New Laptop for College

[sebsterdos]

Hello Tom's Hardware! I will be entering college next year, majoring in Information Technology. Here are the list of specifications I received for what is needed from my laptop next year:

Welcome to the School of Information Technology! We do not require you to buy a specific computer. However, if you are going to purchase a computer, we do recommend the following specifications:

► Minimum Specifications (as of 8/8/2014):
- Intel i5 processor
- 6GB ram
- 500GB Hard Drive

► Recommended Specifications (as of 8/8/2014):
- Intel i7 processor
- 8GB ram
- 512GB Solid State Hard Drive

► Purchase reputable and reliable brands

► In general, purchase the highest processor speed and largest memory that you can afford. The speed of the hard drive is important as well.

Here are a couple laptops that I have found:

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

I am trying to keep this as inexpensive as possible (<$500 preferably)

If anyone has any other recommendations, please share!

 

[hanser30]

Ok well, number one, I would never ever buy a laptop for less than 1000 but, if you are looking for a good brand at around that price range I would say that Lenovo thinkpad is the best because of their quality build and reliability and durability. I recommend the T440p since it is very recommended for computer science and other technology majors. It is not less than 500 but since they recommend an Intel core i7 you will never find a laptop that has one and that is less than 500

 

[Bossyfins]

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834318634'


It is refrub but an i7 with an sshd and 8 gigs of ram.

 

[hanser30]

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834318634'


It is refrub but an i7 with an sshd and 8 gigs of ram.

Ok but that is a really bad i7 because it is a dual core @ 2.0ghz, a quad core i5 would perform as well. hp has some nice computers at a reasonable prize.

 

[Bossyfins]

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834318634'


It is refrub but an i7 with an sshd and 8 gigs of ram.

Ok but that is a really bad i7 because it is a dual core @ 2.0ghz, a quad core i5 would perform as well. hp has some nice computers at a reasonable prize.

Almost all laptop cpus are dual cores with HyperThreading,
\
http/ark.intel.com/products/81015/Intel-Core-i7-4510U-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz

It has hyperthreading.

 

[hanser30]

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834318634'


It is refrub but an i7 with an sshd and 8 gigs of ram.

Ok but that is a really bad i7 because it is a dual core @ 2.0ghz, a quad core i5 would perform as well. hp has some nice computers at a reasonable prize.

Almost all laptop cpus are dual cores with HyperThreading,
\
http/ark.intel.com/products/81015/Intel-Core-i7-4510U-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz

It has hyperthreading.

I know but for me hyper threading doesn't cut it for what he really needs, I think that sebsterdos would get better results from a quad core 8 threads. Also he would have it for a around 4 years so a good quad core with 8 threads would be great for multi core applications that he may encounter in his studies. I would wait some more time for the quad core 5th gen mobile CPUs to come out.

 

[Bossyfins]

a quad core 8 thread are expensive and heavy, not to mention power hungry in laptops. EVen the new cpus will be dual coreswith ht.

 

[hanser30]

a quad core 8 thread are expensive and heavy, not to mention power hungry in laptops. EVen the new cpus will be dual coreswith ht.

I think that the point here is not weight, power and battery life shouldn't be a problem because you can get around 10 hours on a good laptop. Durability is the most important thing in college because you will be using a computer almost all the time for around 4 years and you don't want to go ahead and replace your computer for a new one in the middle of your studies because of performance issues.

 

[velo3100]

The links you have given me just go the the newegg homepage. For the specs that they have recommeded, it will be hard to find a laptop that has all these things. I assume that when they say i7, they mean an i7 m cpu rather than u.

The main reason why it is hard to meet all the requirements is the ssd and the cpu. ssd and i7 m cpus are very expensive to buy as they are considered on the higher end laptops.

 

[jaguarskx]

Yeah, your links do not work. However, I recommend the following laptops given your preferred <$500 budget.

Lenovo Laptop G50-80 (80E501U3US) - $420
- Core i5-5200u
- 6GB Memory
- 500GB HDD
- Intel HD Graphics 5500
- 1366x768 resolution screen
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834318466

Acer Laptop Aspire V3-572-51TR - $490
- Core i5-5200u
- 8GB Memory
- 1TB HDD
- Intel HD Graphics 5500
- 1920x1080 resolution screen
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314814


Generally speaking, Lenovo laptops have better build quality than Acer laptops. Acer laptops have average build quality. However, build quality depends on the specific laptop and Acer has been working on improving the build quality of their more expensive laptops. As a counterpoint, Lenovo G series laptops are generally considered to be of average quality.

The Acer laptop offers better value because it has 500GB more storage capacity, 8GB vs 6GB of RAM and a 1080p screen. The 1080p screen can be useful because it means you can see more information on the screen at once compared to a 1366x768 resolution. Of course, everything will look a little small, but that should not be a big deal unless you have really poor vision. You can lower the resolution if necessary. The Acer does weigh extra 1lb more though.

================================================================

In case you are looking to play games from time to time....

The Intel HD 5500 graphics core can allow you to play games, but it is rather weak compared to a dedicated graphic chip. But as long as you do not have high expectations and you are not playing graphics intensive games, then the Intel HD 5500 can be used to play games (depending on the game itself). But if you are willing to spend $600, then it is possible to get a laptop with a decent dedicated graphics chip.


ASUS Laptop X555LB-NS51 - $600
- Intel Core i5 5200U (2.20GHz)
- 8GB Memory
- 750GB HDD
- NVIDIA GeForce 940M
- 1920 x 1080 screen
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834232376&leaderboard=1


Acer Aspire V 15 V3-572G-51DR - $600
- Intel Core i5 5200U (2.20GHz)
- 8GB Memory
- 500GB HDD
- NVIDIA GeForce 840M
- 1920 x 1080 screen
http/www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-V3-572G-51DR-15-6-Inch-Platinum/dp/B00R45UFUY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1432229645&sr=1-1&keywords=gt+840m


The 940m is basically a slightly tweaked version of 840m so it can provide marginally better performance.... marginally...

 

[jaguarskx]

Actually, I just remembered that the Microsoft Store has a really good deal on the Lenovo G50-80. They sell the "Signature Edition" which is basically the same as the one I linked to over at Newegg, but it is guaranteed not to have any bloatware installed on it. On top of that, it is selling for $360.

http/www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Lenovo-G50-80-Signature-Edition-Laptop/productID.315132400

 

[Bossyfins]

I was going to post the same laptop. Honestly, it is the best laptop for your needs. At only 360$, I myself am buying 2. Not to mention is has a broadwell chip in there