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  • Computer for teen

    You guys have come thru before so....

    My son has my old laptop which is on its last legs. He has saved some $ and was thinking of getting one of those little notebooks until he found out there was no CD ROM in it.

    Anyone have any suggestions? Now seems to be the time for a sale and some interesting bundles. So far we know we want -Fairly cheap, not Mac, wireless capable, useful for school which means can hook to a printer, has a CD/DVD port and a usb port.

    Are there any other things that are 'necessary' or you would avoid?

  • #2
    Re: Computer for teen

    What is is his actual budget? How much time will he spend lugging this thing around vs leaving it on a desk/table at home?

    If he's not going to carry it around much, then weight isn't really important and he can get an excellent machine for under $1k. If he needs to carry it around a lot then you should look for something in the 5-6 pound range. Lighter is better, but 5-6 pounds is probably the best price point. Note - if he needs to carry it around a lot you should consider investing at least $50 in a decent carrying case. I dialed it up and got a $150 backpack-style case from Spire USA. I've had it for nearly 5 years and it's almost as good as new. My laptop from the same period is still chugging along and the laptop exterior is basically undamaged. Skip the warrantee if you have to, b/c getting (and using) a good case will extend the life of your laptop. This is especially true for teenagers who are more likely to toss their backpacks around, drop them, sit on them, or step on them.

    Other than that, get as much RAM as you can. If you can't get more than 2 GB, then you might want to avoid Vista if at all possible. Try to get one with good battery life. Finally, if possible (and especially if you're looking at a netbook or something like that) have him try the keyboard and trackpad - some laptops, particularly in the smaller models, are actually unusable. It's better to find that out before you buy.

    As far as brands, for anything over $600-700 Dell is really a great option. I know some people who have had bad luck with dirt cheap Dell machines, but very few complain about their mid and high end PCs. Toshiba makes some good laptops as well, also in the $700-800 range. There has been a lot of talk about the Asus eee models, but I have no experience with them.

    If he's willing to spend $2k or so, a top-end Thinkpad is still arguably the best non-Mac laptop out there, but it's probably way more computer than he needs.

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    • #3
      Re: Computer for teen

      I'll pretty much echo everything that UPL said, very spot on, especially the RAM with vista. 2GB should be sufficient, but 4 is probably ideal. I'll say now that unless you have Vista Ultimate (64) that it won't recognize anything more than 4GB of ram, I believe.

      Also, you can often find good deals on notebooks on www.newegg.com, and most of their reviews are really honest as opposed to some hate-review sites out there where only the people who have problems review. Also, QFT about dell's mid-high end machines being pretty reliable, they don't deserve the bad rap they get for just their budget machines.

      good luck!

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      • #4
        Re: Computer for teen

        +1 for Dells being good boxes. I have an XPS and it does well, though a) back up your files! The first HD crapped out on me, though I didn't lose much and it's been solid since. and b) I'd have gone with Windows XP thinking back on it.
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        • #5
          Re: Computer for teen

          I'm certainly no "expert", having asked my share of computer questions, but I would suggest you also invest in a decent, separate hard drive or good thumb drive for backing up files. Storage is pretty cheap the days, and having importantly data securely stored away from the computer can prevent a lot of heartache in the event the box melts down, gets lost, etc.
          "We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate." -Thomas Jefferson

          "I confess I enjoy democracy immensely. It is incomparably idiotic, and hence incomparably amusing." -H. L. Mencken

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          • #6
            Re: Computer for teen

            The ultimate question comes down to usage... what does he use it for? He's what, 13? How long does he plan on having this machine for? 2 years? 4 years? If so his interests may develop in all kinds of directions so I'd look for some flexibility in terms of hardware.

            Hard Drive space appears easy to come by now so that's not a concern and those things tend to be replaceable/upgradeable and there's always external drives. The question comes down to graphics, processor, and RAM. Processor speed isn't really improving that much so I don't think that's a major concern. RAM will be an issue if he develops an interest in graphics and video editing... that'll also affect the graphics card. Everybody has wireless now so that's not an issue. I can't think of anything more that's "vital". USB is a demand but its rare that you're connecting more than 2 items at a time unless you are using some desk set-up where you have a lot connected at once.

