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[Zapages]

As you guys might remember that I got accepted to Pharmacy school and they require a laptop. They told me these preferences, I was wondering what would be affordable and that could last me for a few year(4 years). I do have tablet PC right now... But it take 1/2 hour to boot up and all and I have AVG 8.0 and Zone Alarm Pro installed on it...

Here are the minimum requirements:

• Any Intel or AMD processors of 1.5 GHz or higher is acceptable. Pentium models are recommended.
• OS 10 or higher operating system (For Mac[s)
• Windows XP or Vista operating systems (For Windows laptops)
• 1 GB of RAM or more
• Minimum of 40GB Hard drive or higher
• DVD ROM is required, DVD +/- RW recommended
• 802.11g Wireless compatible network card
• An anti-virus program with a current subscription
  
  Highly Recommended for Windows/Macs Based:
• Microsoft Office Suite
• External Hard Drive for backing up files
• Printer

My current laptop has the following specs:

• Intel Centrino 1.6 GHz
• Windows XP Tablet Edition with Service Pack 2
• 0.99 GB of RAM
• 55 GB Hard Drive
• External DVD +/-RW, which is pain to get it to work from time to time.
  [*}Anti Virus: AVG 8.0
• Firewall: Zone Alarm Pro
• Don't know if it is 802.11g compatible or not.

Also if I bought Office 2003 from the Microsoft's Ultimate Steal thing. Would I be allowed to install it onto a new laptop if I bought one for school use.

As for the price range something modest and not too expensive ($1000 to $2000).


Thank you guys.

-Zapages

 

[The_Inquisitor]

I'd look at dell and hp's lower range laptops since it seems you don't want to break the bank.

 

[zoku88]

If it weren't for the HDD req, I would recommend a subnotebook. Heck, you might as well get a subnotebook with a portable external HDD...

Any Intel or AMD processors of 1.5 GHz or higher is acceptable. Pentium models are recommended.

And that line is meaningless, since

a) GHz doesn't measure speed
b) You really don't want a Pentium in your laptop

 

[NovemberMike]

If you want something that will last you 4 years, I would recommend the Dell M1330 (for 13") or the M1530 (for 15") on the windows side, and just a regular macbook on the Apple side. I'd check if you get any student discounts so we can better recommend individual companies and corporations, and a better range for the price would also be good.

Also, is there anything important to you? Blu-Ray, a video card, that kind of thing.

 

[pj]

something's wrong with yer computer if it takes 30 minutes to boot up, try reformatting it. The specs on it arent too horrible, it should be usable for a couple more years if you can get it running well

 

[Zapages]

How's this, the Dell Studio 15 for about $1,623... I am just looking around.

As for video cards and stuff: I prefer Nvidia and Creative for Soundcards and stuff as I like to listen to music and play some games(Prince of Persia, Fifa, PES, Top Spin, Fable, and other old retro stuff) here and there.

SYSTEM COLOR: Midnight Blue
PROCESSOR: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5850 (2.16GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache) OPERATING SYSTEM:Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate Edition SP1
HD DISPLAY:Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
VIDEO CARD:256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450
MEMORY: 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 edit
HARD DRIVE: Size: 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE: 8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
WIRELESS NETWORK CARDS: Dell 1510 Wireless-N Card
MOBILE BROADBAND:Verizon Wireless built-in cellular mobile broadband (EVDO Rev A)
INTEGRATED WEBCAM: Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
BATTERY OPTIONS:85 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
SOUND OPTIONS: ExpressCard Sound Blaster X-Fi® Xtreme Audio Sound Card
FINGERPRINT SCANNER:Integrated Finger Print Reader
KEYBOARD: Back-lit Keyboard
My Software & Accessories:
ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE:Trend Micro Internet Security 15-months
PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE:No Productivity software pre-installed
STORAGE & AUDIO Midnight Blue 250GB eGo II USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive edit (optional as I could take it out and buy my own seperate external portable hard drive)
My Service
WARRANTY AND SERVICE:1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor,24x7 Phone Support edit
DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr edit
DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS No ISP requested edit
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
LCD and Camera Glossy, widescreen 15.4 LCD (1280x800) w/ 2.0M pixel Camera
Labels Windows Vista™ Premium
Processor Branding Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1

