Tablet or Laptop help

[k1gibson]

My daughter is needing a system of some kind for college. She would prefer a tablet, but what ever I get for her needs to be able to run Office like Word, Excel.
So any suggestions would be great !
Oh also it needs to be cheap or the best bang for the buck

[norm]

So you have a daughter....in college....is she single?.... lol


There's so much left out of your question that'll be a little hard to answer. Most of it will depend on what her major is. Does she need something powerful to do graphic design or films or does she need it to do a ton of English papers.


Just in general spec wise this should help

Processor - i5 or i7 Intel
- Reason is this should last her through all 4 or so years of college

RAM/Memory - 4GB minimum and 6GB to 8GB preferred
- 4GB is really basic and it'll keep getting bogged down if she tries to do too much at once. 6GB would help that form happening and 8GB would be ideal

Graphic Card - Depends on needs
- Laptop cards come in two flavors, Integrated and Discrete. Integrated means it's built into your motherboard and shares your RAM with your processor. So if you get 4GB anywhere from a full GB to a half could be used for your video card which can slow your system down. Discrete means it's a separate card that plugs into your motherboard. It comes with it's own memory, usually 1GB.

If you go with a system with lower memory having a discrete card is a huge bonus. If you go with one that has higher memory integrated is fine.


Hard Drive (HDD) - 500GB or greater
Honestly this really depends on her needs. Does she have a huge music collection, photos, and things like that. If so higher is better.

As far as a traditional HDD or a SSD it may not matter. SSD's are like your flash/memory sticks that plug into your USB ports except bigger and it's inside the laptop. They are great for being fast, but maybe not worth it depending on needs.




Tablet or Laptop

I will say no for tablets. By tablets I'm talking about the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire, or Nook HD. Too small and they would be a pain to write papers on.

The Surface Pro is nice, it's bigger than traditional tablets, but at $800+ a pop it's not close to being worth it.

There are a few laptop/tablet convertibles out there. Those are the ones with screens that can rotate and you can use it like a traditional tablet. They are nice and really convenient because you get the convenience of a tablet with the power and function of a laptop.

There are your traditional laptops and those that have touchscreens. Their screens don't rotate and open at the traditional 90 degree angle. They aren't as convenient, but they are usually your cheaper options.


Brands

Lenovo, Dell, Asus and HP are making some solid machines. Depending on your needs I would go with whichever had the better price and reviews for that system.



Software
- Office 365. I don't know if you have it or know about it. If not get it. Students get a huge deal on this software and it's completely worth it for her to have it. It's Office in the cloud. It's a subscription based version of Office that will let her have access to her files just about anywhere and no matter if a new version comes out she'll always have the latest version.

At home we use it and with ours it's $99 per year and I get to install it on any 5 machines I want. It gives us access to Skydrive which is a HDD in the cloud. So if I save files to my Skydrive I have access to them form anywhere. I can even come to your house, logon to Office through their website and use Word that way with my files in Skydrive. Without ever having to install anything onto your computer.

For students it's the same thing, cheaper price, only have to pay once every 4 years and I think they can only install Office on 2 machines. Trust me it's worth it. Means no more having to carry a flash stick with your PowerPoint presentation and worrying about losing it or going to the computer lab only to realize you left your stick at home.




I hope that helps some. If you have a specific model you want some info about post it.

[RaTix]

Pretty much what norm said.

Except I would add that if price is a factor go AMD (maybe A-Series) over Intel. It's probably a better way to go as they are usually a lot cheaper.

I would definitely go laptop if it's for college. You have a lot more flexibility and ease of use with it. I would go with a 17'' monitor and full keyboard layout. Makes long typing sessions easier than using a crammed keyboard layout. And if taking any math classes, I always find having the full number pad on the right much easier to work with. With the size and full keyboard, all you need is a cheap $20 USB mouse and you have a desktop like setup.

Also, make sure you can get the laptop with Windows 7. Windows 8 is crap.

You should also check out NewEgg.com for deals. Just make sure you get accidental protection or something as well, regardless of where you order from.

[norm]

Good call with the deals.

Most colleges have a partnership with a specific computer manufacturer where they have either a small list of computers for you to buy or a % off code. So look into that too.

[Cottoinc]

What do you guys think of this one:

Acer Aspire V3-772G-9653 Intel Core i7 8GB Memory 1TB HDD 17.3" Notebook Windows 8 $899.99

Intel Core i7 4702MQ(2.20GHz)
8GB Memory 1TB HDD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760M
1920 x 1080
Windows 8
DVD Super Multi

Its on sale on newegg.com right now and I like the Acer brand. Windows 8 can be worked with and metro can be turned off.

