Re: Best Cost/Quality Desktop system for a college freshman

[daparnin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I'll also vote for the laptop.  David suggested a Dell Latitude D-630.  I 
use one of those at work and it's performed well.  When I was shopping for 
a personal laptop last year I chose a Dell D-830 over the 630 just for the 
bigger screen real estate.  I'm glad that I went that route.  The Dell's 
seem to weigh a bit more than cheaper brands but if you went with the 
wheeled case as was previously suggested then it shouldn't be an issue. 
Even if he doesn't take it anywhere you can still hook up an external 
keyboard, mouse, and if you like, a monitor to it for use like a desktop. 
That's what I do with my work laptop.  The disadvantages are that disk 
capacity is usually a bit lower in laptops.  External USB drives are cheap 
and address that issue.

A primary reason that I like my Dells is because they have non-glare 
screens.  Many laptops today have "bright color" screens that are highly 
reflective which to me is really distracting from getting work done.  I've 
got enough distractions that I didn't need any more.


Dave Parnin