AVG vs Norton

So I got a new laptop about a month ago and the free trial for Norton has expired.  I have heard that AVG is much better and more reliable, but I get a 50% off discount for Norton for being a college student.   
 
With that said which program is better?  I have used AVG in the past and I did not notice a huge difference between the two, but I have heard conflicting things whenever I ask someone. 
 
Any opinions on either program would be appreciated.

Both are terrible to be quite honest.  AVG has several false postive alerts.  Norton is a system resource hog.  If I had to choose between the two, i'd just use AVG as there is a free copy.
 
ESET NOD32 is the best as it uses least amount of resources and best results when tested.  I would suggest Avast over AVG if you want to go the free route.
 
Stay away from Norton and Mcafee.

AVG Free is shit it doesn't detect rootkits. But im guessing you where considering buying one.

I've been using a mix of AVG (for the virus part) and Zone Alarm as a firewall. 
And I've never had any problems with AVG at all.  
Oh well, there was this one point where AVG would not update at all but since the internet was down for an hour, that's kinda why :P

Yes I am looking for a full version of the two, or any other program that someone can recommend.

I prefer AVG as I find Norton a little annoying. Damn thing keeps telling to update my database and register for this and that whereas AVG is a lot more subtle. However, Norton, being a major company should mean better protection over AVG. I've been using AVG for a few years and I havn't had any problems so far.

If you're gaming, I recommend bitdefender gamesafe. It's pretty cheap, highly rated, and has a "game" button that minimizes CPU usage.

I don't claim myself to be an expert on these things but I've had a good amount of experience with both of those security packages and I found that AVG used by far the less system resources, but Norton was actually better at defending against viruses.

" Yes I am looking for a full version of the two, or any other program that someone can recommend. "

If you're actually planning on buying one then I'd say Bullguard is your best bet. I've had the trial version for a year once and I found it good balance between protection and resource management.

" If you're actually planning on buying one then I'd say Bullguard is your best bet. I've had the trial version for a year once and I found it good balance between protection and resource management. "

I was searching CNet and I came across a program called Avast.   
 
It got great user ratings and it is free.  I guess I'll give that a go before I spend money on a retail program.

none, get Avast!

AVG I guess.   Norton isn't free.

" none, get Avast! "

I agree, I have been using it for the past 3 years or so with absolutely no problems.

Norton is the best virus you can put on your computer, in other words never get Norton.

AVG is fine for most things (although it does have a lot of false positives) but the problem is that, last time I checked, it had a smaller feature set and wasn't as good at detecting some of the really nasty stuff. You'll probably be fine, but there are some viruses that Norton would be able to help deal with that'll stump AVG.

cough cough get a mac

Between the two, AVG is better. It's a lighter, less intrusive program. Norton eats up tons of memory.

Between those two -- AVG. I used AVG for years, but I switched to Avira recently when AVG kept listing iTunes as a virus, and subsequently, could not play any music off of it.

" So I got a new laptop about a month ago and the free trial for Norton has expired.  I have heard that AVG is much better and more reliable, but I get a 50% off discount for Norton for being a college student.    With that said which program is better?  I have used AVG in the past and I did not notice a huge difference between the two, but I have heard conflicting things whenever I ask someone.  Any opinions on either program would be appreciated. "