Choices for College - Dorm Machine/Class Machine?

[verttex]

Hey there,

 

I'm a senior about to go off to college and about to leave behind my desktop at home. 

 

I'm looking for two things: one powerful laptop, something that although portable, will spend a lot of time in my dorm. It will primarily be used for homework and gaming. I am a top end raider in WoW and looking to continue that. I really don't want a behemoth with a 17inch screen, but this would be my main machine.

 

The second thing I need is some kind of cheap laptop to bring to class. I'll be going to a college where although the dorms are going to be secure hopefully, but if I am going to invest quite a bit of money into a gaming machine for the dorm, I'm alright spending money on a second machine to use while on the go. I was thinking either a chromebook or something, around $200-400 that will both have a long lasting battery and a nice keyboard and trackpad.

 

One of my ideas is maybe picking up the Razer Blade Stealth and then trying to pair it with a Razer Core + a 1080 or 1070 when it comes out. But I haven't heard any _great_ things about the Stealth in terms of gaming, even with Linus's video saying that it's a good ultrabook but not talking about the core.

 

Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful, let me know if there's anything else I need to provide!

 

Thanks!

[VinsinityKT]

Ehh, I would just use an Ultrabook to take to classes as well like the XPS 15 if you want to do some gaming as well as homework, The thing with the Core combo I believe is you have to connect a monitor to it as well I believe.

[HelplmChoking]

The Stealth is awesome, but just be aware that the mobile i7 it has is only a dual core, with hyperthreading. It shouldn't constantly bottleneck a high end card, but in certain games (looking at you GTA V) it may slow you up a little. I'd still suggest that as your best option to be honest, the build quality of both devices is second to none.

[HelplmChoking]

1 minute ago, VinsinityKT said:

Ehh, I would just use an Ultrabook to take to classes as well like the XPS 15 if you want to do some gaming as well as homework, The thing with the Core combo I believe is you have to connect a monitor to it as well I believe.

^This is a good point I hadn't considered. But I always used at least one external monitor even with my old retina MacBook, and I would highly recommend it even without the Core.

[Curufinwe_wins]

Honestly, I don't think buying a laptop to take to class makes sense for most people.

 

Computational resources are super available at colleges and between your phone and a notebook (actual paper) it isn't a good investment IMHO.

 

Just throw that money into a smallish desktop where you get so much more for the price.

 

 

 

[verttex]

5 minutes ago, VinsinityKT said:

Ehh, I would just use an Ultrabook to take to classes as well like the XPS 15 if you want to do some gaming as well as homework, The thing with the Core combo I believe is you have to connect a monitor to it as well I believe.

I could always bring a monitor to college with me. It's going to be at a desk anyways, so it shouldn't be a big deal.

 

6 minutes ago, Rangaman42 said:

The Stealth is awesome, but just be aware that the mobile i7 it has is only a dual core, with hyperthreading. It shouldn't constantly bottleneck a high end card, but in certain games (looking at you GTA V) it may slow you up a little. I'd still suggest that as your best option to be honest, the build quality of both devices is second to none.

Not looking to play intensive games and the like. I am a gamer, but I don't play the newest stuff. Big WoW player, Overwatch soon, Hearthstone, League, stuff like that. Not looking to run GTAV on ultra or anything, just don't want to worry about the machine not keeping up with me.

[VinsinityKT]

1 minute ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

Honestly, I don't think buying a laptop to take to class makes sense for most people.

 

Computational resources are super available at colleges and between your phone and a notebook (actual paper) it isn't a good investment IMHO.

 

Just throw that money into a smallish desktop where you get so much more for the price.

 

 

 

Depends on which degree and university you are going to. If I didn't have a laptop in college, it would have been hell for me to do any work.

[HelplmChoking]

Just now, verttex said:

I could always bring a monitor to college with me. It's going to be at a desk anyways, so it shouldn't be a big deal.

 

Not looking to play intensive games and the like. I am a gamer, but I don't play the newest stuff. Big WoW player, Overwatch soon, Hearthstone, League, stuff like that. Not looking to run GTAV on ultra or anything, just don't want to worry about the machine not keeping up with me.

Then you should be fine. I used to have a keyboard, mouse, monitor and my charger set up at my desk in my old dorm room for getting real work/play done. Just pop the Core, monitor and any accessories on your desk and take the Blade on the go.

