Student Laptop Recommendations

[Enthusiast25]

Background

Hi I'm starting school this September and am looking for laptop recommendations. Right now I'm using an old (like maybe 6 years old) laptop that I had to get repaired, and as someone who knows what it's like having a good PC, this thing is god awful to use.

 

I know pretty much any decent laptop that's new will be a better experience. However, I do have some preferences and am looking for recommendations.

 

Requirements

CPU: Ideally an upper mid-range Ryzen

RAM: 16GB because I find 8GB can on occasion be claustrophobic

Screen: 13.3-14 inch 1080p IPS touchscreen

SSD: 512GB preferably, maybe 256 if it's an unbelievably good deal

OS: Preferably Windows 10 Pro, but Home is also okay

 

Usage

Mostly word processing, web browsing, youtube etc

Later on I'll be doing programming and probably some matlab as well

In terms of gaming nothing more than the occasional minecraft session

 

Budget

Between $1000-1500 CAD, I might be able to stretch it a little bit though. Also might wanna factor in the upcoming back to school sales, student discounts, rakuten, etc.

 

Edit: This Envy x360 seems to be the frontrunner so far but I still wanna explore other options and who knows it might even go on sale in the meantime

[marmour]

4 minutes ago, Enthusiast25 said:

 

If it's not for gaming, the HP Envy x360 should do nicely.

Can be equipped with a 4500U or 4700U which gives plenty of CPU muscle.

Should also be able to configure it with 16gb and a choice of screens from 300/400/1000nit, all touchscreen.

I think it's also on sale at the minute, and a manufacturer like HP will almost certainly have a back to school sale

[Enthusiast25]

3 hours ago, marmour said:

If it's not for gaming, the HP Envy x360 should do nicely.

Can be equipped with a 4500U or 4700U which gives plenty of CPU muscle.

Should also be able to configure it with 16gb and a choice of screens from 300/400/1000nit, all touchscreen.

I think it's also on sale at the minute, and a manufacturer like HP will almost certainly have a back to school sale

Oh yeah I'll add the usage to my post. Mostly it'll be web browsing, word processing, and later on I'll have to do some coding and matlab. In terms of gaming the most I would do is a bit of minecraft. Would the envy hold up to that?

[jaslion]

3 minutes ago, Enthusiast25 said:

Oh yeah I'll add the usage to my post. Mostly it'll be web browsing, word processing, and later on I'll have to do some coding and matlab. In terms of gaming the most I would do is a bit of minecraft. Would the envy hold up to that?

The envy would be plenty for all those tasks.

[Hackentosher]

XPS 13. The build quality on XPS machines is second only to Apple. Amazing keyboards and good screens, 11/10 recommend.

[5x5]

5 hours ago, Hackentosher said:

XPS 13. The build quality on XPS machines is second only to Apple. Amazing keyboards and good screens, 11/10 recommend.

Error? The XPS series are currently among the worst windows laptops. Not sure what you're talking about. They have power issues, overheat, discharge the battery under load because of insufficient adapter, DPC latency issues and frequently arrive broken because of the shit QA Dell have.

[5x5]

21 hours ago, Enthusiast25 said:

Oh yeah I'll add the usage to my post. Mostly it'll be web browsing, word processing, and later on I'll have to do some coding and matlab. In terms of gaming the most I would do is a bit of minecraft. Would the envy hold up to that?

The Envy or the Asus ZenBook 14. Both are great Ryzen models.

[Hackentosher]

7 hours ago, 5x5 said:

Error? The XPS series are currently among the worst windows laptops. Not sure what you're talking about. They have power issues, overheat, discharge the battery under load because of insufficient adapter, DPC latency issues and frequently arrive broken because of the shit QA Dell have.

My xps 15 9570 is great, best laptop I’ve ever had. My friend has one as well, and coworker has a 13 from a few generations back. You’re right they’re not perfect, mine does have some intermittent power draw issues, and it desperately needed a repaste from the factory, but in terms of build quality I’ve never seen a better build quality beyond Apple and Thinkpads. IMO, the xps line is the closest you can get to an Apple experience on Windows. I’ve heard previous models had more problems, but the ones I have personally interacted with a fantastic. 

[5x5]

12 minutes ago, Hackentosher said:

My xps 15 9570 is great, best laptop I’ve ever had. My friend has one as well, and coworker has a 13 from a few generations back. You’re right they’re not perfect, mine does have some intermittent power draw issues, and it desperately needed a repaste from the factory, but in terms of build quality I’ve never seen a better build quality beyond Apple and Thinkpads. IMO, the xps line is the closest you can get to an Apple experience on Windows. I’ve heard previous models had more problems, but the ones I have personally interacted with a fantastic. 

Getting close to Apple quality is a big negative considering Chromebooks are higher quality. Have you seen a MacBook PCB? Or Louis Rossmann. That's precisely why the XPS is to be avoided, it's closer to a MacBook than anything else and that's a very bad thing. Your is still young, it will have more issue as time goes by. But I cannot, in good faith, tell anyone to spend their money on an XPS device until Dell get their shit together and fix the issues that have been there since the 9550 in 2015.

