Off to College Laptop Decisions... Need some help!

TAG123

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Jun 25, 2015
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Hey,

Son is off to college and we have to buy a laptop. We are a MAC family - but do not want him to deal with VMware/Parallels or anything else with aiding a mac to operate windows programs.

We know zero about PC's - but feel it's smarter to go that route.

He is going into Engineering. MANY of the parents of students use Lenovo Yoga's. 2-in-1 Combination laptop/tablet set-ups. There seems to be no need for larger, less-convenient-to-haul, full-bore laptops loaded to the hilt.

However! The wireless network at University of Alabama is spotty from what we understand. It;s there, and the students use it, they just complain.

The dorm rooms, however, provided ethernet connections.

But ethernet connections are rarely found on 2-in-1s. Gaadz.

We would like to not spend more than $1500.

The recommendations are below:

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2015 Laptop Specifications for the College of Engineering

Operating System
Windows – Windows 7 or higher
Processor
Either Intel or AMD, recommend an Intel Core i5 or higher, or the AMD equivalent
Memory
Minimum – 6GB of RAM for Windows, 4GB of RAM for Mac
Consider – 8GB of RAM or more for both Windows and Mac
Hard Disk
Minimum – 128GB of storage
Consider – 256GB of storage or higher, flash drive storage
Display
No fixed requirements as this is a personal preference. Larger screen implies larger visible image and greater laptop size and greater weight
Optical Drive
Either built-in drive or external drive with capability to burn both CDs and DVDs
Networking
Minimum – provides wireless network support (802.11 b/g/n)
Consider – wired Ethernet LAN port, either built-in or external USB connection
USB Ports
At least two available USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 ports

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Would anyone be able to pitch in some opinions and maybe give us some advice on what PC's may help.

And from a maintenance standpoint - I would rather he have an SSD drive.

We have also looked at the HP Spectre i7 - but again - no ethernet port and heat seems to be an issue.

Again - we are fish out of water with this - any help is really REALLY appreciated!

Many thanks!