Best laptop for a college student?

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The Thinkpad T530 has great build quality, offers a much better than average quality + slightly higher than average resolution display, and is decent for moderate gaming when configured with the NVS 5400M.

**Lenovo Thinkpad T530** (with the 15.6" 1600x900 display) through the Barnes and Noble Gold discount
- Sign up and sign in here: http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrary/con...snoblegold
- Barnes and Noble Gold discount T530 link: http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrary/con...ction=init (you will need to create a free Barnes and Noble Gold account)
- Start with the cheapest base configuration.
- On the configuration page, upgrade the "Display type" to at least HD+ (1600x900). You should not buy the Lenovo Thinkpad T530 in any configuration that includes the default HD (1366x768) display. 1366x768 resolution in a 15.6" display makes things onscreen large, and 15.6" displays that have 1366x768 resolution tend to have very poor image quality due to low contrast. But the upgraded 15.6" 1600x900 and 15.6" 1920x1080 displays have great contrast, and also allow you to fit more onscreen. The availability of the upgraded displays upgrade is part of my reasoning for recommending this computer.
- Recommended: Get the free WiFi adapter upgrade to the "Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2200", because some have reported issues with the stock "Thinkpad 1x1 b/g/n" adapter.
- Note: The Core i5-3210M from the Core i3-2370M isn't a bad upgrade choice. It may also help with battery life since it's IvyBridge instead of SandyBridge.
- Upgrading to the NVS 5400M dedicated GPU will help with moderate gaming. It isn't the greatest GPU, but it's a good step up from integrated graphics.
- Does not come with a Webcam by default. If you want one, you need to select the upgrade.
- In the cart, click the green "Activate eCoupon" button to get your discount.

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Note: There was an Acer model recommended here with a Core i7 and a GT 540M. Despite the slower processor (for the price) in the Thinkpad T530, the T530 will still take the edge in game performance (when configured with the NVS 5400M) because the NVS 5400M is a faster GPU than the NVIDIA GT 540M. Game performance tends to depend significantly more on the GPU than it does on the processor, and you should not make it a top priority to get a particularly high-end processor. The Acer also comes with a significantly worse display than the Thinkpad offers.

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