[Hackentosher]

1 hour ago, 5x5 said:

Getting close to Apple quality is a big negative considering Chromebooks are higher quality. Have you seen a MacBook PCB? Or Louis Rossmann. That's precisely why the XPS is to be avoided, it's closer to a MacBook than anything else and that's a very bad thing. Your is still young, it will have more issue as time goes by. But I cannot, in good faith, tell anyone to spend their money on an XPS device until Dell get their shit together and fix the issues that have been there since the 9550 in 2015.

Ugh I don’t want to fall down the Mac vs pc rabbit hole but here we go I guess. I’m going to throw my response in a spoiler to not clutter this thread up too much since we’re straying so far from the OP’s question. 

Spoiler

 

Yes I follow Rossman, he’s a very talented technician and has made some very valid points about a mac’s design. See: water ingress point next to 50v pin on the backlight connector. But name a single item that is perfect, without a single design flaw. Also consider how many machines Apple ships. The sheer quantity of products they ship will increase the number of broken boards you see because there are more of them. If 1% fail, 1% of MacBooks is a ton of machines compared to 1% of MSI, Dell, HP, etc. Not every single machine is exactly like the ones that cross Rossman’s bench. I think it’s easy to forget this when you watch his strong opinioned videoed, I certainly have. As an electronics designer, I understand some of the decisions the engineers made and also understand how some oversights may have happened. I also appreciate the amazing work they have completed thus far. 

 

All I was trying to say is the body on my XPS is built like an m1 abrams, and I think the only machine that builds a better machine in terms of feel is Apple thus the comparison. Obviously they don’t have the same design flaws because they’re completely different machines. 

 

Getting back on topic, in my experience, the first thing to fail/detract from a laptop experience is the build quality. In my experience and opinions, the XPS line from Dell, Thinkpads from Lenovo, and MacBooks have some of the best build and feel on the market. This is the primary thing I evaluate when I look for a laptop. 
 

E: oh duh, Zephyrus g14 appears to be a good option. A lower spec would fit into that budget. The only thing I’m not sure about is the build and keyboard. I’ve heard mixed reviews, but if it’s cut out of a chunk of aluminum I’m sure it’ll be fine. 

[5x5]

1 hour ago, Hackentosher said:

Ugh I don’t want to fall down the Mac vs pc rabbit hole but here we go I guess. I’m going to throw my response in a spoiler to not clutter this thread up too much since we’re straying so far from the OP’s question. 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Yes I follow Rossman, he’s a very talented technician and has made some very valid points about a mac’s design. See: water ingress point next to 50v pin on the backlight connector. But name a single item that is perfect, without a single design flaw. Also consider how many machines Apple ships. The sheer quantity of products they ship will increase the number of broken boards you see because there are more of them. If 1% fail, 1% of MacBooks is a ton of machines compared to 1% of MSI, Dell, HP, etc. Not every single machine is exactly like the ones that cross Rossman’s bench. I think it’s easy to forget this when you watch his strong opinioned videoed, I certainly have. As an electronics designer, I understand some of the decisions the engineers made and also understand how some oversights may have happened. I also appreciate the amazing work they have completed thus far. 

 

All I was trying to say is the body on my XPS is built like an m1 abrams, and I think the only machine that builds a better machine in terms of feel is Apple thus the comparison. Obviously they don’t have the same design flaws because they’re completely different machines. 

 

Getting back on topic, in my experience, the first thing to fail/detract from a laptop experience is the build quality. In my experience and opinions, the XPS line from Dell, Thinkpads from Lenovo, and MacBooks have some of the best build and feel on the market. This is the primary thing I evaluate when I look for a laptop. 
 

E: oh duh, Zephyrus g14 appears to be a good option. A lower spec would fit into that budget. The only thing I’m not sure about is the build and keyboard. I’ve heard mixed reviews, but if it’s cut out of a chunk of aluminum I’m sure it’ll be fine. 

The G14 usee panels, not unibody chassis construction but this doesn't cover build quality in the slightest. The actual PCB and electrical design is world's better than what you get on a MacBook or XPS so the G14 will easily outlive those devices. As for proper business class machines such as ThinkPads and EliteBooks, it's not in that ballpark. But the boards on Dells XPS models in the past 5 years have really been abysmal. From an engineering point of view, they're terrible and have glaring flaws akin to what you find on Razer and Apple devices. I refuse to believe a 2000$ device should have an overloaded power delivery, massive overheating, 0.19$ paste and no VRM cooling whatsoever on one that is pushed at 105-110% of nominal capacity. Dell are making glorified Facebook machines and selling them for ludicrous prices based on looks, not quality or functionality. Until that changes, I'd expect the XPS laptops to not get recommended on most forums as is the case here.