Originally Posted by husayn12

Hmm k. Has anyone used a 15" laptop for school ... if so was it hard to carry around?

I have a 15" laptop and its not hard to carry around at all. Fits easily in my backpack and it is not that heavy. I've used a laptop much smaller and trust me it is really hard to see/type on it, especially if you plan on using it extensively for school work and personal use

Originally Posted by husayn12

Hmm k. Has anyone used a 15" laptop for school ... if so was it hard to carry around?

I have a 15.6" and fits perfectly in my backpack. It's not heavy. Heavy only really comes in with food + water + books.

I would highly suggest going for Lenovo if you are looking for amazing customer support, warranty claim and durability. But for that you'll have to sacrifice on the looks of the laptop, if that doesnt matter to you much. If not 5, it will definitely last you a good 4 years.

Originally Posted by husayn12

Hmm k. Has anyone used a 15" laptop for school ... if so was it hard to carry around?

If you're going to use your laptop as your main computer then get a 15". However, if you will only be using it for notes, then getting something smaller will be do-able since the eye strain and hassles associated with a smaller screen will only be limited to class use.

Anything smaller than 13" for use on a day to day basis. Just make sure to take periodic breaks from staring at your laptop screen by staring really far away for a minute or so and get back to it.

So I researched into the Dell XPS 15z and it seems like a solid computer ... does anyone have any experiences with it? Has anyone seen a computer that they fell is better than the 15z ... like a Lenovo (I recall seeing that in an earlier post).

Thanks you all again.

will a dell last you 5 years? my friend had her dell laptop for 3 years and it's dying now. can't run without its adaptor, overheats etc. I suggest doing a web search for reviews that other people have written on any computer you plan to buy.

also, my laptop is 13.5 inches and I can see and type just fine. It's comfortable and still light.
battery life is the most important thing though.

Originally Posted by ooburii

will a dell last you 5 years? my friend had her dell laptop for 3 years and it's dying now. can't run without its adaptor, overheats etc. I suggest doing a web search for reviews that other people have written on any computer you plan to buy.

also, my laptop is 13.5 inches and I can see and type just fine. It's comfortable and still light.
battery life is the most important thing though.

A laptop depending on an adapter is the result of poor charging and discharging of the battery itself and is usually the fault of the end user charging the laptop when it is at 50% when you should charge it when it is near completely drained. Another scenario is when you just keep your laptop plugged in and the battery if fully charged but you don't allow it to discharge for a long period of time. Overheating is the result of usually a blockage of the air vents or a lot of dust and small items being stuck in the air vents. Ask your friend if the above applies to her.

Also, what laptop do you have? I really need to find a thin, light but somewhat powerful laptop.

Originally Posted by herBs

A laptop depending on an adapter is the result of poor charging and discharging of the battery itself and is usually the fault of the end user charging the laptop when it is at 50% when you should charge it when it is near completely drained. Another scenario is when you just keep your laptop plugged in and the battery if fully charged but you don't allow it to discharge for a long period of time.

That all only applies to NiCd batteries, which form gas bubbles on the charge surface if you don't discharge them all the way. Lithium-ion batteries have protection circuits which prevent things like that from happening to them. Pretty much anything made after ~2000 uses lithium-ion.

Originally Posted by herBs

I really need to find a thin, light but somewhat powerful laptop.

Look into the Lenovo x120e. It's light, very power efficient, reasonably powerful (discrete graphics + HDMI), ~$600 and doesn't afraid of anything.

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

That all only applies to NiCd batteries, which form gas bubbles on the charge surface if you don't discharge them all the way. Lithium-ion batteries have protection circuits which prevent things like that from happening to them. Pretty much anything made after ~2000 uses lithium-ion.

All of my friends and I were forced in a sense to buy the same laptop for school and it is a lithium-ion battery but the thing I observed is what I stated above.

I don't like pointing sticks. :(

Originally Posted by RyanC

lolcharschars

don't laugh so quick. My pc is still going strong 4 years in. Mind you it was one of the first quad cores...

Enjoy.

http://dealzon.com/deals/lenovo-ideapad-y560-laptop

I've had a Dell XPS 15 for awhile, it is alright but heating is a problem. A lot of people seems to be recommending lenovo or Asus which is what I've seen a lot of too lately on reviews as being okay.

I generally agree with Ownginatos when it comes to tech preferences but do your own research too.

Isn't portability *and* wanting a gaming laptop a bit of a contradiction? Granted, I don't know much about pc laptops, but generally, gaming laptops are bulkier, and don't last long. I'd say get a Mac, but if you want to be able to play games, then a Mac wouldn't be the best choice.