IF YOU CHOOSE THE DELL, YOU SHOULD UPGRADE TO AT LEAST 2-3 GB OF RAM.

I say go with hp...... hpdv9700t seriez

But get a 17" you will hate carrying around that 20"

go with the hpdv9700 series,

get 2-4 gigs of ram

with the nvidea geforce 8600 gt

will work great


I know its not as pretty as a mac....but it is a lot more attractive and thinner then that bulky dell you are looking at..... and it has all the performance the mac and dell can give at a lower cost


df...

hpdv9700 t series......is at a lower cost.....then the three ou mentioned////

Right now at some local shops (particularly university bookstores), you can find the 15" MBP that is just out of date (by like, two months) for $1499, and the specs aren't vastly different. That's what I'm running and it's held up fine so far.

HPdv9700 series At hp.com

• Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
• Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.40GHz)
• 17.0" diagonal WXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1440 x 900)
• 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS
• HP Imprint Finish (Radiance) + Microphone
• Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection
• 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
• LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
• No TV Tuner w/remote control
• 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
• Microsoft(R) Works 9.0


total cost: $1,349.99 (does not include student discount)


add 250 for 2 years of acidental damage

or 350 for 3 years

100 bucks if you want lojack.....


great deal if you ask me

go to techbargains.com

i scoured that website everyday until a good deal came up.

I bought an hp with a $500 discount. The deal was up for only 3 days.

HP is definitely outperforming dell right now. I had a dell laptop and the HP seems to be much better.

Here it goes...

Get a mac. More stable, more reliable, faster, lives longer. It's the designers canvas.

PC's suck. Virus happy, control-alt-delete regularly, the corporate businessman's canvas.

:)

Oh, thank you for all the recommendation :) Btw, I read from elsewhere from the Archinect that Vista isn't good for some of the designing programme, is that true? and that hp tend to over-heat at a faster rate, but again generally all powerful laptops are easily over-heat. However, between the 3 brands- dell,hp and mac, which one tend to be over-heat faster?hpdv9700t that difficultfix recommend seems to be good and at a reasonable price :) yeah, I will checkout the techbargains :) btw, I also heard from my friend's professor that mac is an ideal laptop for architect, is that true?but personally, I still think Mac is over-priced (no offence to mac-lovers) compare to other brands but the professor must have some reasons for saying that,isn't it?or else he must be just captivated by the external appearance of mac that he made such comment?Anyway, should I consult my future lecturer regarding the design programmes used in my course before I start making any laptop purchase?once again,thank you for all the helpful advises :)

oh btw, I have never done any online purchasing before. So, if i buy any laptop online, is there any hidden charge which I'm not aware of?will it be the exact price that has been stated at the website?

shipping costs...typically there is always a special to discount this fee ($50)

mac's are good. i envy the mac owners. i didn't have the money at the time and all my programs were for pc, and i wasn't going to purchase all new programs to switch to mac. ask the prof about the mac vs pc and see what other students own

my dell heated much more than the hp, and my hp is much faster

consult the prof., but here's a few of them: acad, revit, rhino, sketchup adobe cs3. that should get you started. AND BUY THE SCHOOL'S DISCOUNTED EDUCATIONAL EDITION...or pirated...

if you really want a bargain

If you go with the mac, you can run windows on it with bootcamp. this way you get the smoothness and virus free mac, with the ability to run autocad. I have a regular macbook and love it, its a little more expensive, but in my opinion definitely worth it.

oh... what is a bootcamp?sorry, I'm still quite new to this :)

Google it, it'll bring you to the mac website talking about it. Its now part of Leopard, Mac OS X latest version..

I see, btw,how is Mac compared to HP in term of durability and over-heat rate? Btw, It's a relieve to know that It can operates windows as well as the boot camp that cater such operation will come along with the purchase of mac! Cuz there is now a high possiblity that i will have to get a mac since the lecturer said that the com(s) in uni are mac. Thanks Skibum, you've been a great help and of course to everyone else that had gave a good advises too :)

my version of mac has been known to run somewhat hot, but I haven't really had a problem, and I know they've gotten better the last few years. If you're worried about it, it might help if you can prop your comp up on something (I've used pencils before) so there is air running under the computer and won't run as hot. Macs have something called widgets idk if you're familiar, but check these out on their website. They're mini programs you run in the background, and you can download cpu temperature monitoring ones as well. If you're worried about banging the comp around, you can buy casings that fit over the body. All this is over the internet, so just google it and you'll find something.

