Good Laptops For A High School Graduate (hard drive, operating system, keyboard)

[theguyfrompluto]

My son just graduated high school and wants to find a good college. He will be moving to the one that he gets accepted into and likes. For a gift, he wants a laptop. Which laptop will be good for him? He dosent want an Apple. He needs a fast computer for research.

Also, he needs it for college. What software should I get him? Should I get him MS Office? Another thing is antivirus software. This is the software he likes...

Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013
Webroot Secure Anywhere
Adobe Photoshop
Windows 8

Are there any more software and should I change any of the ones he wants. I am wiling to spend $2500 max.

[davebarnes]

He (your son) should find out what computers (operating systems) his new college supports/advocates/accepts.

Your son is lying: No one likes Webroot Secure Anywhere. Well, Edward Snowden maybe.

[irman]

2500 budget ???
Dang, I looked at my wife and mentioned that, and she said, hmmm ... we both graduated without Google !

Back to OP question>
Get him something decent for less than 800 green ones.
And then buy him a nice LCD or whatever 24 - 27 inch flat panel TV.
Load it with MS Office, MS Security Essentials and Malwarebytes.
Then later on he can add whatever his Uni requires.

*If* he is serious about studying, he does NOT need anything more !
I did not say *when* ...

[jaypee]

"He needs a fast computer for research. "

Huh? He hasn't even picked out a college or major yet so what is he Googl.... er, researching?
MS Office is what he needs and he can get anti-virus for free. I'd also wait on purchasing a $500 Adobe Photoshop package.

[NJBest]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

No one likes Webroot Secure Anywhere. Well, Edward Snowden maybe.

Well, it sure as hell beats this:

Originally Posted by irman

Load it with... MS Security Essentials...

AV-TEST - The Independent IT-Security Institute: Jan/Feb 2013

[Trucker7]

If you're willing to spend $2,500, you'll have no problems whatsoever in finding a good laptop. Pretty much any laptop north of $1,000 will meet and exceed your son needs for college.

[NJBest]

There's two reasonable mainstream laptops. Macbooks and ThinkPads. Your son has already stated he doesn't want a Macbook, so that leaves ThinkPads.

If he needs a really powerful ThinkPad and uses photoshop in a manner that requires a good screen, then he's pretty much limited to the ThinkPad W series laptops. These are their most powerful, workstation-level laptops. Prices for the ThinkPad W530 start around $1200 and the new W540 that will be replacing the W530 is slated to come out within a week or two.

Ofcourse, the most powerful laptops are not going to be the lightest and smallest. I urge you to look across the entire ThinkPad T,X and W lines to find the model that best fits your son's needs/preferences.

- Windows 8 has a free upgrade to Windows 8.1. Most certainly worth it.
- Many schools give their students access to MS Office for free or at a discount. Double check with the school he will be attending before shelling out $$ for it. Also, consider Office 365 licensing. It may or may not be better suited for your family overall.
- Reguarding antivirus, check out this site: AV-TEST - AV-TEST - The Independent IT-Security Institute: Jan/Feb 2013
- Photoshop is expensive, but there is no reasonable alternative. Check to see if they have student discounts.

There really isn't much else in terms of what software to purchase without knowing his exact use-cases.

[thelopez2]

Things to consider
1) Screen size
2) Battery Life
3) Weight

I'd recommend a solid state hard drive for durability, some type of lojack security, cellular wireless data, and a cable lock. He might not want a solid state hard drive for all of his music and movies.

Over spending on a laptop might actually be detrimental to usability.

You'll end up spending more on software than hardware. Students save hundreds on adobe products. $1000 will get a good , portable , windows 8 laptop with a touch screen and removable keyboard. Anything above that is for extra power, lighter unit, software. A basic laptop is around $400.

You might be able to get an Adobe discount while in high school too.