College Setup: Desktop + Laptop

[thirty9th]

I'm leaving for college in a few months, and I need a setup that will suffice for a toting-around laptop and a dedicated desktop to keep in my dormitory. [b]I'm going with pre-builts from Newegg.[/b]

I'm going to be using the desktop for word processing, various games like TF2, Garrysmod, Portal etc., and graphic art (Photoshop).

Here's what I have so far:

[b]Total Price for both Laptop and Desktop: $1099.98 (USD)[/b]
+ Monitor: $1299.97

Dekstop:
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113127[/url]
Brand Gateway
Processor Intel Core i5-650(3.2GHz)
Memory 8GB DDR3 1333
Hard Drive 1TB SATA
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce G310 Graphics Card, with 512MB Dedicated Video Memory
Power Supply 300W\
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Monitor:
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236063[/url]
Brand ASUS
Model VH202T-P
Screen Size 20"
Widescreen Yes
Recommended Resolution 1600 x 900
Response Time 5ms

Laptop:
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115718[/url]
Brand Acer
OS Provided Windows 7 Starter
CPU Type Intel Atom
CPU Speed N450(1.66GHz)
Screen Size 10.1"
Graphics Processor Intel GMA 3150
Memory Slots 1 x 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM
Memory Speed DDR2 667
Memory 1GB
HDD 160GB

-----

Does anyone have any suggestions for alternates?

[sbradford26]

Build your own desktop.

[thirty9th]

I'd like to, but my parents won't go for it. It's their money, not mine, and I do trust Newegg to a high degree.

[StormHammer]

Considering this isn't intended to be a super gaming system or anything like that, and its not your money, I don't see why you'd be worried.
After all, any moron can put together a computer if you are just going to use it for surfing and study and such.

[sbradford26]

[QUOTE=StormHammer;21934569]Considering this isn't intended to be a super gaming system or anything like that, and its not your money, I don't see why you'd be worried.
After all, any moron can put together a computer if you are just going to use it for surfing and study and such.[/QUOTE]

Tell them you could make that build for a couple hundred dollars cheaper then see what they say.

[thirty9th]

It's not so much me worrying. I've replaced our graphics cards and installed RAM a few times, but you must understand that I've only just convinced my family to stop buying DELL computers. The likelihood of them going for me building a desktop is next to none.

[editline]Edit[/editline]

I would love to save the money and have the experience of doing it myself. I really just don't think they'll let me.

[.ediT]

You're 18 and they don't trust you to build a computer? :(

[Decaf Cobra]

You know I hate to say this, but if his parents aren't going to let him build a computer then they aren't going to let him build a computer. I know it sucks but theres nothing he can do. It's like if he says he can't build a computer and you tell him that he has to build a computer then you're just not getting the point.

[Jaehead]

What is a nVidia Geforce G310 anyway? That probably can't play games at all.

EDIT:

Just looked it up, it's a rebranded G210, which can't play games.

What about this one? It's a prebuilt for $800. (The reviews look pretty bad though.)
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229180[/url]

[Kabstract]

Tell them they are ignorant for not letting you build your own. I guess they enjoy losing up to a few hundred dollars.

Anyways, the desktop is ok, at least the RAM and CPU is. The video card should be fine for everything but new games.

[Maccabee]

Honestly besides the fact that you are over paying a little on the desktop it all looks good. The bottleneck is definitely the graphics card. It would be better if you could find a desktop with 4gb of ram, (anymore is over kill) and if having a lower grade CPU is what it takes to have a better GPU then take it because you don't need an i7 for photoshop and light gaming.

[Prometh3us]

I highly recommend you build it. Save your parents money and it's a really simple thing to do.

IF you can't then I recommend these.
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227243[/url]

[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229181[/url]

[thirty9th]

Well, after mentioning to my parents that we could save a few hundred dollars they're considering letting me build a desktop, provided that it's my own problem if it doesn't work.

I guess my question now is whether that little netbook is a good companion with a dedicated desktop.

[SteeleCratos]

Screw the netbook, just go for the desktop. You'll probably be able to grab better parts with that money anyway.

[Big D Duchovny]

[QUOTE=SteeleCratos;21940965]Screw the netbook, just go for the desktop. You'll probably be able to grab better parts with that money anyway.[/QUOTE]

Though I don't think he's planning on taking his desktop to the class...

[.ediT]

I use a desktop / 11.6" netbook combo and LOVE it

[robmaister12]

Go with this netbook:

[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220683[/url]

14 hours of battery life. I have a 1005HA with ~7-8 hours of battery, I never take my charger with me. It's definitely worth it. If you want 7 Home Premium, get the combo pack, or you can install Ubuntu 10.04 Netbook Remix for free.

I'm triple booting my 1005HA - Win7HP, OSX 10.5.6, and Ubuntu 10.04 Netbook Remix. And I have more than enough space on each partition.

[Within]

All I can say, to sum up lots of horrible phrases on how bad that desktop is, is you're fucked if you get that desktop.