College Laptop suggestions please help

[thatrandomguy777]

Hey Guys,

 

So my brother is going to Virginia Tech next year, and I have been charged with the task of finding him the best laptop I can that fits the spec requirements and is cheap. The requirement are crazy high. The only possible explanation I can find for this is that they want it to be comparable powerful all four years he is there.

Here is the Link to the requirements:

 

http://www.eng.vt.edu/it/requirement

 

Any suggestions would be great.

 

[ilikemacandpc]

Thinkpad Yoga 12 is the only one that has all the requirements that I know of. The stylus requirement is pretty odd...

[thekeemo]

budget? 

im thinking Y50

those specs arent actually that high dont know why they require an ssd

you will need an external stylus though

[Colt_0pz]

Asus g751 if you need a gaming laptop aswell

EDIT: i am not sure what your budget is. budget is a set number not just cheap crap

Edited May 24, 2015 by Colt_0pz

[ImBleu]

Looks like its calling for a Surface Pro 4 when it gets released with those crazy specs.

 

Or as always..

 

OR try this:

 

https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=A3E71B4BBE25C114!107&app=Excel&authkey=!AAO1lowxloMJjhM

[vorticalbox]

Hey Guys,

 

So my brother is going to Virginia Tech next year, and I have been charged with the task of finding him the best laptop I can that fits the spec requirements and is cheap. The requirement are crazy high. The only possible explanation I can find for this is that they want it to be comparable powerful all four years he is there.

Here is the Link to the requirements:

 

http://www.eng.vt.edu/it/requirement

 

Any suggestions would be great.

will need to know a max price he is willing to go

[Arc_Jester]

Is there any reason the specs are so high?

[BrandonTheCat]

I know this is kind of PC focused, but when I get to college, I plan on spending $3,000 on a Macbook Pro. 

[thatrandomguy777]

Asus g751 if you need a gaming laptop aswell

EDIT: i am not sure what your budget is. budget is a set number not just cheap crap

Sorry I like it but it does not have the cpu req

[Arc_Jester]

I know this is kind of PC focused, but when I get to college, I plan on spending $3,000 on a Macbook Pro. 

That's a waste of money, you could get a gaming laptop with a 980 for half that.

[stamatozord]

If you remove the integrated stylus requirement by purchasing a separate pen tablet, it makes it much easier to pick a laptop and adds a lot of versatility to your tablet choice.
Assuming you take the route suggested above, my personal recomendations would be an UX303LN and a separate pen tablet (not much experience on these, so I don't have a formed oppinion on which is best).

[stamatozord]

Sorry I like it but it does not have the cpu req

That cpu will outperform the one in the requirements, and, IMO, those CPU specs are way too high. A 4510U i7 (as suggested in my previous post) will do all the work you could possibly expect out of a laptop for college needs. The 5th gen ones on the specsheet can be outperformed for some older generation processors. (e.g. an i7 4510U beats an i5 5200U, according to cpuboss)

[BrandonTheCat]

That's a waste of money, you could get a gaming laptop with a 980 for half that.

Wasting money is not a concern for me when it comes to laptops. I already have a beast of a desktop that has a 980 inside of it, and any windows laptops generally don't strike the same for me as a Mac Laptop. Personal preference though, I'll probably never buy a Windows-Dedicated Laptop. 

[bcredeur97]

I recently received a 2015 13" retina Macbook Pro for college use. Review coming soon.

 

there is one huge upside that no one thinks about when you buy a Mac. Not many people take advantage of it either.

[Arc_Jester]

Wasting money is not a concern for me when it comes to laptops. I already have a beast of a desktop that has a 980 inside of it, and any windows laptops generally don't strike the same for me as a Mac Laptop. Personal preference though, I'll probably never buy a Windows-Dedicated Laptop. 

I'm the opposite when it comes to laptops, I probably won't ever buy a Mac. The only thing that interests me about them is the bundled software.

[BrandonTheCat]

I recently received a 2015 13" retina Macbook Pro for college use. Review coming soon.

 

there is one huge upside that no one thinks about when you buy a Mac. Not many people take advantage of it either.

 

^^^ THIS

 

That's a waste of money, you could get a gaming laptop with a 980 for half that.

^^^ NOT THIS

 

My review on the Macbook air 2012 version is here: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/371873-macbook-air-2012-after-3-years-of-use/

 

I loved that thing to death. It has unmatched build quality, stability, and a great screen to go with it. The only thing I would ever consider getting instead of a Macbook Pro for College is a Razer Blade or a Surface Pro 4 (When that comes out)

[Colt_0pz]

That's a waste of money, you could get a gaming laptop with a 980 for half that.

true dat

[Colt_0pz]

Macs are just a huge waste of money. apple overprices products. im not making the mistake of buying an apple product again. 

 

Sorry I like it but it does not have the cpu req

what do you mean. core i7 laptop processors are better than core i5's IN LAPTOPS unless you compare a desktop equivalent

Edited May 24, 2015 by Colt_0pz

[thatrandomguy777]

Macs are just a huge waste of money. apple overprices products. im not making the mistake of buying an apple product again. 

 

what do you mean. core i7 laptop processors are better than core i5's IN LAPTOPS unless you compare a desktop equivalent

I miss read the requirement. my bad

[nerdyrcdriver]

My lenovo flex 15 (older version) meets all but the ssd requirement and I got it for $600ish. The ssd isn't entirely necessary. I have an sshd in mine and it is pretty fast. You could always get a laptop with like a 500gb hdd and swap it with an ssd. I'm guessing they don't want students wasting time waiting for engineering programs to open up during class. 

 

My friend just got an acer c720 chromebook so he can use remote desktop to his gaming computer in his dorm for more powerful applications than google docs or office 365. But in your brother's case that probably isn't a great solution.