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Computer for teen

leswp1

leswp1

New member
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?
 
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.
 
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!
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 :eek:
 
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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...53353&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1218090329155

Looking at this
 
Re: Computer for teen

leswp1 said:
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...53353&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1218090329155

Looking at this
Click to expand...

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 :p 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 :p
 
Re: Computer for teen

leswp1 said:
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...53353&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1218090329155

Looking at this
Click to expand...

sent you an email
 
Re: Computer for teen

leswp1 said:
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...53353&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1218090329155

Looking at this
Click to expand...

And, by getting it from BestBuy, it may come pre-loaded with porn, saving the 13 year old boy some time. ;)
 
Re: Computer for teen

leswp1 said:
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...53353&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1218090329155

Looking at this
Click to expand...

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.
 
Re: Computer for teen

At this point, any new computer with Vista should include a free upgrade to windows 7 in the winter when it comes out. Make sure that that is true when you purchase it, otherwise you are going to feel stupid being stuck with vista when everyone upgrades.
 
Re: Computer for teen

So- went to look at the different options, had almost surely decided on the Dell - Studio Laptop with Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor - Black
Model: S1555-018B until I spoke with my bro just now who has a nephew who had an absolute horrible experience with the Studio model. 2 failures and gave up. Anyone have any input?
 
Re: Computer for teen

Have you looked at Dell's website? The classic way to buy a Dell is through their site, and you may find other models that you like better. Otherwise you're going to find a whole list of people who hate whatever brand is suggested while others say that they've never had a problem with them.

I have an old Dell laptop, a business class computer with XP loaded, so it's probably not a good comparison on the whole. However, what I did like about Dell over my current HP desktop is that Dell loaded less proprietary software on the machine than HP did. Almost all of the HP software is useless for me. Hell, it's useless for 99% of the people out there.
 
Re: Computer for teen

Thanks!

After the experiences I have had in the past I am looking to go to BB because I can get a service plan and not have to send the thing out every time it hiccups. Had HP before and used enough of the service plan that anything I pay for the next one is going to still leave me ahead. (No more HP for me!)

My Bro has a high end Dell and swears by it- the kind with every bell and whistle there is including the fingerprint thingy. His nephew just had horrible time- it crashed out then got a replacement and that crashed right out of the box. He ended up just getting a full refund and moving to something else.
 
Re: Computer for teen

My only input on latops is this:

1) Buy as much memory and hard drive space as you can upfront. That avoids any cost of upgrading later.

2) Buy as long a warranty coverage as you possibly can.

Other then that, get whatever you want as far screen size, pre-loaded software, speed, etc.
 
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