Need Techy/Laptop Advice

[Mizu]

I am looking for a new laptop as my old one recently broke. I very much prefer Dell; however I am open to any suggestions. My price roof is $1000, although the cheaper, the better (obviously). I am attending University full-time while also working for a small business full-time.

I am studying Accounting so I will need something with a lot of storage space that can handle a lot of software programs running at once. It also needs to be fast. Durability and a long life are also very important as I am pursuing a professional designation and will therefore need it for the next few years that I will be attending school. Buying a new laptop every year or two simply isn't reasonable for me. Security is also important.

I really don't want to spend a lot of money as I have very little as it is. Lol I've also noticed that there are a lot of laptops that do not have DVD drives. A DVD drive is an absolute must as that is how a lot of the software will be added.

I appreciate any suggestions or advice. I do need this laptop very soon (within the next month), so quick responses are very much appreciated. ^.^

[sirocyl]

Wut wuuuuut. o3o
I just came back to check some things real quick, and saw nobody responded to this yet o.o

So here's what I got for you. o;
First, lemme lay down some specs.
Get anything with a second-generation Intel Core i5 or higher. AMD are bargain-level processors nowadays. They're not terrible for their price, but they're really cheap, and might slow things down on the computer.
For memory, anything more than 4GB of RAM is fine. 8GB is solid, and 16GB is a bit overkill, but not a total waste.
SSD's are a nice thing to have, and make everything load up and run so much faster, but they get expensive in larger sizes.
Most laptops nowadays have a moderately-sized SSD in them, rather than a hard drive.
If a lot of storage space is needed, your best bet is to get a 1TB or larger external.

If an internal DVD drive is a must, get a Thinkpad. Something like a T-series. A good selection can be had for around $500. New or used, they're still reliable, tough bricks. They might look square and "ugly", but the minimalist, professional design grows on you. Piano-gloss finish laptops are often a sign of crappy build quality.

I would recommend, though, you skip on the internal DVD drive and pick up a small, bus-powered external. They're slim, can fit in a pocket of the laptop case, are just as fast as internal DVD drives, and are like $15 or so now. External blu-ray combo burners go for under $100 now, too.
Often times, laptops with DVD drives are absolute garbage now, meant for 60-year-olds who can't understand how to watch movies on netflix or something.
Also, most software is going digital-download, or are on USB sticks now.

The Surface 3 and Surface Pro 3 are neat little tablets, and dock into a keyboard, and have a separately-available desktop dock. They have touch screens and a drawing pen, and are compatible with a lot of digital painting and drawing apps.
Plus, they are RIDICULOUSLY powerful tablets. I have a Surface Pro 1 and play Steam, Wii and PS2 games on it.
But, as powerful as they are, they do get a bit expensive, and the keyboards aren't included.

The new Dell XPS 13 with Infinity Display is really nice, spec-wise, and looks nice. It loses on the DVD, but like I said, it's not really worth it to base your hardware choice around that alone nowadays.
These have blistering fast SSD's installed, but they're around 128GB for the base kit. I would keep things on a 1-2TB external, if you need them. Plus, it gives you somewhere to backup files off the laptop.

Don't buy the new macbook.

As far as security goes? Don't buy or use an active-scanning antivirus or firewall software. They slow down your computer TREMENDOUSLY, and Windows has a perfectly working firewall pre-installed.
Get MalwareBytes Free, and have it installed. If you suspect something's up, or you visited a site that you think hacked you, or you just want to make sure your downloaded games don't have anything fishy in them, run it.

Also, install Unchecky. It runs in the background and disables crapware, like the Ask toolbar, that's usually bundled in on installers. And make sure you don't mash NEXTNEXTNEXTNEXT on any installations of anything. Always take the time to look at what the options are, and what it's trying to install. You don't have to read the 90-page agreement, but if it has "Advanced" or "Custom" install options, look at them and make sure it doesn't install any toolbars or crapware.

If there's anything I might've missed, just let me know. ^~^

[Mizu]

I figured you'd be the one to help me. I actually thought about just sending you a PM to ask but wasn't sure if you were too busy. Rofl I very much appreciate it! With the price of the Dell would I be better off spending the extra money on an Alienware? Or would it be better to get the XPS 13?

Thank you for the help!~~ =^.^=

[sirocyl]

Alienware laptops look nice, but if you do some comparison shopping, you might notice that the specs are a bit cut down for the same price. They also don't have long-lasting batteries, owing to the beefy parts that they put into them.

Do you plan on doing a lot of gaming?

[Mizu]

No. I'm not big on PC games. The only ones I like I play on my cousin's Alienware.

I'll stick with the XPS. Thanks again for all of your help. I really appreciate it. ^.^

[sirocyl]

No problemo~ o3o If you have any techie questions feel free to PM me. ;D