Student Computers

Note about the author: After spending most of my short life here in the Islands, I've finally moved on to go to college in Seattle - but don't worry, loyal fans, I'll still be writing the occasional story for the Computer Place newsletter! (though sadly, I never did write anything else for them - or haven't yet anyway)

Why do people get a computer? Well there are lots of reasons; everything from work to play with a few odd variations in between. But among the many reasons, there's one I've heard over and over. "For the kids." And why do the kids need one? To play games of course. But the reason they tell you they need one is for school, and this article will cover what to look for when buying a computer to help your kids out with their schoolwork.

The first thing to consider is if you'll be getting a laptop or desktop. You might want to ask the kids about which they'll use more. If your student is headed off to college this fall, a laptop is ideal, because not only is it (much) less to pack, but many of the better colleges make provisions for students to use them in the classroom and around the campus. For high school, laptops are less useful, as their presence in the classroom is sometimes discouraged, and there is a greater risk of it being stolen, broken, or lost. Also consider budget and how much power your student will need. A laptop will offer a reduced price/performance ratio.

Now keep in mind that almost anything will be fine for basic word processing. But what people usually forget when they buy a computer is that what you want to do with it now and what you may want to do with it in six months are very different. If you skimped in the first place, you can't make up for it by upgrading. Especially on a laptop, and cheap desktops can often be more trouble then they're worth to upgrade.

Laptops: In a word, Dell. All laptops are essentially made by three companies that you've never heard of, and they in turn contract out to the major manufacturers. What really sets different brands apart are their support, price, and customizability. Dell is the best in all three categories. So what do you want in a laptop? Well as I mentioned earlier almost anything will run basic office applications such as word processing. One thing to think about is how heavy it will be. Laptops are available anywhere from 2 pounds to about fifteen, and all different sizes. Heavier ones are meant to be mobile desktops - nearly able to replace a desktop computer in power. However they are large and heavy, and aren't really practical for a student who is planning to carry it with them all the time. Thin and light laptops though, are usually less powerful, and depending on the type - more expensive. One spec definitely worth considering in any laptop though is the graphics accelerator. This will often not be mentioned by the manufacturer because most of them use relatively weak ones. What you're looking for is a graphics accelerator made by nVidia or ATI. Both of them will make the laptop much more versatile for anything that involves 3D graphics. Also, both of those will help with DVD playback, which adds to the laptop's versatility by making it useful as an entertainment device as well. Speaking of entertainment, consider a combination DVD/CD-RW drive. CD-RW is absolutely essential, because students need a reliable way to backup and transport their data. I cannot stress enough how unreliable floppy disks are. Add DVD and it makes a cheap alternative to a full entertainment center as well as adding versatility, because in the future DVDs will be used more than CD-ROMs.

Another option to consider is Macintosh laptops. Many of their models are geared towards students, and all of them have the necessary stats to be useful.

Desktops: The advantages of a desktop are simple and broad. They're faster, cheaper, more expandable, and more versatile. If you're considering a desktop, there are two ways you can go - build or buy. If you decide to buy one pre-built, Alienware (www.alienware.com), Falcon Northwest (www.falcon-nw.com), and Dell (www.dell.com) are the best companies. Falcon and Alienware I recommend because they build their computers from scratch and can give you exactly what you want. Dell is always a great standby if you're on a budget.

As for what to look for in a desktop, I'll just do a quick rundown of some stats to remember. You want a processor that is at least 1000 MHz (or 1 GHz), 256mb of RAM, 20-40 GB of hard drive space, and a CD-RW drive. Invest in a good-sized monitor if you can - it will outlast the computer. Consider a Liquid-crystal display (LCD) if you're short on space. Don't be taken in by gimmicks like free printers or scanners. The ones they'll give you are a dime a dozen, and usually cover up some other deficiency in the system. Likewise, if anything looks like too good of a deal to be true, it is. Look closely or ask someone who knows about computers and you'll usually find where they're cutting costs.

Building a computer, or having your student do it is worth another three articles all by itself. But the best advice I can give is to consult some web sites and see what they have to say. www.anandtech.com is a good tech site, and with a bit of digging on Google (www.google.com) or by asking around, you can come up with quite a bit of information.

This could really be a guide to buying a computer for any purpose. But if you're buying it for a student, consider that they will probably be doing more work on it than most people would, and they need something that is versatile and able to grow with them as they learn more about it and their needs change.