Buying a laptop for college

I'm going off to college in the fall and I'm not even sure where to start, but I need to start looking now. The college I'm going to doesn't support one type of computer over another, so I can really choose anything. I'll give you a few bullet-points on what I'll be using the computer for:

- Writing papers, essays, labs, etc.

- Emailing/Web-cam with friends from home.

- Storing pictures/music

- Online Gaming (Only one MMORPG: Maplestory)

- CD Drive/SD Card Slot.

I'm really lost as to what kind of laptop to get. I'll really only be doing basic things that are listed above. I'd like a computer that runs fast (no lagging when I'm gaming) and has a lot of memory.

NOTE: I'm not in a major that requires any specific program, but I will be taking science courses that require labs. Also, please give me reasons why I should choose a laptop, not just a name because I'm really clueless.

EDIT: I need something that runs Windows Home Edition or Mac 10.4 or higher.

Thank you!

Nope.

Is portability a big factor?gmaster456

what aout battery life?

What is your maximum budget btw?

give us a budget (usa or canadian btw?) and we will give u links galore

If you're planning to bring you laptop to class or even drag it out to the library for the odd study session, portability is much more important than you think. Lugging around some 15.6"+, 6.5+lbs glorified desktop replacement that might be able to get two and a half hours of battery life gets tiring in a hurry.

And yeah, knowing your budget is important, as would be the specs for Maple Story.

If you're planning to bring you laptop to class or even drag it out to the library for the odd study session, portability is much more important than you think. Lugging around some 15.6"+, 6.5+lbs glorified desktop replacement that might be able to get two and a half hours of battery life gets tiring in a hurry.

And yeah, knowing your budget is important, as would be the specs for Maple Story.

PBSnipes

maplestory is so low spec it might as well be to "just run windows 7"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054QJ2BS/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

why not just get one of the llano based laptops, they'll be good enough to run most programs, and gaming is more than possible. The cpu's are weaker than intel ones, but it won't matter for most things you probably plan to do with it.

Price range is probably $1,000 US maximum. A little over is fine.

lol with 1000 you can play any game you want on medium lol

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220997

Damn, it looks like it has begun

http://www.staples.com/HP-g6-1b60us-15.6-Laptop/product_332976?errorUrl=zipcode&langId=-1&storeId=10001&zipCode=90210&ddkey=http:StaplesZipCodeAdd

Dual core A4 with radeon 6480 graphics, with 7 hours 15 mins battery life, for $350

i think this deal extend to the usa too, if u buy an HP laptop for over $600 at best buy u get an xbox 360 for free, and hp's are fine laptops to begin with.

Okay I'll look into those suggestions but keep them coming if you have anymore!

I'm completely clueless about computers. My sibling has a MacBook Pro, so I'm assuming my parents are expecting me to get one, but I don't really see the appeal, so I think they'll be fine paying up to that price, but I don't want to break the bank.

Uhm...almost anything will run maplestory. I'd grab a 13" Dell laptop. Perfect size for portability, battery life should be excellent and should be fairly cheap. Shouldn't run you more than $700-800 max. With $1000 you can buy a pretty decent laptop that'll run mroe than just maplestory, however, if you're not looking to do some intensive gaming, you shouldn't be too concerned with specs as much.
Also, I'd grab the Dell w/ the free xbox 360 if that deal is still going on. Easily resell it for $150+ and just call it a "discount" on your laptop. Or keep it.

Your best bet would probably be a Llano A8 (ie the quad-core version with top-of-the-line iGPU) equipped laptop. I don't know enough about specific models as they're just starting to hit retail, but I'd assume HP will have something in the way of a 13.3" model with 5+ hours of real-world battery life for ~$600-700.

Other than that, I'd take a look at the Alienware M11x (great blend of portability and power, but a little pricey), Dell XPS 15 (less portable than the M11x, but more powerful and still provides a solid 4-5 hours of battery life) or HP Envy 14 (sort of a blend of the Alienware and Dell). Plus you can't go wrong with the Macbook Pro 13 or new Sandy Bridge Airs (out in about a week), especially since you should be able to get a decent student discount.

i think this deal extend to the usa too, if u buy an HP laptop for over $600 at best buy u get an xbox 360 for free, and hp's are fine laptops to begin with.

BlackDevil99

[QUOTE="BlackDevil99"]

i think this deal extend to the usa too, if u buy an HP laptop for over $600 at best buy u get an xbox 360 for free, and hp's are fine laptops to begin with.

MonsieurX

No they're not...HP laptops got the worst reliabilityMonsieurX

Their older models were awful, but their new consumer stuff is supposed to be pretty good (I have a dm1, and by all accounts it's well-built, and I've heard good things about the Envy 14) and the newer EliteBook models are more-or-less on par with the Thinkpad and Dell Precision lineups.