Suitable student laptop

[Red Hackle]

My daughter has been twisting Daddy's arm for a laptop this Christmas as she say's that she will be needing it for school etc from next year. Can anyone please tell me what they think would be suitable for her use, without breaking the bank but still getting something nice. She also enjoys playing the odd games and listening to music. Are Acer good value for this type of use?
Thanks a lot.

[Daysleeper]

ibook ibook ibook


sorry mac mafia getting in first!

£700 including educational discount.

top for music (iTunes) Looks very cool (important!)
range of games avaliable. Lightweight (2kgs) Looks cool. All her friends will go green with envy.

Dont saddle your child with the computer equivelent of braces. Give her something she can be proud of!:ok:

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Red Hackle,

I thought that some specs that would be good to look for might help:

If you want long battery life:

Intel Centrino

If you want great performance:

AMD Athlon64

Screen Size:

15.4" wide screen

Optical Drive:

DVD+/-RW

Video Card:

Radeon Mobility 9600

Hard Drive:

60Gb or higher

RAM:

512Mb

Wireless Network:

802.11g

Any computer either Centrino or my personal favorite, Athlon64, with those specs will make your daughter very happy for the time she is in school. ;)

Take Care,

Richard

[Front_Seat_Dreamer]

Red Hackle

Acer's are very good bits of kit for the money, I am on the verge of replacing Mrs FSD's machine and looked over a £500 acer today in Comet though I may end up looking on ebuyer for the replacement as you tend to get more bang for your buck.

Daysleeper

I have to disagree, I use PC's & Macs and for my offspring it would have to be PC. How many offices (other than graphic designers) use Macs in a daily working environment? And also ask the question, how many jobs can one work in that computers are not now a work tool. Not very many. Also Red mentioned that she wanted to play the odd game, if memory serves me well that would be about all she would be able to play. Macs have their place, I am not knocking them, but they have become more of a fashion statement recently.

[Wonderworld]

I have to disagree, I use PC's & Macs and for my offspring it would have to be PC. How many offices (other than graphic designers) use Macs in a daily working environment? And also ask the question, how many jobs can one work in that computers are not now a work tool. Not very many. Also Red mentioned that she wanted to play the odd game, if memory serves me well that would be about all she would be able to play. Macs have their place, I am not knocking them, but they have become more of a fashion statement recently."

The Roads and Traffic Authority in New South Wales for one! :ok:

Dont write the iBook off just yet. I switched this year after years of using a PC to a 17" Powerbook and it's the best thing I've ever done. I have not yet found anything that Icould do on a PC that I cant do on the Powerbook. Just now I can do it with a lot less stuffing around :O

[goates]

Red Hackle,

Unless your daughter needs some special Windows only program, give the iBooks a look. She would be eligible for the student pricing on MS Office 2004 for the Mac, which will allow her to open any Windows created Office document. For music, iTunes is one of the best programs around, on either the PC or Mac.

While Macs don't have as many games available, there is a good selection. Basically only the best PC games make it to the Mac, and then you have many Mac only titles as well. You won't be playing many of the new Windows games anyways on anything but a high end PC laptop, so the amount of games shouldn't really matter.

goates

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Red Hackle,

If you are looking to Sim/Game, just remember this about Mac Gaming (http://www.p42.org/Nighthawk/RvB_switch.mov). :eek:

Take Care,

Richard

[Red Hackle]

Thanks everyone for all the useful info, it's a great help. It looks like the Acer Travelmate 2301 or Centrino version might be the way to go. The Ibook sounds great however it is quite a bit over the budget I had set. Maybe later if she really gets into it in a big way.

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Red Hackle,

I am sure she is going to love it. :ok:

Take Care,

Richard