Do I buy a new laptop before I know if I need it?

Replace the laptop only when it no longer suits your immediate needs. Laptops depreciate rapidly, so putting money into one before you need it is not a wise investment.

Never impulse buy based on some artificial time constraint that means you gotta do it NOW, because it prevents you from making a really thought-out choice: always hang on to your old computer as long as possible because your money will always buy more later: that's pretty much common sense and you know that. You want a shiny toy. On the other hand your future financial stability is not going to be made or broken on the basis of saving a thousand dollars in 2008, so if you do foolishly impulse buy a shiny toy you probably won't regret it that much, unless you failed to do your basic diligence on the purchase and it turns out to be a lemon.

I’m wondering if I should get a new laptop. I find dealing in large dollar amounts confusing. Instead, I like to evaluate my purchases in comparison to other possible purchases. Would you prefer a new laptop to a 24" monitor? How about a (second hand) car? An iPhone? Part of a deposit on your first house? Through reimbursing them later, I could most easily get access to the money to buy it - but only tomorrow (because that much is over the limit of my existing credit cards, my checkbook is back at home and without my own internet, I’m hesitant to manage my money online right now. So I could have the money myself…in a week or two, maybe). Whatever you decide, you could just take your laptop to a wifi hotspot and connect to your bank over SSL, so I would take the time to make the right decision, rather than rushing it while your parents are here and you're busy moving.

If it ain't broke don't fix it! True dat. If it craps out on you than go buy a new one but the specs you're running (1.5, 1 gb of RAM) are plenty fine for almost any application out right now, if it's unbearably slow with your new school programs than upgrade to 2gb ram, won't cost you more than 50-75 bucks and you'll probably run it just fine. I'm sure you're law school wouldn't require you to use a program that can only be run on a super computer, if they did than that's just mean.

I’m eyeing the Sony Vaio FW If you're eyeing a Sony.. Well, the only reason to look at a Sony is because style is more important than function. More memory and dual cores are always good things, but you don't have to spend $1000 to get that in a laptop (I spent $400 a while ago). I agree that you should have at least two machines so that you have a backup, but that other machine shouldn't be another laptop (it is much easier and cheaper to beg borrow or steal working parts for a desktop to keep you going while you work out problems).

I say hold on to the laptop you have. The question you should ask yourself is: What will the new laptop do that my current laptop won't? You're going to run the exact same software and do the exact same tasks. Buy a new laptop when you run into performance or other problems, not just because you want to. If you do need to buy something new in 6 months, you'll get a better laptop for less money then. Also, there is little to nothing wrong with Vista. 90% of the complaining you hear is people parroting what other people have already said. That being said, don't buy a new laptop just to get Vista.

So you've got appliance A which works fine, maybe isn't as new and shiny as appliance B, which will work only a little better and you want us to tell you whether you should buy appliance B when your money is already tight? Something tells me you've already got your mind made up to buy the newer laptop and you're just hoping enough of us won't come along to scold you. How old are you? Why don't you run this question by your parents and see what they say. FACT: there will always be a "deal" on some laptop. You'll always be able to find one that is on sale, or discounted, or factory refurbished, or whatever. So, you should not feel any pressure to buy this laptop "because it's a good deal." (HINT: laptops bought at retail stores are almost never a good deal compared to online purchases anyway...) FACT: Your currently laptop works fine. And you haven't even started class yet, so you don't even know if it won't be a good fit for school. So, you have no justification for replacing it on the grounds that it's not up to snuff. FACT: A new laptop will only be marginally better than what you have now. It maybe a little faster, with a bigger screen, but those things are of very minuscule value to most people. FACT: You can't afford it. And even if you could it would still be a foolish waste of $1,000 because as established above you don't have a justification. Save your money. The longer you use your current laptop the most computer you'll get for $1,000 when (and if) it eventually dies. You're in a one-year grad program? Use your laptop for another year then reward yourself for completing your program with a new laptop next year - preferably after you land a job.

Through reimbursing them later, I could most easily get access to the money to buy it - but only tomorrow (because that much is over the limit of my existing credit cards, my checkbook is back at home and without my own internet, I’m hesitant to manage my money online right now. So I could have the money myself…in a week or two, maybe). Given how much I’m into technology and how much I’ll be working on the laptop, I’m not sure that I’ll be able to resist. You do not have the money to buy the laptop and have no real appreciable reason to buy it beyond wanting something new and cool. If a Vista-enabled laptop were necessary for your graduate program, they would have told you so; as it is, it sounds like you're looking for excuses to make a consumerist splurge with no real reason to do so. Hey, I sympathize. A friend of mine showed me his http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_PC and I've been jonesing for one since. However, since I don't have an extra $400 to throw away, and have no reason to buy one, I'm not going to. Live within your means, especially since you're moving into a new place--really, it's good to have a nice cushion for those things you've forgotten to get for the new place, which will invariably surface within a few weeks.

Solution: 1- Get ready access to your money. Put the laptop cash into a savings account. Sure, you'll only get 1% off of it. But that's way more than the instant loss you'll take when you buy a new computer that you don't need to. 2- Back your stuff up. 3- Buy a new computer when the old one breaks.