Best Laptops around $1000

[PenguinMaster]

Hi all-

 

I am looking to get a new laptop for college and my budget is anything around $1000.  I was looking for a windows machine as that is what my school mostly uses.  I do not really need it for any type of gaming since I have a desktop but if it can that would be a plus.  I was thinking something like the Razer Book or Blade since I like the big trackpad like the Apple MacBooks but if theres anything similar I would also consider it.  I was also thinking the Framework Laptop Kit could be a possibility.

 

What do you guys think?

 

I am open to used laptops - the Razer Blade would most likely need to be used.  Also for some reason I can't find the Razer Book at MSRP it seems like people are scalping the price on them for some reason.

 

Input is greatly appreciated

[Shimejii]

Im gonna be honest, do not buy any razor product with their laptops. They are good for a year, then they begin their heat death. They are not good products and i never will recommend anyone get them.

 

Things to look out for: Current deals in your area, like Bestbuys, Microcenters, or potentially used hardware on something like FB marketplace (always bring a friend with you for in person deals) 

 

If you want to order online, be weary of ebay. Sometimes those deals tend to have reasons, i saw a 3070 laptop going for 750$ last night but none of the pictures showed it powered on, which tends to be quite sketchy. 

 

Pay very close attention to the amount of ram, yes it can be cheaper to get a 8 gig stick and manually upgrade but some of the laptops are kind of a pain to take apart.

 

 

[BiotechBen]

17 minutes ago, PenguinMaster said:

Also for some reason I can't find the Razer Book at MSRP it seems like people are scalping the price on them for some reason.

https://www.razer.com/refurb-laptops/Refurbished-Razer-Book/RZ09-03570EM1-REFB?utm_source=google&utm_medium=google-shopping&utm_campaign=210101_RS_SYS_MID_US_EGR-systems_TR&gclid=CjwKCAjw9suYBhBIEiwA7iMhNDyjQcHA3nN5Kjg8bCfJAdc0QbekCdA2lEIycJIQUdSGvk6OMs2TqxoCHq8QAvD_BwE

[BiotechBen]

I usually recommend something like an HP ENVY for your use case, premium laptop and you know that it will last for a while.

[TylerD321]

I was a Mechanical Engineering major in college and got a beefier laptop with a graphics card and regretted it. I ended up selling it and getting a smaller, lighter Lenovo laptop. Before we can really give a good recommendation it is important for us to know what country you are located in. Deals in the US don't always exist elsewhere and so on.

[PenguinMaster]

@BiotechBen @Shimejii

I live in the US and also I'm a cybersecurity major.  So far what I've needed to use my laptop for in college was for Python coding and Wireshark.  Not sure what the future will hold though.

 

For specs an i5 or an i7 is fine and I would rather have good battery life over having a graphics card in the system.  8 Gigs is probably okay for my use case but I really would prefer 12 or 16.  For storage I think anything over 500GB is reasonable.  For size I would say 15" is my absolute max with 13 & 14 inch laptops preferred.

 

Do all razers have problems or is it just the ones with dedicated graphics cards?

 

Also I had a feud with HP in the past so I hate them now and will no longer support them

[Shimejii]

2 minutes ago, PenguinMaster said:

@BiotechBen @Shimejii

I live in the US and also I'm a cybersecurity major.  So far what I've needed to use my laptop for in college was for Python coding and Wireshark.  Not sure what the future will hold though.

 

For specs an i5 or an i7 is fine and I would rather have good battery life over having a graphics card in the system.  8 Gigs is probably okay for my use case but I really would prefer 12 or 16.  For storage I think anything over 500GB is reasonable.  For size I would say 15" is my absolute max with 13 & 14 inch laptops preferred.

 

Do all razers have problems or is it just the ones with dedicated graphics cards?

 

Also I had a feud with HP in the past so I hate them now and will no longer support them

Pretty much every single Razor Laptop is designed to fail due to heat death. Its the problem with trying to make something that thin with that much heat, its just not a good design. 

 

Is there a reason you dont want a Ryzen based 5000/6000 laptop? They are pretty amazing for battery life. id say you are better off with 15.6 over anything 13 or 14.

[PenguinMaster]

2 minutes ago, Shimejii said:

Pretty much every single Razor Laptop is designed to fail due to heat death.

Oh lol I did not realize they had a lot of problems

 

2 minutes ago, Shimejii said:

Is there a reason you dont want a Ryzen based 5000/6000 laptop?

AMD is fine also.  I just have not heard much about their laptop chips.

 

3 minutes ago, Shimejii said:

id say you are better off with 15.6 over anything 13 or 14.

The desks at my college are extremely tiny so I have a 13 inch laptop currently and it fills the whole table top.

[TylerD321]

21 minutes ago, PenguinMaster said:

Oh lol I did not realize they had a lot of problems

 

AMD is fine also.  I just have not heard much about their laptop chips.

 

The desks at my college are extremely tiny so I have a 13 inch laptop currently and it fills the whole table top.

What do you think of this lenovo laptop?

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkbook/thinkbook-series/thinkbook-13s-gen-4-(13-inch-amd)/21as0019us

 

AMD Ryzen™ 5 6600U

16 GB LPDDR5 6400MHz (Soldered)

512 GB PCIe SSD Gen 4

13.3" (1920 x 1200) IPS, anti-glare with Dolby Vision™, 300 nits

[PenguinMaster]

12 hours ago, TylerD321 said:

What do you think of this lenovo laptop?

I think it could be a potential laptop.  I was looking at the Lenovo ThinkPad and ThinkBook series and also the Dell XPS.  Which of the two would you recommend?

[PenguinMaster]

Update: I was given a Dell Inspiron 14 5400 2 in 1 - 14 Inch FHD Touchscreen, Intel Core i7, 12GB Memory, 512GB SSD laptop from a family member.  I think that should be good for me.

[BiotechBen]

On 9/5/2022 at 11:44 AM, PenguinMaster said:

Update: I was given a Dell Inspiron 14 5400 2 in 1 - 14 Inch FHD Touchscreen, Intel Core i7, 12GB Memory, 512GB SSD laptop from a family member.  I think that should be good for me.

Wish you luck with both your Dell and your degree