Buying a new laptop for college need tips and recommendations

[urbaneewe180]

Hey guys!

So i'm in the market for a new laptop for college.

Basically i was scrolling through my local stores looking for something to fit in my budget and here is what i found:

Acer aspire 7

RAM: 8 GB (8GB x 1) DDR4 2400MHz SDRAM

Screen: 15.6" 1920x1080

Processor: Intel Core i5 Quad Core Processor 7300HQ at 2.5 GHz(can go up to 3.5GHz), cache memory 6MB

Graphics card: nVidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB DDR5 of its own memory

Storage: 256 GB SSD

It also has Linux as its OS but I should be able to install Windows 8 or 10(?)

The price of this laptop is 845 euro or 980$

Please leave some tips or some other models in this price range that you think could be better.

Thanks!

 

[emosun]

 

[urbaneewe180]

1 minute ago, emosun said:

 

Watched it but here is the problem:

I'm from a small country and don't have access to these

[emosun]

Just now, urbaneewe180 said:

Watched it but here is the problem:

I'm from a small country and don't have access to these

order them with worldwide shipping

 

[urbaneewe180]

7 minutes ago, emosun said:

order them with worldwide shipping

 

Parents are really old school and don't trust internet purchases from other countries/overseas

 

[Dedayog]

Okay, so what laptops DO you have access to, because Linus showed the ones that are kinda the most popular in the world in a way.

 

SO, you know your specs, go out and buy one with those specs under that price range.

[emosun]

2 minutes ago, urbaneewe180 said:

Parents are really old school and don't trust internet purchases from other countries/overseas

well tell them it's a computer not a jug of milk

 

As far as whatever laptop it is that you've found , it should have more ram and come with windows.

[Egg-Roll]

3 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

because Linus showed the ones that are kinda the most popular in the world in a way.

No he didn't... He showed off what he had on hand, and what he assumed every college person needed, not what the average college person actually needs (usually just word, excel and power point).

 

He put so much effort into that video he didn't even go out and buy a $300 laptop to test it for his lower priced viewers.

 

7 minutes ago, urbaneewe180 said:

Parents are really old school and don't trust internet purchases from other countries/overseas

 

If it is from a reputable company (similar to best buy or Walmart here in america), then there should be no issues with warranty, try using that approach.

[genexis_x]

Where are you from? Budget? Usage? Preferred max weight and min battery life?

[Dedayog]

23 minutes ago, Egg-Roll said:

No he didn't... He showed off what he had on hand, and what he assumed every college person needed, not what the average college person actually needs (usually just word, excel and power point).

 

He put so much effort into that video he didn't even go out and buy a $300 laptop to test it for his lower priced viewers.

 

If it is from a reputable company (similar to best buy or Walmart here in america), then there should be no issues with warranty, try using that approach.

He did mention Chromebook for the cheaps, and nixed it. 

 

I believe the OP and the average college kid has needs much greater than MS Office, which each degree program having it's own software for classes.  Plus, gotta game it up when not studying!

 

 

[Egg-Roll]

6 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

He did mention Chromebook for the cheaps, and nixed it. 

 

I believe the OP and the average college kid has needs much greater than MS Office, which each degree program having it's own software for classes.  Plus, gotta game it up when not studying!

Right... However the $300 computer feels like a afterthought considering he didn't even have it on hand. As I mentioned in the actual topic if someone is looking for a $300 computer they are willing to make some sacrifices and can get equal or better for less buying off-lease units.

 

Each degree requires unique programs, however most don't need to run out and buy a $500 computer let alone a $800+ one. Most laptops now around $300 will work perfectly fine for everyone who doesn't need to compile anything. In fact it's rather a stupid idea to run out and buy something for said courses if you are not going to be doing much if any compiling for the first year. Esp if work is not required to be done right there on your machine, even then you could theoretically use applications to connect to your desktop to do said work if color accuracy is not required.

 

That said if your education is going to cost some 100K+ then go ahead and spend >1% on a laptop. However if you're going into a program that costs 5000-7000 per term for 2-3 years it simply doesn't make sense to walk around with a laptop worth over $1000. As for gaming, well I guess but if you ask me if you're on campus gaming then drop out, simply because your time could be put to better use for longer gaming periods at home (aka doing the homework at the school instead of playing), or idk socializing?

 

For most non tech/art (which is most courses in schools) education all you need is a ok cpu 4+ (8 preferable) ram and a SSD (at least 120gb) for the shity windows 10, find a laptop with 7? a HDD will work fine. Most software required for most courses are not resource intensive, sure a $300 will likely be slower in opening say that one program, and might take a minute longer than the other person who spend $1000, but at least you can eat or party harder than them

[urbaneewe180]

3 minutes ago, Egg-Roll said:

Right... However the $300 computer feels like a afterthought considering he didn't even have it on hand. As I mentioned in the actual topic if someone is looking for a $300 computer they are willing to make some sacrifices and can get equal or better for less buying off-lease units.

 

Each degree requires unique programs, however most don't need to run out and buy a $500 computer let alone a $800+ one. Most laptops now around $300 will work perfectly fine for everyone who doesn't need to compile anything. In fact it's rather a stupid idea to run out and buy something for said courses if you are not going to be doing much if any compiling for the first year. Esp if work is not required to be done right there on your machine, even then you could theoretically use applications to connect to your desktop to do said work if color accuracy is not required.

