Best Laptops for Students.. and anyone on a budget

[AlexTheGreatish]

 

We wanted to do a back to school round up, but were a bit late so now it's a value laptop round-up.

 

Buy Surface Go
On Amazon: http://geni.us/tPDTQ
On Newegg: http://geni.us/pBdMSY

 

Buy LG Gram
On Amazon: http://geni.us/wOpWj7u
On Newegg: http://geni.us/qkDonn

 

Buy Dell G3
On Amazon: http://geni.us/C9lB
On Newegg: http://geni.us/QMsS

 

Buy Acer Predator Helios 300
On Amazon: http://geni.us/1IMSVoH
On Newegg: http://geni.us/UqS5

 

Buy Acer Nitro 5
On Amazon: http://geni.us/o5NFc4p
On Newegg: http://geni.us/AXRcHC

 

Buy Dell XPS 15
On Amazon: http://geni.us/TITF8Q5
On Newegg: http://geni.us/wL4JZcA

[Speed Weed]

Ramen noodle is hella expensive for college students like me. Let's alone a gaming laptop. 

[cesrai]

5 minutes ago, DaPhuc said:

Ramen noodle is hella expensive for college students like me. Let's alone a gaming laptop. 

Rice + Vitamin supplements

[Slottr]

19 minutes ago, DaPhuc said:

Ramen noodle is hella expensive for college students like me. Let's alone a gaming laptop. 

Look for a wholesale type of store, my room mate and I get a 24 pack of ramen cups for $3.70

[Bigbootyjudy]

2 minutes ago, Slottr said:

Look for a wholesale type of store, my room mate and I get a 24 pack of ramen cups for $3.70

If you live in the US try and use a Costco membership. They have everything in bulk

[Hunter259]

Linus you should REALLY look at the HP Spectre X360 15t. It's cheaper than the XPS, has a 4K Touch Screen, is a 2 in 1, has SOCKETED MEMORY AND NVME SSD, looks fantastic and has an amazing keyboard. It's also rocking the 8705G chip which performs around how a 1050 - 1050ti does while running very cool.

[InertiaSelling]

24 minutes ago, Hunter259 said:

Linus you should REALLY look at the HP Spectre X360 15t. It's cheaper than the XPS, has a 4K Touch Screen, is a 2 in 1, has SOCKETED MEMORY AND NVME SSD, looks fantastic and has an amazing keyboard. It's also rocking the 8705G chip which performs around how a 1050 - 1050ti does while running very cool.

The Kaby Lake G variant costs well over $2000, is hard to find in most parts of the world (often it's not even sold on HP's own website), and is significantly worse than Dell's 2-in-1 offering. This laptop looks absolutely gorgeous, I was very excited when it launched, and I would have liked it to be a compelling option, but it's not.

 

Edit: I just looked at US pricing, and it's much cheaper than everywhere else. So maybe it's a decent choice for some US customers. But then again, the poor thing has terrible battery life and can barely game. Most people would be better off with the 8550u/mx150 variant, which has double the battery life.

[aezakmi]

55 minutes ago, DaPhuc said:

Ramen noodle is hella expensive for college students like me. Let's alone a gaming laptop. 

hey there are rich students too, or students with rich parents which is kinda the same, both can afford that $2k LG laptop

[Hunter259]

17 minutes ago, InertiaSelling said:

The Kaby Lake G variant costs well over $2000, is hard to find in most parts of the world (often it's not even sold on HP's own website), and is significantly worse than Dell's 2-in-1 offering. This laptop looks absolutely gorgeous, I was very excited when it launched, and I would have liked it to be a compelling option, but it's not.

Huh? It's about 1600 for the model I bought (Although I got it refurbished for 1300). It only hits 2000 when you max it out. Spec for Spec it's about $400 less than the Dell. A lot of the power throttling has been fixed in bios and to call it significantly worse than the Dell is a bit of a stretch. I also don't think this guy actually knows what he's talking about. The XPS has soldered memory yet he gives serviceability to the XPS not the HP. Not to mention they completely ignore that the Spectre also supports charging over USB-C as well as from the 120W barrel connector. Now I have undervolted mine quite a bit and changed the turbo multipliers to help offset the power but I do believe the latest bios has helped tons.

 

Currently for the 8705G, 16GB of ram (It's actually cheaper to do this upgrade yourself but this will use HP pricing), and a 512GB M.2 SSD is $1500 from HP right now.

The exact same specs from Dell is 2150 and you can't upgrade ram. You have to get 16GB now and you have to live with it. The HP might even support 64GB of ram.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

I would like to get our resident laptop guru's opinion on this. @GeneXiS_X

[Speed Weed]

16 minutes ago, aezakmi said:

hey there are rich students too, or students with rich parents which is kinda the same, both can afford that $2k LG laptop

Rich students are just a spoiler brat. One phone call to ask $25k. 

