Laptop for college

[spwath]

I'm going to need a laptop now for college, going into mechanical engineering.

 

Any suggestions?
I would like it to have some power, for engineering stuff, and a game on lower settings every now and then, but also be portable.

I don't need a convertible or anything, but a touchscreen is always nice.

I like Lenovo stuff, nice keyboards and build quality, but I'm open to anything.

Around 1200 USD tops.

 

Thoughts?

[C:\\Mat]

Depends. What's your budget? (if you don't mind me asking)

[handymanshandle]

XPS 13 or 15, up to you.

or Lenovo.

[spwath]

Just now, DasBassDropz said:

Depends. What's your budget? (if you don't mind me asking)

Oh yeah, that would be important. IDK, not too much, around 1200 tops, that the price of the laptop my sister got for college.

[C:\\Mat]

1200!! Well:

1. You could totally build your own rig that will have tons of power for that money. 

2. But like you said, portability. I would totally go for an Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming. 1050ti, with an i7 for the higher end ones. Good price ($950 USD) packs a good punch. 

[DocSwag]

XPS 15

[C:\\Mat]

2 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

XPS 15

Also a good option.

But at the same time, the gaming 7000 saves 300 bucks, has better graphics (i think)

Edited April 9, 2017 by DasBassDropz

[knowlesy]

Do you know what engineering programs you will be using? i would look at min specs on theses programs and start putting things into place from there

[NeoZeon]

The truth is that most laptops today with an i3 and 8gb of ram will be more than sufficient enough for almost any major in college. 

 

If you are motivated enough to become an undergraduate researcher, your lab should have a computer to use. Some don't, but STEM labs have $$$

[edit1754]

The Inspiron has nice battery life, but you may not want this laptop due to the screen quality issues: https://www.reddit.com/r/SuggestALaptop/comments/5ozrqq/warning_the_new_inspiron_15_display_is_indeed/

 

Unless you plan to replace the LCD yourself: https://www.reddit.com/r/SuggestALaptop/comments/5q8omp/update_on_inspiron_15_7567_gaming_laptop/

 

A replacement screen can make it an all-around great computer, but I don't really think it creates the all-around best experience if you're not going to replace the screen, all things considered.

 

Other GTX 1050 / 1050 Ti laptops with good displays right off the bat: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/637zjb/need_help_looking_for_a_laptop/dfs690i/

[TheBrainyGeek]

If you don't want to game a lot (like me) and want a laptop for college(like me), just buy Lenovo Yoga 710 or Yoga 910. I have been using Yoga 910 14" for 5 months now, and it's beautiful and has great performance, at the same time, my friend bought Yoga 710 15" which is wayy cheaper, better performance and not so bad looking. Keep in mind, Yoga 710 does not have USB C and Yoga 910 does not have thunderbolt 3.
Yoga 720 has already been announced and might be worth the wait.

[Connor253]

You should get a asus transformer book I have one as my daily driver they are great.

They are well built and fast.

The keyboard is surprisingly nice and the screen is great.

The touchpad is responsive and easy to use.

The fact that you can take the screen off and use it as a tablet for playing games and media consumption you can then put the tablet back on to the keyboard and use it as a laptop for work and any other productivity you want to do.

[aubryscully]

+1 On the XPS lineup. I have an XPS13 9350 (in high school currently) and I love it so much. For more power though, definitely the XPS 15. While it may not have quite as  much power as some cheaper options, it gains heavy marks for the excellent screen, fantastic battery life, and the overall build quality/slimness/low weight. It will do the same job, but do it with so much more style and luxury.

 

If you are in the US, or somewhere where you can buy from eBay, I highly recommend getting one from there. You save a ton of money as they are typically factory refurbs, both both my friend and I who ordered the same model from same shop received brand new units. You also get same warranty as new so really its an all round fantastic deal. The model I bought originally cost $1500 from Dell (i5-6200U, 4k touchscreen, 8GB RAM, 256Gb NVMe SSD) but I got it for $869 back in July.