[Quiet Man Cometh]

Having already gone through college, I'd say the most important thing for my computer (I used my desktop) was decent internet access, but I did a lot of research papers. It is extremely frustrating to have poor internet access or to have to fight with loading things when one has several research papers to do.

Weight is something to pay attention too, since if you school is a decent size, lots of walking will be involved and the lighter anything, the better. One might be toting dictionary sized textbooks around and any added weight is a literal pain in the neck, or back, or shoulder, or whatever one uses to carry stuff. That's one of the reasons I stuck with a desktop. I lived on campus so I left the bulk of my material at my quad and toted clipboards and note folders around.

The laptop I have now (because a desktop is too awkward) is a Compac Presario CQ60 (according to the note under the screen). It's a few years old but it's covered pretty much all my needs to date. I live on word processors and the internet, but it handles the games I play well enough too.

I can't stress internet enough though, if you will be doing research often. At my university which was quite large, there were lines for library computers and time was limited with no guarantee that one would open up any time soon and having a reliable computer with internet access takes away a heck of a lot of stress.