Computer For 19 Year Old Student.

[hellodolly]

My Grandson is taking courses towards becoming a electronics engineer. I am considering buying him a new laptop.

Right now he is sharing a old laptop with his cousin it is the windows vista.

I was wondering if there was some suggestions as to what brand to get him. I am not interested in the cheapest or for that matter the most expensive. Just some thing that would be reliable.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

[Tywais]

Acer for broad support base (repair centers), Lenovo for robustness but lessor support availability - I have 6 operating at one of our offices. My niece is starting uni here and I just switched her Windows XP out for Windows 7 on her 3+ year old Acer. Can't see going wrong with either brand.

[rodentwarrior]

Hello Dolly,

the laptop is not a windows Vista, that is just the Operating system, quite possibly the worst microsoft ever released (except for WinME).

I would suggest a netbook by Acer, or Samsung or if you are feeling really generous Sony.

Max out the RAM, and at least 320 gig HD. Make sure the Operating system is Windows 7 and try and get an office package thrown in for good measure.

[uptheos]

I have used Acer for several years without any hint of a problem. I run Windows 7 Ultra and it's as smooth as silk. Before that both Toshiba and Dell gave me headaches.

I have heard from friends that HP are pretty reliable and there's a service centre in Chiang Mai.

Edited May 31, 2012 by uptheos

[BlackArtemis]

The Ivybridge processors just came out and you would think that this would make the old tech a cheaper and better option, but the Ivybridge (third gen i series processors) are dropping in price rather quickly.

I would try to get something with:

At least a 2nd or 3rd gen core i5 (sandy bridge or ivy bridge)

4-6gb of ram

a dedicated videocard of some sort, doesn't have to play every game at full, but it will help speed up any rendering jobs etc.

Solid state drives are nice, but pricey for the size, anything with a 7200rpm should be fine for him.

I have had Dells, HPs and Gateways last a long time. Currently i am using an MSI barebones laptop, but I don't think this option is available in Thailand.

[hellodolly]

Thanks guys.

Acer, Samsung and Lenovo and possibly HP.

I had heard several years ago that Acer had a good system but would not take to munch of physical abuse Samsung I had heard good things about and Lenovo I had seen about and never heard munch about. HP is what my PC is and for the most part I am happy with it and Sony I know is a good machine but pricey.

I will check around Pantip and Siam to see what I can get out of the first four, And if they have a deal on a Sony which I doubt.

Max out the RAM, and at least 320 gig HD and try to find 4-6gb of ram. Windo0ws 7 I believe is what they come with but I will insist on that.

[barefoot1988]

thinkpad. they are built to last but design are quite dated.

my old ibm still run as good as ever. majority of the laptop have faded keyboards and wrist rest within 2 years, never will it happen on the thinkpad

[CMSteve]

He's studying E.E. Throw him a few baht and tell him to build his own.

[BlackArtemis]

Lenovo is IBM, it's just been rebadged a few years ago. There are many nice deals to be had for Lenovo.

CMsteve: I agree but, are there barebones laptops here like MSI produces? Or will he be restricted to a desktop if he decides to build his own.

I love the power of a desktop, but I haven't had one in 7 years and have sacrificed power for convenience. Also as someone who recently attended Uni, I went back for a Second BS 2009-2011, I can't stress how often I would pull out my laptop and work somewhere on campus or in a small group. So nice to be able to fire up Youtube and get clarification on a difficult topic.

[CMSteve]

You're probably right. a better way to say it is: Tell him to figure out what he needs and how to get it for the cheapest amount possible. Unless he's going with a desktop, then he should build it himself.

Lenovo is IBM, it's just been rebadged a few years ago. There are many nice deals to be had for Lenovo.

CMsteve: I agree but, are there barebones laptops here like MSI produces? Or will he be restricted to a desktop if he decides to build his own.

I love the power of a desktop, but I haven't had one in 7 years and have sacrificed power for convenience. Also as someone who recently attended Uni, I went back for a Second BS 2009-2011, I can't stress how often I would pull out my laptop and work somewhere on campus or in a small group. So nice to be able to fire up Youtube and get clarification on a difficult topic.

[Sophon]

Lenovo is IBM, it's just been rebadged a few years ago. There are many nice deals to be had for Lenovo.

Lenovo is not IBM. It's a chinese company that used to produce the Thinkpad for IBM until they bought IBM's personal computer division in 2005 when IBM decided to get out of that business. IBM does not produce PC's anymore.

Sophon

Edited June 1, 2012 by Sophon

[Mestizo]

If you are concerned about reliability and not overly concerned with price, then why not go for a Macbook Pro? That would make the most sense..

