Laptop for High School Freshman

[extremesoccermom]

It needs to make it through 4 years of highschool without massive upgrading.

He wants DVD player/CD writer, 40GB, 256 RAM, wireless internet card and I have been told it would be best to get one with a Pentium 4 if I want it for that long.

I really only have $500-600 but it seems I will have to find a way to get together $1000.00 at least. Any great deals out there?

[mugs]

I don't mean to question your decision to buy your kid a laptop for high school, but is there a reason a desktop won't work? If you get him a laptop, it's likely that it'll never leave his desk, and you could get a system with better specs for your money by going with a desktop (meaning, it could actually last him the 4 years). I bought a laptop in January 2002 that was about middle of the pack, and it's a PIII 1.0 GHz. That's way beyond low-end now, even when the rate of increase in processor speeds has decreased. It's usable for what I use it for, but I wouldn't use it as my primary computer.

 

Now on the other hand, if you went with a desktop system you could get a much better system out of the box, and you'd have far more upgrade opportunities in the future.

 

Now if you REALLY want a laptop, wait for the Black Friday ads to come out. Best Buy had a decent one for $500 last year.

[extremesoccermom]

The reason I would like the lap top is for school. He can get his books on CD instead of carring 6 hugh books. The school is wireless equiped and he does his homework (while at brothers and sisters soccerpractice -in the car) then he gets extra credit for it being "typed and printed" or emailed to the teacher. It is not madatory at his school but it would be much easier on us.

He has a desktop now (that he built himself in school 2 years ago) that I am looking into going wireless at home and we will give the desktop to little sis (10yo).

Thanks for your suggestions.

[Brad]

I agree with mugs that you should wait for Black Friday.

 

Hindsight being 20/20, you should have been on these forums a month ago when Dell was having their end-of-quarter blowout sales. Many of us got loaded $1500 Dell laptops with every feaure you wanted and more for $750-800 shipped. There is a chance that similar deals will come around in January when their next quarter ends.

 

When do you need to purchase this laptop by?

[RossMAN]

extremesoccermom,

 

I agree with mugs and Brad to wait for Black Friday which is 2 weeks from today (Friday, 26 NOV 2004).

 

Most likely Best Buy, Circuit City and CompUSA will have loaded laptops for $499 - $699 after rebates.

[extremesoccermom]

I will definetly wait for BF. Yesterday when I was talking to the sales rep at Circuit City I asked him if that would be a good option and he said Oh YEA.

 

Many of us got loaded $1500 Dell laptops with every feaure you wanted and more for $750-800 shipped.

To bad I didn't find you quys until last week this would have been perfect!

 

There is a chance that similar deals will come around in January when their next quarter ends.

When do you need to purchase this laptop by?

 

Actually we will be out of town for Christmas and I could convince the kids to wait for the gifts. (We will do small things in Disney on Christmas morning and I could convince them that is all we are doing because hey we are in DisneyWorld for Chirstmas after all)

Also son's birthday is Jan 2 so this will be a Christmas/Birtday gift for him.

 

Do you think the type of processor really matters (That seemed to be the issue) when I was talking to the CC guy.

[RossMAN]

Do you think the type of processor really matters (That seemed to be the issue) when I was talking to the CC guy.

It depends on how the laptop will be used. In general I would recommend avoiding any Intel Celeron processor since you want this to last a good 4 years.

[RossMAN]

There are 3 laptops available from CompUSA, only one is under $1,000

 

Perhaps BB or CC will have a better deal. Or even Sears, Office Depot, Staples, Office Max, etc.

[extremesoccermom]

I just took a look at some of the ones at Overstock.com do you think any of those would be a good deal?

[RossMAN]

I just took a look at some of the ones at Overstock.com do you think any of those would be a good deal?

Yes that is an excellent idea with two key benefits:

 

1) No rebates to hassle with, most laptop deals involve 3 rebates and waiting about 2-3 months to get your money.

