When to buy a laptop for College in 2012-13?

[dhruv17singhal]

Well, I'll be going to college this fall, intending to major in Computer Science, and I'm finding it quite hard to settle on the perfect time to buy a laptop for myself. The Ivy Bridge has just been launched; Windows 8 is set to launch around October. But my classes start in August-September.

August/September: I feel the market would be flooded with Ivy Bridge based models by this time. Moreover, I hope problems like the SATA controller degradation in early Sandy Bridge chipsets, will be weeded out by that time. The premium prices for Ivy Bridge would have reduced a bit. Windows 7 prices should be at their lowest, prior to the Windows 8 launch. And I am not a huge fan of Windows 8. (Moreover, some vendors may offer free upgrade to Windows 8.) This may seem to be the best time to go shopping. But wait...

October/November/December: Windows 8 launch is the big thing this year - most vendors will be focusing their efforts on preparing for Windows 8 launch - they will optimize the new models for Windows 8 + Ivy Bridge, neglecting Windows 7 + Ivy Bridge. The products available in August, may very well be inferior. Also, by now, HDD prices would have normalized.

Next April/May/June: Haswell (the "tock" in Intel's tick-tock cycle) is set to launch next year. By then Windows 8 would have matured.

Now my situation: I would require a laptop as soon as possible, but I am ready to wait if it offers "significant" advantage to do so. I'm not keen on gaming, but I want a powerful, fast and portable machine that would last 4+ years. I have a budget of $1000-2000. When should I go shopping, for the most cost-effective, yet "reasonably" future-safe product.

 

[profdlp]

Microsoft has a version of Windows 8 out now which you can try. I would look for a deal with a free upgrade to Win 8 (or enough of a sale to pay for it, should you decide you want it after trying the beta) and have the laptop up and running when school starts in the Fall. There is enough going on the first few months to make it worth it to have your laptop squared away before then.

 

[M1GU31]

I say in august so by the time school starts your prepared with your materials to do your college work

 

[dhruv17singhal]

To profdlp and M1GU31: Thanks for you replies! I take it that you mean it won't harm to just go ahead with my purchase, before the classes begin, since there would not be as much of a difference as to warrant going without a laptop to college. I too feel so, but, I wanted to confirm.

To profdlp: I did try Windows 8 Consumer Preview using Virtualbox, but I wasn't too pleased. Of course, I'll try it again in June when the Release Preview is released.