Laptop Recommendation
 

I'm headed off to grad school at Notre Dame, and I'd like to have a laptop to go along with my desktop for when I'm researching in the lab. I'm doing chemical engineering, so the basic needs should really be an ability to run mathematically intensive programs like MathCAD, Matlab, Maple, etc. A long battery life would also be nice to have so I don't have to make sure it's plugged in everywhere I go. A final nice bonus (but certainly not required) would be an ability to play some games for when I have downtime in the lab.

I'm not partial to any brand name for any of this. Price range is not set (thanks mom and dad!), but I'd like to keep it reasonable-let's say $2000, with an absolute max of $2500. Thanks.

Forget the battery life idea. Even with an extended battery your batlife is gonna suck ass no matter which brand you buy.

I'd get a Dell with a Core 2 Duo and a REALLY nice graphics card (REALLY nice for laptop is only "decent" for desktop) with 1 GB of ram. Should be able to get it for under $2k. BTW big laptop screens always seem like a good idea until it won't fit into your backpack or carrier and then you hate it. I'd get an average, maybe even below average sized screen.

I am ridiculously happy with my laptop, but it's a Mac. Are those possible for you with your programs? I got the MacBook Pro 15.4" with 1G RAM, 120G hard drive. (The basic version of the the 15.4"). When the 2G RAM chips go down in price, I'll add one, but they're too costly just now.

Graphics are beautiful and the processing speed is plenty. Battery life is pretty average, I'd guess. (I always have a cord with me.) http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...eQDD6HN/2.?p=0

You can get it cheaper if you're in school, but it starts at $2K without a school discount.

Cheer, Cheer for Old Notre Dame,
Wake up the echoes cheering her name,

aaaah... for some reason I miss that...

long battery life means heavier machine since that's the bulk of the weight. Dell and Lenovo (IBM Thinkpads) are the ones I have experience with. Both are solid performers and also easy to repair if needed.

good luck!

I second the recommedation for a smaller screen - then get a big external monitor. Then you'll have portability when you need it, productivity when you can get it, and you might even save money!

I'd bump that ram up to 2 gigs myself - remember he's gotta get Vista now, and that's a freakin' memory hog.

I agree with the battery comments. Buy a 2nd power adapter. Even if you can't leave one at work/school it saves mucho hassle being able to leave one plugged in at your home base. Leave the other in your backpack or car, just in case.

For a $2k laptop, 2GB is almost assumed these days.

MacBook Pro 15.4" 2.33GHz Core 2 Duos w/2GB are $2500 retail. Several hundred less through Amazon. The downside (for me) is the lack of ports. The BSD underpinnings and stability are a very welcome change even if you just run Parallels/VMWare for Windows on top.

For Windows only, give Asus laptops some consideration. They have the best values I've seen, especially through newegg.

Unless you're looking at using it as a true desktop replacement (ie you rarely move it) stick with a 15" screen. Smaller sucks for regular use and larger is a pain to haul around.

With the applications you listed put the most of your budget into the processor. 2GB is a minimum also. If you're looking at playing games just make sure it has a dedicated graphics card.

As far a brand goes, I've been very happy with Dell laptops I've worked with. Most of the other big name brands seem pretty good with the exception of Sony. I've known several people that have had issues with Sony laptops.

I second Jess's "ridiculously happy" with my new MacBook Pro.

Look: get the 2gb-ram version and install Parallels and run an instance of Windows right alongside your Mac apps. It's pretty cool having a copy of windows virtualized right inside your mac desktop. But it strains my 1gb MacBook pretty good.

So if I get a MacBook Pro and either run Parallels or Boot Camp to run Windows, how is the Windows performance (assume XP Pro SP2) for both programs and games? Are there any compatibility issues with drivers and such?

Boot Camp should run windows as if it came that way from the store. Parallels claims that most hardware should be fully supported with the exception of high-end 3d hardware. They recommend Boot Camp for gaming--and give instructions on how to use your Parallels virtual disc as the Boot Camp windows boot device!

I use a piece of hardware to monitor electrical throughput on my RC airplane--a very unique and specialized USB device--and Windows under Parallels ran their application, identified the device, and interfaced with it absolutely without hitch. I was VERY impressed.

My 1gb-ram MacBook gets pretty bogged down running two operating systems at once, but it would presumably do great with 2gb of ram or more. I'm watching the processes closely as it bogs--the CPUs aren't overloaded, the problem is that it's getting swap-bound.

Cool. So it sounds like if I'm really needing all the memory, I should just go with Boot Camp, and if it's just a quick jump into Windows, then I can go with Parallels. Good to know. Thanks for all the help so far everyone.

Actually, the memory constraint is much worse on the Mac side. Parallels claims a hunk of memory (512mb, by default), and uses it for Windows, which then rolls along beautifully inside its little partition. It's the Mac side that really seems to feel the hit of half of its ram suddenly being gobbled up.

I would recommend picking up a Tablet PC for school work. A convertable like the Lenovo Thinkpad X Series is pretty damned useful for taking notes. Open up windows journal and just write out your notes, doodle, send dirty drawings to friends via live messenger. Plus you can flip it back to a normal laptop for gaming/etc.

Thirds for the Macbook Pro