 

That said if your education is going to cost some 100K+ then go ahead and spend >1% on a laptop. However if you're going into a program that costs 5000-7000 per term for 2-3 years it simply doesn't make sense to walk around with a laptop worth over $1000. As for gaming, well I guess but if you ask me if you're on campus gaming then drop out, simply because your time could be put to better use for longer gaming periods at home (aka doing the homework at the school instead of playing), or idk socializing?

 

For most non tech/art (which is most courses in schools) education all you need is a ok cpu 4+ (8 preferable) ram and a SSD (at least 120gb) for the shity windows 10, find a laptop with 7? a HDD will work fine. Most software required for most courses are not resource intensive, sure a $300 will likely be slower in opening say that one program, and might take a minute longer than the other person who spend $1000, but at least you can eat or party harder than them

I actually forgot to mention that the college i rolled into is technical sciences based so I do need a little bit more power and speed. Of course i don't plan to game 24/7 on it but since i got a scholarship(i suppose that is the equivalent here just like you have in the US) and my first year is free i though it wouldn't be a bad idea to invest in a better laptop that will carry me through the next 4 years of college.

[Egg-Roll]

5 minutes ago, urbaneewe180 said:

I actually forgot to mention that the college i rolled into is technical sciences based so I do need a little bit more power and speed. Of course i don't plan to game 24/7 on it but since i got a scholarship(i suppose that is the equivalent here just like you have in the US) and my first year is free i though it wouldn't be a bad idea to invest in a better laptop that will carry me through the next 4 years of college.

Is it possible to find a 1060 model for slightly more? It would give better performance and longevity. If not you might want to use the free first year to try upgrading your desktop (if needed) for heavier loads in the future. However go threw every year of courses information and go based on that.

[Dedayog]

20 minutes ago, Egg-Roll said:

Right... However the $300 computer feels like a afterthought considering he didn't even have it on hand. As I mentioned in the actual topic if someone is looking for a $300 computer they are willing to make some sacrifices and can get equal or better for less buying off-lease units.

 

Each degree requires unique programs, however most don't need to run out and buy a $500 computer let alone a $800+ one. Most laptops now around $300 will work perfectly fine for everyone who doesn't need to compile anything. In fact it's rather a stupid idea to run out and buy something for said courses if you are not going to be doing much if any compiling for the first year. Esp if work is not required to be done right there on your machine, even then you could theoretically use applications to connect to your desktop to do said work if color accuracy is not required.

 

That said if your education is going to cost some 100K+ then go ahead and spend >1% on a laptop. However if you're going into a program that costs 5000-7000 per term for 2-3 years it simply doesn't make sense to walk around with a laptop worth over $1000. As for gaming, well I guess but if you ask me if you're on campus gaming then drop out, simply because your time could be put to better use for longer gaming periods at home (aka doing the homework at the school instead of playing), or idk socializing?

 

For most non tech/art (which is most courses in schools) education all you need is a ok cpu 4+ (8 preferable) ram and a SSD (at least 120gb) for the shity windows 10, find a laptop with 7? a HDD will work fine. Most software required for most courses are not resource intensive, sure a $300 will likely be slower in opening say that one program, and might take a minute longer than the other person who spend $1000, but at least you can eat or party harder than them

I think you're completely taking the inexpensive side of things when a company is selling a $1200 video card all by it's lonesome.  

 

I think its awesome you're advocating as cheap as possible.  That's simply not the norm nor the realistic approach to college.  College isn't a "get thru it as fast and as cheap as possible".  It's a 2-8 year life experience that should be approached in the same way as the rest of life.  Bold and with gusto.  College is an amazing time in life, enjoy it and live it.  This includes getting a laptop that does what you want, at a performance level you want.

 

I think we're arguing different sides of the same coin, because I agree a $300 laptop will get you THROUGH college.  In style?  Waiting for files to load while your study group is already on question #3?

[Egg-Roll]

4 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

I think its awesome you're advocating as cheap as possible.  That's simply not the norm nor the realistic approach to college.  College isn't a "get thru it as fast and as cheap as possible".  It's a 2-8 year life experience that should be approached in the same way as the rest of life.  Bold and with gusto.  College is an amazing time in life, enjoy it and live it.  This includes getting a laptop that does what you want, at a performance level you want.

 

True, many of my college friends owned new, but equally after the first year when I had 0 debt a good number had 15-20K. Those that didn't had part time jobs, after the first year half of those with 20K debts never returned. It could be different in the states because of housing/transportation pricing and availability, but what I saw was a whole lot of sub $500 computers and that was 10 years ago(could be different now). I went threw college with a off-lease thinkpad and truth be told compared to brand new ones at the time it wasn't slow once booted, it took about 30 seconds longer than other computers around it to boot, but that was windows XP days where you could actually make it run faster.

 

The thinkpad I put in the videos topic might not be stylish but if you're ok with plugging it in slightly more often you can save a additional $100 from the unit Linus mentioned for equal performance.

 

That said if someone wants a $2500 laptop for a education that costs double the computer per semester and doesn't need it for education reasons that is their choice, my point is most people don't need anything over $500 used or new, and most new units including the $300 shown in the video are stylish enough for school use. Unless your a glamour queen then go ahead and geek out

 

While many would love to live the lives of American Pie and other college movies, reality is far more harsh when you have to actually fund schooling yourself (which is usually the case when people look at $300 or less) and where every dollar counts. That's why I don't think the whole video Linus did was correct for college, maybe for tech/art sectors but that is still a small %, imagine going into school for English Literature BA and you need a good laptop suggestion just to find the newest LMG video? Was it useful? Nope... That's most of the world, and that's the problem.