Find me a computer, GTP!

HondaRacer

HondaRacer

543
Alright, here's the deal:

I'm looking for a new laptop. My current PC is a complete dinosaur (an old Toshiba Portege with a P3 500mhz, 192mb RAM, and a 6gb hard drive, circa 1999).

I currently run Xubuntu as my OS. I'm open to any operating system, though if I buy a Windows PC I'll dual boot Linux on it.

This computer will be used for school, (I'm a high school jr right now) and will ideally last me through college.

I've tossed the idea of a Macbook around, as those look REALLY nice. My only gripes are the price, and the lack of a right click on the touchpad (yes I know I can plug in an external mouse). Now I'm also looking at the Gazelle Value on www.system76.com, which has Ubuntu preinstalled.

So with that in mind, my question is this... what is the best laptop I can buy for under a grand?
 
If you take advantage of Apple's educational discount, you can get the MacBook for $1049 - pretty close to your price aim. The only problem is it comes with only 512 MB of RAM. About right clicking; you can use the two-finger right click in OS X, but I doubt the feature can be used in Linux.

That's all I can really suggest since I'm no expert with notebooks (never owned one). Going for the System76 wouldn't be a bad idea either, since you'd be supporting the open-source cause. I don't know if a computer you buy now will last you through two years of high school and all through college though.

Edit: I just checked out Gazelle Value. If you're thinking about buying this, then go for one of the Intel Core Duo options. It makes the price jump up quite a bit, but I don't think a 1.46GHz Celeron M will last you a few years like you want. I'd also bump up the RAM to 1GB. Even if you're planning to run Linux for years to come, the system requirements for GNOME, KDE, and XFCE will undoubtedly call for a more powerful computer as new versions are released.
 
Yeah, I would definitely recommend a Macbook. However, you should probably wait until it it upgraded to Core 2 Duo, just to make the most of it.
 
dougiemeats
Edit: I just checked out Gazelle Value. If you're thinking about buying this, then go for one of the Intel Core Duo options. It makes the price jump up quite a bit, but I don't think a 1.46GHz Celeron M will last you a few years like you want. I'd also bump up the RAM to 1GB. Even if you're planning to run Linux for years to come, the system requirements for GNOME, KDE, and XFCE will undoubtedly call for a more powerful computer as new versions are released.
Click to expand...

Yeah, a dual core CPU is high on my list of priorities. I'll definately go for that. The RAM is probably a good idea too. This thread is making me anxious to start working. I need some cash!

P.S. I absolutely HATE Apple for pricing the black MacBook at $1,499. It's just a color, why do you have to make the cool color the premium model that I don't want to pay for? Argh. :grumpy:
 

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