Laptop or Console

[Easy Rhino]

get the lappy for college and just use it for browsing and word processing. odds are, one of your dorm mates will have a console and you can use his.

 

[Black Panther]

Console.

If you get a laptop for gaming you might find yourself wanting to upgrade it after 6 months... but it won't make sense to spend like $1000 to get the next-gen gpu/s...

Believe me I speak from experience.

I bought a gaming laptop to be able to take over to the summer house - it was a stupid decision. It'd have been much cheaper to buy parts and make a desktop build. And a desktop is easily (and relatively cheaply) upgradable.

Best choice imo would be to buy the best laptop you can with the best cpu you can afford. That way it will last. It might suck for gaming, but so would a 4K laptop after a year or so........
Though it mightn't be that good for gaming, it'd be perfect for everything else and will last you at least 3+ years depending on your expectations.

For gaming, either use the desktop or get a console.
Would you really be needing a console if you've got a decent gaming desktop...?

 

[MadClown]

It would be plain stupid to get a console over a laptop for college.

 

[Fourstaff]

get the lappy for college and just use it for browsing and word processing. odds are, one of your dorm mates will have a console and you can use his.

QFT, unless everybody is waiting for the other to make the purchase....

Move your current desktop to your dorm and tada! You have both PC AND console. Now, time to choose which camera you want

 

[ToTTenTranz]

If he is doing group stuff on it then a cheap little netbook would be more than capable. Go for the one with the longest battery life. Finding a socket to plug it in can be a PITA.

Dude.. have you ever tried to produce some actual work in a 10" 1024*600 screen?

I did try, in my EeePC, and it's a total productivity suicide.

If he's doing journalism or programming, he's going to write a lot and spend many hours looking at that screen.
You don't want to do that in a tiny screen and a cramped keyboard.

Whenever I did group stuff I always only took a pen and notebook with me.

How many decades ago where you in college?
During the whole time I was in college (finished this year), I never did any group work with pen and paper.

I don't even know what kind of group work would involve EVERY member of the group having a laptop.

Two words: google docs.

Plus, there's the fact that if he's doing programming, he'll need his own machine to compile his work during the group sessions.

 

[WhiteLotus]

Dude.. have you ever tried to produce some actual work in a 10" 1024*600 screen?

I did try, in my EeePC, and it's a total productivity suicide.

If he's doing journalism or programming, he's going to write a lot and spend many hours looking at that screen.
You don't want to do that in a tiny screen and a cramped keyboard.




How many decades ago where you in college?
During the whole time I was in college (finished this year), I never did any group work with pen and paper.




Two words: google docs.

Plus, there's the fact that if he's doing programming, he'll need his own machine to compile his work during the group sessions.

In Uni right now mate. Progressing onto second year of Biomedical Science, i'm 22 and I'm a student who uses paper because it's so much easier than going:


"hold on hold on, lemme just call up <insert program> so i can type all that crap up"

Instead I go:

"cool, yea got that" then on the way home I think about it and write it all up on this here desktop.

 

[joytime360]

Go for a gaming laptop

 

[John Phoenix]

gaming doesn't mean 5-8 year old games at crippled settings so that the game doesn't run as a slideshow. Besides, how much gaming do you seriously do away from home? Do you regularly plop down at the library for a couple hours for a run at Half Life 1 or Doom 3? It could actually work against you since you have that as a possibility on your laptop instead of getting your work done.

None of my games run like a slideshow but all have full fluent framerates. Only a few of the games use lower settings, I don't consider that crippled. Even a lot of desktop PC's with good cards like my ATI 5750 1 gig DDR5, has trouble playing some games on all high settings. It depends on how optimized the game is for the PC. The worst games on my laptop are really bad console ports to begin with.

I don't drive so I bring my laptop everywhere and I play games almost everywhere I go. I have no work to do. I'm retired All the time in the world to just play PC games.

If you notice, many of these games from the past recent years are still very popular and are still played by tons of people.. even the older ones. You may not wish to play games that didn't come out yesterday, but I say your missing out on some great games. Like I said, I have many 2010 (2008 and 2009) games that play great that didn't get added to the list yet.. Plus you can mod PC games. Can't do that with a console, and more games are available for PC than any other platform. When I had the choice to get a laptop or a console.. the laptop easily won. The main reason I got it was because I wanted a portable gaming platform that was more powerful than the other hand held gaming devices.