[verttex]

1 minute ago, VinsinityKT said:

Depends on which degree and university you are going to. If I didn't have a laptop in college, it would have been hell for me to do any work.

Really I was thinking maybe just a cheap chromebook that I'll bring and maybe install Linux or something onto it if I need something past the ChromeOS environment.

[HelplmChoking]

3 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

Honestly, I don't think buying a laptop to take to class makes sense for most people.

 

Computational resources are super available at colleges and between your phone and a notebook (actual paper) it isn't a good investment IMHO.

 

Just throw that money into a smallish desktop where you get so much more for the price.

 

 

 

I mostly agree with this, as a third year student, but sometimes it's really needed. I could get by without my Surface, but if I go away (which I do often, I visit parents half the country away and I also travel a bit for work) then I can't get any work done.

[Curufinwe_wins]

1 minute ago, VinsinityKT said:

Depends on which degree and university you are going to. If I didn't have a laptop in college, it would have been hell for me to do any work.

I don't mean to be argumentative, but shit, even 20 years ago you could go to a college and only use lab computers for your needs.

 

Naturally choosing not to use them is one thing, but I doubt very much any half way decent college in the US has a true darth of computing availability...

[verttex]

2 minutes ago, Rangaman42 said:

Then you should be fine. I used to have a keyboard, mouse, monitor and my charger set up at my desk in my old dorm room for getting real work/play done. Just pop the Core, monitor and any accessories on your desk and take the Blade on the go.

Yeah the thing I am worried about is droping 1k+ on the Blade and taking it to class with me and having the potential of it getting lost, beaten up, or stolen.

I would rather lose a cheap chromebook than my main machine, if that makes sense. And I am in a lucky situation where I can afford to get both.

[Curufinwe_wins]

1 minute ago, Rangaman42 said:

I mostly agree with this, as a third year student, but sometimes it's really needed. I could get by without my Surface, but if I go away (which I do often, I visit parents half the country away and I also travel a bit for work) then I can't get any work done.

Can't use a computer at your parents (NOTE I don't actually know the availability of computers in NZ)?

 

Look, I mean I owned two laptops throughout college, but the ONLY time they left my apt was when I had presentations and literally that was just because I couldn't be arsed to email them to myself.

[VinsinityKT]

2 minutes ago, verttex said:

Really I was thinking maybe just a cheap chromebook that I'll bring and maybe install Linux or something onto it if I need something past the ChromeOS environment.

 

1 minute ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

I don't mean to be argumentative, but shit, even 20 years ago you could go to a college and only use lab computers for your needs.

 

Naturally choosing not to use them is one thing, but I doubt very much any half way decent college in the US has a true darth of computing availability...

As an engineer, its a requirement to get a laptop. I have to do coding and stuff and computers aren't actually available in our lab classes. As I said it depends on your major and university.

[HelplmChoking]

2 minutes ago, verttex said:

Yeah the thing I am worried about is droping 1k+ on the Blade and taking it to class with me and having the potential of it getting lost, beaten up, or stolen.

I would rather lose a cheap chromebook than my main machine, if that makes sense. And I am in a lucky situation where I can afford to get both.

I get where you're coming from, had a friend drop her MacBook on asphalt. It no longer works.

In saying that, if you get a laptop sleeve or a good bag, its the way to go. But if not, you can get really cheap Chromebooks or that $100 HP Stream (@GB RAM woo!).

[Clyne]

1 minute ago, verttex said:

Yeah the thing I am worried about is droping 1k+ on the Blade and taking it to class with me and having the potential of it getting lost, beaten up, or stolen.

I would rather lose a cheap chromebook than my main machine, if that makes sense. And I am in a lucky situation where I can afford to get both.

Considering i got robbed at school, i'd take my chances of getting a Chromebook instead of bring a 1K+ laptop or so.

You could just get a 500 dollar 2-1 or so, i5 with 128GB SSD and 4GB ram is usually enough.

Are you actually going to have time to game with a gaming laptop?

[Curufinwe_wins]

5 minutes ago, VinsinityKT said:

 

As an engineer, its a requirement to get a laptop. I have to do coding and stuff and computers aren't actually available in our lab classes. As I said it depends on your major and university.

