Laptop for College

[CourageousRhino]

Going to be starting my first semester in accounting this year and was wondering what's the best laptop to currently get for me. Will be general use for whatever is required in accounting + browser, messenger, and some lightweight gaming.

 

Currently weighing up my options between -

 

Dell XPS13

HP Spectre x360

Macbook Pro 13

 

Anyone here can share any personal experiences they had with their devices here for any advice? Especially if you're within the field. Thanks

[CourageousRhino]

Probably blind but can't see option to edit OP, so making a new post instead. How is portability with 15inch in college? I've been weighing that for my options, but felt 13inch could be best suited for my needs. I also have a beast gaming computer at home, so no need for anything outside my purposes, but would like something nice nonetheless.

 

EDIT: found it...

 

EDIT 2: On that note, I'm not too worried about it handling games well or not. Just throwing that out there. 

[dizmo]

XPS13 all the way, especially if you're getting the Kaby Lake one. If you are, make sure you go for the i5 instead of the i7, it gets significantly better battery life. I don't think I'd go for the Mac. When I took Accounting there's software you need to use (most likely) and some profs don't like to learn how it works on anything other than Windows. Could be different at your school.

 

Welcome to the forum

[Petikeki]

Just an idea...

 

 

[CourageousRhino]

18 minutes ago, dizmo said:

XPS13 all the way, especially if you're getting the Kaby Lake one. If you are, make sure you go for the i5 instead of the i7, it gets significantly better battery life. I don't think I'd go for the Mac. When I took Accounting there's software you need to use (most likely) and some profs don't like to learn how it works on anything other than Windows. Could be different at your school.

 

Welcome to the forum

Thank you for the welcome!

 

I guess that rules out the Macbook, since it seems like it'd be reasonable logic. It was pretty low on my list but thought I'd chuck it up to see what people say anyways. Do you think getting an i5 over an i7 is worth the extra battery life you can get? I'm not sure how much power accounting apps really do require, but I also do plan to do some IT courses - information systems. 

 

8 minutes ago, Petikeki said:

Just an idea...

 

 

Don't worry, never considered getting one. Call me that guy, but wasn't a fan of the idea carrying around a gaming laptop in public.

[Hunter06]

the laptops u showed are all productivity laptops..not good at gaming at all. if u want something to game on here are some recommendation around ur budget 

 

ASUS GL502 (GTX 1060), powerful but flashy gamery looking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDJd_9CMkEg&feature=youtu.be

 

Dell XPS 15 (gtx 1050) good for light gaming but dont look flashy at all, top recomendation but high price https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAiH6rdr78Q

 

Dell Inspiron 7567 (gtx 1050ti) good for gaming and best value https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQFn1Z-x9DQ&feature=youtu.be

 

[CourageousRhino]

7 minutes ago, Hunter06 said:

the laptops u showed are all productivity laptops..not good at gaming at all. if u want something to game on here are some recommendation around ur budget 

 

ASUS GL502 (GTX 1060), powerful but flashy gamery looking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDJd_9CMkEg&feature=youtu.be

 

Dell XPS 15 (gtx 1050) good for light gaming but dont look flashy at all, top recomendation but high price https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAiH6rdr78Q

 

Dell Inspiron 7567 (gtx 1050ti) good for gaming and best value https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQFn1Z-x9DQ&feature=youtu.be

 

Like I said above, I don't need something to game on, it's not important. If I play games at all, it'll probably be on my desktop.

[Hunter06]

3 minutes ago, CourageousRhino said:

Like I said above, I don't need something to game on, it's not important. If I play games at all, it'll probably be on my desktop.

then xps13 or xps 15

i would go for xps15 

[CourageousRhino]

31 minutes ago, Hunter06 said:

then xps13 or xps 15

i would go for xps15 

Have you had any personal experiences with carrying a 15inch around class? I don't think I need something bigger than 13-14inch, but it's up for consideration.

[Hunter06]

9 minutes ago, CourageousRhino said:

Have you had any personal experiences with carrying a 15inch around class? I don't think I need something bigger than 13-14inch, but it's up for consideration.

yes, carried a 15inch, much heavier laptop through my four years college life. the laptops are much much lighter now. i recommended it because 13inch is just too small for speardsheets and documents, especially if are spending a lot of time on it. at 15 inch screnn size u get a much comfortable experience and even put up two documents side by side and multitusk better

[Pendragon]

2 hours ago, CourageousRhino said:

Going to be starting my first semester in accounting

...don't you need a numpad. I'm pretty sure you need a numpad. I STILL need a numpad and I'm working in an adjacent field. (though sometimes I bring the external numberpad with me). 