Thanks guys.

something's wrong with yer computer if it takes 30 minutes to boot up, try reformatting it. The specs on it arent too horrible, it should be usable for a couple more years if you can get it running well

RAMs the issue... Tablets take a bit more ram to run smoothly... Its my old school computer(had for 2 years already), so thats the problem... >_> *sigh*

 

[zoku88]

I thought you were looking for a cheap model

For 1.6K, that's a complete ripoff...

EDIT: Laptop speakers suck, so the soundcard doesn't really matter...

 

[thesoapster]

something's wrong with yer computer if it takes 30 minutes to boot up, try reformatting it. The specs on it arent too horrible, it should be usable for a couple more years if you can get it running well

This... (though I'm assuming you were exaggerating a bit).

As posted, I'd recommend the Dell XPS M1330 or MacBook (I love mine).

 

[Zapages]

I thought you were looking for a cheap model

For 1.6K, that's a complete ripoff...

EDIT: Laptop speakers suck, so the soundcard doesn't really matter...

Its more like 1500 dollars without the external hard drive.

Sound cards are important as I use headphones a lot... /err...

 

[zoku88]

Its more like 1500 dollars without the external hard drive.

Sound cards are important as I use headphones a lot... /err...

1500 is still a lot. I don't think that laptop is very good.

And even if you use headphones, they would have to be high quality headphones for you to actually notice the difference...

 

[Shogmaster]

For school? Nothing beats this:

LINK

- Tablet PC's pen input = keep notes digitally in your own handwriting, and then search them later via your own handwriting
- 1.6GHz Low Voltage Core 2 Duo = decent power and long battery life
- >4lbs weight = light enough to carry everyday and not feel like burden

My recommendations for customization:

- Keep the LCD @ 1400x1050 (which will automatically lock you into 1.6GHz CPU)
- keep the RAM @ minimum (1GB) and then order 4GB from newegg.com for $70.
- Opt for the Mobile Media base for $150
- Go for the upgraded wireless option with 802.11n ability


EDIT: Get the Office 2007 Home and Student edition for around $120~150. That has OneNote, which is like a Word + handwriting program that many students and professional use to keep just about everything they generate. Office 2007 Home and Student also has Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

 

[NovemberMike]

My Components
Jet Black
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 (2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
Hi Resolution/Bright, glossy widescreen 15.4 WLED display (1440x900)
256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2
Size: 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Dell 1510 Wireless-N Card
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
56 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
High Definition Audio 2.0
Integrated Finger Print Reader
Back-lit Keyboard
My Software & Accessories
McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 30-Days
Microsoft Works

This is more my recommendation. The important things are the upgrade to a Penryn processor (look for something with 3 or 6 mb l2 cache), the larger hard drive and the updated screen and the LED Display (which will have a better back light and use less power, along with having a higher resolution). The sound card will do next to nothing in Vista, unless you are listening to uncompressed recordings and need to be able to hear detail (ie. you do music work) you will be limited by the compression of the audio before you'll notice interference from the on board audio.

Also, for mobile broadband you still have to buy a service that could be as much as $100 per month. If you use it, go for it, but be aware that you don't just buy the reciever.

For an external hard drive, I would recommend buying your own. Go with something in a 3.5" form factor and you could probably get 500-750gigs for the same price.

Given what you chose, I would definately post here for recommendations before you actually buy it.

 

[Husker86]

You can get a beast of a laptop for well under $1,000 these days at retail stores. Go to Best Buy and look around, the one you posted is way overpriced.