[k1gibson]

Yes she is single so you stay away I've seen and heard about your homosexual tendency lol Jk

But to answer ur question yes college and she going into radiology I do know that several class will be online. I have a lot to read here after that I might have question and thanks to everyone for the input
Oh the Office 365 can u edit and create from ur machine


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[RaTix]

I don't like Acer. Their stuff is usually crap. Plus I don't think that one comes in Windows 7.


For Office 365, you get the online office web apps, plus the software to install Office 2013 on 2 PCs I think. It's 79.99 for 4 years, but need verification that you are a student or teacher.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/productID.275549300?tid=s2VmgaeFm_dc&cid=5250&pcrid=20504963933&pkw=office%20365%20student&pmt=e&WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=pointitsem_Microsoft+US_google_5+-+Office+15+Suites&WT.term=office%20365%20student&WT.campaign=5+-+Office+15+Suites&WT.content=2VmgaeFm&WT.source=google&WT.medium=cpc

[k1gibson]

I have a ASIS net book and there tablet which both have been great so I kind like that brand. Would a net book be an option ?
Money is a big factor for what I get


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[RaTix]

I usually recommend ppl to stay clear of netbooks unless your using it to purely surf web, check emails, or look up recipes int he kitchen or something small like that. They lack in a lot of power and features. For school if there is any course related material that needs to be installed, the lack of DVD drive can be a problem too. The Windows Starter version that usually comes installed can also limit the software that is allowed to be installed. Not sure how well Office would run on it, or if at all.

ASUS is a good brand if that's what you meant. Last year or so, I picked up a ASUS 4GB AMD A-Series for my girl to use for online classes. Ordered separate 8GB RAM for cheap to swap out, and I think paid only $500 or so all together.

It seems finding Windows 7 is harder and harder these days. Might be stuck with a Windows 8 unless you purchase 7 separately and reinstall everything.

Here's something probably in your range and what you're looking for. It's Window s8 and only a 15.6'' screen, but good price and full keyboard layout.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231083

Comes with 1 year of accidental protection. You could even upgrade the 6GB to 8GB is you wanted by also getting this for about $70

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231472

Everything for under $500.

[k1gibson]

Yes that Asus would be prefect special the price.
So what is about windows8 that you really dont like, if you can explain on my level (simple,short)

[hecx2370]

Laptop for sure. You really can't go wrong with anything in the $500 - $800 range. Now a days you get dual core with integrated graphics cards and about 500+ GBs. Intel i5 or better. Office365 in the cloud is definitely a good choice and Wi-Fi is always available on campus. I suggest a 15 inch screen. 17" is nice but bigger is heavier and a lot of women complain about the weight with the bigger screen. 17" screens in a small form factor aren't worth the price in my opinion. I tend to outgrow my laptops way before they require any type of service. Also get the warranty, but read the fine print.

[RaTix]

I just don't like Windows 8 because it's a completely different feel than any other windows before it. It's more built for phones, tablets and touchscreens with it's boxes. You can get the familiar looking desktop but it's not the same. It acts and feels a little odd, like there is no start button. So to find the control panel alone is ridiculous. It just takes some time to get used too it.

The general rule with Windows versions is the great ones skip a generation. Win 98 good, ME/2000 bad, XP good, Vista bad, 7 good, 8 crap. the first release is like the test phase. ME/2000 was the testing ground for XP. They worked out the kinks and XP was great. Same with Vista and Windows 7. This is MS first attempt at this new design, so the next one will have all the issues worked out.

It's not like it's compete crap. For a college student or someone who hasn't really used all the previous windows, I'm sure it's fine and you'll daughter will love it. But for tech type ppl who have been around, it's crap. Especially since it's not something you would use in a corporate environment. It's more focused for home use.

[Cottoinc]

I know metro can be a pain but windows 8 has a smaller foot print on the pc and metro can be disable and a start menu can be add with 3rd party software like http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/ or wins shell.

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[norm]

Windows 8 isn't that bad. Windows 8 was designed to be best used with touchscreens. The biggest problem is that the world isn't all touchscreen.

Windows 8 is due for an update this October which should also improve a lot of the complaints people have had. A few folks at work have the beta of the update and enjoy it.

As far as picking out a laptop check with the school to see if they have a partnership. Also look at things like Office Depot, Staples, Best Buy and others for special deals. They will have some surprising sells at times.

If you get one that doesn't have enough RAM/memory that's fine. Usually that's the easiest thing to buy later on and pop in.


Here is a site that might have some deals for you

http://www.dealzon.com/computers/laptops

Also with what Ratix said about netbooks is correct. A netbook's key description should come from the part of it's name that says NET.

With tablets and smartphones as prolific as they are I'm always surprised to see netbooks on a shelf in a store.

[Cottoinc]

Maximum PC has an article on different back to school tech you might find interesting. http://www.maximumpc.com/back_to_sch...s_2013#slide-0