Good luck and have fun!

p

Boot camp is part of 10.5 and Mac is a more desirable notebook not just because its easy on the eyes but it has a better over all performance i understand that i will cost more (relative) but with the compatibility of the Intel processor, its a better bet, i like Asus
but everyone has their own opinion, but go with the Mac, better and expect to pay more for extra stuff also.

hehe, looks like i'll be getting mac now cuz the lecturer advise me to get a mac if i intended to use it for the course at the uni. He said that i'll be exposed to the use of Adobe Creative Suite CS3 applications,Sketchup Pro, ArchiCAD and FormZ which is getting used less and less. it's exciting to know that mac can configure Mac OS and windows. can't wait to try it out :) thanks a lot to everyone here! :)

Check out parralels for mac, it allows you to run both osx and windows at the same time. Go for Windows XP as it uses less ram than vista. Get the least amount of ram and upgrade to 4GB yourself, as it's much cheaper. Also, you get a student discount if you buy through university (about 20%). Good luck.

how do you buy through university?I'll be leaving to Singapore in July for vacation. I heard there is an education discount for student studying there, and fortunetely,my gf is studying there :) but how much is the education discount? I heard you can save approximately about 200 SGD (146 USD). Anyway, how do you make purchase through uni?just inform the uni staff?lol..

haha,nvm.. I should not ask irrevelant question like how to buy a laptop through uni.. lol,I'll find out through the uni staff :) I think boot camp is good enough for me already but thank you anyway :) hmm... 4GB ram huh, but will that be overkill?is 2GB good enough or still slow for any rendering and 3d graphic modelling?

if you're doing 64 bit, go with 4 gig. 32 bit only reads up to 3 gig. if you're planning on 2, go for 3, it does make a difference

you can probably find good discounts in software at the uni in Singapore. discounts are at the school you'll be attending. just ask the prof

I see, I think if i manage to get 20%,i'll invest in the 4Gb,otherwise I might just go for the 2Gb or 3GB cuz it's getting quite costly :( lol.. but hmm,20%,that's really great! I hope i can get that discount.. lol.. but hey,thanks a lot again for the informations especially the 20% discount,lol!!

You have to buy through the uni computers. Check on the apple website to see if your uni is applicable, but if the whole department uses macs, they probably will be. In regards to bootcamp being all you need, imagine this situation: You are working on Illustrator/Photoshop to make your plans/section look good. You notice that something in the line drawing is a bit wrong or something... With bootcamp you have to close everything down and boot windows, export, then reboot osx and all your programs. This seems silly, no? You will lose a bit of performance running parallels, but with 4GB of ram, this shouldn't be much and you can adjust how much you distribute between the two OS's at any time. Autocad doesn't really use many resources so it's useful to just have up. I wouldn't say 4GB of ram is overkill, mac will use it all and the creative suite needs it. Go with 2GB and see how you cope (it's cheap enough to replace on the fly) bearing in mind that any slow down you experience on that system will most likely be ram related. If you're going in to first year, I doubt you'll really push too much technically in terms of 3d modelling/rendering, particularly with the programs you've mentioned (I fricking hate sketchup and archicad). Go for 32bit windows over 64 bit if you're getting a max, you'll save yourself a lot of hassle with compatibility. I would only ever use windows for autocad (and rhino, althought they're working on an os version, which would easily replace the usefulness of autocad).
p.s. I don't think you can get 3GB when you only have 2 slots as you do on a laptop. Plus, the difference in price between 2 & 4 seems petty when you first get that "not enough memory" notice as you try to save or render something big. However, do be aware that first year you aren't going to be doing too much in terms of technical things. Check out exactly what computers the uni has and work out if you can use them for your first year with a less powerful laptop for home use. When you get to third year you will wish you had a new computer, so bear that in mind. (I ended up getting two new computers...)
Essay over...Apologies for any incoherencies.

Good luck

it's one good essay that helps me a lot :) I'll bear in mind whatever that you had advised :) Hey, I have one more question. Do you think a MacBook Pro 15" with upgrade up to 4GB will be able to last me until I finish my BA and,hopefully,MArch?If it will, I don't mind investing some money into it then (at the cost of saving and working part-time more often before my sem start.. of course) cuz no matter what, I will still need to get a laptop for home use when i get to Edinburgh, so I thought, I as well just get a really good laptop that can last me that long. Not sensible...?

