Best back-to-school laptops

Best laptops for students

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(Money Magazine) -- If your kid is heading to college this fall, you may be feeling pretty protective of your wallet. But equipping your offspring with one of the cut-rate laptops in those back-to-school fliers is a false economy.

"You can't expect a $500 laptop to last four years," says Yancy Phillips, director of IT user services at Indiana State University.

For a model that goes the distance, Phillips says, expect to spend around $1,000. Take this Laptop Shopping 101 course to find the right notebook for your collegian. Mom and Dad, you may want one for yourself too.

See what the school suggests. Most universities publish minimum hardware recommendations on their websites, says Kenneth Green of the Campus Computing Project, a research organization. Some name specific models that work well on the network and that IT people are trained to support. Needs may differ by major, so have your kid check with his department.

Think beyond freshman year. The configurations colleges suggest are normally meant to see students through four years of school. Thus they generally include an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive. Skimping now could cost you another laptop later.

Buy from our picks ... if the college doesn't specify models. They're good values and meet most schools' standards. Just be sure to get the specs listed.

Campus store (if the school has one). On-campus computer stores typically yield good values - 10% to 20% under retail - thanks to bulk purchasing, says Kevin Bailey, an IT director for University of Missouri at Columbia. But what really puts them ahead of, say, Best Buy: Campus stores offer onsite support and repairs.

Online (if the college has no store). Because you're looking for specific specs, it pays to buy direct. Most colleges that don't have campus computer stores do have online discounts with major manufacturers. Check those links. But also visit the small-biz sections of the makers' sites, where models are sometimes cheaper.

Most extended warranties aren't worth the cost. But in this case consider the user, who'll tote the notebook everywhere and use it as a beer coaster. Buy three years of coverage, plus damage protection, from the maker.

"If it breaks after that, you'll want to replace it with more current technology," says Allen Gwinn, IT director at Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business.

Tip: In 2009 and 2010 you can pay for a computer from 529 college-savings-plan funds even if the computer isn't required, says Mark Kantrowitz of FinAid.org.

High schools generally don't recommend specific computer models. So what should you buy when your kid comes begging?

The functions most teens use - word processing, web browsing, e-mail - don't require a very powerful computer, says Ann Flynn, director of education technology for the National School Boards Association. So consider a netbook, one of those mini-laptops that often weigh three pounds or less and cost as little as $200, she suggests. Bonus: With such low price points, there's no reason to buy an extended warranty. (Besides, your teen will need a more powerful system by college anyway.)

Best bet: Asus EEEPC 1000HE; $399. It's rated for 9½ hours of battery life, it has a solid chassis and a comfortable keyboard, and it is faster than many of its peers.