Computer people: What kind of laptop do you recommend?

I’d recommend you find a recently made refurbished laptop. But buy it from a reputable seller, such as Amazon, or TigerDirect, or Overstock.com.

@HungryGuy What makes a refurbished computer better?

I’d say the new macbook pro? If I were you, I’d go with the new macbook pro md313! Have a look Macbookpro.
@KateTheGreat Price drop I guess.

Well, if you’re a college student on a budget, you can get more bang for the buck. As long as it’s still relatively new, you can get a good laptop for a good price.

Of course, if you got the bucks to spend, but just want to know what’s a good reliable machine, then go with any of the more well known brands such as Dell or HP.

I assume you’ll be running medical applications on it. Right? This applies to any computer purchase and you’ve probably heard it before: determine out the minimum requirements of the software you’ll be running in it (you might be able to get that info from your uni profs), then get the machine that meets or exceeds those minimums.

@Tbag I said no Macs in my description. I’d rather not spend that much.

@KateTheGreat Oh my, I’m sorry! I read it as “I’m spending my money on mac”! My apologies.

Find something with an Asus board inside, SATA HDD, a strong frontside bus speed, at least 4 gigs of ram. Toshiba, and Lenovo makes good ones, if you ask me. Built-in Wifi definately.

Asus and Lenovo are really solid these days.
The Dells are a mixed bag, read reviews on Dell models before picking one. Some of the new models are not so sturdy.
A MacBook isn’t such a bad machine either, value-wise, they are well built.

But I also like the ‘refurbished’ angle, as long as the warranty is good. They are usually just returns that are new but can’t be sold as new. They get run through factory QA diagnostics and then packed up with all the right accessories as new.
But pick a sturdy model among those too… (still likin’ those Asus and Lenovos).

My HP is bullet proof. The Acer I had is now a door stop.

@FutureMemory I had an Acer. It broke the other day and I used it as a target. The most fun I’ve had with a gun in a while.

Actually, Acer isn’t bad. I had good luck with mine. HP generally ranks near the bottom of the pile in reliability though. @FutureMemory‘s experience is an anomaly unless he has an HP that is >15 years old. Sure, my HP-48G calculator is still running strong, but the recent (within the last ten years) PCs (laptop or desktop) are somewhere between crap and shit.

The best mix of value and reliability these days is Toshiba. The Asus is inexpensive and reliable, but a bit sluggish and lacking in features. Dell and Sony are too pricey. Toshiba is only a half-step behind Asus in reliability, not far behind on price, and offers decent performance.

@dabbler Macbook? Only if there is a hefty educational discount. I like the Macbook and Macbook Air, but compared to what I can find elsewhere, I would need a 40% discount to consider them better, and 30% to consider them “as good as”.

@KateTheGreat I was so disappointed when the Acer crapped out, it wasn’t even a full year old!

Not sure what to tell you Jerv, this HP is a beauty :)

@FutureMemory Every survey I’ve seen places HP near/at the bottom, and the HP owners I know (other than you) seem to back that up. Acer is third-worst after three years (better than HP) and far better in initial satisfaction. Not saying you’re wrong, merely anomalous.

@jerv Well, I’ll agree the MacBooks have a bit of price premium but not like it used to be. They do tend to be well-built.

Also ref HP. I’d concur that @FutureMemory‘s experience with an HP seems to be an anomaly (more power to ya!).

HP still run different product divisions rather separately, although not quite as separate as before. They are at heart an engineering company. But due to bottom-line motivations the personal computer division was always at the forefront of compromised quality. They just never engineered their PCs as solidly as their other products.

The calculator group is a whole different story, always a very sturdy option (and I still like RPN!). I’m still using 25-year-old models 12 and 16, and by all reports the new ones are just as good. You can drop them and spill coffee on them repeatedly over the years and they’re just ready for more.

Also separate are instrumentation for technical (o-scopes, spectrum analysers) and medical (fetal monitors…you name it),
Their electro-optical components are world class.

HP printers are a mixed bag but from what I can tell they have improved over the years, especially their drivers and software which used to be miserable.
We recently rescued an all-in-one HP from the refuse (we wanted the fax), plugged it into the LAN and all the machines in the place (including this linux box) can use all the functions on it. The printers still seem very cheaply made though, thin plastic panels etc. – but for us the price was right. I wouldn’t buy one of their laser printers.