2) No Black Friday hassle or waiting in line at Best Buy when you could be shopping at another store.

 

Overstock.com has some incredible deals and is one of our premier business partners.

 

First check out our Overstock.com coupons page then post the laptop you want in that thread.

[AFB]

The reason I would like the lap top is for school. He can get his books on CD instead of carring 6 hugh books. The school is wireless equiped and he does his homework (while at brothers and sisters soccerpractice -in the car) then he gets extra credit for it being "typed and printed" or emailed to the teacher. It is not madatory at his school but it would be much easier on us.

He has a desktop now (that he built himself in school 2 years ago) that I am looking into going wireless at home and we will give the desktop to little sis (10yo).

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

Umm, books on the computer suck. It's very bad for your(my) eyes.

[Ankit]

I know you didn't come here asking for advice, but I'd stick with textbooks

 

First, it's just the raw difference between a computer and a book. Flip the pages, smell the book, it's real. Keep pressing enter and starting at a screen is completely different.

 

Next, if he ever has a problem with the computer, the same will go for his access to text books. You said they're on a CD so he could get on another computer, which could work, but personally I wouldn't waste time having to get a computer fixed.

 

Another reason is work efficiency, when you're on the computer it's way too easy to get distracted. If he sits alone in a room without a computer, tv, phone, etc. he'll be able to study MUCH better than having internet access.

 

Last, at this age in 99% of cases, this computer would be used more for games than anything else. At least that's how I see it, but he may be part of that less than 1% where he wouldn't.

 

What if it gets stolen in school? Not everyone will have a laptop to use so someone will feel jealous.

 

If I had the choice right now, I'd like to stick with text books. If carrying 6 books is a problem, see if the book store at his school will let you pay twice the book rental fees (Only $10 or something per semester per book) so you can have a set to keep at home. This way he won't have to carry as much. I'm actually considering contacting my book store to do this just to make everyday a little easier

 

:)

 

By the way, I'm 16 and a junior in high school. I have a computer in my room where I study, which does distract me, but I'm getting better at studying and not getting distracted. I can understand why many people I know are failing in HS just because of their enviroment where they work. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me, I'll give you completely honest answers :)

[AFB]

I know you didn't come here asking for advice, but I'd stick with textbooks

 

First, it's just the raw difference between a computer and a book. Flip the pages, smell the book, it's real. Keep pressing enter and starting at a screen is completely different.

 

Next, if he ever has a problem with the computer, the same will go for his access to text books. You said they're on a CD so he could get on another computer, which could work, but personally I wouldn't waste time having to get a computer fixed.

 

Another reason is work efficiency, when you're on the computer it's way too easy to get distracted. If he sits alone in a room without a computer, tv, phone, etc. he'll be able to study MUCH better than having internet access.

 

Last, at this age in 99% of cases, this computer would be used more for games than anything else. At least that's how I see it, but he may be part of that less than 1% where he wouldn't.

 

What if it gets stolen in school? Not everyone will have a laptop to use so someone will feel jealous.

 

If I had the choice right now, I'd like to stick with text books. If carrying 6 books is a problem, see if the book store at his school will let you pay twice the book rental fees (Only $10 or something per semester per book) so you can have a set to keep at home. This way he won't have to carry as much. I'm actually considering contacting my book store to do this just to make everyday a little easier

 

:)

 

By the way, I'm 16 and a junior in high school. I have a computer in my room where I study, which does distract me, but I'm getting better at studying and not getting distracted. I can understand why many people I know are failing in HS just because of their enviroment where they work. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me, I'll give you completely honest answers :)

 

Exactly. I'm pretty much in the same position and I find it very hard to study Probably lack of self control). I definetly have to go into the other room and close the door when I have to do reading. Having a computer in the room can make 3 hours of reading become 5 or 6. It really isn't a good thing.

[kimichelle]

You guys aren't alone. I'm a 35 year old graduate student, and I still can't read/study at my desk. I have to move to the living room or the computer just calls my name too much!