[Barking Platypus]

I went to college on full FAFSA and minimum wage and all of these laptops especially non gaming laptops would be insane options for a "budget laptop" i couldn't afford anything over 400 if i really pushed the envelope

[Merfoler]

Do anyone have an opinion or experience of ASUS ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UN? Wonder if it is a suitable machine for studies, some graphical work (not really gaming, but like amateur photo editing) and not too bulky (below 15-inch screen).

[Gawron10001]

And here I'm buying 200$ thinkpad.... With for me is super expansive

[mynameisjuan]

I thought Linus was supposed to review to Surface GO? 

 

I am on it right now and I love it but curious what Linus thinks about it. 

[genexis_x]

4 hours ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

I would like to get our resident laptop guru's opinion on this. @GeneXiS_X

Umm...I don't like such guide TBH, there are many good options out there

 

Dell G3, Acer Helios 300, Acer Nitro 5 and Dell XPS 15 have some issues which should be addressed. TBH they may not be the best options

[FITorion]

It isn't budget unless it's below 500. No laptop is worth more 2000... just get a desktop that will last you 10 years or more at that price point.

 

Have 2000 to spend? Get an upgradeable desktop for 1500 and a 500 laptop that's not for gaming.

[Guest]

I just use my iPad Pro for note-taking now, way better than a laptop for taking notes. 

[captain_to_fire]

2 hours ago, mynameisjuan said:

I thought Linus was supposed to review to Surface GO? 

 

I am on it right now and I love it but curious what Linus thinks about it. 

Other reviews of the Surface Go from other channels/sites has been fairly positive with the majority of the recommending the 128GB SSD/8GB RAM model.

[davo1111]

on /r/chromeos there were quite a few "hurt" souls upset with you turning down chromebooks as a viable option. As someone who did uni with one, I have to agree with your analysis though. 

 

Yeah I could do "most" stuff on the chromebook, but then when i got caught out, i had to spend time on workarounds. For the small price increase for a windows PC (sometimes if at all), it's just easier to get a windows machine.

 

I like my chromebook, but am realistic of it's limitations.

 

tbh, when a friend asks me for an entry level laptop advice, I jump on various local websites, - sort by price, screen size, remove certain brands, and bingo, im down to a few options.

 

Also, things might have changed, but i really don't like the "felt" keyboard on the surface series. I'm sure for every hater, there is someone who loves it, but my work surface just got filthy very quickly, and i didnt like the typing feel. The build quality though, i felt was fantastic.

Edited September 13, 2018 by davo1111

[mynameisjuan]

10 hours ago, captain_to_fire said:

Other reviews of the Surface Go from other channels/sites has been fairly positive with the majority of the recommending the 128GB SSD/8GB RAM model.

Well its pretty 50/50 as most reviewers complain about slowness because they try rendering videos on a 5w chip. Still interested in an actual techs view on it as linus is pretty stringent on the review.

[mrchow19910319]

damn Linus is a savage.

 

[JCHelios]

2 hours ago, mynameisjuan said:

Still interested in an actual techs view on it 

 

The Tech Lead was unimpressed with the Surface Go.  Some choice lines from his review: 

Quote

There's still a lot of scroll jank here and there as I'm scrolling through web pages.  ...  Even this 8 GB model feels sluggish.  

Quote

It's a 10" netbook, basically.  

Quote

I would not want a kid using a 10" laptop, because it will damage their eyes.  I would not want business people using laptops like this either, because their backs will get hunched over; they're going to damage their backs.  So, ergonomically, I think it's just not very good as a laptop.  

Now, maybe "a software engineer" isn't what you meant by "an actual tech."  But I found his refusal to review the device on its own terms to be refreshing.  

 

Quote

 

 

[AntiTrust]

I just dont understand the type of people that would invest tens of thousands of dollars and 5k hours into getting a degree only to cheap out on the laptop they will use heavily everyday. If you have a decent desktop then sure I guess. But if your laptop is it then you should invest a decent amt into it too. Its basically the boots theory applied to computers. 

[mynameisjuan]

9 minutes ago, JCHelios said:

 

The Tech Lead was unimpressed with the Surface Go.  Some choice lines from his review: 

Now, maybe "a software engineer" isn't what you meant by "an actual tech."  But I found his refusal to review the device on its own terms to be refreshing.  

 

 

His review is pure garbage to be honest. My GO is almost lag free 99% of the time as well as others.

 

I just enjoy Linus's reviews more because unlike most reviewers who render videos @4k60 try this on a dual core and complain while Linus knows the limitations of the devices and reviews accordingly.