            I know that's not really advice but a series of generalities... but its always a trade off. I'd try to get an idea of what you want and then price out everybody.

            If he doesn't already have one now I'd also look at a laptop bag or backpack like U_P_L suggested... but I think $150 is absurd... my bag next to me cost me about 40 or so (OGIO messenger bag) and aside from a busted zipper I love the **** thing. 50-70 on those seem to be the rule. He's still in school so i assume he's still carrying a library on his back (man I don't miss those days).

            As he gets a little older I'd also would consider a cheap flash drive seeing as they can store a lot... $40 got me a 16GB drive back at xmas... those things will be useful as you can transport simple school files like word documents.... or in my case my entire professional career and dissertation
            Last edited by Patman; 07-20-2009, 11:22 AM.
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            • #7
              Re: Computer for teen

              Thanks all

              L'il is in 8th grade and we are unsure exactly how much he will need to use the thing but I am not willing to give up my laptop everytime he needs one for stuff. Mostly he needs to get the inter-tubes to access his textbooks and do research. He does not do a whole lot of stuff on it at the moment but may need to in the next few years.

              http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218090329155

              Looking at this

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Computer for teen

                Originally posted by leswp1 View Post
                Thanks all

                L'il is in 8th grade and we are unsure exactly how much he will need to use the thing but I am not willing to give up my laptop everytime he needs one for stuff. Mostly he needs to get the inter-tubes to access his textbooks and do research. He does not do a whole lot of stuff on it at the moment but may need to in the next few years.

                http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218090329155

                Looking at this
                I hate to say this but "this should be good enough for anybody"*

                *of course dont' kill me if I'm wrong in 6 months That's about as strong as our Windows-based research machines here.

                Personally for myself I think the next windows based laptop will be an alienware machine... just for the whole "shiny object" factor
                BS UML '04, PhD UConn '09

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                • #9
                  Re: Computer for teen

                  Originally posted by leswp1 View Post
                  Thanks all

                  L'il is in 8th grade and we are unsure exactly how much he will need to use the thing but I am not willing to give up my laptop everytime he needs one for stuff. Mostly he needs to get the inter-tubes to access his textbooks and do research. He does not do a whole lot of stuff on it at the moment but may need to in the next few years.

                  http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218090329155

                  Looking at this
                  sent you an email

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Computer for teen

                    Originally posted by bostonewe View Post
                    sent you an email
                    Read and replied!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Computer for teen

                      Originally posted by leswp1 View Post
                      Read and replied!
                      odd -- it hasn't arrived.
                      posting name at gmail dot com

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Computer for teen

                        Originally posted by leswp1 View Post
                        Thanks all

                        L'il is in 8th grade and we are unsure exactly how much he will need to use the thing but I am not willing to give up my laptop everytime he needs one for stuff. Mostly he needs to get the inter-tubes to access his textbooks and do research. He does not do a whole lot of stuff on it at the moment but may need to in the next few years.

                        http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218090329155

                        Looking at this
                        And, by getting it from BestBuy, it may come pre-loaded with porn, saving the 13 year old boy some time.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Computer for teen

                          Originally posted by bostonewe View Post
                          odd -- it hasn't arrived.
                          posting name at gmail dot com
                          Sent again. Try your junk folder- I sent something to priceless and it was in his junk mail

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Computer for teen

                            Originally posted by leswp1 View Post
                            Thanks all

                            L'il is in 8th grade and we are unsure exactly how much he will need to use the thing but I am not willing to give up my laptop everytime he needs one for stuff. Mostly he needs to get the inter-tubes to access his textbooks and do research. He does not do a whole lot of stuff on it at the moment but may need to in the next few years.

                            http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218090329155

                            Looking at this
                            that looks like a really good deal overall, and decent power all around. I wouldn't go for any OS less than Home Premium if you're getting Vista, as Basic is. really. bad.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Computer for teen

                              Originally posted by leswp1 View Post
                              Sent again. Try your junk folder- I sent something to priceless and it was in his junk mail
                              ah -- got it.

                              Comment

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