 

[Like the hat?]

whoops

 

[btrboyev]

bare bones, but you can get virus and office cheaper this way.

a way better machine then what you posted.



XPS M1530
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5750 (2.0GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache), Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
Edit Item

Remove Configuration
$1,199.00
No interest for 12 months on XPS systems with your Dell Preferred Account!
Limited Time Offer! View Details

Catalog Number: 29 DYCWHN1
Module Description Description Product Code & SKU Product Code & SKU
XPS M1530 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5750 (2.0GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache) M575DHN [223-8912]
Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1 VHP31E [310-9764][420-5769][420-6436][420-8566][420-6995][420-7590][463-2282][420-9100]
System Color Tuxedo Black BKDMSAT [313-6439]
Memory 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms) 3GB2D [311-7822]
LCD, Color and camera High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1440x900) & 2MP Camera DXGAPC [320-6691]
Video Card 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT 25686GT [320-6082]
Hard Drives Size: 160GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive 160G54 [341-5631]
Software - Adobe Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1 ADOBER [420-7468]
Combo or DVD+RW Drive Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write) 8XDVDRW [313-5820][420-8183]
Sound Card High Definition Audio 2.0 IS [313-4783]
Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card TM1395 [430-2680]
Productivity No Microsoft Office MSONO [412-1397]
Software - Antivirus No Security NOAV [461-8389]
Primary Battery 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery 6BAT [312-0638]
Warranty & Service 1Yr In-Home Service, Parts Labor,24x7 Phone Support S1OS [412-0360][950-3337][950-9797][960-8710][988-5607][984-2350]
Dial-Up Internet Access No ISP requested NISP [412-0148]
SECURITY Finger Print Reader XPS M1530 FPRDR [467-2337]
Doms Camera and Color High Resolution,Black glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1440x900)&2MP Cam KXGTPC [320-6795][420-7715]
Processor Branding Intel Core 2 Duo Processor IC2DNB [310-8319]
Dell Printer Driver Windows Vista™ Premium VPN [310-8628]
DataSafe Online Backup Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr DATSF3G [987-4817][420-7092][420-7091][988-0099]
Collapse Configuration Details

Move to Wish List

Sub Total $1,199.00

 

[zoku88]

^ That's a little expensive too, for what you get.


OP: Don't bother with anti-virus, just get some free one online. AV programs that OEMs give/sell you are horrible, anyway.

 

[Xeke]

Get a Macbook!

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB memory
160GB hard drive
DVD-R

$1,299.00

 

[Zapages]

Tablets don't have built in DVD+/- RWs... Which then is a pain to bring an external drive along everywhere you go...

I don't I'll go with a Mac for many reasons as its really hard to play most games on it...

 

[tokkun]

This... (though I'm assuming you were exaggerating a bit).

As posted, I'd recommend the Dell XPS M1330 or MacBook (I love mine).

I agree, both are great laptops.

 

[killakiz]

Dell XPS 1330. Light, Portable, Powerful. Be sure to get 3 gigs of ram.

 

[Nitsuj23]

I was going to get a Macbook, but I was looking for something with a video card. After owning two Macs, I bought the Dell XPS m1530. I'm a fan of Apple, but the price of the 1530 was awesome. The machine runs well, and so far I have no complaints.

 

[Shogmaster]

Tablets don't have built in DVD+/- RWs... Which then is a pain to bring an external drive along everywhere you go...

I don't I'll go with a Mac for many reasons as its really hard to play most games on it...

Many Tablet PC have disc drive built in. The Lenovo does not (and that's why it's less than 4lbs), but you can buy that media dock, attach it and basically turn it into a heavier tablet with "built in" drive bay.

But you'll likely leave the media bay at home most of the time since you'll rarely use the drive on the go.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

I don't I'll go with a Mac for many reasons as its really hard to play most games on it...

How so?

 

[Zapages]

How so?