That's amusing, as an engineering student myself we HAD to use school computers for many things because the programs we used were insanely expensive for personal licenses and we had to get shit done.

 

Again don't get me wrong, most people had laptops (myself included), I just very much question the actual practicality and cost effectiveness of buying them in the first place. 

[HelplmChoking]

2 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

That's amusing, as an engineering student myself we HAD to use school computers for most things because the programs we used were insanely expensive for personal licenses and we had to get shit done.

 

Again don't get me wrong, most people had laptops (myself included), I just very much question the actual practicality and cost effectiveness of buying them in the first place. 

I studied software engineering, and while we had an near unlimited supply of desktops both within the engineering school and the rest of the university. The real issue comes when you're off campus, which happens a lot. You're fine until you need a full program, then you'll want a laptop with you.

[verttex]

11 minutes ago, Rangaman42 said:

I get where you're coming from, had a friend drop her MacBook on asphalt. It no longer works.

In saying that, if you get a laptop sleeve or a good bag, its the way to go. But if not, you can get really cheap Chromebooks or that $100 HP Stream (@GB RAM woo!).

Yeah, I'll probably just do a cheap chromebook or something for class. Thanks!

11 minutes ago, Bubblewhale said:

Considering i got robbed at school, i'd take my chances of getting a Chromebook instead of bring a 1K+ laptop or so.

You could just get a 500 dollar 2-1 or so, i5 with 128GB SSD and 4GB ram is usually enough.

Are you actually going to have time to game with a gaming laptop?

I hope so at least! I'm totally fine leaving the gaming laptop in my dorm while using a cheapo laptop to take notes and carry around with me.

9 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

That's amusing, as an engineering student myself we HAD to use school computers for many things because the programs we used were insanely expensive for personal licenses and we had to get shit done.

 

Again don't get me wrong, most people had laptops (myself included), I just very much question the actual practicality and cost effectiveness of buying them in the first place. 

I'm going into communications so there isn't really a requirement for my classes to have a computer. I understand where you're coming from though, and you make a good point. There are a ton of Mac labs and you can borrow computers from the library at the school where I am going to, but I know I am just going to want a laptop for my own personal use in class.

6 minutes ago, Rangaman42 said:

I studied software engineering, and while we had an near unlimited supply of desktops both within the engineering school and the rest of the university. The real issue comes when you're off campus, which happens a lot. You're fine until you need a full program, then you'll want a laptop with you.

See above.

 

 

Really the reason I made the thread was more about the machine for the dorm, it doesn't really matter what I bring to class, although cheap suggestions are good!

[CtrlAltELITE]

1 minute ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

That's amusing, as an engineering student myself we HAD to use school computers for most things because the programs we used were insanely expensive for personal licenses and we had to get shit done.

 

Again don't get me wrong, most people had laptops (myself included), I just very much question the actual practicality and cost effectiveness of buying them in the first place. 

 

Yeah I was the exact same, I had my desktop in my room well I was studying Mechanical Engineering (Computer science based engi might be different). The only college work I did on that was writing reports, the most compute intensive task was plotting datapoints onto a graph in excel.

 

In class we used FluidSIM and AutoCAD, both would be hundreds of $/£/€ if we wanted even an educational copy for ourselves.

 

Although now well im working I use my laptop all the time for office work, I do some light design work using AutoCAD to model ICE components. Workplace paid for the software license, I take my personal laptop into the office (too avoid using the awful PCs my work provides :D). Its a light-ish 15" gaming laptop. A Gigabyte P35Xv4. They do some models with 960m which are most likely in student price range. Best thing about it is it doesnt look "Gamer-y" so you can take into school/work without looking like a man-child.

[Curufinwe_wins]

12 minutes ago, Rangaman42 said:

I studied software engineering, and while we had an near unlimited supply of desktops both within the engineering school and the rest of the university. The real issue comes when you're off campus, which happens a lot. You're fine until you need a full program, then you'll want a laptop with you.

A commuter-type school?

 

Looking back, and even more today with how crazy powerful they have gotten, I tend to think that getting a sff pc would have been the better investment years ago.

 

Even a nuc-type or something that small is ultra book equivalent at 600 dollars cheaper.

 

7 minutes ago, verttex said:

I understand where you're coming from though, and you make a good point. There are a ton of Mac labs and you can borrow computers from the library at the school where I am going to, but I know I am just going to want a laptop for my own personal use in class.

