Laptop for college (Ideally 3:2 aspect ratio)

[Mr Technician]

I'll be starting college next fall and am considering buying a laptop in the meantime for use then (though I will use it some now alongside my desktop). With black friday approaching, I'm hoping to get a good deal on a laptop. I'm primarily looking for one with a 3:2 aspect ratio but would be fine with one that has a 1440p or 2160p display. I am not worried about performance aside from that. My most intense workloads will involve computer science classes so I don't need anything fancy. My budget would be between $1000-1500, hopefully on the lower end of that. Something like the surface laptop 3 would work well but there are probably better options. Any thoughts?

 

Edit: I should have mentioned that I'm less interested in something with a screen that is below 15 inches.

[PlayStation 2]

If you want a 3:2 display, the Surface Laptop is about the only choice. Wish it wasn't because that aspect ratio is godlike.

[vanished]

I second the surface laptop, afaik it has that ratio and few others can say the same.  It's also quite portable, and the new one appears to have figured out how to make things repairable and upgradable without sacrificing thinness and looks.  Haven't looked into it closely enough to give a value judgment but I seem to recall being quite against that aspect of it when it launched though.

[Quadriplegic]

3 hours ago, handymanshandle said:

If you want a 3:2 display, the Surface Laptop is about the only choice. Wish it wasn't because that aspect ratio is godlike.

Matebook 13 also uses 3:2 display. The more basic model with i7 and Intel iGPU should be around 1000$.

EDIT: It's actually bit over 900$. $1000 gets you i5 Matebook Pro X with 3k resolution, 14" 3:2 display.

[vanished]

11 hours ago, Quadriplegic said:

Matebook 13 also uses 3:2 display. The more basic model with i7 and Intel iGPU should be around 1000$.

EDIT: It's actually bit over 900$. $1000 gets you i5 Matebook Pro X with 3k resolution, 14" 3:2 display.

I'm unable to find what you're referencing on their site.  There's a Macbook Air line and a Macbook Pro, but they appear to have discontinued the regular Macbook, and from what I can tell the cheapest model starts at $1100.

[Quadriplegic]

10 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

I'm unable to find what you're referencing on their site.  There's a Macbook Air line and a Macbook Pro, but they appear to have discontinued the regular Macbook, and from what I can tell the cheapest model starts at $1100.

Huawei Matebook lineup, not Apple Macbook

[vanished]

Just now, Quadriplegic said:

Huawei Matebook lineup, not Apple Macbook

oh, wow how did I misread that...

I even saw it was matebook in the second line but still misread the first some how

[Mr Technician]

Right now the i5 model of the Huawei Matebook X Pro looks promising. I'm not sure how I feel about the 14 inch screen, though.

[Mr Technician]

Update: Some people I've talked to have called the security of using a Chinese device into question, but this seems like paranoia to me. Any thoughts on this? I'm open to a different brand or even 16:9 if I can get a 2160p screen (but I doubt I can get one for this price).

[Commodus]

15 hours ago, ThatFlashCat said:

Update: Some people I've talked to have called the security of using a Chinese device into question, but this seems like paranoia to me. Any thoughts on this? I'm open to a different brand or even 16:9 if I can get a 2160p screen (but I doubt I can get one for this price).

 

I don't think the paranoia is the problem, it's the US government's policies on Huawei.  If the US stops offering limited exemptions on the Huawei trade ban, there's a chance the Matebook will lose access to Windows updates.  I wouldn't want to have an insecure system (or miss out on new features) due to politics.

 

If you want a 3:2 display, I'd echo the Surface Laptop 3 recommendation.  The main catch is that a 15-inch model will be at the higher end of your price range, but it might be worthwhile if you get the exact display you want.