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Laptops for School

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Hello, I need a laptop for school and internet use. 2 of my school programs come with software CD's that you need to install on your computer, and that is why I'm stuck. My IBM thinkpad crashed after 5 years of use, and my netbook has not CD/DVD drive. The laptop needs to be reliable and last a really long time, (only a high school sophomore,) but also not be too much money. So, my question is, what would be the best laptop for my situation? Please let me know ASAP. Thank you!
 
This one has a *slightly* outdated (but not by much) processor, but otherwise it's a powerhorse. I highly recommend them, especially considering the price:

Hope this helps!
Best wishes,
Matt
 
I would think any name-brand PC laptop with a CD drive should work for you. Even the less expensive units likely have plenty of processing power for your requirements, for example this.
 
I would think any name-brand PC laptop with a CD drive should work for you. Even the less expensive units likely have plenty of processing power for your requirements, for example this.

Hmm, not bad. Somewhat sub-par for the things I use my laptop for, but it's not a bad one overall. Especially for THAT price!
 
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That link doesn't work now. Try this. It's a Lenova Model: N585 - 751027U SKU: 5887277 at Best Buy.
 
Use your netbook with an external CD/DVD drive.

You could create an .iso image of your CD/DVDs, copy it to the netbook then use an application called magiciso to emulate a CD/DVD - it works pretty flawlessly on my 3 year old laptop with a dodgy DVD drive.
 
Use your netbook with an external CD/DVD drive.

You could create an .iso image of your CD/DVDs, copy it to the netbook then use an application called magiciso to emulate a CD/DVD - it works pretty flawlessly on my 3 year old laptop with a dodgy DVD drive.

Daemon Tools or PowerISO also works to mount the disc image. I've done that a few times too--Daemon Tools is actually my favorite. Very easy to use, good interface. Highly recommended :)
 
omg that laptop price is ridiculous! $299!!! the processor is a limiting factor, which will impact performance greatly when compiling etc. (for games its fine :p) even some i5's struggle, i have an i5 laptop, and a c2duo pc. and my pc compiles faster than my laptop. bought latptop 3 months ago, and pc is 7 years old lol.

I use magicISO, also fairly decent
 
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omg that laptop price is ridiculous! $299!!! the processor is a limiting factor, which will impact performance greatly when compiling etc. (for games its fine :p) even some i5's struggle, i have an i5 laptop, and a c2duo pc. and my pc compiles faster than my laptop. bought latptop 3 months ago, and pc is 7 years old lol.
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I'm sure the processor would be fast enough for anything a high school sophomore needs for school. ;)
 
I'm sure the processor would be fast enough for anything a high school sophomore needs for school. ;)

He mentioned that he'd like to be able to use it for a long, long time though. As he goes through high school and begins college, he'll need something more advanced. So it's up to the OP, whether he'd like to buy a cheaper, lower-performance computer now that will last him a couple years, and then upgrade, or if he would rather spend a little more now for a computer that'll last him for much longer.
 
By couple of years i think it will last like 2 or 3 tops. Unfortunately when it comes to laptops, the new part value per dollar is an exponential rate. sometimes 100$ can mean that you get new components(less than a year old) rather than 3 year old stuff
 
He mentioned that he'd like to be able to use it for a long, long time though. As he goes through high school and begins college, he'll need something more advanced. So it's up to the OP, whether he'd like to buy a cheaper, lower-performance computer now that will last him a couple years, and then upgrade, or if he would rather spend a little more now for a computer that'll last him for much longer.
Unless he uses some technical programs that require a high level of processing power, I believe that unit will last him well into the first few years of college. At this time even low level processors are able to readily handle most typical processing tasks with little latency. Much of the delay in processing a task is related to disk drive I/O delays, which are generally much greater than any caused by CPU processing speed. With the constantly increasing performance versus cost of computers I think buying no more than you need at the moment and saving the money for buying a new one with likely more features and performance for similar money a few generations down the road is a good approach. But that's just my two cents worth. :)
 
Unless he uses some technical programs that require a high level of processing power, I believe that unit will last him well into the first few years of college. At this time even low level processors are able to readily handle most typical processing tasks with little latency. Much of the delay in processing a task is related to disk drive I/O delays, which are generally much greater than any caused by CPU processing speed. With the constantly increasing performance versus cost of computers I think buying no more than you need at the moment and saving the money for buying a new one with likely more features and performance for similar money a few generations down the road is a good approach. But that's just my two cents worth. :)

That's a good point. I guess the question is, what is the OP planning to major in in college? Most EE, EET, COT, and CE majors nowadays require several large programs that need a lot of processing power to run. Since the OP posted here, I naturally assumed he would be in one of these majors, but I suppose it's too early to tell. I apologize for assuming.

Regards
 
The OP stated he is "only a high school sophomore".

He has 3 years of high school and at least 1 of uni prior to needing a good machine and by that time it will be so so at best. Anything he buys now will again be undesired by the time he really needs it in collage.
 
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