portabe laptop for student

[Migim]

Hello! I need a new laptop for work and uni.

It has to be good enough for programming.

I won't be gaming on it.

Battery life is important to me. Also i will be uninstalling windows and installing linux.

So i have two models in mind.

Lenovo Thinkpad e480 or HP Pavilion 14 (code 14-ce0012nw)

 

They are both laptops with core i5 -8250u, 16 gb of ram, 256 GB ssd drive. Both come with intel gpu only. Both have 15" version, but Thinkpad e580 is a bit more expensive and HP pavilion 15 comes with mx 150, which i'd rather avoid to increase battery life and avoid driver problems on linux.

 

So, which is better? the both cost roughly the same.

Also does  HP pavilion 14, allow to install additional 2,5" SATA drive? Or is it only m.2 slot (which i hope can be changed in future if i need to).

 

EDIT: There is also msi ps42 with core i7-8550u 8 gb of ram and 256gb ssd, but I don't think 8 gb of RAM is enough and also  it looks like it doesn't have RJ-45 port, which I need. Correct me if I'm wrong but it looks weak compared to thinkpad and hp.

[markr54632]

E480 hands down personally. These are very personal reasons, but the keyboard is just right for me and the screen isnt fatiguing to my eyes.

 

Also I would highly recommend against installing linux for a school computer. Check with your uni, but most programming classes prefer for you to use windows and refuse to help if you are running something else.

 

Linux is great and maybe dual boot, but if you are trying to focus on learning you are just throwing an unnecessary hurdle in your way.

[overther]

I'd choose the thinkpad. Haven't used this particular model though, but I'm very pleased with my experience with thinkpads so far.

[Migim]

Linux is not a problem. This is my 3rd year on uni and my old laptop died. I'm used to linux by now, but I still need to get better and better with it. Whenever I need windows i just start VM, no problem at all. I have also PC for windows and games, if i ever need more power.

 

Also in my Uni i can write programs on whatever os I like. I send the code like everyone else to the person who is checking our code and if there are any compiling issues I just go to him with laptop, dowload what I send to him from email (to show, that I didn't have more time than everyone else) and just run it on my system.

 

I tried dual boot, but frankly it's just not for me. VM's are much better, because I don't have to stop what i am already doing. 

 

I am  still actually leaning more towards HP. Why? Because it seems it has everything as THinkpad + higher quality materials (aluminium chasis) and keyboard backlight (not really that importat). But that aluminium chasis is tempting, compared to full plastic. It's also lighter. The real problem is that it's hard to find info about it, and that's my only big problem.

 

[genexis_x]

Where are you from?

Budget?

Preferred max weight (kg or pound), display size and minimum battery life (in hours)?

Any other special requirements?

[Migim]

Country: Lithuania

Budget: max 960$

Weight: Under 2 kg

Display size: 14" but i can consider 15,6"

Battery life: 8 hours? The longer the better

Special requirements: Good build quality? RJ-45 port, cool and quiet. 16 gb RAM

[genexis_x]

34 minutes ago, Migim said:

Lithuania

Any links of online stores?

[Migim]

3 hours ago, GeneXiS_X said:

Any links of online stores?

Not really, just generalyl asking about laptops mentioned by me above.

[genexis_x]

20 hours ago, Migim said:

Not really, just generalyl asking about laptops mentioned by me above.

I need the links to help you to choose the best options

[Migim]

https://nesiojami.lt/nesiojami-kompiuteriai/11964-hp-pavilion-14-i5-8250u.html

or

https://nesiojami.lt/nesiojami-kompiuteriai/11156-lenovo-thinkpad-e480-i5-8250u.html

 

can't find the link to the shop with 256 gb version (will try to find it and edit later) but hp is for 800 eur and lenovo for 830 eur

[genexis_x]

Link is broken