-Mestizo

[Dr. G]

IBM (Lenovo) ThinkPad.

Operating system XP Pro.

The ThinkPad is very robust and reliable.

There must be many thousands in use in Universities around the world.

I my own research group there are 30+ and never a problem.

g

[richard10365]

If I was going to pretend that money doesn't matter and think about buying computer I would look at all brands and find the best deal for my money. I have been doing that for that last laptops and it has served me well.

Processor: The last labtop I bought for my wife I got her an I7 processor. My processor is an I5. The I7 is so much faster. It's a huge difference. Engineers would benefit from a processor like that. Get the I7 processor.

Ram Memory: A lot of memory would be another plus. I have found that the more memory I have, the better my computer works. At a minimum, get 8MB of memory or more.

Operating System: Get Windows 7. I think it works great. I never had a problem with it. Get the 64 bit version of windows. It is able to use large amounts of Ram where the 32 bit version cannot.

Hard Drive: Get a large hard drive of 500GB upto 1TB. The more the better.

Webcam: Get an excellent webcam. New ones coming out record 720 HD video. This is good for Skype and MSN video chats.

USB: USB 3.0 is the new standard for USB. Make sure it has that.

Battery: 8 celled batteries have excellent battery life. Try to get a laptop that has a battery life of 8 or more hours.

HDMI: HDMI out on the laptop will turn any TV with an HDMI in into a monitor. Then you can stream internet videos to your big 50" tv. It's awesome. I watch TV like this all the time.

Finally, I have used pirated software like Windows 7 and MS Office 2011 and always had problems with pirated versions of this software. My advice, if you can afford it, buy original 64 bit versions of Windows 7 and Office 2011. They work great and much better than their pirated counterparts. I used pirated versions for years and after buying original software, I will never buy pirated Microsoft Windows or Office again. It's that much better.

Edited June 1, 2012 by richard10365

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Processor: The

Ram Memory: A lot of me

Operating System: Get

Hard Drive: Get a large

Webcam: Get an

USB: USB 3.0 is

Battery: 8 celled

HDMI: HDMI out on

Most people do this, they get really deeply into research on specific CPU versions, hard disk spin rates and all that. I think that just about any mid-priced laptop within the same generation provides very similar performance for any regular use such as Internet browsing, writing documents, image editing and so on.

However, they will very wildly in the screen clarity and keyboard feel.

The screen is what you look at all the time.

They keyboard is what you type on a lot of the time.

The weight may really be a drag if you have to lug it about a lot.

Therefore those things rank number 1 in my book when buying a laptop. These are completely common-as-pie things that anyone without the slightest technical knowledge can readily appreciate by looking at it, touching it and picking it up.

For any of the tech specs I'm less bothered, and would get whatever is roughly in the middle.

Edited June 2, 2012 by WinnieTheKhwai

[hellodolly]

Thanks guys I think I will look at the Lenovo then the Acer and maybe a quick look at H P. Sony is a little higher than I want to go.

The Mac would be the baby but out of my price range for this occasion.

I will be making a list of the suggestions to take with me and hope I can find a English speaking salesman.

[Tywais]

The Mac would be the baby but out of my price range for this occasion.

Since he is majoring as an E.E. one caveat with the Mac is the availability of engineering design toolkits such as schematic capture, printed circuit layout design and electronic simulators. They are available but not as readily as PC versions plus he may be required to use compatible software for his engineering department.

Contrary to popular belief amongst engineers using machines from the evil empire, it is quite well possible to develop electronics hardware on the Mac. In true Mac fashion, there are much fewer solutions, but those that are there are pretty good quality.

Mactech

[Mestizo]

The Mac would be the baby but out of my price range for this occasion.

Since he is majoring as an E.E. one caveat with the Mac is the availability of engineering design toolkits such as schematic capture, printed circuit layout design and electronic simulators. They are available but not as readily as PC versions plus he may be required to use compatible software for his engineering department.

Contrary to popular belief amongst engineers using machines from the evil empire, it is quite well possible to develop electronics hardware on the Mac. In true Mac fashion, there are much fewer solutions, but those that are there are pretty good quality.

Mactech

With 8 or even 4GB of RAM, its fairly simple to spin up a Windows virtual machine anytime you need to use those sort of tools.

Having spent the last 7 or so years in corporate environments that are heavily dominated by Microsoft, I've gotten by with Macbooks with very little problems. I definitely wouldn't let the (perceived) lack of of native software put me off from buying one.

-Mestizo

Edited June 2, 2012 by Mestizo

[simple1]

Lenovo is IBM, it's just been rebadged a few years ago. There are many nice deals to be had for Lenovo.

