also.

[Tim]

PERSONALLY I'd look into what offers Toshiba have also.

 

Also the VAIO are VERY nice laptops, especially if your doing photshopping, games etc but don't like macs. (+Blu Ray burners a bonus)

[cheeky16]

but don't like macs

 

What good is that comment? Don't like macs... macs are really good computers, but not necessarily for computer science majors. If you've spend much time on a University Campus lately it seems macs are slowly taking over a large portion of the market. Great for school, everyone with windows seem to run for the plug ins as soon as they can get into the lecture hall, while most people with macs could care less. :P

[Kimberly]

Are you commuting or plan on carrying your laptop from class to class? If so, I would reconsider models with displays greater than 15.2". They tend to be bulkier and the carrying cases for them (unless you plan on shoving such an expensive piece into a really large backpack) are pricy.

 

If you're living in a dorm and your dorm has a spot where you can fit a desktop, consider buying/building a desktop model instead. It sounds more like you value specs than portability anyway. Laptops generally don't do well with gaming without shelling out ridiculous amounts of money.

[PhaperPlane]

Thanks everyone for the feedback so far! I've made an edit to the first post (regarding about the Graphics card inside the Dell Precision M6600) and I'd like to hear more suggestions and feedback, cheers! (If you've got a URL link of any laptop in particular, link it! But please make sure all currency is in GBP)

[OldJoe]

Your first computer has a gpu aimed at CAD and such, just so you know.

[Sam]

PERSONALLY I'd look into what offers Toshiba have also.

 

I second this - my father own a Toshiba laptop which he does a LOT of programming on and it's fantastic - great performance for money.

[Racheya]

Toshiba's come with a lot of crapware/bloatware, though. At least, mine did. Wtf is a 'value added package' anyway? I can't really comment on their quality since mine is a bit of an old one, but it's just something to keep in mind if you're getting one.

 

Important thing if you're going to be carrying it around a lot, is weight. My laptop weighs a bloody tonne, you don't want that if you're moving it.

[Sbrideau]

Asus is also a very good brand to look at.

 

I suggest staying away from Dell as a lot of their newer computers tend to break fast.

[jasignhagj]

That dell looks nice, although note the GPU is a workstation GPU. If you're looking for something with more power for gaming, look at Sager. You may have a hard time finding a retailer that ships to the UK though.

 

Toshiba's come with a lot of crapware/bloatware, though. At least, mine did. Wtf is a 'value added package' anyway? I can't really comment on their quality since mine is a bit of an old one, but it's just something to keep in mind if you're getting one.

 

Important thing if you're going to be carrying it around a lot, is weight. My laptop weighs a bloody tonne, you don't want that if you're moving it.

 

Nothing these days is bloatware free, because otherwise some idiot will buy it and complain that he cant burn DVDs cause there's no HP DvdPro crap

[Sbrideau]

Asus comes with minimal bloatware, at least that's the experience I had with my laptop, almost no trial programs. Also they have extreme quality, my 3 year old Asus still holds the quality enough to easily compete with one of my friend's brand new Dell.

[rangeor]

Honestly you aren't going to need a lot of power for Computer Science. Unless your IDE also happens to have photoshop integrated into it or something o.O But it wouldn't be a bad idea to still go for something good incase you switch majors and end up needing to take CAD courses.

 

I'd also recommend at getting a smaller size; like Kimberly said, anything above 15-ish inches and you won't be taking it out much. My laptop's 13.3 inches and it's the perfect size to where it's small enough to be extremely portable yet also just big enough to not feel like a big netbook.

[jasignhagj]

Asus comes with minimal bloatware, at least that's the experience I had with my laptop, almost no trial programs. Also they have extreme quality, my 3 year old Asus still holds the quality enough to easily compete with one of my friend's brand new Dell.

 

I guess it depends on what you consider bloatware. I consider it to be any program that wouldn't be there on a clean OS install. ASUS is definitely better than HP, which preloads Norton, trial games, and a whole bunch of crap. My friend's HP lappy came with a preloaded trial of WOW, some popcapgames type site, a 60 day Norton trial, and Yahoo (might have been ASK) toolbar for IE, just to name a few. Sager, on the other hand, sells laptops with a clean OS install plus drivers, or if you choose to purchase your own OS, just the driver CD.

[Jaffy1]

Asus is also a very good brand to look at.

 

I suggest staying away from Dell as a lot of their newer computers tend to break fast.

I've had dells, and although I now have a different laptop, they were extremely hard to break.

[Sbrideau]

Asus is also a very good brand to look at.

 

I suggest staying away from Dell as a lot of their newer computers tend to break fast.

I've had dells, and although I now have a different laptop, they were extremely hard to break.

 

Old Dells still hold strong, but newer Dells for the most part will break easily. All the computers at work (except one HP) are Dells, the old Dells are still holing strong and not having any issues. On the 15 new Dells though, most of those being 7 months old, over half had parts changed including the motherboard on 2 of them.

[rangeor]

This is true. My 5-year old Dell tower's ridiculously weak now in terms of hardware (Celeron D processor, maxed out at 2GB of RAM) but isn't showing any significant signs of deterioration. Yet my parent's recent Dell laptop essentially died after about a year.

[xyro]

I would stay away from Dell no matter how good their specs are. Dells have always had a tendency to overheat quite fast even while not gaming or doing anything extensive. I would also stay away from Sony VAIO's as they have many models which seem to be recalled...The last recall was of like 325,000 units. As someone stated before, your best bet for a computer with what you want to do is an Asus G-Series laptop. A good choice is this guy : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220921 . It has enough power which should suit your needs and the graphics chip is definitely a monster inside. The top brands to go with for laptops are (believe it or not) Acer, MSI and Asus. Hope this helps :D.

[obfuscator]

In my experience Asus is awful for bloatware. That's why I just reformat any new pc. I also really like Toshibas (have one myself, 3 years + no problems, although it is getting slow)

[Sbrideau]

In my experience Asus is awful for bloatware. That's why I just reformat any new pc. I also really like Toshibas (have one myself, 3 years + no problems, although it is getting slow)

Might be recent since 3 years ago when I bought my Asus there was only like 2 or 3 bloatware programs.

[OldJoe]

In my experience Asus is awful for bloatware. That's why I just reformat any new pc. I also really like Toshibas (have one myself, 3 years + no problems, although it is getting slow)

Might be recent since 3 years ago when I bought my Asus there was only like 2 or 3 bloatware programs.

Writing this on my dad's Asus K52 which he bought a month ago, not much crap programs to speak of. I only uninstalled a couple. Not anywhere near Packard Bell in terms of crap-ware for example.

[jasignhagj]

Don't get the G53-JW, the -SW has the new Sandy Bridge mobile, which is far better than the first line of i7 mobiles. Note those laptops are huge and heavy though.