Student laptop needed.

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Thanks everyone for the input.

At this point, as everyone has their own opinions, I think I am going to stick with the Acer.

Imo, it seems more than enough based on what I have been told to look for.

Like I mentioned, the Acer just has more than what the Asus offered and when I did a comparison between Acer and Asus, they both came back almost equal like with each one offering something a little different/better than the other but as far as problems/issues/support go, they are pretty much equal in that dept.

I signed up for the insurance plan at $25 a month, which I normally don't do with anything, but because it is my son's computer and the fact he is in school, I thought that is likely a good idea. It is covered if it is smashed/damaged or if any problems arise. With a program that backs up all his work, if his gets damaged/broken, he can return it and get a loaner and have all his material transferred to the loaner. I figured this is good to have, especially if he has a big presentation or an exam/project that is due soon.

Hopefully he'll/I will never have to use it but being 18 and in school, I happen to think this is a good idea.

Thanks again.
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Glad you made your decision.

Honestly, any of the computers mentioned here on this page (Dell, Asus, Acer) are more then enough for what he will need.
At the same time, having more power at a higher price sometimes puts you in a class with a better display and better overall construction.
So the best choice for you is the one that makes you feel the best.

I cant honestly say I would ever pay $300 a year for product "protection" but that is a personal decision for you and you son.
 
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Originally Posted by alarmguy
Glad you made your decision.

Honestly, any of the computers mentioned here on this page (Dell, Asus, Acer) are more then enough for what he will need.
At the same time, having more power at a higher price sometimes puts you in a class with a better display and better overall construction.
So the best choice for you is the one that makes you feel the best.

I cant honestly say I would ever pay $300 a year for product "protection" but that is a personal decision for you and you son.

Originally Posted by madRiver
$25/month is $300/year if nothing happens. Stop that and bank it.


I hear what you guys are saying, but trust me when I say I also contemplated this. I was back and forth with this numerous times but thinking of my son's age, the fact he will be taking it with him to college occasionally, the idea of it breaking or getting the blue screen of death prior to a project/assignment/presentation/exam, etc, etc, etc, made me go a head with it.
His course is 3 yrs and is very important to him so I want to do everything I can within my power to help him succeed. If it costs me a bit of money, so be it. It's not like this is just his personal computer that he uses for gaming and internet searches, snap chat, whatever and will never be leaving the house. This is a work tool and a very important one, imo.
 
Does that plan include data recovery and cloud backup? If all they do is replace the broken laptop with a new one and all school data is lost, it's quite worthless considering the price.

I would go over the contract very carefully in regards to data backup and recovery options. Hardware is easy to replace, data not so much. Especially on SSDs. Not too many companies can recover data from those and the ones that do, charge quite a pretty penny.
 
Yes, he needs to store his data in the cloud. This is one advantage Chromebooks have; they are cloud based.
I highly suggest your son respects the wonderful tool you gave him.
All the best to him in his college experience.
 
Originally Posted by KrisZ
Does that plan include data recovery and cloud backup? If all they do is replace the broken laptop with a new one and all school data is lost, it's quite worthless considering the price.

I would go over the contract very carefully in regards to data backup and recovery options. Hardware is easy to replace, data not so much. Especially on SSDs. Not too many companies can recover data from those and the ones that do, charge quite a pretty penny.


Yes, a program called Acronis.

Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Yes, he needs to store his data in the cloud. This is one advantage Chromebooks have; they are cloud based.
I highly suggest your son respects the wonderful tool you gave him.
All the best to him in his college experience.


Thank you!
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Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Yes, he needs to store his data in the cloud. This is one advantage Chromebooks have; they are cloud based.
I highly suggest your son respects the wonderful tool you gave him.
All the best to him in his college experience.


Both my nieces recent grads seemed to manage well with 64GB and 128GB SSDs on their MacBook Air's because the uni used cloud based Office 365 and all their work was pushed to a cloud pplications.

They leveraged Chrome with all their passwords/bookmarks/setup in cloud and used my Ubuntu machine at my house occasionally to do their Uni work by simply logging in with their profile. Pretty cool!

Good luck to your son, hopefully he learns tons and has a blast too. I sure did!
 
Originally Posted by PandaBear

No, absolutely no.
You don't need a 4G LTE card in a university, that's a waste and the data plan for laptop is going to eat you alive (they know if you use your unlimited phone card for laptop and will shut you off). Wifi is everywhere in college.


If someone has a commute, having 4G can definitely allow for stuff to get done. Anyways, I would find it very useful if I were to be in my situation in college again. And the cost is minimal -- adding an extra SIM for data-only can be $5-$10/month. I guess one could tether with a phone too.

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You also don't need a 4K display for school. I'm working and my job doesn't even provide that nor our circuit designer running Cadence, that's nonsense. We get 2 27" or 1 34" monitor of whatever resolution, that's it. There is absolutely no reason a student need more than people who work on this 9 hrs a day.


A Dell U2718Q / U2720Q is what, $400 for a 27"? Big deal. A good quality screen is a must. Trying to do everything on a laptops screen sounds like a nightmare.

A student may very well spend just as much time, if not more infront of a screen as a working person, especially in engineering.

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Stay away from ebay or refurber, the warranty is important for a reason, and stay away from the dock, they die a lot more often than the laptop (USB-C one these days), he won't stay at his desk enough to make use of it.


I've never had a dock die on me. And the dock has saved the ports on my computers, which are basically brand new. Unlike tons of computers I know of used by typical students that have very worn USB/Ethernet ports. Especially Ethernet ports, which are incredibly fragile. And of course most time will be spent at a desk, at home. Or at least that was what it was like when I went through engineering. Long nights/hours of assignments, coding, reports, etc.
 
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Notebook screens are real estate limited. Here is the solution I use, a portable external monitor. They start at under $100.

Notebook External Monitor


I love this capability on my MacBook Pro with recent ability to use a $219 iPad as an extra monitor or touchscreen.
 
Just to let everyone know, my son has been enjoying/likes his new Acer computer. He hasn't used it a lot being off for the Christmas break/semester change but has played/tried it out and thinks it will serve him great.

Thanks again for all the info/tips prior to me purchasing one for him. I appreciate it!
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