Best Laptop for College, $800 max

[aferrick]

Hey guys. College is around the corner so I figured I might as well start soul searching for a laptop.

Price range: Max $800
No brand preference
No preference on touch (worth it?)
i5 or i7, no i3
At least 4GB RAM, 8GB would be nice
No preference on the store
An SSD would be nice, though I can buy and install one on my own

Open to any and all suggestions and/or recommendations.

 

[ninaholic37]

What field are you taking in College?

If you're going to be carrying it around everywhere, an i3 or lower would be lighter/easier. If you don't need any Microsoft programs, then a Chromebook should be fine for most things. Or you can get a Mac if you want to look cool. Your criteria/real-world needs are very vague so ANYTHING at this point can work.

 

[lehtv]

If you're going to be carrying it around everywhere, an i3 or lower would be lighter/easier.

i3 doesn't automatically mean it's lighter than a laptop with i5 or i7.

 

[TheStu]

I suggest narrowing down some likely ones, and then go play with them in a store if you can. You're going to be doing A LOT of typing on this thing, make sure you don't hate the keyboard.

 

[ninaholic37]

i3 doesn't automatically mean it's lighter than a laptop with i5 or i7.

This is true. If I was just taking notes / reading PDFs I think a 11.6" would work. If you get the Surface Pro I would definitely go for the "type cover".

 

[aferrick]

I'm majoring in Chemical Engineering. Not entirely sure if there is any specific software they use or even if I'll need to have that on my laptop as opposed to the desktops they have there.
I'd prefer a regular keyboard as opposed to a "type cover" from the Surface Pro.
I'd also like it to be powerful enough to play some games, maybe LoL or GW2 in my free time. Med-low settings is fine, I'm not picky as long as it runs fine.
The weight doesn't matter too much, as long as it's below 6lbs I'd say. I'd build a strong back and calves from walking around with it all day
Lemme know if there's any additional information you need.

 

[dma0991]

Based on the first post, I would have highly recommended a 11" MBA or any Ultrabooks that works in tandem with a desktop in your dorm room. I think that it is far more important to have good battery life and lightweight, especially if its to be carried around campus for lectures, etc. Of course, this is just my opinion and past experience.

If you're comfortable with the weight and bulk, and prefer an all rounder, Lenovo Y410p might suit you.

 

[aferrick]

I agree, I think that the portability and battery life are more important on a laptop.
And while I do really like both the y410p and y510p, they are a tad out of my budget. Any suggestions within the range of $800?
I'm able to get an HP Envy 15t-j100 Quad Edition, upgraded to have 1080p and 840m dedicated graphics for $699. How does this sound?

 

[dma0991]

That's sounds like a good choice. You might want to do some research as to how well this laptop performs under gaming load and whether it tends to overheat. Seems too thin to actually have decent cooling performance.

 

[richaron]

If you're going to do any gaming on this budget it'd be worth checking out what Kaveri laptops are coming in the near future. And any software you'll need to run on your PC will either run fine on any new puter, or take hours/days anyway.

I'm waiting myself, and for the best combo of portability & usability I would[/have(/am-planning-to)] get a small notebook to lug around & plug in a proper monitor/kb/mouse when it's time to get serious.

 

[Ayah]

I'm majoring in Chemical Engineering. Not entirely sure if there is any specific software they use or even if I'll need to have that on my laptop as opposed to the desktops they have there.

shouldn't be any special requirements if you're willing to use the university's desktops. for almost everything, any computer programs required will be available in one computer lab or another, the remainder should be trivial pieces of software.

 

[gmaster456]

You may want to see what software any of your classes may require. Sometimes, having to go into the on-campus labs is inconvenient. Make sure you like the keyboard as another poster said as you will be typing on that thing a lot. MS Office is basically a must unless you want to use iLife or openoffice which could work depending on what you need.

The first laptop that came to mind is an Apple refurb MBA 11.6 for $719. Should cover any of the needs of a college student, not completely break the bank and will have decent battery life, something else that should be considered. Only thing it may struggle with is heavy gaming although lighter games will work just fine.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...nch-macbook-air-13ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5

 

[aferrick]

The first laptop that came to mind is an Apple refurb MBA 11.6 for $719. Should cover any of the needs of a college student, not completely break the bank and will have decent battery life, something else that should be considered. Only thing it may struggle with is heavy gaming although lighter games will work just fine.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD...-intel-core-i5

I just looked at the specs for the MBA. It's definitely smaller and lighter, but for $719 I think it's less cost efficient than the HP Envy I posted.
I'm definitely going to check out the cooling power of these thin laptops, though. Thanks for the suggestion dma0991.

 

[Wall Street]

I would recommend 14-inch models as the best trade-off between weight and screen space. 15-17 inch laptops tend to be over four pounds and big enough that you don't want to carry them around in your bag. 11-12 inch widescreens tend to have very little vertical screen space, which means a lot of scrolling when reading or writing. IMHO, a laptop is only worth getting if you take it with you, otherwise there are no advantages over a desktop.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of schools have PC labs. It may sound counter intuitive, but taking a trek out of your room and sitting in a room of other people doing work can make you more productive than just doing work in your room where there are many more distractions. Similarly, using a PC for note taking in class can be slower than pen and pad while also having the distraction factor or having a ton of apps and the internet at your fingertips. Maybe I am old school, but when I was in college, I didn't find a laptop all that useful for class. However, I did use it to write papers in the library when I wasn't being productive in my room, but much less often than I anticipated when I bought it.