If that is the justification (which is fine), I'd actually recommend a tablet (obviously windows has some distinct advantages but for many use cases android isn't actually bad) or convertible. 

 

5 minutes ago, CtrlAltELITE said:

snip

Yea my old gaming laptop (y580 class) is now my office pc while I use a XPS 13 as my daily driver (primarily because I give a lot of presentations/lectures). But as a student, pfff...

 

I was a NE, so we had some different programs in use (while not really NE in scope, matlab and maple were the ones I could least afford to not have on a daily basis and that meant using computer labs).

[verttex]

12 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

If that is the justification (which is fine), I'd actually recommend a tablet (obviously windows has some distinct advantages but for many use cases android isn't actually bad) or convertible. 

yeah that's a good idea as well.

 

Any thoughts on the computer for the dorm? Stealth + Core best option?

 

What do you guys think would be the best card for the Core once it comes out? The new 1080 or 1070?

[Curufinwe_wins]

1 minute ago, verttex said:

yeah that's a good idea as well.

 

Any thoughts on the computer for the dorm? Stealth + Core best option?

 

What do you guys think would be the best card for the Core once it comes out? The new 1080 or 1070?

1070 probs

[CtrlAltELITE]

3 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

Yea my old gaming laptop (y580 class) is now my office pc while I use a XPS 13 as my daily driver (primarily because I give a lot of presentations/lectures). But as a student, pfff...

 

I was a NE, so we had some different programs in use (while not really NE in scope, matlab and maple were the ones I could least afford to not have on a daily basis and that meant using computer labs).

 

Aye that lenovo is a nice looking one. XPS's are what most of the non-tech guys in my office are running around with, they seem to be the go-to laptop at the moment that workplaces provide management staff, for good reason too they look lovely for what they are. What you just said reminded me of something. Gigabyte still put VGA's on there laptops. Thats a bloody lifesaver for presentations! Most of the projectors I have seen in offices are old 360p units with VGA so only having HDMI/DP means you need to carry around a digi>analogue converter brick.

 

Speaking of man-child syndrome. Both our IT guys strole about with horrendous looking gaming laptops, unlike most of our engineers (I work at a generator power solutions company) they dont even try to excuse themselves, I walk into their office and they are both blatantly sitting next to eachother playing that Final Fantasy MMO. Although the young guy recently got himself one of those desktop 980 MSI GT units that I secretely really like . Although cant say id pick up the special edition dragon one he has in bloody race-car red.

 

 

[JefferyD90]

1 hour ago, verttex said:

Hey there,

 

I'm a senior about to go off to college and about to leave behind my desktop at home. 

 

I'm looking for two things: one powerful laptop, something that although portable, will spend a lot of time in my dorm. It will primarily be used for homework and gaming. I am a top end raider in WoW and looking to continue that. I really don't want a behemoth with a 17inch screen, but this would be my main machine.

 

The second thing I need is some kind of cheap laptop to bring to class. I'll be going to a college where although the dorms are going to be secure hopefully, but if I am going to invest quite a bit of money into a gaming machine for the dorm, I'm alright spending money on a second machine to use while on the go. I was thinking either a chromebook or something, around $200-400 that will both have a long lasting battery and a nice keyboard and trackpad.

 

One of my ideas is maybe picking up the Razer Blade Stealth and then trying to pair it with a Razer Core + a 1080 or 1070 when it comes out. But I haven't heard any _great_ things about the Stealth in terms of gaming, even with Linus's video saying that it's a good ultrabook but not talking about the core.

 

Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful, let me know if there's anything else I need to provide!

 

Thanks!

This would probably be my choice for a portable machine.  Cheap and comes with all the goodies.

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NJF1PGQ/ref=s9_acsd_bw_wf_a_win10dvs_cdl_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-8&pf_rd_r=1Y3Y60KCJH2BW2JFCYS5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=2249004562&pf_rd_i=11758178011

 

This would be my cheaper option for a gaming notebook.

 

http://www.amazon.com/HP-Touchscreen-Gaming-Laptop-GeForce/dp/B00X5X2MW8/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1462775723&sr=1-3&refinements=p_89%3AHP

 

You've already got all the expensive options figured out for yourself.  haha