is this a good laptop for college? I ask because it has windows 7, it is powerful and does not needed to be replaced for a few years
1524407
it is a great machine for gaming and video editing and animation such as game design or auto cad. it would no doubt last for many years as long as it is taken care of. Viruses are more prominent on windows 7 so a good anti virus is needed but only other problem i good foresee for college is it is large and very heavy. not meant to really be taken around a large amount and after a little bit of time in your bag slung on your back/shoulder you would notice it very much so.
1755763
It's a decent budget laptop, I upgraded mine with 8GB RAM and an SSD, running Windows 7 Ultimate. If it's just a cracked screen you can order one off eBay and replace it yourself, I had to replace mine and it was only about $40 IIRC.
1634733
I was really surprised to find that the hard drive was not user serviceable.I eventually opened up the whole thing See pictures below.Opening it up was not that difficult. Just needed to be careful not to break some tiny keyboard connectors/cable.This is a good thin 14" laptop with DVD; the only complaint is this built-in hard drive thing.http://i41.tinypic.com/35hizhh.jpg http://i41.tinypic.com/27yoif5.jpg http://i42.tinypic.com/14l3faq.jpg
573614
So far it has been a great laptop, I preferred Windows 7 and it was configured with this version. I had a HP laptop and this one seems solid, besides the HP motherboard died after about a year and a key broke. It's fast, I'm not a gamer so if this is your main hobby I have no idea what it will do.
647299
Nickie this a all around laptop only thing it does not have is dvd drive so I suggest if you require a dvd drive go that route but if you don't require a dvd drive this laptop will handle your college needs hope my advice helps Matthew
630510
I've had this laptop for 2 years and I love it so much, best I've had. It has really held up over time, I think due to to solid state drive. Though it's been a couple of years, I am going through the effort to replace my cracked screen (I dropped it) rather than just buying a new laptop because this one is a real keeper.
2093632
Yes, it would be great! Because this device is best of both worlds. It can be a laptop for both high school and college students in class, and be a tablet to read e-books online. In terms of usability, it depends on the student. It may be difficult at first if the student uses Mac before, because this laptop has the new Windows, and it's slightly different than the previous windows software. The case used for the laptop is carbon fiber, and it is light. The quality is great. Hope this answer your question
42154
Nevermind - I've since put Windows 7 Home Premium on this computer and it runs like a champ. No slow-downs, slightly better battery life and quick boot up/shut-down times. I'm happy!
693727
Yes it is a very nice laptop for the price. The only problem is that it has Windows 8 as the OS. If I were you I would wait till Windows 9 comes out and then purchase it.
50404
Well this is not a laptop or desktop with a hard drive, but the memory is great for I think 2gb, it comes with, my son uses it in college for note taking along with Office(trial version) that you have to buy to keep it working. But its very fast email surfing the web. I added a blue tooth keyboard and leather case, my son loves it. You can store many things on it by using more then one memory card 64. Screen picture display is perfect.
1083398
I've always found ThinkPads durable. I've even been able to drop mine (not very far) and it still works well. For being very out of date it's not a bad laptop because it can still handle most tasks.
397503
7. This laptop is great. All depend on what you're using it for. There are not a lot of accessories. The processor is amazing, graphics not too great, but you never have to worry about storage.
306614
Hey. I'm a college student myself and here's my two cents. Wireless internet is very much available all over pretty much any campus. From personal experience attending Boston University I can tell you that for me it is available in all classrooms, the library, and study lounges and the student Union. The one place it is not provided is in the dormitories themselves where they also discourage hosting your own wireless networks, though I have managed to stay under the radar making the network hidden which is really quite simple. The lack of an optical drive could prove somewhat inconvenient. I'd suggest getting her the special external drive Apple makes to accompany it. That would take care of installing software and importing music CDs. The only place where it'd be a very serious inconvenience would be the inability to play dvds on the move without an external drive. The iTunes rental service is pretty neat but it is still an inconvenience. I personally think that trade off is well worth the benefits of having a lighter machine however. The Mac OS could prove to be a barrier if her school uses some Windows only software. The chances are working in a group she would really just need Word, Powerpoint and Excel compatibility. Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac is a great program which plays very nicely with its Windows counterpart. A lot of specialized educational software solutions these days are browser based so operating system isn't even a problem. I have a cousin who was the proud owner of a Powerbook who made it out of law school a few years ago. She raved about her experience with it and I never heard any complaints of compatibility issues. I think a MacBook Air would be a really great and thoughtful gift. Good Luck.
715004
As a student who uses this laptop as a gaming/school laptop, I highly suggest this laptop. The battery for me has been great. The battery lasts around 4-5 hours for me while actively using it.
1958889
I would say yes if there are programs that you need it for. It is basically a desktop replacement but if you are able to I would suggest leaving it at home/dorm-room so it doesn't get damage or undergo wear and tear because it's pretty large. For an example if your going to class I would suggest taking a netbook since you a lot of times they are available for a cheap price on Amazon and when you get back home or to your dorm housing use the big laptop. I'm just saying that if your able and would be able to have the means to do so. I hope this helps and I wish you the best on whatever decision you make. I would say yes if there are programs that you need it for. It is basically a desktop replacement but if you are able to I would suggest leaving it at home/dorm-room so it doesn't get damage or undergo wear and tear because it's pretty large. For an example if your going to class I would suggest taking a netbook since you a lot of times they are available for a cheap price on Amazon and when you get back home or to your dorm housing use the big laptop. I'm just saying that if your able and would be able to have the means to do so. I hope this helps and I wish you the best on whatever... » Read More I would say yes if there are programs that you need it for. It is basically a desktop replacement but if you are able to I would suggest leaving it at home/dorm-room so it doesn't get damage or undergo wear and tear because it's pretty large. For an example if your going to class I would suggest taking a netbook since you a lot of times they are available for a cheap price on Amazon and when you get back home or to your dorm housing use the big laptop. I'm just saying that if your able and would be able to have the means to do so. I hope this helps and I wish you the best on whatever decision you make. « Show Less
1077314
It should last you for a while. The last Dell I had lasted me for about 10 years until it became functionally obsolete and I could not update it any further. This should last you a few years. If you can afford it, i suggest you upgrade to the maximum RAM. This will help the machine run more efficiently and faster. If you can't, this will work fine. Also know that Microsoft will be discontinuing support this year for WindowsXP so you might want to start off with the latest version of Windows.
1016356
There is no reason not to get this computer, well, Win8 isn't as smooth as Win7, but really ASUS didn't do that. Ok, so, The i5 S56CA, it has an Optical Drive, big plus in the Ultrabook category. It has a top of the line WiFi card. Some people freak out about the 'chiclet' style keyboard, then they use it a bit and realize they like it. Honestly, the only thing I would change, will change, is the HDD to a SDD. At this price point you are getting a lot, a fast drive is not one of those things. They put the 5400 rpm spinner in to save battery life, an SSD costs more than this HDD but will save even more battery since there are no moving parts in a SSD. Yada, yada, You won't go wrong, unless you are a gamer, in which case the HD4000 will not stand up to the rigors of today's games and their intensive graphics. Writing papers and doing research? I don't see anything keeping you from that.