In my opinion computers date fast and you shouldn't be looking for them to last too long. Over my three years at uni, I've bought three computers (one dell laptop first year, built a desktop in third year and a macbook at the end of third year). Admittedly, this was a bit gratuitous, but if you need the power, you need the power. If you do upgrade to 4GB, don't do it through apple, it's very easy to do yourself and so much cheaper (apple charge about 4 times more). I wouldn't expect any computer to last you through an entire 7 year degree.
I would probably advise buying a laptop below the specs you've suggested for your first two years, as you won't be pushing it too hard because you won't know how to! Your third year is where you will need the advanced power in terms of demanding more and technology will have advanced. So two choices for third year IMO:

Get a desktop (a lot cheaper compared to a laptop) still having your laptop for portability, but desktop as the powerhouse. I'd go PC rather than mac as you will save a fortune.

Get a replacement laptop, which would see you through Part 2 with a lil help.

I just believe that you will be thankful for the boost in performance in your third year.

As long as you have a dual core (2.4 or something), 2GB of Ram (minimum) and a video card that ISN'T integrated, you'll be fine. A decent sized hard drive, but bear in mind that it WILL get full. Don't go bigger than a 15" screen, it makes your laptop not portable and isn't much of a difference. Instead invest in a separate monitor - even 20" then makes a huge difference because you still have your laptop screen. You can pick one up for under £100.

End of essay two...

Hmm, I actually think that your advise makes sense to me. Come to think about it, I won't be often using any complicated 3d software in my first 2 years or probably none at all. Yeah, and com will get outdated pretty soon,and if my purpose is to use it for 3d design and model, I as well just buy a powerful laptop at my third or fourth year. Oh btw, I don't think I can get a desktop too cuz I'm an international student that is going to study at Edinburgh. It'll be troublesome to shift a huge desktop around. Anyway, you can personally add new parts to a MacBook laptop?I thought laptop parts are fixed already and you can only costumize it at your purchase. Haha, looks like I have a lot more to learn about architecture and computers. but hey, thank you for all your suggestions, they're really helpful to me :)

Btw, what is the advantage and disadvantage between vista,xp and Mac OS X?How will using a processor like 2.4GHz and 2.1GHZ will make a difference to a com?to what extent does a graphic card is consider good?

Is Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory, consider a good graphic card?what it means by shared with main memory?what's a advantage or disadvantage between a AMD Athlon and intel?Lastly, how does a clockspeed make a difference?haha.. sorry for all the questions!

Is Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory, consider a good graphic card?what it means by shared with main memory?what's a advantage or disadvantage between a AMD Athlon and intel?Lastly, how does a clockspeed make a difference?haha.. sorry for all the questions!

Is Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory, consider a good graphic card?what it means by shared with main memory?what's a advantage or disadvantage between a AMD Athlon and intel?Lastly, how does a clockspeed make a difference?haha.. sorry for all the questions!

Sorry for the repeated post. I think I most probably will get a normal macbook using educatin disc or through uni (depending on which is cheaper). Btw, you said that I shouldn't buy a laptop with an integrated graphic card but I read somewhere that MacBook graphic card is an integrated one.So, why does a macbook is preferred over other laptops despite that it have to share from it's main memory?

Basically if you want to do heavy duty 3d modeling, then an integrated graphics card ain't great. Therefore the intel card you asked about before isn't that good - I presume that's the macbook one. However, for adobe creative suite etc... it's fine. I'm on a macbook at the moment and it is a lovely thing. I got mine for £777 with education discount and apple care (definitely get apple care - it's really cheap with the education discont), it's the top of the range white one, 2GB of ram. You can only upgrade ram in mac laptops. It should do anything you need up to third year. To be honest, you can get a better lap top (spec-wise) cheaper, but macs are very nice. I'm not gonna argue their pros/cons, as they are debatable, but they are well-designed for sure. If you do get a macbook, save enough money for a larger separate screen - 13" wil drive you crazy. Good luck.

Oh alright :) I guess I'll just go for the Macbook then :) I had made researchs,and it seems that there isn't any complain regarding Mac (except for gamers) and in fact,it is nominated as the most-satisfying product by many.Btw, do you recommend for a refurbished mac?It seems as good as new but is there any catch to it as being cheaper than the original price apart from being a second hand product?Btw, when they say free shipping, is that only applicable to local shipping?or international shipping?

btw,ignore the shipping question. I just found out the answer :)