Lenovo is not IBM. It's a chinese company that used to produce the Thinkpad for IBM until they bought IBM's personal computer division in 2005 when IBM decided to get out of that business. IBM does not produce PC's anymore.

Sophon

Not correct - IBM sold their Thinkpad brand to Lenevo

[simple1]

Thanks guys I think I will look at the Lenovo then the Acer and maybe a quick look at H P. Sony is a little higher than I want to go.

The Mac would be the baby but out of my price range for this occasion.

I will be making a list of the suggestions to take with me and hope I can find a English speaking salesman.

FYI Acer use to manufacturer OEM notebooks that were re-branded by some of the worlds largest IT hardware companies

[BlackArtemis]

The 2x the cost would be what puts me off of a mac. Their build quality is great, their style is nice, I really hate their OS, but it's due to years of being a PC guy, not because it isn't good. But I paid $1250 for a Sandybridge core i7, 8gb of ram, 15.6" 1920x1080 screen, a 1.5gb 570 GTX and a 500gb 7200rpm hdd. With space to expand to 16gb and add in a second drive, solid state if I so wished. And now with the Ivybridges out and the 670 GTX there is even more bang for the buck as they are around $1300.

Also, if you want to research it, many desktop builders chose the i5 over the i7 because there wasn't enough of a difference to justify the cost, especially since they overclocked to roughly the same speeds.

[Tywais]

Also, if you want to research it, many desktop builders chose the i5 over the i7 because there wasn't enough of a difference to justify the cost, especially since they overclocked to roughly the same speeds.

Will have to disagree with that. I build all my own systems. At the office I have an i5 due to budget constraints, at home I have an i7 and the performance difference is significant. But then I am a power user running engineering apps, heavy graphics/video and electronic simulation. I actually dread sitting down at my office computer to do my engineering work due to being spoiled with my i7 at home. Yes, there are a multitude of other system components that can make a large difference besides the CPU.

[JimShortz]

I have used Acer for several years without any hint of a problem. I run Windows 7 Ultra and it's as smooth as silk. Before that both Toshiba and Dell gave me headaches.

I have heard from friends that HP are pretty reliable and there's a service centre in Chiang Mai.

But be very wary of the HP service centre. The "service" that they gave us when our main server (nearly 60,000 Baht's worth, 1 year old) had a problem was AWFUL. Without wanting to test it they just said that the problem was mainboard and would cost 20,000 +. We ended up going to a "regular" shop who did some proper diagnostics and replaced both hard drives (the real problem) for much less. Difficult to call HP's centre a "service" centre really...

[barefoot1988]

hp is facing some serious issue isnt it? they had stopped support for their mobile platform iirc, their touchpad went on sale for like 99 bucks below production cost due to this for awhile

also arent they selling off their pc division?

[endure]

If you want something that's built like a brick shithouse buy a Lenovo. If you want something that's slightly more fragile but has a better spec buy an Acer.

[DaffyDuck]

hp is facing some serious issue isnt it? they had stopped support for their mobile platform iirc, their touchpad went on sale for like 99 bucks below production cost due to this for awhile

also arent they selling off their pc division?

They were.

Then they weren't.

Now, who knows ... I haven't checked this week. HP would be the last brand I would buy, as would Sony (overpriced).

MSI or Acer make pretty decent and often solid laptops, that can be locally serviced. Since the white MacBook is no longer available from Apple, that was the last of the really solidly build Apple laptops - ie built like a tank.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Having spent the last 7 or so years in corporate environments that are heavily dominated by Microsoft, I've gotten by with Macbooks with very little problems. I definitely wouldn't let the (perceived) lack of of native software put me off from buying one.

Mostly by saying "Sorry, can't read this MS Project / Visio / etc file, please send as as a big shiny picture or PDF. "

[Mestizo]

Having spent the last 7 or so years in corporate environments that are heavily dominated by Microsoft, I've gotten by with Macbooks with very little problems. I definitely wouldn't let the (perceived) lack of of native software put me off from buying one.

Mostly by saying "Sorry, can't read this MS Project / Visio / etc file, please send as as a big shiny picture or PDF. "

Great points. That is actually more about training people to do things correctly and break them of bad habits.

There are actually very simple solutions to both MSProject and Visio. OmniPlan for dealing with MS Project files and OmniGraffle for Visio. The Omni Group has actually licensed Micro$oft's proprietary formats so that they can integrate them into their products.

That being said, as PDF is a cross-platform, free, highly supported file format, it is still the best way to exchange files in a professional enterprise environment. Not only does it keep internal licensing costs down, it also does not force expensive proprietary software down your customer's throats.

-Mestizo