College Computing Dilemma

Hey FC! I need your help and opinions once again.

As many of you may know, I am heading off to the University of Michigan this Fall (I am leaving August 22nd) and I need to have some sort of computing device there. Below I shall list two different solutions to my problem and I am looking for your honest opinions - especially because some of you are college students/graduates.

OPTION ONE: ORIGIN PC

This option involves me customizing and ordering an Origin EON17-S with the following specifications:

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EON17-S
Matte Black
1920 x 1080 17.3" FHD LED Backlit Glossy Display
Customizable Backlit Keyboard Software with Three Lighting Zones and Seven Color options
Single 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (1.5GB of Total GFX)
Intel Core i7 3720QM Quad-Core Processor (2.60GHz), 6MB Cache
16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz (4 X 4GB)
Genuine MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Edition
6X Blu-ray Reader/8X DVD+/-R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive (No Blu-ray Playback Software Included)
FREE 256GB Samsung 830 Series - Solid State Drive
320GB SATA 3.0Gb/s, 7200RPM, 16MB Cache HDD
Integrated High-Definition Audio with THX TruStudio Pro and up to 7.1 Channel support
Wi-Fi Link 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module with Bluetooth - Up to 300 Mbps
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Ports
Media Card Reader
Integrated Biometric Fingerprint Reader
Built-in 2.0 Megapixel Video Camera
1 Year Part Replacement and 45 Day Free Shipping Warranty with DVD image and Lifetime Labor/24-7 Support
45 Day No Dead Pixel Guarantee Free
ORIGIN PC T-shirt Large
TOTAL PRICE (Before Shipping And Handling): $1,956 (I would pay for $500 of it, parents would cover the rest)

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OPTION TWO: DESKTOP + Basic Laptop

This option involves me taking my current desktop to school for my dorm and using my dad's old laptop to take to classes and my job (as a Computer Consultant).
My current desktop's specs are as follows:

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Intel Core i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz
16.0 GB of RAM
120GB SSD
1 TB 5400 RPM HDD
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX
Standard DVD Read/Write Drive
Dual 21" Monitors
Bluetooth 4.0
Windows 7 Professional
An Awesome Case

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My dad's old laptop specs are as follows:

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2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5800
4GB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz
60GB SSD
320GB External HDD (at 5400RPM)
512MB Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS
Windows 8 Preview

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If I go with the latter route, I'll have money ($500) to upgrade my desktop to a third gen i7 with a better graphics card and/or buy a cheap ultrabook during the holidays (most likely gifted by my parents).


Let me know what you guys think! Thanks!!

I'd go with option 2, unless you really feel like you need a new computer.


The laptop will be definitely a big help with classes.

As I finished my first year of College, I have to say that just having a good laptop is all your need and probably is easiest on you rather than have a Desktop.

I agree with Donkey, although I didnt get my laptop until my 3rd year of college :P

I think you should go with what we discussed and get that Alienware! :P

Option 2 all the way bro

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Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I think you should go with what we discussed and get that Alienware! :P

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I was seriously considering it but then the deal went away where I would have been able to get it for $200 off. So then the Origin became the better deal. Lol.

Thanks for the input, gents! Any other opinions?

The laptop I got for college (I move out in a week, FYI):

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AMD Quad-Core A10-4600M Processor (3.2GHz, 4MB L2 Cache)
2GB AMD Radeon(TM) HD 7730M Graphics
6GB 1600MHz DDR3 System Memory
640GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
15.6-inch diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit Display (1366x768)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Also has a 6 month warranty, Fingerprint reader, Backlit keyboard, LED backlit display, and some other small shit, with a case.
$689

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For starters, the first option may have a lot of fancy stuff, but IMO, a lot of pointless stuff as well. I've never needed 16GB of RAM, and I doubt I will for a long time. The only real large difference in specs between what I just bought and the first option are that you'd have the extra RAM, a SSD, and a bit better memory in your GPU. Your CPU is barely any better, and even your networking and DVD drive are the exact same as my laptop that's half the price.

Even if my parents were paying for it, I could not in good conscious make that choice knowing I could get all I'd need cheaper. Just stick with your desktop and your dad's laptop. The rest of the stuff in the first option are kinda pointless, unless your family is hella rich. Alienwares and the like overcharge...