What About Netbooks?
Netbooks are a new class of ultra portable, low cost laptop computers. They sacrifice performance and features for portability and battery life. While these may make useful system for taking notes or working while on the road, they just lack too many features to make them really useful as a primary computer system for education. They are an option for those that are looking to extend their education computing beyond a desktop or larger laptop computer. Since performance doesn't vary greatly in this category of system, primary focus should be placed on portability, keyboards and battery life.
How Much to Spend?
Education is already extremely expensive and buying a new computer system just adds to the cost. So what is the right amount to spend on a computer system with all of the accessories and applications? The final cost will of course depend upon the type, model and brands purchased but here are some rough estimates on costs:
- Budget Desktop: $750
- Budget Notebook: $1000
- Mainstream Desktop: $1250
- Thin & Light Notebook: $1500
- High End Desktop: $2000+
- Desktop Replacement Notebook: $2500+
These are average prices for a system factoring in such items as the system, monitor, printer, accessories and applications. It may very well be possible to get a complete computer configuration for less than these amounts, but it is also possible to spend much more than this.
Conclusions
It is very hard to point at any specific system as being the best for a student. Some computers are better suited than others depending upon factors such as grade level, what subjects the student is studying, living arrangements and even the budget. Shopping for that system is also difficult due to the rapid technology changes, price fluctuations and sales. Hopefully this article has cleared up some of these things for picking up a good computer, but it is only a start.
This information should help to narrow down a search for a student computer. For more detailed information about selecting specific computer systems, I would recommend looking over the various buying guides and reviews. Also there is the "What Computer Should I Buy?" article that asks a series of questions to try and narrow down the search for what type of computer best suits the budget and uses for the computer.
