New laptop thoughtsFollow

Too little information to tell initially. A couple of things to consider though.

1. A 17 inch laptop is too big to carry around to class everywhere. It weighs on average of about 12 - 15 pounds if you include the power brick. Thats in addition to your books, etc. I carried a very heavy laptop in College, I don't reccommend it. Where i'm going with that though is its likely big enough that you aren't as likely to take it with you to class. A high powered 15 incher with an external monitor will be worth your money.

2. Look at the Hard drive. If it says "5400 RPM" plan on immidiatly replacing the drive with something faster.

3. Cost is an important consideration as well. Are you getting that for under $600? probably a good deal. If its over $800, you can probably do better on the hardware side.

4. If you can afford it, get a laptop with a docking station. unplugging cables between classes is annoying and puts wear and tear on them. Also either way, get an extra AC power adaptor. I reccommend looking at somethign like a Latitude E6510 (the E6520's just came out so they should be lower in price now)

5. If you are still considering a 17 inch non docking station laptop, Don't get a laptop. Get a higher end desktop with a large monitor, and get a cheap netbook for taking notes in class.