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Laptops Product Review for the College Student

College is expensive. Not only is the tuition sky high, but throw in books, lodging and food that's equal to a small fortune. One of the biggest expenses is for a good laptop computer that will last until he or she graduates. Since this is a big investment, we are doing a Laptop Product Review so you can be sure that your prospective college graduate, or even high school student, will have something you know will last.

One of the first things you have to understand is what Operating System will last for awhile. The only Operating System you should consider for the student is Windows 7 or Mountain Lion. There are a lot of bargain basement laptops on the market with Windows XP at the moment. Don't waste your time even looking at them. XP is a dinosaur whose life cycle is up right now. If you spend money on a XP laptop, your child will need a new one within 1 to 2 years. In addition, XP machines cannot handle the requirements that the new Operating Systems require. So if you buy one now, it'll be an expensive doorstop shortly. 

The next step up is Vista for Window machines, and these machines may not be able to handle Windows 7 or the coming out soon Windows 8. Also, Vista is well known for being buggy, slow, and not able to play well with others. So for these reasons I will not review any systems with XP or Vista.

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Toshiba Satellite L745D-S4350 14.0-Inch LED Laptop 

Description: This Laptop comes with the following features:

• An AMD E Series Processor running at 1.65GHz 
• 4GB of RAM (plenty for upgrades)
• 500GB Hard Drive (enough space for papers)
• 14-Inch Screen
• Windows 7 Home Premium (stable and fast)
• 5.56 hours Battery Life (enough for classes, but a backup battery is recommended)
• 8x SuperMulti DVD drive
• Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking

Upgrades: The following are the upgrades that are available:

• Dynadock V Universal USB Connect Docking Station (Convenient, but not needed)
• Portable External Hard Drives (Needed for backups, and extra space for anything they can download)
• Wireless Mouse (Nice to have since using the touch on a laptop can be tiring, however not needed)
• AC Adapter (A must get)
• High Capacity 12-Cell Laptop Battery (A must get)
• Extreme Backpack (Looks sharp, but I would prefer something with more protection)

Review: This laptop has everything needed for student starting college or one in High School. This has enough under the hood to upgrade to Windows 8, and will last through their college days.
More information: Toshiba Satellite L745D-S4350 14.0-Inch LED Laptop 

Sony Vaio VPCEE3WFX/BJ

Description: The Sony is a more powerful machine than the Toshiba above, but is not that much more expensive. The Sony comes with the following features:

• Athlon II 2.2 GHz dual-core CPU
• 4GB of RAM (but can and should be upgraded to 8GB of RAM)
• 500 GB Hard Drive
• 6-Cell Li-ion battery
• 15.5-inch Screen
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Review: This is another great machine, but it needs more RAM in my opinion. This is a 64-bit Operating System, while the Toshiba was only a 32-bit. That increase in bits means that the same program on the Sony will take up twice the space in RAM than the program running in a 32-bit system.  Breaking it down even further it's like putting a small Volkswagen engine into a Cadillac. It'll run, but it'll be sluggish driving. Everything else about this machine is fantastic, and I can give a recommendation as long as you have someone put another card of RAM into it.

More Information: Sony Vaio VPCEE3WFX/BJ

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This next one is tough. Apple computers are great machines. They're easy to use, and just plain works out of the box. However, Apple has done something with their newest OS Mountain Lion that I have reservations about. It is unable to talk to Window Servers using the tried and true Appletalk. In all previous versions of Apple they could connect to any Windows Server using the legacy program AppleTalk to create the connection. No one knows why Apple has done this with their latest OS, but it is just showing that Apple doesn't want to play well with others.

Since your prospective college student's laptop will be introduced to multiple networks while at college (just like your son or daughter) I cannot fully recommend an Apple Laptop. It's perfect for the Home, but must be investigated fully before he or she leaves for school. They are great systems to own, but I would like them better if they would play nice with other systems.

Apple MacBook

Description: The Apple MacBook comes with the following features:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 Processor 2GHz
• 1GB of RAM
• 160GB Hard Drive
• 13-Inch Screen
• Apple Mac OS X v10.6 Leopard
• Camera
• DVD Burner
• Wi-fi

Review: This Mac will not have any difficulty talking to any server. As long as you don't get the free upgrade to Mountain Lion. This model may be a couple of years old already, but it will last through your child's college days. The only problem with this particular Mac is that one of the RAM slots will not take anything above 512MB. It can only be upgraded to the maximum of 2.5GB of RAM. Even with this issue, it is still a good machine.
More Information: Apple MacBook

APPLE Macbook Pro

• Description: The latest and greatest from Apple. The Apple Macbook Pro has it all. Check out the following list:
• 2.66GHz Intel Core i7
• 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM
• 640 GB SATA HD 
• 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• MacBook Pro 15-inch Screen
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512MB
• AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi wireless networking
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)
• Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard

Review: This is a fantastic machine! It has everything needed to last for a new college student to earn his bachlors and beyond. It is also the most expensive system listed. It comes with Snow Leopard, but can be upgraded to Mountain Lion easily, if that won't cause any problems of him or her. Battery life is also gauged at an average of 7 hours. If you can afford this system, this is the system you want to buy.
More Information: APPLE Macbook Pro




Final Notes:
Personally I like the Toshiba for its balance of performance and price. It has the most upgrades available, and is the best option for any student. The Apple Macbook Pro has everything I would want as an adult and wished to pamper myself with the best system out there. Since I own other Apple products it would fit seamlessly into my household. However, after spending a small fortune on tuition I would keep the MacBook Pro for myself and send my child off with the Toshiba.

I hope you found this Laptop Product Review useful. Leave a comment if you have any questions about this review. I'll get back to you as soon as possible with any questions you may have.