Student laptop (discussion)

[PcMarine52]

Hey guys I just wanted to start this thread mainly to ask a question about what the best laptop would be for a student with an expected budget around $1000 now I know that are a lot of laptops in this range and I've mostly narrowed it down to a couple of types of laptops such as the Asus zenbooks the Acer aspire s7 v2 and even the surface pro 3 and I'm sad to say it but the macbook air the main question is if I went the macbook air route how hard would it be to get Windows on the air and what the downsides of putting Windows on the air would be such as bugs and other glitches that I might in counter or just slap me in the head and shout what the hell are u thinking stay Windows and get a good price/performance pc

thanks in advance for your replys

[Si3Rra_7]

get a $100 laptop and and get 2xGTX970 and a 256GB SSD for your main build .

 

You didn't say what you needed it for . Also *Macbook Air you fixed it 

[PcMarine52]

Lol I would but my gaming rigs already had a gtx 770 and I need a laptop and unfortunately for me I love to have the latest and greatest with a good specs and an sad... I need it mostly for school and Mabey real light gaming I'm talking lol on low haha and programs like word and I also code for computer science major so there's that to plus I already have a main rig for gaming and other big programs

[Tech_Dreamer]

i don't think it'll be too glitchy to switch to windows on mac air, an apple genius will tell you how to set it up, but surface 3 seems to suffice your needs same as apple's so, why not go for that one? just a suggestion, you can just buy a air book just as easy & install windows in it & keep it stable , but surface pro is just 'buy & use'  for you, imo , so hassle free from glitch but get same light experience as apples.

[Si3Rra_7]

Lol I would but my gaming rigs already had a gtx 770 and I need a laptop and unfortunately for me I love to have the latest and greatest with a good specs and an sad... I need it mostly for school and Mabey real light gaming I'm talking lol on low haha and programs like word and I also code for computer science major so there's that to plus I already have a main rig for gaming and other big programs

Ok then , but quote me next time so i see you replied .

 

Acer aspire s7 looks nice , linus only gave it praise except for the battery life in the v1 but haswell fixed that, just be cautious it's the right version you want 

[PcMarine52]

Yea the main beef with the sp3 Imho is the price yes your getting one hell of a device but it doesn't include the keyboard and for the model I'd like to get the one with 8gb of ddr3 is starting @1200 without the damn keyboard so Mabey if there's a price drop I'd go for it but there's also the thing that to type on it you need a table or really flat surface (c what I did there) to use it

[Feronix]

Depends on what you're studying tbh. I'm an Art & Technology student myself but I was on a tight budget so I got myself a €400 laptop with a 15.6" screen, Haswell i3, 4GB RAM and 500GB HDD. Then I bought a 256GB SSD and swapped that out. I'm honestly surprised by how well it does most things, even tasks like PhotoShop.

 

Obviously it doesn't do gaming, but neither will an ultrabook or MacBook Air. Could also expand the RAM to 8GB easily but so far that hasn't been necessary for me. It handles most things we do in uni perfectly like writing HTML and CSS, building smartphone apps and even PhotoShop. It's just video editing that it would probably struggle with (not even tried yet), but in all honesty I wouldn't want to render big videos on any sort of laptop (let alone the workspace on my 768p screen) cause in the end, the laptop CPUs are always still a good bit slower than their desktop equivalent and I have a nice system with a Xeon and 16GB RAM standing at home for tasks like those.

[YoyiSkill]

i have a surface 3 and its very powerful... i code on visual studio and run some indy games and such..... its very nice IMO.

[PcMarine52]

Ok then , but quote me next time so i see you replied .

Acer aspire s7 looks nice , linus only gave it praise except for the battery life in the v1 but haswell fixed that, just be cautious it's the right version you want

How do u mean right version all the ones on the Microsoft store with the student discount is like 800 with the 1440p screen and 8gb of ram

[PcMarine52]

i have a surface 3 and its very powerful... i code on visual studio and run some indy games and such..... its very nice IMO.

Can u think of any turn off of the sp3? And which version do u have if u don't mind sharing

[PcMarine52]

Depends on what you're studying tbh. I'm an Art & Technology student myself but I was on a tight budget so I got myself a €400 laptop with a 15.6" screen, Haswell i3, 4GB RAM and 500GB HDD. Then I bought a 256GB SSD and swapped that out. I'm honestly surprised by how well it does most things, even tasks like PhotoShop.

Obviously it doesn't do gaming, but neither will an ultrabook or MacBook Air. Could also expand the RAM to 8GB easily but so far that hasn't been necessary for me. It handles most things we do in uni perfectly like writing HTML and CSS, building smartphone apps and even PhotoShop. It's just video editing that it would probably struggle with (not even tried yet), but in all honesty I wouldn't want to render big videos on any sort of laptop (let alone the workspace on my 768p screen) cause in the end, the laptop CPUs are always still a good bit slower than their desktop equivalent and I have a nice system with a Xeon and 16GB RAM standing at home for tasks like those.

This is also something that I have thought about doing but the only thing that stops me is for some reason I have for some reason hot it stuck in my head that I need something thin and light since I have an already powerful desktop don't ask me why just my brain

[oldaccount117]

Just get a macbook and put Windows on it. Its stupid easy and runs just fine, note you will get lower battery life but even then the macbook will still run circles around most other laptops. Ps I have a macbook air

[PcMarine52]

Just get a macbook and put Windows on it. Its stupid easy and runs just fine, note you will get lower battery life but even then the macbook will still run circles around most other laptops. Ps I have a macbook air

What's it battery life like with Windows on yr air just out curiosity and how does the keyboard on Windows as I know that the macs have a different layout

[Guest]

Windows runs fine on any modern Mac. The high school I went to had a whole lab with iMacs running Windows and it ran without problem. Its super easy to set up, you just need the installer ISO on a flashdrive and you install it with Apple Bootcamp. Its a super easy installation.

