best dell laptop for students?

It really depends on a lot of things.

Does this student value portability or power? Does he need long battery life or need to run heavy 3D apps (like engineering students).

Also, saying ur on a "student" budget doesnt mean crap. I'm a student, and I myself couldn't afford a $300 machine. But my roomate just bought a $2500 alienware all on his money. So you have to define a student budget.

For example, if the student has a high budget and needs portability I would say the xps 1210. But if their budget is low then the 1405 is better.

If the student needs power then I would say a 1705 would be good, or 1505 if on a tighter budget.

So lots of holes there, please be more specific.

Really this question is almost impossible to answer. There are way to many options and requirements that will differ for different students. You have a hard project to work on

i agree with adinu and cstradling. if there was one "best" dell laptop for students on a student budget, wouldn't you see almsot everyone with that same one? because we don't see that (or at least i don't, and where i go, it seems like there is about 1 laptop per person) i doubt there is a best. if you broaden it to "most common", i'd say the inspiron 15.4" and 17" models (both the older and newer) would be up there, as they are more suited for the generic person, or can be customized suitably for most users, and can generally be cheaper. some might get the latitudes if they want it a bit more durable or buy it through the school (i.e. discount) or just like the "professional" look a bit more. gamers will lean towards the XPS line (typically). and some engineering will go for the precisions, but that is less common, though I have one, and i'm in engineering, and at this stage, it really doesn't make all that much of a difference in terms of the software i use and the level of the work i have to do with it. it all really boils down to whether the user is going to be using it a lot (maybe will spend a bit more on it), transporting it a lot (buy a more durable one, or a smaller one), using it as a DTR, gaming, etc. basically, there is no "best" but more often a "typical."

also, since the laptop models change every year or so, it's hard to have a "best" or "fills the needs" because i would argue that for a lot of students, a pentium M 1.6ghz in a 15.4" wxga is good enough, and that could have been had in a inspiron 6000 almost 2 years ago.

Any of the dell notebooks could fit a students profile like others suggest you need to be specific int he type of student this way you can break down on the models and configurations. One thing is definetly sure 3-4 Year warranty.

I purchase laptops for my company and I really like the D620 for a good combo of portability and screen size. I'm not sure which is the equivalent Inspiron model, but I tend to prefer Latitudes anyway. For myself, I have a Dell M1710 XPS since I like to game when I'm on the road. For regular business use, I usually purchase either D820's or D620's or whatever the current model is.

But these other guys are right--you need to nail down exactly what you want or more importantly, what you can afford.

I think that with many students needing different specs on laptops you can make your project interesting. i.e. break it down by criteria, organize it through diff majors, short term vs long term investment, screen size/portability, student budget (usually what it comes down to), etc...