Top 5 Back-to-School Laptop Buying Tips

It’s never too early to start thinking about getting a good deal on a notebook for back to school. But how do you know what to get, especially since there are so many choices? Here are our top 5 tips for choosing a notebook that will last.

1. How Much Should You Spend?

Most netbooks cost under $400 and are meant to complement a full-size PC (although their capabilities are definitely evolving). In the $500 to $600 range you’ll find notebooks with more powerful dual-core processors from Intel and AMD, along with more RAM to run Windows 7 Home Premium and larger hard drives.

As you get closer to a grand you’ll find richer graphics and useful bells and whistles like Intel’s Wireless Display technology (which lets your student stream video to the nearest TV). Can you afford to splurge? Systems over $1,000 boast features like superior durability, monster-size screens, and even customizable lighting effects.

2. What’s the Right Size?

Another way to ask this question is: how often do you think your student will use your notebook outside of her dorm room or bedroom? If the answer is “a lot,” opt for a design with a 10- to 13-inch display. Machines of this size generally weigh 3 to 5 pounds, which is plenty light for carrying around campus. If the answer is “sometimes,” go with a laptop with a 14- to 15-inch screen. These systems provide plenty of screen real estate for having multiple windows open at once and yet are portable enough (5 to 6 pounds) to occasionally bring to class. If your student wants to keep that laptop back in their room for such activities as playing games and watching movies, check out systems with 16- to 18-inch screens (6 to 8 pounds).

3. Netbook or Notebook?

As much as we love the low prices of netbooks, that’s not the reason to buy one. You can find a more powerful full-size laptop for around the same amount of cash. The primary appeal of a netbook is its extreme portability and extra-long battery life. Just keep in mind that even though netbooks are gaining in power and capability, they’re still primarily targeted toward users looking for a secondary PC. Netbooks are great for taking notes in class, surfing the web, and checking out the latest social networking updates on the go. Just don’t expect them to handle lots of multitasking or high-octane games.

4. Mac or Windows?

If you’re on a tight budget the answer to this question is easy. Apple simply doesn’t offer notebooks for less than its $949 MacBook (with the student discount), while you can find plenty of robust Windows 7 machines under $500. However, Apple is offering current and incoming college students a free iPod touch with the purchase of a Mac through September 7. That’s a $199 value, but you’ll need to wait for an online rebate. We like Mac OS machines for students because they boot quickly, have much less headaches to deal with than Windows PCs (especially security threats), and come with the best tech support in the business (see p. TK). But if you like variety when it comes to design choice and are familiar with Microsoft OSes, a Windows 7 laptop will do just fine.

5. What Specs Matter?

Since most netbooks share similar specs, lets concentrate on full-size laptops. At minimum we recommend an Intel Core i3 processor or (AMD dual-core equivalent), 3GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. Core i5 or Core i7 processors will provide additional oomph, thanks to a Turbo Boost feature, but you’ll pay more for it. Want quad-core power on the cheap? Check out notebooks with AMD’s new Phenom II CPU under the hood. As you go up the price ladder you’ll find 4GB of RAM standard and 500GB hard drives. If your student plays games, edits video, or just needs more horsepower for his engineering courses, splurge on a notebook with discrete graphics from ATI or Nvidia. Our advice: don’t bother with Blu-ray drives (downloaded or streamed content rules these days), but make sure that notebook has an HDMI port for outputting video to a bigger screen or TV.