 

T560.

[CourageousRhino]

19 minutes ago, Pendragon said:

...don't you need a numpad. I'm pretty sure you need a numpad. I STILL need a numpad and I'm working in an adjacent field. (though sometimes I bring the external numberpad with me). 

 

T560.

I honestly personally have no idea how much a numpad is required during accounting classes. I was thinking I wouldn't need it as much, and when the opportunity does come up, I bring an external one with me?

[Pendragon]

2 minutes ago, CourageousRhino said:

I honestly personally have no idea how much a numpad is required during accounting classes. I was thinking I wouldn't need it as much, and when the opportunity does come up, I bring an external one with me?

 

 

LOOOOOOOL. Okay, you have no idea how accounting classes are. a number pad is necessary. I finished all my required ones without a numpad but god I wished I had one.

[Zeke_]

Get a chromebook for class notes and school stuff for like 150$  then have a PC at your dorm for more intensive work and games

[dizmo]

12 hours ago, CourageousRhino said:

Thank you for the welcome!

-snip-

Yeah. I'd go battery life for sure. The i7s are still dual core unless you get HQ chips which will chew through battery life super, super fast. Plus since you're just doing word processing and such it's not really a huge issue. I was using a third gen i5, had no issues. So you should be perfectly fine with a sixth or seventh gen. Do you plan on taking stuff like SQL, Access and such? I also assume they put you through Office classes?

 

I totally forgot about Lenovo, mostly due to the whole BIOS spyware issue. However if you look into it and you're fine with it, then they're a really solid option right now. They have a killer sale.

 

Personally I'd go for the T460 and just grab a USB numpad. You can get ones with mechanical or even rubber dome keys that just feel nicer. You can get a fully loaded one with an absolutely massive battery for $760. There are two upgrades I wouldn't get from Lenovo as they are very overpriced:

• RAM - 204pin SoDIMM DDR3L. Just make sure it's 1.35v. You can get it half price online.
• SSD - Check reviews for how it performs in a laptop, but you can get a much better drive for the money. Just check out reviews to see how much power they draw. For example, the MX300 active idle power draw is 4x that of the Trion 150.

But overall, for about $950 you could have a machine with a literally all day battery, 16GB of RAM, and a ~512GB SSD.

12 hours ago, Name Taken said:

Thinkpad 13
Thinkpad T470
Thinkpad X1 Carbon 5th generation

Thinkpad X1 Yoga 2nd generation

The T470 isn't out is it? I can't find any info on it.

11 hours ago, CourageousRhino said:

Have you had any personal experiences with carrying a 15inch around class? I don't think I need something bigger than 13-14inch, but it's up for consideration.

Depends how you carry it, how strong you are, and how much of a course load you have at any given time.

I'd invest in a really solid backpack if you're going with a 15" if you commute to school by any means other than driving.

11 hours ago, Pendragon said:

...don't you need a numpad. I'm pretty sure you need a numpad. I STILL need a numpad and I'm working in an adjacent field. (though sometimes I bring the external numberpad with me). 

 

T560.

I'd just use external. Not every class requires a numpad, and the added bulk can be a pain.

10 hours ago, CourageousRhino said:

I honestly personally have no idea how much a numpad is required during accounting classes. I was thinking I wouldn't need it as much, and when the opportunity does come up, I bring an external one with me?

You do know that Accounting is mostly about numbers right? Most of my classes were lectures though. So you'd listen, take notes, there's law classes, etc etc. At my school if there were labs that you used the school computers in. I'd go with a smaller laptop and an external trackpad, though the T560 is the same price as the T460. All comes down to personal preference.

3 hours ago, Zeke_ said:

Get a chromebook for class notes and school stuff for like 150$  then have a PC at your dorm for more intensive work and games

Not really ideal. If you have a group project or study session it's a lot nicer to be able to actually take your stuff with you, rather than be like "well, do you guys want to come over to my small dorm room and study?".

[CourageousRhino]

Thank you for the suggestions guys and I have looked into the ThinkPads. Although they are great in terms of value for what you get, it's not something really appealing to me, and that's just a matter of my own personal taste.

 

Still looking between XPS13 and Spectre x360 at the moment.

 

As for numpads, I think carrying an external one will suffice.