(FORTUNE Magazine) – Personal computers are displacing books as the main repositories of knowledge on college campuses. But you need to do some homework. Check with the admissions department to find out if the school recommends a model. Next, ask if there are special prices at the campus computer store; in many cases you can save $100 or more by shopping on campus. But if the school has no preference on which computer you use, I'd suggest the works-hard, plays-hard Apple iBook. The one shown here has a 14.1-inch screen and costs $1,799. It offers four-plus hours of battery life, 256 megabytes of system memory, a 30-gigabyte hard drive, a DVD and CD-RW combo drive, and an ATI Radeon graphics card, all driven by a snappy 700-megahertz PowerPC G3 chip. The downer: It weighs six pounds. For smaller budgets and muscles, consider the $1,199, 600MHz iBook with a smaller 12.1-inch screen, which weighs a pound less. If you prefer a Windows-based laptop, check out Dell's workhorse Inspiron 8200 on page 152.

After pulling an all-nighter to finish that report, the last thing you want to do is fall asleep waiting for the printer to spit it out. With a 15-page-per-minute speed rating and a 150-sheet paper tray, the new Samsung ML-1430 Laser Printer won't give you time to doze off. And at $199, paying for it won't keep Mom and Dad up at night. Text and graphics are laser quality, at 600 dots per inch, and the printer has a toner-saver button to cut down on cost per page. The only downside is that it's a black-and-white printer, so color photos are out. If you want color, check out the Canon S330 (see page 156). But for most homework assignments or for fast printing of Web pages with lots of graphics, the ML-1430 can't be beat. It works with Windows, Mac, and even Linux PCs.

Some dorm rooms are so small that they risk violating the Geneva Convention. It's hard enough to fit a computer on the desk, let alone a 17-inch monitor. A 15-inch flat-panel LCD offers the same screen size as a 17-inch tube monitor but takes up only a few inches of precious desk space. Until recently prices for skinny flat-panel displays were high enough that you had a fat chance of getting one. But at $399 (after a $50 rebate), the stylish new Samsung SyncMaster 151v model is a relative bargain.

How I wish someone had invented the digital voice recorder back when I was in college (cellphones and computers would have been nice too). The Olympus DS-330 ($150) slips easily into a pocket and records 2 1/2 hours of class lectures (or over five hours in long-play mode). It has a backlit LCD screen for easy operation in dark classrooms and noise-canceling technology to cut down on ambient sound pollution. Back in the dorm, slide the DS-330 into its USB cradle and transfer the recordings to your Windows or Macintosh PC. The files can be e-mailed to any classmates who missed the lecture. Or use the DS-330 to send audio e-mail back home. Pleading with parents for more money in a piteous voice is vastly more effective than simple text e-mails.

Digital cameras aren't very useful if you leave them in your room all the time. The new Logitech Pocket Digital Camera is so small--not much larger than a half-inch stack of credit cards--that you can carry it anywhere. The $130 brushed-aluminum camera is for fun, not for fine art. It's basically a sub-megapixel camera that uses image tweaking to achieve Logitech's fuzzy claim of 1.3 megapixels. It also lacks a zoom lens, and it comes with just 16 megabytes of memory, good for holding a few dozen images. No matter; the images are more than adequate for snapshots, e-mail, and Web pages, and you'll look good carrying it. Bummer: It doesn't work with Macs.

Attach the $80 Veo Mobile Connect Laptop PC Web Camera to your Windows-based, Internet-connected laptop computer, and bingo! You can send video e-mail to the folks back home or videoconference with your sweetheart on another campus for a daily reminder of just how cute you are. (You'll need a second camera, of course.) Just plug the Veo cam into the laptop's USB port, install the software, and you're in the video business. Remember to remove your tongue stud before chatting with the parents.

Despite your best intentions, you're not going to lug a laptop around all day, dutifully taking notes in every class. Instead you're probably going to use the laptop as a semi-mobile desktop replacement, moving from dorm to library--or from school to home when you run out of clean laundry. This beefy machine is for you. The Dell Inspiron 8200 ($1,579 and up; check for special incentives) has a 1.6-gigahertz Intel Mobile Pentium 4 processor, a 40GB hard drive, a DVD and CD-RW combo drive, and a gorgeous 15-inch UXGA LCD display. Upgrade to 256MB RAM for $100 extra.

The design of these flat-panel Monsoon PlanarMedia 9 ribbon speakers is like something out of an old sci-fi movie, but the sound is also out of this world--definitely my pick for best subwoofer and twin satellite desktop PC speaker system for under $100 (just barely; the set costs $99). The sound is clean and bright but tightly focused, and each desktop speaker takes up less space than a three-by-five index card.

