Looking for a laptop (software engineering)

Chockeh · August 13, 2014

Hello, I'm a software engineering student that needs advice on what laptop I should buy. I basically want something really lightweight and powerful enough to handle stuff like game design. I should be able to last at least 4 years. My budget should be about $1.2k, but I should be able to spend up to 1.4k if there's enough of a good reason (but honestly, I rather you keep 1.3k in mind). Also, I live in Canada. School is Ecole de la Technologie Superieur if you need to know that info for a student discount.

As for specs, I'm assuming that I should at least get something like 8GB of RAM, an i5 (haswell), and a 256GB SSD. I don't know if 128GB is enough, but I'm willing to upgrade down the line if the SSD is replaceable. I might get an i7 processor since upgrading the cpu is not a good idea (is it even possible). Also, I'm wondering when's the best time to actually get a device. Should I get a Haswell machine if the price is good, or should I wait for Broadwell or even Skylake chips?

My first choice would have been an xps 12 or an aspire s7, but I can't really find an excellent deal. I was also considering the ativ book 9 plus or the x1 carbon, but that shit is way too expensive for the specs I want.

Another option would be some kind of macbook. I was against it at first, but it seems like something I could get used to. I don't mind osx, and I can probably download Windows with bootcamp or use a virtual machine. I might also need to put Ubuntu in a virtual machine. Right now, I can use my student discount to buy a macbook air at a reduced price (not by much) and I can get a $110 gift card for the apple store if I buy it before september 9. The 12" MBA retina would have been announced after September 9 though. So, what do you guys think I should do?

ForsakenLive · August 13, 2014

Why don't you get an Asus Zenbook?, the UX303LA is affordable and has pretty much everything.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231814

You can also find it with different CPUs and SSD sizes (up to 256gb), for school work 128GB is more than enough, even with several OSs and programs on it.

SSOB · August 13, 2014

Asus UX series

Vaio Pro 13 (would be my pick)

Apple Macbook pro 13 (don't worry, if you can't get along with OSX it's a breeze to install windows on it.)

MrBucket101 · August 13, 2014

xps12, linus gave it high marks, good enough for me

Master Valafar · August 13, 2014

Putting Linux on a VM works, but is not recommended for some engineering projects where you'll need to deal with low-level design (let's say robotics).

If you only do software though, you should be good. I personally (computer engineering student in Montreal too) own a ASUS N750JV and that works pretty well, but is quite heavy.

If I had to purchase a laptop right now for school, it would be an ASUS Ultrabook with touch screen and a numpad (can't work without it).

I noticed that Lenovo have nice models of laptops right now (Flex 2 series) at a reasonable price and nice specs, but then there's also the y50 that's not bad.

I know some macbook are being reduced in price as of right now (150$ of rebate for a macbook pro) in some stores in Montreal.

Keep in mind that the price for a laptop good for school can range between 850 and 1350$.