[chaozbandit]

I was in your position two months ago. Definitely consider the Aspire S7 but if you can't stand the 14" class, look up to getting an Asus N56 or equivalent zenbook. Personally I bumped up my budget a bit and was able to snag a G550JK (equivalent to N550JK) and was not disappoint. The G550/N550 uses the same aluminum construction as the previous gen N56 with the only real difference being the CPU and 8xxM graphics. Was also considering a Y50/P35/GS60 at the time but after making a trip to a NCIX showroom, the flex in the main portions of the keyboard was a major let down. If you don't mind an abysmal battery life and like a sleeker, more mature aesthetic then you can also consider a Y510P.

 

(in case you were wondering, a 1080P screen was a high priority for me hence the relatively limited options)

[Naty722]

No mention of the Yoga 2 Pro? With the release of the 3, the Yoga 2 Pro has dropped a lot in price, and the $1000 model is a great buy. My friend got it, and It's a very nice, sleek machine. Super thin and light, 3200x1800 resolution is really clear (which can sometimes be annoying due to apps not scaling, but it's actually not that big of a deal anymore), plenty of speed with the SSD and the typical i5-4210U, even a nice touchpad and keyboard. I'd say it's the perfect school laptop. Macbook Air is nice, and the only thing competitive from Apple, but....OSX, high price, very meh screen, no touch functionality. The only thing I say it has over the Yoga 2 Pro is that it's Thunderbolt (which is mini-displayport) is much more standard than the Yoga 2 Pro's bizarre micro HDMI. Yes, micro HDMI, not mini. I've literally never seen it used anywhere but this laptop and a few Dell ultra books. But if a single port changes your mind, I think you need to sort out your priorities.

 

You can look it up on Lenovo's website, but I highly recommend going to Best Buy or something for a better deal, or at least to try it out.

[witting]

No mention of the Yoga 2 Pro? With the release of the 3, the Yoga 2 Pro has dropped a lot in price, and the $1000 model is a great buy. My friend got it, and It's a very nice, sleek machine. Super thin and light, 3200x1800 resolution is really clear (which can sometimes be annoying due to apps not scaling, but it's actually not that big of a deal anymore), plenty of speed with the SSD and the typical i5-4210U, even a nice touchpad and keyboard. I'd say it's the perfect school laptop. Macbook Air is nice, and the only thing competitive from Apple, but....OSX, high price, very meh screen, no touch functionality. The only thing I say it has over the Yoga 2 Pro is that it's Thunderbolt (which is mini-displayport) is much more standard than the Yoga 2 Pro's bizarre micro HDMI. Yes, micro HDMI, not mini. I've literally never seen it used anywhere but this laptop and a few Dell ultra books. But if a single port changes your mind, I think you need to sort out your priorities.

You can look it up on Lenovo's website, but I highly recommend going to Best Buy or something for a better deal, or at least to try it out.

Most BB10 phones have it but It will be replaced with MHL on the new devices some older sony phones had it too.

[PcMarine52]

i do prefer a higher rez screen and the touch screen but i may be more inclined to go away from it for a great keyboard and backlight on the air but like i said this i why i started the thread to get others opinion 

[PcMarine52]

No mention of the Yoga 2 Pro? With the release of the 3, the Yoga 2 Pro has dropped a lot in price, and the $1000 model is a great buy. My friend got it, and It's a very nice, sleek machine. Super thin and light, 3200x1800 resolution is really clear (which can sometimes be annoying due to apps not scaling, but it's actually not that big of a deal anymore), plenty of speed with the SSD and the typical i5-4210U, even a nice touchpad and keyboard. I'd say it's the perfect school laptop. Macbook Air is nice, and the only thing competitive from Apple, but....OSX, high price, very meh screen, no touch functionality. The only thing I say it has over the Yoga 2 Pro is that it's Thunderbolt (which is mini-displayport) is much more standard than the Yoga 2 Pro's bizarre micro HDMI. Yes, micro HDMI, not mini. I've literally never seen it used anywhere but this laptop and a few Dell ultra books. But if a single port changes your mind, I think you need to sort out your priorities.

 

You can look it up on Lenovo's website, but I highly recommend going to Best Buy or something for a better deal, or at least to try it out.

i wasnt aware that there had been a price drop might have to take a look at them and see if i can get one for cheap

[Naty722]

i do prefer a higher rez screen and the touch screen but i may be more inclined to go away from it for a great keyboard and backlight on the air but like i said this i why i started the thread to get others opinion 

But Lenovo's keyboard and backlight are better than anything from apple. It's not the best, but anything will beat the completely flat keys from apple that are awkwardly spaced. Backlight is also really nice on Lenovo's new consumer keyboards. Nice bright glow, with a couple of brightness levels.

[PcMarine52]

But Lenovo's keyboard and backlight are better than anything from apple. It's not the best, but anything will beat the completely flat keys from apple that are awkwardly spaced. Backlight is also really nice on Lenovo's new consumer keyboards. Nice bright glow, with a couple of brightness levels.

does the yoga 2 pro have bck lit keys?

[YoyiSkill]

Can u think of any turn off of the sp3? And which version do u have if u don't mind sharing

surface pro 3, i7, 256gb

[Naty722]

does the yoga 2 pro have bck lit keys?

Yes, of course. Pretty much any of Lenovo's higher end laptops have backlit keys now. It should have a couple of different brightness levels too.