Need laptop suggestions for student

[gigachomp2000]

Choosing a laptop out of so many isn't easy..

 

I need a battery life of 8 hours or more. It has to be light-weight. I need it for simple tasks like web-browsing and Microsoft Office and I need to be able to multitask decently. I am not sure how much a laptop of these specifications will cost but please suggest the cheapest from reputable brands.

 

Thanks.

[I am an SSD]

8 minutes ago, gigachomp2000 said:

Choosing a laptop out of so many isn't easy..

 

I need a battery life of 8 hours or more. It has to be light-weight. I need it for simple tasks like web-browsing and Microsoft Office and I need to be able to multitask decently. I am not sure how much a laptop of these specifications will cost but please suggest the cheapest from reputable brands.

 

Thanks.

Lenovo G50-80E301Y7US (Low end)

Lenovo G50-70 (The i7 version with 1TB of storage (Medium )

Macbook (the new one) (High rider)

[ImmyCakes]

~Taken from Laptop Mag

[Ningols]

The Dell xps 15 is a great laptop IMO, especially if you want to play games on it too

 

[Uber Hamburgler]

54 minutes ago, gigachomp2000 said:

Choosing a laptop out of so many isn't easy..

 

I need a battery life of 8 hours or more. It has to be light-weight. I need it for simple tasks like web-browsing and Microsoft Office and I need to be able to multitask decently. I am not sure how much a laptop of these specifications will cost but please suggest the cheapest from reputable brands.

 

Thanks.

I find it hard to recommend anything that isn't Surface, Thinkpad, Precision, Latitude, Zen, or XPS branded.   I know all brands (except perhaps HP) make decent computers, but they also make some that are absolute shit.  Also, as a student myself, I find that lightweight is a rather meaningless quality as long as we're not talking about the 15 lb. Alienware and RoG behemoths.  Your laptop is almost always going to be either in a backpack, or on a table, even if it is actually on your lap, a 5.5 lbs 15.6" notebook is not going to cause any more discomfort than a 3 lbs. 13.3" ultrabook.

For a 15" model, I like the Dell Latitude 15 5000 (E5570).  It is available with a low-mid-range Radeon chip if you do 3D work or light gaming and just about any Intel CPU you could want.  If you are studying engineering I like the Dell Precision 15 3000 (3510), which is the notebook I personally have - it is identical to the Latitude, but with a FirePro instead of a Radeon.  I get around 7 hours of battery life.  The Asus Zenbook Pro gets an honorable mention here if you are a gamer for being built like a Macbook Pro with Windows and a GTX 960M that can handle most games on medium settings if you like.  The Zenbook Pro has the same specifications as the highest configured Dell XPS 15, but about $300 cheaper.
For a 14" model, I like the Lenovo Thinkpad T460 as previously mentioned by ImmyCakes.  The Thinkpad X1 Carbon is excellent as well, but about all you gain is the thinness, which as I said previously, I don't think is particularly beneficial.
For a 13" model, I like the Zenbook UX305, Macbook Pro, and XPS 13.  All 3 great Ultrabooks, the Zenbook is a bit less so due to the lack of Iris Pro graphics.

As you might have guessed from the quantity of description, I prefer 15" notebooks.  The downside is that most 15" models have a number pad, which makes the keyboard and trackpad offset to the left, which for some people can be annoying.  In that case, a 14" model might be your thing.  I don't like 13" laptops, the screen is just too small to have more than one window on.  I didn't describe any 17" models because they usually don't fit in a backpack, which really goes against your desire for portability. 

[ChrisCross]

1 minute ago, Uber Hamburgler said:

...

to be honest 15,6" is quite big to carry around in a backpack. around here everybody is using 14" ones.

zenbooks and thinkpads are quite popular.

[Uber Hamburgler]

On 4/27/2016 at 5:20 AM, ChrisCross said:

to be honest 15,6" is quite big to carry around in a backpack. around here everybody is using 14" ones.

zenbooks and thinkpads are quite popular.

I used to have a 13.3" convertible Ultrabook - an Acer  Aspire R13 - I notice no difference carrying it compared to my current 15.6" notebook - a Precision 3510.  I guess if you want to carry it in a satchel or purse 15.6" might be too big, but in a backpack it's just fine. 

[ChrisCross]

Just now, Uber Hamburgler said:

I used to have a 13.3" convertible Ultrabook - an Acer  Aspire R13 - I notice no difference carrying it compared to my current 15.6" notebook - a Precision 3510.  I guess if you want to carry it in a satchel or purse 15.6" might be too big, but in a backpack it's just fine. 

maybe in america everything is just bigger but if your in a lecture hall in germany you dont want anything bigger than 14"