A Few Nit Picky Points

[OCit]

Im about to get a new laptop, and the new dell xps seems so tempting. But before I do I need a few opinions from university graduates.

 

How useful is it to have a laptop at uni?

Would you recommend a laptop over a desktop?

If you have a laptop, how heavy is it and is it a pain to carry around?

 

One last question in general, for "docking stations" or port replicators, what exactly do they replicate. Ultimately I'd like to just be able to slide my laptop into the docking station and have it act as a desktop, with seperate power, monitor, keyboard, etc. What companies provide this? Does anyone have this?

 

Thanks for your time,

 

Ted

[martymcfly]

as far as docking stations, i think that you can really only get one from the manufacturer. I have a friend who made a horrible decision to get a laptop over a desktop. He just uses a docking station. But it is your decision. Just as yourself, "How often will I be carrying this with me". Tell yourself the truth. If you said "Not very often" or "Well, i would always have the option...", then buy a desktop.

[Mr_Yuck]

One thing you might consider is security, it's much easier to make off with a notebook computer.

 

But then there's the portability/space part.

 

(Personally, I plan on getting a Notebook)

[cchalogamer]

I personally love my laptop, to be able to do thigns on the go is great, if money is tight get a cheap say celeron-m laptop for portability and a desktop for umm heavy work (can we say gaming)

[OCit]

Ya I wont be doing that much gaming but i think itd be useful to take a laptop to lectures/other rooms/ library etc. One i was looking at is the sony fs 550 sonoma with a 2 ghz 533 fsb, gb ram, 15" xbrite, 6200 go. My only concern is the graphics, the 6200 go. how bad is it? could i play cs source on it? games arent a huge concern (i have a "gaming" rig right now and hardly play any games). Anyways you can see the laptop at here. Thanks for the input,

 

Ted

[martymcfly]

i dont think this 6200 is too bad. better than that mobile 9200 i believe.

[cold_snipe]

yes you can play css on it, i play css on my 5200... all settings max!! 30 fps average!!!! 800x600!! no aa/as!!! !!!

[gunak87]

I'm trying to figure out the same thing. I'm thinking that a small form factor pc would be a great compromise coupled with an LCD monitor. It wouldn't be great for overclocking (but you can't overclock a laptop anyway), but you've gotta make sacrifices sometimes.

But I guess if you have room, go for a full tower instead of small form factor.

[OCit]

Naw id rather a sleek looking comp with small form factor. I thought i was sold on the xps 2 but i realized i just dont need it and this sony is pretty sick so Im thinking ill get it. I was looking at the 6200 on orb at future mark and it looks decent for what i need. Size, battery life, and looks are the most important things to me right now

[Kash]

I suggest you actually visit the university dorms first. Take a look at the size of the desks they give you. No use in getting a tower when the desk can only fit your keyboard. At my college, I've personally seen desks that can barely fit a laptop, desks that can fit a dual monitor setup, and everything in between. The only I've held off on getting a second monitor is cuz I have no room for it.

 

I personally have a tower which I can OC, play games on, and is much faster than a comparably priced laptop. Plus, it's harder to steal the entire thing (you could of course take out PARTS, but that's less costly to replace than an entire laptop) compared to a laptop. Of course, I also recently brought my laptop to school. I use it during lectures and for carrying around all my stuff for an organization I'm a board member of. My university also has wireless access in many buildings, so I can just sit somewhere and browse the net if I'm bored.

 

If you're going to take ur laptop to class, then get that. If not, then get a desktop or a SFF. I personally use both, each has its own use. I tend to use my desktop more, but that's just because it the "better" machine.