Sure people can buy a top of the line gaming laptop if they want to and can afford it, but my post above proves you can game just as nicely for cheaper.. a lot of the high end gaming laptop stuff is just hype to get you to spend $$$.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

1) Journalism is impossible without a computer and journalists have to go where the story is (requires mobility). Today, a journalist without a laptop is like an artist without a canvas. Pen and paper just doesn't work anymore in the 24-hour news cycle the world is quickly adapting.


2) You can rent consoles or borrow a friends' when he/she gets tired of it.

 

[Wile E]

Buy a laptop with it's focus on battery life and productivity, then buy a ps3 later. Don't go gaming laptop. I bought a mid range gaming laptop with an 8600GT and I regret it. I have to lower detail to get acceptable framerates, and when it's off the mains, battery life is terrible compared to a lappy with integrated.

And I say PS3 as the console because it is so versatile. Makes a great BD and network media player. Plus, online is free.

@John Phoenix - all that proves is that you are not sensitive to low framerates. I am, and the 4200 is NOT capable of decent gaming for me on modern games. He should stick to games on the desktop, and stick to productivity on the laptop. That would be his cheapest solution.

 

[Damian^]

get an affordable laptop for laptop reasons and buy a console. This will probably be cheaper than a gaming laptop.

Yes there goes lan parties into the toilet but thats my recommendation.

get the lappy for college and just use it for browsing and word processing. odds are, one of your dorm mates will have a console and you can use his.

Console.

If you get a laptop for gaming you might find yourself wanting to upgrade it after 6 months... but it won't make sense to spend like $1000 to get the next-gen gpu/s...

Believe me I speak from experience.

I bought a gaming laptop to be able to take over to the summer house - it was a stupid decision. It'd have been much cheaper to buy parts and make a desktop build. And a desktop is easily (and relatively cheaply) upgradable.

Best choice imo would be to buy the best laptop you can with the best cpu you can afford. That way it will last. It might suck for gaming, but so would a 4K laptop after a year or so........
Though it mightn't be that good for gaming, it'd be perfect for everything else and will last you at least 3+ years depending on your expectations.

For gaming, either use the desktop or get a console.
Would you really be needing a console if you've got a decent gaming desktop...?

Dude.. have you ever tried to produce some actual work in a 10" 1024*600 screen?

I did try, in my EeePC, and it's a total productivity suicide.

If he's doing journalism or programming, he's going to write a lot and spend many hours looking at that screen.
You don't want to do that in a tiny screen and a cramped keyboard.




How many decades ago where you in college?
During the whole time I was in college (finished this year), I never did any group work with pen and paper.




Two words: google docs.

Plus, there's the fact that if he's doing programming, he'll need his own machine to compile his work during the group sessions.

Buy a laptop with it's focus on battery life and productivity, then buy a ps3 later. Don't go gaming laptop. I bought a mid range gaming laptop with an 8600GT and I regret it. I have to lower detail to get acceptable framerates, and when it's off the mains, battery life is terrible compared to a lappy with integrated.

And I say PS3 as the console because it is so versatile. Makes a great BD and network media player. Plus, online is free.

@John Phoenix - all that proves is that you are not sensitive to low framerates. I am, and the 4200 is NOT capable of decent gaming for me on modern games. He should stick to games on the desktop, and stick to productivity on the laptop. That would be his cheapest solution.

Wow great responses guys (and also thanks a lot to the one i did not quote). This is just the type of thread i needed.

I think based on the quotes above; the smartest thing to do is get a decent laptop (not meant for gaming, but maybe with something for those lan games like quake or unreal tournament, which i am an avid fan of) and then buy a PS3 myself later on when and if im able to get a job during college.

I still have some decision making to go but i think i have the basis for it down. Thanks a lot TPU

 

[ste2425]

In Uni right now mate. Progressing onto second year of Biomedical Science, i'm 22 and I'm a student who uses paper because it's so much easier than going:


"hold on hold on, lemme just call up <insert program> so i can type all that crap up"

Instead I go:

"cool, yea got that" then on the way home I think about it and write it all up on this here desktop.

i have to dissagree im in my second year at uni doing music tech and audio systems and if i had a laptop it would help so much the amount of writing i have to do means by the end of my two hour lectures i cannot evenread it, Plus when we have the audio programming being able to load up visual studio and write the programmes as were learning about different things is so much easier then doing it at home when ive forgotten about certain thngs. Plus it makes organising and searching for certain notes allot easier for assignments. I gues it depends on the person and what course your doing, mine is a very computer based course so having alaptop to use the programmes were learning about, like nuendo, cubase, visual studio etc whilst the lecturer is talking about them is allot better for me rather then 4 hours latter back at the flat