They are seriously over-priced... Plus I'll need to buy Office for Mac(School requires it) and find a good anti-virus for it. :\ Plus its been forever since I used a Mac. Thus I don't want to relearn how to use it. They look more cool then being practical...

Also I like either typing my notes or use my paper notebook... I guess I am kind of old school like that.

Anyway please give me a reason why a Macbook would be better... Also the battery life of only 4.5 hours with the dells I could a get a bit better battery.

 

[Agyar]

Macbook.

 

[Shogmaster]

Macbook.

This is the kind of insightful well thought out posts that I come to NeoGAF for. Kudos my friend, Kudos.

 

[zoku88]

Anyway please give me a reason why a Macbook would be better... Also the battery life of only 4.5 hours with the dells I could a get a bit better battery.

You're not realistically going to see that on just about any laptop with a dedicated card in practice..

 

[Zapages]

You're not realistically going to see that on just about any laptop with a dedicated card in practice..

what do you recommend spec wise and that would not kill the battery and still be lit bright. To all the Mac fans here, Yes I do know about Mac Book Pro...

Core Duo or Centrino???
85 WHr Lithium Ion Battery (9-cell) or 9-cell Primary Battery and 9-cell additional Lithium Ion Battery???
Windows Vista Premium or Ultimate?
Nvidia graphic card or Intel built in ones?
Hard drive size? 160 or 250 or 320 gig???
2 or 3 or 4 gig of ram... More ram the better with Vista...

 

[Phobophile]

find a good anti-virus for it. :\ .

No you don't.

 

[zoku88]

what do you recommend spec wise and that would not kill the battery and still be lit bright. To all the Mac fans here, Yes I do know about Mac Book Pro...

a) Core Duo or Centrino???
b) 85 WHr Lithium Ion Battery (9-cell) or 9-cell Primary Battery and 9-cell additional Lithium Ion Battery???
c) Windows Vista Premium or Ultimate?
d) Nvidia graphic card or Intel built in ones?

a) By Core Duo, do you mean Core 2 Duo's? If so, then you're confused. Centrino is just a platform. It uses Core 2 Duo CPUs...

b) Well, if you're that worried about batteries, buying two of them isn't that bad of an idea, I guess, if you don't mind switching them out of your laptop...

c) Unless theres an Ultimate feature you need, Home Premium

d) Depends, what matters mroe to you? The ability to play games decently well or battery life? Intel gpus arent very good at playing games. Nvidia ones consume lots of power. You should try to get an AMD one if you wan to game tho. They use less power.

 

[Zapages]

a) By Core Duo, do you mean Core 2 Duo's? If so, then you're confused. Centrino is just a platform. It uses Core 2 Duo CPUs...

b) Well, if you're that worried about batteries, buying two of them isn't that bad of an idea, I guess, if you don't mind switching them out of your laptop...

c) Unless theres an Ultimate feature you need, Home Premium

d) Depends, what matters mroe to you? The ability to play games decently well or battery life? Intel gpus arent very good at playing games. Nvidia ones consume lots of power. You should try to get an AMD one if you wan to game tho. They use less power.

Yeah sorry about that... I meant the Core 2 Duos...

What's the major difference between Ultimate has everything needed, but home premium is stripped and can't run all things from the little I heard.

 

[zoku88]

Yeah sorry about that... I meant the Core 2 Duos...

What's the major difference between Ultimate has everything needed, but home premium is stripped and can't run all things from the little I heard.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/choose.mspx

 

[Zapages]

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/choose.mspx

Thanks... I guess I'll have to go with Ultimate for the Media Center features and all.

 

[zoku88]

Thanks... I guess I'll have to go with Ultimate for the Media Center features and all.

???

Media Center is in Home Premium...

 

[Shogmaster]

Dude your Laptop is fine for school. You fucking need a reinstall of Windows and more RAM. You probably never did a fresh install of Windows when you got it, and you are starving the poor thing of RAM.