 

[s44]

Refurb Yoga 2 Pro at the Egg ($740). Very nice screen, full year manuf. warranty, 13.3" and light enough to carry (that HP is a brick).

And yes, absolutely, take notes on paper, not a computer:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret-don-t-take-notes-with-a-laptop/

 

[aferrick]

Refurb Yoga 2 Pro at the Egg ($740). Very nice screen, full year manuf. warranty, 13.3" and light enough to carry (that HP is a brick).

And yes, absolutely, take notes on paper, not a computer:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret-don-t-take-notes-with-a-laptop/

I just read that article you linked, and it makes very good points that caught my attention. Now that I'm thinking of it, writing notes (be it on paper or on virtual paper with the tablet) would be better than just typing the notes.
But now the problem arises about which 2-in-1 to get. I demoed the Yoga 2 Pro at Best Buy the other day and it seemed a bit flimsy. Any other options in that regard?
Also, if anyone has experience using it as a tablet: Is using it awkward at all? It seems kind of big for traditional tablet use.

 

[s44]

Clarification: I recommended the Y2P not for hybrid use, but because it's the best Windows Ultrabook that you can get a discount on (Samsung 9+ is still crazily priced). Don't think it actually has a Wacom (or Wacom-clone) pressure-sensitive pen sensor.

But... oh crap, am I about to recommend the Surface Pro 3?

 

[aferrick]

I mean, if I'm not using the hybrid laptop for hybrid use... then I feel like I'm paying for options I'm not using (touch, flip-flop).
And the surface is definitely appealing, being a laptop in tablet form. The only gripe i have with that though is its hella expensive. Like really, the i5 128GB is $1000, wow.

 

[Machiavegli]

I got my daughter a Lenovo Thinkpad E431, and she loves it. It's relatively light, but it has a DVD drive and a separate video card. The battery life is good with a regular battery and you can get a supersized battery (which is heavier though) if you really want to have a long time away from a plug. Some people apparently don't like its odd combo touchpad with buttons included, but she's fine with it. The keyboard is nothing special but it's functional and comfortable to use. Around $600 including tax, shipping, etc. And it came with Windows 7 instead of Windows 8. (Don't know if that's still possible though.)

 

[Piroko]

Thoughts about using my Yoga 1:
Laptop mode is much more efficient for work, I only use tablet mode when I have to carry it while using it or when space is at a premium. However it is convenient to have the option. Same holds true for its touch screen (even in laptop mode, sometimes its just more convenient to touch click/scroll).
Speed is a non issue even for most professional programs, an i3 is absolutely fine. And anything that needs more will probably need a lot more.
Even with it being as slim as it is you still notice the weight and size.

13" is the maximum I'd recommend, 10" the minimum. Tablets without a mechanical keyboard are nothing more than toys. And a general tip for college, paper notes > notes on your laptop.

 

[aferrick]

I definitely wouldn't go smaller than 10" unless I was getting a straight tablet. And I'm fine with up to 15.6", as 17" is just waaaaaay too big.
Your experience with the Yoga 1 is definitely reassuring, but I think an i5 would be better for games, at the least.
As for notes, would paper notes also constitute notes written with a stylus on the computer/tablet, as opposed to typing notes on a laptop?

 

[Piroko]

At least with Ivy Bridge ULVs I was absolutely underwhelmed for gaming. About 700 Mhz is what my i7 3317u GPU is able to sustain, which is pretty much half the performance most benchmarks would tell you. And it's an absolute battery killer, ~2h instead of a more usable ~5h when not gaming. ThrottleStop tells me that its chip TDP of 17W is maxed out during gaming, so I doubt an i3 would do any worse, considering it has the same amount of shaders and a max turbo clock of 1100 Mhz.
I also doubt Haswell fixed that, to be honest.

As for the notes, it's both an issue of practicability (notes available even when battery empty, much easier to add drawings, handouts and commentary) and one of how you write. You tend to think more about what you write and how you write it when not 'stenotyping' on a PC.

 

[billclutterman]

best buy has a sale right now on MBA's.. $100 off. As a student you should be eligible for the additional $150 coupon as well. If not, you can just buy them for $5 on ebay.

So, 11" mba would work out to around $700 after tax if this helps. Personally I wouldn't want a mac but if I had to carry it around all day and depend on battery life like you will, I would consider it.

 

[s44]

The 11" Air has great battery but an awful low res TN screen. That's a fair trade at the $250 price of an Asus C200 Chromebook, but at triple that amount? No.

 

[billclutterman]

The chromebook is a throw away device with only 16gb of storage and a bay trail processor. It costs 1/3 as much but is 1/10th as capable. With the deal I mentioned he could probably sell his in a year or so and nearly break even. Of course he would also have the better machine to use in the meantime capable of some low resolution gaming with the hd5000.