Is this a good laptop for a Computer Engineering student?

[Weak1ings]

Hi, I'm looking for a good laptop under the $1000 mark and believe I may have found a winner:

ASUS K501UW-AB78[link]

 

I will be a commuting College student for Computer Engineering and need the laptop to be able to work well for when I am not at my own home, is this K501UW suitable?

Also, please throw some recommendations and input on whether its fit for non-rendering applications. 

thanks!

 

Features of it:

• i7-6500U 2.5Ghz (fine for AUTOCAD due to its single-threaded nature)
• 1080p monitor
• Aluminum build
• 960M 2GB
• 4.4 Pounds, fairly portable
• 15.6" laptop
• 512GB SSD with spare expansion bays
• 8GB RAM with one open expansion slot

 

This is NOT my sole computer, I already have a desktop at home, but being a commuter I will be fairly disconnected from it.

[Thunder_Ruler0]

4 minutes ago, Weak1ings said:

Hi, I'm looking for a good laptop under the $1000 mark and believe I may have found a winner:

ASUS K501UW-AB78[link]

 

I will be a commuting College student for Computer Engineering and need the laptop to be able to work well for when I am not at my own home, is this K501UW suitable?

Also, please throw some recommendations and input on whether its fit for non-rendering applications. 

thanks!

 

Features of it:

• i7-6500U 2.5Ghz (fine for AUTOCAD due to its single-threaded nature)
• 1080p monitor
• Aluminum build
• 960M 2GB
• 4.4 Pounds, fairly portable
• 15.6" laptop
• 512GB SSD with spare expansion bays
• 8GB RAM with one open expansion slot

Its fine if you are always moving around, but if you need raw specs, and especially ram. you should go with a desktop. Not to mention that desktops normally more reliable.

 

[Guest]

i'd say thats well worth the money, you can even upgrade to more ram.

 

only real "problem"(not even a real problem, just nit picking) would be the matte display? 

 

Edit: found out its a dual core, nvm not rly worth it

[Dackzy]

No you want/need a quadcore CPU and it is asus their support is a joke ant their build is close to beeing a joke. A dual core i7 is weaker than a quadcore i3.

Look at:

Y700

Dell 7559

Sager something or really just any Clevo rebranded laptop

[Weak1ings]

7 minutes ago, Thunder_Ruler0 said:

Its fine if you are always moving around, but if you need raw specs, and especially ram. you should go with a desktop. Not to mention that desktops normally more reliable.

 

thanks for the input, I should have mentioned I already have a very high end desktop at home, its just not portable.

[Pendragon]

5 hours ago, Weak1ings said:

thanks for the input, I should have mentioned I already have a very high end desktop at home, its just not portable.

Even if you have a desktop, for a 1000 usd you can get a quad core mobile which is much better than the i7-6500u. It's just better value for the money.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Dackzy said:

No you want/need a quadcore CPU 

wait wait this is true.

 

idk why amazon says this is a quad core but in intel's ark it says its a dual core

[Dackzy]

2 hours ago, PeloyGeek said:

wait wait this is true.

 

idk why amazon says this is a quad core but in intel's ark it says its a dual core

because that dual core has hyperthreading, but the CPU is still insanely week, a desktop i3 can beat it...

[Weak1ings]

6 hours ago, Dackzy said:

because that dual core has hyperthreading, but the CPU is still insanely week, a desktop i3 can beat it...

Keep in mind, it is a laptop CPU and until you go for the i7 HQ, that i3 will probably beat everything including a i5 HQ...  I think that I don't need 4 real cores because AUTOCAD is, in drawing, mainly a single-threaded reliant program and I can do renderings at home.  Say I'm not heavily gaming on it, what would I need those 4 cores for?

 

Also, the laptop dropped to $800 now.

[Dackzy]

3 hours ago, Weak1ings said:

Keep in mind, it is a laptop CPU and until you go for the i7 HQ, that i3 will probably beat everything including a i5 HQ

wrong a 6300HQ is pretty close to the desktop version.

 

3 hours ago, Weak1ings said:

 I think that I don't need 4 real cores because AUTOCAD is, in drawing, mainly a single-threaded reliant program and I can do renderings at home.  Say I'm not heavily gaming on it, what would I need those 4 cores for?

 

Also, the laptop dropped to $800 now.

It will not only be more powerful in multicore, but also in single. Most programs can use more than 1 core and a quad core will be insanely good if you have multible programs open at the same time.

Yeah and that laptop is still CRAP and belongs in the trash, "just like their support" does, it is far from worth the money, when for the same money you can get a Dell 7559 with a i5 QUAD CORE and a 960m and for 40$ more you can get a i7 version.

 

It is your money, if you want to get that asus laptop then I can't stop you.

[Mark77]

Personally I'd highly recommend you go with a "business class" laptop from Dell/HP/Lenovo.  Quadcore isn't necessary.  But you want something solid, reliable, and something for which support and spare parts are relatively easy to find a couple years down the road. 

 

Most of the stuff you do in undergraduate "computer engineering" isn't terribly CPU intensive.   But if you're hauling a laptop around, you need something that can survive the abuse.  External docking capability is also a great feature to have, especially for those long programming sessions, and to protect your USB and Ethernet ports from being damaged through repeated insertions.

 

I have been buying Dell laptops for the past decade.  I can obtain literally almost every part in the laptop (and could probably build an entire system from parts) off of eBay sellers, without a lot of trouble.  You really can't do this with an Asus. 

 

Also, if you're a commuter, you might want to look into a 4G LTE card for the laptop.  So you can at least get some work done "on the go". 

[Weak1ings]

44 minutes ago, Mark77 said:

Personally I'd highly recommend you go with a "business class" laptop from Dell/HP/Lenovo.  Quadcore isn't necessary.  But you want something solid, reliable, and something for which support and spare parts are relatively easy to find a couple years down the road. 

 

Most of the stuff you do in undergraduate "computer engineering" isn't terribly CPU intensive.   But if you're hauling a laptop around, you need something that can survive the abuse.  External docking capability is also a great feature to have, especially for those long programming sessions, and to protect your USB and Ethernet ports from being damaged through repeated insertions.

 

I have been buying Dell laptops for the past decade.  I can obtain literally almost every part in the laptop (and could probably build an entire system from parts) off of eBay sellers, without a lot of trouble.  You really can't do this with an Asus. 

 

Also, if you're a commuter, you might want to look into a 4G LTE card for the laptop.  So you can at least get some work done "on the go". 

What laptop do you then suggest?  While I do want something fairly good, like that i7 dual core is going to be fine for me.

I value these:

• Typing is GOOD
• Build quality feels as good as a Mac Book, or a little worse (why I don't want that Dell 7559)
• Lightweight
• 960M for Lan parties if wanted but At least a discrete GPU.
• Cost less than $1000, and if no SSD is included, budgeted to add a 500GB SSD in that $1000
• Good battery life
• 1080p at least
• 8GB minimum with expansion available

This does make that ASUS seem appealing, and while I do like ASUS more than most brands, I'm not dead-set on it.