Stop trying top spend your way out of a simple problem. Spend $70 on 4GB of RAM, and reinstall XP Tablet Edition. Don't fucking get a regular laptop when you have school coming. You should really be using that digital note taking ability now, not typing away or watching DVDs or some stupid shit that has nothing to do with giving you better success in school.

BTW, do you have the Lenovo X40T? Taking a wild guess based on your specs.

 

[Nintaiyo]

Get a Macbook!

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB memory
160GB hard drive
DVD-R

$1,299.00

Just bought that a week ago from Apple's website. Got a $100 education discount, a free printer/copier/scanner, and a free iPod Touch!!!

 

[Vyer]

They are seriously over-priced... Plus I'll need to buy Office for Mac(School requires it) and find a good anti-virus for it. :\ Plus its been forever since I used a Mac. Thus I don't want to relearn how to use it. They look more cool then being practical...

Also I like either typing my notes or use my paper notebook... I guess I am kind of old school like that.

Anyway please give me a reason why a Macbook would be better... Also the battery life of only 4.5 hours with the dells I could a get a bit better battery.

1. If you're saying your range is 1000-2000, both the Macbook and Macbook Pro are in that range. (particularly with the student discount)
2. Office for Mac also has an student/teacher edition that's cheaper, just like the PC side
3. Don't really need to buy the anti-virus
4. The battery life on a Macbook is just as good as if not better than just about any average laptop (at least the previous model, which is what I have, is. Don't know about the newer ones).

Unless you want to do a lot of gaming but don't want to go MBP. Then you're better off on the Windows side.

However,

these guys are also right in that a wipe/reload of your system could still work wonders. You could probably still squeeze a little more out of your current system.

 

[Husker86]

They are seriously over-priced... Plus I'll need to buy Office for Mac(School requires it) and find a good anti-virus for it. :\ Plus its been forever since I used a Mac. Thus I don't want to relearn how to use it. They look more cool then being practical...

Also I like either typing my notes or use my paper notebook... I guess I am kind of old school like that.

Anyway please give me a reason why a Macbook would be better... Also the battery life of only 4.5 hours with the dells I could a get a bit better battery.

You are calling Macs overpriced after thinking about a $1600 laptop that has hardware well below what comes with a Mac?

You don't need antivirus software with Macs either. I don't quite understand the "look more cool than being practical" part either, especially since you said you haven't used one in "forever".

I love Apple's portable line (still sticking with PCs for my desktop). Go to Best Buy, like I suggested earlier, and get some hands on with all the different computers out there, including Macs.

 

[Zapages]

Dude your Laptop is fine for school. You fucking need a reinstall of Windows and more RAM. You probably never did a fresh install of Windows when you got it, and you are starving the poor thing of RAM.

Stop trying top spend your way out of a simple problem. Spend $70 on 4GB of RAM, and reinstall XP Tablet Edition. Don't fucking get a regular laptop when you have school coming. You should really be using that digital note taking ability now, not typing away or watching DVDs or some stupid shit that has nothing to do with giving you better success in school.

BTW, do you have the Lenovo X40T? Taking a wild guess based on your specs.

I got this computer through my old University. We get to keep our laptops after we graduate. Therefore, there I don't have original CD for the Windows XP Tablet Edition. Also the laptop is encrypted so you can't upgrade it unless you wipe it out and install Windows XP or whatever operating system. Plus I don't even know if its upgradeable or not. It was slow when we got the laptops and it still slow. Actually our university said sorry because it needed more ram.

Its an Lenovo X41 and heats up like crazy...

You are calling Macs overpriced after thinking about a $1600 laptop that has hardware well below what comes with a Mac?

You don't need antivirus software with Macs either. I don't quite understand the "look more cool than being practical" part either, especially since you said you haven't used one in "forever".

I love Apple's portable line (still sticking with PCs for my desktop). Go to Best Buy, like I suggested earlier, and get some hands on with all the different computers out there, including Macs.

