Picking a Laptop

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I'm starting a computer programming course soon, and I'm required to have a laptop. I've never bought a laptop and was wondering if I could get some help on which to pick. I can pay up to $2000(Canadian) but I would like something around $1500. So, any suggestions?
 
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That's a ****load of money to spend on a laptop. Laptops aren't designed for gaming (as a rule, and those that are lack sufficient cooling), and generally don't get a lot better after you pass the 1k mark. I bought mine for roughly 1k and it's treated me well so far. Not sure what I'd recommend you to buy though. Lenovos are always solid computers, but they don't always rock on the hardware front (but on the reliability front, they're basically #1). I have an Acer, but I only got that because it matched what I wanted in a laptop.

It would help if you told us what you expect your laptop to do, and what you'll be using it for.
 
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Laptops aren't designed for gaming (as a rule, and those that are lack sufficient cooling), and generally don't get a lot better after you pass the 1k mark.
Sager feels otherwise.

As Avenger suggested, tell us what you'll be using it for.
 
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Sager can go light himself on fire. If you want a gaming PC, it's usually best to pick a stationary. More bang for your buck.

Edit:

I actually considered buying one of them netbooks for portable use, and getting a stationary for everything else.
 
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Sager can go light himself on fire. If you want a gaming PC, it's usually best to pick a stationary. More bang for your buck.
Some of us don't have the luxury of staying in one place for an extended period of time, making it infeasible to pack up and ship a desktop around the world, or from home to one's classroom as per clen's situation.

A netbook isn't a bad idea, though I'd personally go for something capable of doing more than surfing the net.
 
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He didn't say he needed it for gaming, though. Which means he might make do with a computer that is far more reasonable, better cooled, and more reliable than gaming PCs.
 
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If he isn't using it for gaming, cooling and reliability really aren't factors that need to be taken into consideration as nothing short of placing the laptop directly on top of a blanket is going to screw it up. User error is at fault more often than not, followed by manufacturer error, which can't really be avoided.
 
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Reliability is important if you use it for school. Cooling only comes into account with gaming, yes, but that's because all gaming computers fail at cooling. This is why I mentioned it. They overheat, and on rare occasions, even melt things. Plus you get much better battery capacity on laptops that don't have a quadcore CPU or a dedicated graphics card.
 
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Reliability is important if you use it for school. Cooling only comes into account with gaming, yes, but that's because all gaming computers fail at cooling. This is why I mentioned it. They overheat, and on rare occasions, even melt things. Plus you get much better battery capacity on laptops that don't have a quadcore CPU or a dedicated graphics card.
This:

He didn't say he needed it for gaming, though.
Also, Sagers are known for not having cooling issues. I have a maxed out 8120 that has never come close to overheating. Ever. I even wrapped a blanket around it and put it inside of the microwave. It doesn't care.

As for reliability, so long as the system itself isn't inherently defective and it isn't running RANDOMOS, reliability is rarely an issue.

But enough of the dick swinging.
 
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If you two are finished *****ing like a married couple...

If you need it primarily for a programming course, you won't need a powerful machine. I bought my old laptop pretty much for the same reason to use while studying my programming course.

I would go to http://www.dell.com or a site like that from a reputable company and browse what machines they have available. To give you an idea, I spent just under $1000 (AUSD) and I got a pretty decent machine (I picked a basic model and customised it by upgrading the chip, ram and hdd space, also got the larger capacity battery). You won't need any of the junky software that they try and sell you, or any of the other gimmicky stuff. Just make sure you get a decent chip and minimum 2gb ram, you won't need a gfx card if you're a coder or any funky displays either.

First step is to set a budget, if you take my example ($1000 AUSD) you have Approx $850 USD to spend, that should get you something pretty decent.

Post whatever laptop you manage to build (if you manage to build one) and I'll let you know what I think about it, and I would stay away from netbooks, as a programmer you probably need something a little more powerful, and those teeny tiny displays are a bit straining when you have to read long pages of code.
 
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I don't really need a gaming computer as I already got my desktop.

I've tinkered with dell for a bit and found a laptop for a bit over 1000, minus a 139 dollars(apparently there's a sale going on) so it comes to 899. I couldn't link it though, but I think a dell should be sufficent for school.
 
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Yeah Dell always has sales going on. I'd stick with something along those lines from Dell.
 

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I'd go with something very light if you're going to be bringing it to class.
 
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We can only help if you give us some specific things to work with. I mean, do you need battery power, screen resolution, do you have some other 'needs'? I assume that for coding, you need a lot of screen real estate, but not much else (other than some decent battery power) and I know there is a Dell 13 or 14 inch laptop that packs 1920x1080 with some decent powered i5, which will also result in a nice battery time. If you have a lot of money to spend and you don't care to spend a ****load of money. I'd suggest getting a Sony Vaio Z. i5 or i7, decent graphics card (not needed for you though), 8 hours of battery time, 1920x1080 (really nice screen, great quality) and all that in a 13 inch package.
 
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Well, the thing is the school is not very specific on what I need; they ask for a high end laptop that can run the programs in my course(they don't list what programs) which should cost between $1000 and $2000 dollars. I tried to call them today, but they're not in, it's Canada Day, so I'll try again tommorow.
 
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That's really pretty much useless. As we all know, price and specs are not the same. You can get a Sager for less than a Mac, and the Sager will have much more powerful specs. (HD5870 + i7 820QM + 8GB RAM for pretty much the same price as an i5 520M + GT330M + 4GB RAM for the Mac).

I personally have no idea what kind of programs you need to run when programming. I know Harsens here, likes a bit of screen estate, and I imagine having a bit of extra RAM wouldn't hurt either with compiling. Then again, like said, I am no expert on that.
 
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What are you programming off interest?

If you're a flash programmer, you'll probably need more graphical computational power, probably the same as a video games programmer.

If you're a .net code monkey like me, you don't need anything worth $2000.
 
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well, i am using a dell inspiron which was 500$$ american money. it doesn't have good battery life, but its fast, and will play almost any new game that comes out =)
 
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Buy a laptop for around 600 bucks and you're fine.
 
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I called the school, and basically got the exact same answer from them; I looked some more through dell, and I found a really nice laptop for 1200. I still can't link it but it came to less than 1000 with the sale and some coupon I found online. Thanks for all help.
 

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