The key to success in college, besides staying awake in class and having smart friends take notes for you, is being organized. That's why you should have a to-do list, and buying the new Handspring Treo 90 ($299) ought to be on it. The Treo 90 is a Palm OS-based personal digital assistant that synchronizes with your Windows or Macintosh computer and displays your calendar, calculator, memo pad, phone book, and to-do list on a bright color screen. Best of all, the Treo 90 has a tiny QWERTY keyboard that allows you to thumb-type notes instead of having to learn the Graffiti handwriting alphabet. It costs $20 more than the rival Palm m130, but it's worth the extra money for the larger, brighter color screen. Unlike other Treos, the 90 doesn't make phone calls or browse the Web. But as an external brain, it's definitely worth remembering.

Students with higher GPAs (generous parental allowances) may wish to consider handheld computers based on the Microsoft Windows Pocket PC operating system. The new wireless 802.11b network-enabled Toshiba e740 ($599, not shown) lets you check e-mail and cruise Websites from anywhere on campus where wireless access is offered. It doubles as an MP3 music player and works closely with Microsoft Word and other productivity applications.

The world's best MP3 player, the Apple iPod, now comes in three models--for both Windows and Macintosh. The five-gigabyte version is $299, the 10GB version is $399, and the newest iPod, a fit-in-your-pocket 20GB jukebox that holds 4,000 songs, is $499. All now come with a carrying case and a handy remote control. Macintosh users can also store their contact lists and calendars on the iPod and listen to audible.com recorded books. Windows-based iPods come with a special FireWire (IEEE 1394) cable for suitably equipped PCs and an iPod-friendly version of the popular Musicmatch software. Rock on.

Okay, so the computer you really want is the gorgeous new 17-inch widescreen flat-panel Apple iMac ($1,999). But the one you can afford is the 17-inch flat-screen Apple eMac. By going with a built-in 17-inch tube display instead of the flat-panel LCD screen, Apple cut the price of this giant snow cone of a computer to $1,099 (be sure to check for better deals on campus). Although it's $300 less than the cheapest 15-inch LCD iMac, it has basically the same specs: a 700MHz G4 processor, 40GB hard drive, CD-RW drive, 32MB nVidia GeForce2 MX graphics, and 128 MB of system memory. You'll want to boost the memory to 256 MB, which costs $75 extra.

It's a veritable golden oldie in technology circles, but the RioVolt SP250 still can't be beat for listening to audio CDs on the move, especially if you have a CD burner on your PC or Mac. Unlike dedicated MP3 players that require all your tunes to be ripped and downloaded through a computer, the RioVolt SP250 plays store-bought, homemade, or roommate-borrowed CDs. You can pack dozens of MP3 or WMA (Windows Media) tunes onto a single CD-R disk for hours of listening pleasure. There's also a built-in FM radio tuner. Best of all, you can pick up an SP250 for less than half the cost of an MP3 jukebox like the Rio Riot or the Apple iPod. Amazon.com had it recently for $150. Don't get the SP250 if you're a jogger, because its skip protection isn't as good as an MP3 player's. (My choice for runners is the Nike PSA/Play, also about $150.) But for walking to and from class or just hanging out, the RioVolt SP250 could be the most versatile music machine around.

There are cheaper computers out there, and fancier ones too. But you can shop until the cows come home and not find a better combination of performance and value than the Windows XP-based Gateway 700S Desktop. For $1,499, plus shipping and tax, you get a 2.26-gigahertz Pentium 4, 256MB of Rambus memory, an 80GB hard drive, a DVD and CD-RW combo drive, a 128MB nVidia GeForce4 graphics card for those rare moments when you're relaxing with a game, a 15-inch flat-panel LCD display, and some Boston Acoustics speakers with a subwoofer. The 700S has enough power to herd you through several years of college.

If you're taking a digital camera to campus, make sure you take the Canon S330 Color Bubble Jet Printer along too. The new S330 ($99) is impressive for cranking out black-and-white school papers at up to 14 pages a minute, but it really shines when it comes to printing digital photos. With a resolution of 2,400 by 1,200 dots per inch, it zips out remarkably clear, borderless four-by-six-inch color photos or, if you're so inclined, high-quality 8.5-by-11 prints that will still be sharp enough to blackmail someone at your 20th class reunion.

Parents don't understand the physics, but sometimes homework goes best when the student is on the floor instead of at the desk. The Gyration Ultra Cordless Optical Mouse is the off-road vehicle of computer mice, using gyroscopes for precise control.With a range of more than 20 feet, the mouse can control the cursor from across the room. The Ultra Mouse will be available next month for $79 at www.gyrationdirect.com; bundled with a matching wireless keyboard, it's $99.

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For more back-to-school tech-buying advice, see Peter Lewis' Web log at www.fortune.com/ontech.