My new University requires that I have anti-virus for Mac. :\

1. If you're saying your range is 1000-2000, both the Macbook and Macbook Pro are in that range. (particularly with the student discount)
2. Office for Mac also has an student/teacher edition that's cheaper, just like the PC side
3. Don't really need to buy the anti-virus
4. The battery life on a Macbook is just as good as if not better than just about any average laptop (at least the previous model, which is what I have, is. Don't know about the newer ones).

Unless you want to do a lot of gaming but don't want to go MBP. Then you're better off on the Windows side.

How do you get the discount for Macs when ordering online?

Just bought that a week ago from Apple's website. Got a $100 education discount, a free printer/copier/scanner, and a free iPod Touch!!!

Is that deal still on? That looks like a steal.

???

Media Center is in Home Premium...

Creating movies and stuff... By going through the list...

 

[NovemberMike]

Macbooks actually do offer good hardware for the money. The problem with them is that you can't get extras like Blu-Ray or a great graphics card, but they are solid machines.

 

[Phobophile]

My new University requires that I have anti-virus for Mac. :\

How do you get the discount for Macs when ordering online?

How are they gonna know? Do they inspect each and every student's PC? If it's that big a problem, download ClamXAV and call it a day. It's freeware. Installing Norton for OS X is worse for you than not running anything at all.

You get the discount online by clicking on the education link in the Apple Store and choosing your university. They don't require proof of enrollment for the discount when buying online.

 

[Zapages]

How are they gonna know? Do they inspect each and every student's PC? If it's that big a problem, download ClamXAV and call it a day. It's freeware. Installing Norton for OS X is worse for you than not running anything at all.

You get the discount online by clicking on the education link in the Apple Store and choosing your university. They don't require proof of enrollment for the discount when buying online.

There are two days where we have to come to university to get our IDs/Parking Passes/get our laptops checked and all other small stuff. :/

Thanks for letting me know about the education program they have.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

They two days where we have to come to university to get our IDs/Parking Passes/get our laptops checked and all other small stuff. :/

Thanks for letting me know about the education program they have.

Get clamAV.

 

[scorcho]

don't most universities provide highly subsidized or free anti-virus for its students? i know mine does, but that could be a factor of the ridiculously high tuition.

 

[Zapages]

don't most universities provide highly subsidized or free anti-virus for its students? i know mine does, but that could be a factor of the ridiculously high tuition.

Unfortunately no... :\

 

[snacknuts]

I got my first Mac ever at the end of February because I wanted something small and light for school. I was a little nervous about the transition, having never used one before, but I've been very happy with it.

As has already been stated, you can get a student discount on the hardware and any software you buy for it from Apple. Also, I think right now if you buy a Macbook you can get a free iPod Touch.

What finally tipped me over to that side is the fact that Boot Camp comes included with Leopard and I can boot Windows whenever I need to. Although honestly, the only time I've done that in the past 2-3 months was when I wanted to rename my Windows partition so it would be labeled appropriately on my Mac desktop.

 

[zoku88]

Get clamAV.

I use this as well. I like it.

Spoiler

Doesn't ruin performance like most AVs that OEMs will sell ya

 

[zoku88]

Creating movies and stuff... By going through the list...

I think you're looking at something wrong. Home Premium isn't the far left one. It's the one to the right of the far left. Ultimate = Premium + Enterprise, pretty much. You're not going to find a feature that a home user would use that's not in Premium...

 

[Ryck]

Got this one for the wife the other day

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8880874&type=product&id=1210982227895


Apparently its a really good deal specs wise

 

[Raistlin]

Listen to Shog ... he knows his tablets.




No matter what you do (even if it costs a bit more), for class usage you REALLY want the lightest laptop that meets your requirement you can afford.

On top of your books, having a heavy laptop would just kill you in your day-to-day usage.