Laptop suggestions for son's 2nd year univer. computer science

[jaged]

Hi there,
As the subject says, my son is going into 2nd year comp sci. He's been asking about a laptop he can bring to class with him and not worry about the battery. He currently has an Asus ROG GL502VM for his gaming but the battery is very short lived in that.
Unfortunately his classes do not have outlets at the desks to plug laptops in.
Primary requirement is for note taking during lectures, some light programming.

1. What is your budget? less than $1000 cdn

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 15 or less

3. What screen resolution do you want? not sure.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

5. How much battery life do you need? 8-10 hours?

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? no gaming at all.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) light programming, note taking, typical student stuff

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? 1tb, not really concerned about SSD but if it has one, great.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 2-3 years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? not reqd

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

13. What country do you live in? Canada

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
He started asking us about a Microsoft Surface which are pretty pricey around here from what I've seen. I saw one at Costco last week for $1400. I don't know much about that product but I hear good things about them. I guess my primary concerns are long battery life and under $1000


Thanks folks.

J

 

[jaslion]

Hi there,
As the subject says, my son is going into 2nd year comp sci. He's been asking about a laptop he can bring to class with him and not worry about the battery. He currently has an Asus ROG GL502VM for his gaming but the battery is very short lived in that.
Unfortunately his classes do not have outlets at the desks to plug laptops in.
Primary requirement is for note taking during lectures, some light programming.

1. What is your budget? less than $1000 cdn

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 15 or less

3. What screen resolution do you want? not sure.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

5. How much battery life do you need? 8-10 hours?

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? no gaming at all.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) light programming, note taking, typical student stuff

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? 1tb, not really concerned about SSD but if it has one, great.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 2-3 years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? not reqd

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

13. What country do you live in? Canada

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
He started asking us about a Microsoft Surface which are pretty pricey around here from what I've seen. I saw one at Costco last week for $1400. I don't know much about that product but I hear good things about them. I guess my primary concerns are long battery life and under $1000


Thanks folks.

J

A lenovo yoga 530 or asus zenbook flip 14 or 15 should do the trick.
Then get a bamboo ink stylus and he can write on the screen with either laptop which is really handy for notetaking. Both laptops last for 6+ hours so that should be good enough.

There are many versions out there but I recommend to not get the i7 version since there is barely any performance gained due to it being limited by tdp and for what your son is doing the i5 is plenty.

 

[geofelt]

The Lenovo thinkpad laptops are excellent.
https/www.lenovo.com/us/en/deals/thinkpad-laptops
The screen size is the thing that determines the weight.
The 13" units will be the lightest.
I would not buy anything without a ssd.

Probably the best compromise would be the Lenovo T480s.
Here is a review:
https/www.zdnet.com/product/lenovo-thinkpad-t480s/

They are available in the Lenovo outlet store for
$835 refurbished.
I have bought several from the outlet refurbished.
They are like new and come with good support and warranty.

 

[jaged]

I'll check it out.

Thanks.

Hi there,
As the subject says, my son is going into 2nd year comp sci. He's been asking about a laptop he can bring to class with him and not worry about the battery. He currently has an Asus ROG GL502VM for his gaming but the battery is very short lived in that.
Unfortunately his classes do not have outlets at the desks to plug laptops in.
Primary requirement is for note taking during lectures, some light programming.

1. What is your budget? less than $1000 cdn

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 15 or less

3. What screen resolution do you want? not sure.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

5. How much battery life do you need? 8-10 hours?

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? no gaming at all.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) light programming, note taking, typical student stuff

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? 1tb, not really concerned about SSD but if it has one, great.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? 2-3 years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? not reqd

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

13. What country do you live in? Canada

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
He started asking us about a Microsoft Surface which are pretty pricey around here from what I've seen. I saw one at Costco last week for $1400. I don't know much about that product but I hear good things about them. I guess my primary concerns are long battery life and under $1000


Thanks folks.

J

A lenovo yoga 530 or asus zenbook flip 14 or 15 should do the trick.
Then get a bamboo ink stylus and he can write on the screen with either laptop which is really handy for notetaking. Both laptops last for 6+ hours so that should be good enough.

There are many versions out there but I recommend to not get the i7 version since there is barely any performance gained due to it being limited by tdp and for what your son is doing the i5 is plenty.

 

[jaged]

I'll check it out.

Thanks.

The Lenovo thinkpad laptops are excellent.
https/www.lenovo.com/us/en/deals/thinkpad-laptops
The screen size is the thing that determines the weight.
The 13" units will be the lightest.
I would not buy anything without a ssd.

Probably the best compromise would be the Lenovo T480s.
Here is a review:
https/www.zdnet.com/product/lenovo-thinkpad-t480s/

They are available in the Lenovo outlet store for
$835 refurbished.
I have bought several from the outlet refurbished.
They are like new and come with good support and warranty.