[karmyk]

BTW... there are two stores I trust wholeheartedly with online orders:

1. New Egg

http://www.newegg.com

They ROCK.. especially if you simply want to order parts and put together a system yourself. They ship quickly, and they have great customer service. I usually buy stuff from them, even if the competition sells what I want for a lower price.

2. Monarch Computer

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv

These guys are awesome, and I've never heard a complaint or a story about bad service about them. They test the heck out of the computers they build for you. If you're willing to pay a little extra for good service, these are great guys to go to.

(Sorry.. I tend to be anti-Dell... after dealing with their customer service for a couple of years because while I was in the military, we could only buy computers from certain merchants, Dell being one of them.)

[bsugaRN2b]

My vote's in for the laptop, lol! I have a Dell Inspiron 8600, bought it refurbished from Dell in 2004 for $700, and it's my baby, it's doing great! It's a 15.4" widescreen, so it's not too big, but not little at all, so it's portable, and it can serve as a diehard "desktop" when I need it to. As for outdating, as long as you keep updating the software, you'll be fine. A few things that help me out:

- You can never have enough space (in my case, I love listening to classical music while I study, so I have tons of music on my computer, and therefore, a 60GB hard drive)
- If you have the option, for the portability, if you have the option of a regular or long life battery, get the long life one (15.4" screen, and a long battery life of 6 hours straight isn't too shabby, lol)
- Get Office if not already loaded (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.)
- If you plan on typing a lot, get a full size keyboard, your hands will thank you! (Laptop keybords tend to be smaller, especially if it's a small screen size)
- Get a wireless card - everyone has wireless these days, so you can connect to the Internet while you study w/o having to stay in one place.

Can you tell I'm laptop biased, lol? Seriously, though, because I move around and study in different places, it just isn't possible w/a desktop.

~Adria

[firstaiddave907]

i like both the laptop so it can be portable but i also like the desktop because its always plugged in and you have to charge the battery. but if your looking for a brand name go for the dell because they have had great reviews and also you can customeize it how ever you want if its a desktop or a laptop.

[RainDreamer]

I would definitely recommend data doctors for buying a computer. Get it custom built without all that extra crap that is useless (that you get with Toshiba, Sony, etc). They will also transfer all your information, pictures, documents, etc. that is on your computer now onto the new computer that they build for you. Great prices too. http://www.datadoctors.com/services/newsystems/

[prinsessa]

I personally don't like laptops. I usually do my studying and stuff at home, so I don't really need a computer that is portable. My husband has a laptop that I use once in a while, but it is uncomfortable for me to use. The screen is much smaller and I don't like the button mouse (hurts my fingers) and it harder to type since the keyboard is much smaller. When I do use it, I connect a regular mouse to it since I think they are easier to use. If you really think that you will need to take the computer with you, then I would go for the laptop. If not then I think I would go with the desktop. Good luck!

[mona b RN]

I love my laptop. I haven't had a desktop in years although I think there are a total of 5 computers in this house. I suppose if I ever needed a desktop I could use one of those.

My son just bought a laptop and it's called a "desktop replacement". It is very powerful so he can play games on it. He is also a computer major so I guess he needs the additional power for that as well. Let me tell you though, you cannot sit his laptop on your lap because it gets so hot.

I say go with the laptop if you can. I love mine and I have become very accustomed to using the mousepad vs the mouse. Actually, I feel very awkward whenever I use a regular mouse these days.

Good Luck and have fun

[lisabeth]

Right now, I have a desktop, but I wish I could get a laptop. The desktop is a good one (Dell) but it really does take up a lot of space. I can see where taking my own computer with me, or studying in another room in the house would be Very convenient.
In another year or so, maybe I can give this one to my daughter who will also need one for herself, and I will get me a new laptop.