Best Student Laptop

[Grizwald200]

Hello readers I need help deciding what laptop I should get. Sometime in July I plan on buying a Desktop to have in order to accommodate for my games and programs that take a lot of data and processing power to run. However, I still require a laptop like I currently have for school, competitions, and while away from my home.

Since I'm spending around $700+ on the desktop the laptop will have to be below that price range and be able to be ordered off of amazon which is my last place of choice, or be found in stores like Best Buy or Micro Center.

My goal with this laptop is to have a computer that is light and versatile. Preferably on the small side of the spectrum. I would like to be able to take notes and stuff on it and be able to use programs such as Solidworks and Photoshop without worrying about the program completely crashing all the time or the computer heating up to a unbearable temperature. I have a mouse already so I won't need one but will need to have a few USB spots. Thanks in advance for reading and if there is any clarifying questions I can answer let me know.

[themctipers]

Hello readers I need help deciding what laptop I should get. Sometime in July I plan on buying a Desktop to have in order to accommodate for my games and programs that take a lot of data and processing power to run. However, I still require a laptop like I currently have for school, competitions, and while away from my home.

Since I'm spending around $700+ on the desktop the laptop will have to be below that price range and be able to be ordered off of amazon which is my last place of choice, or be found in stores like Best Buy or Micro Center.

My goal with this laptop is to have a computer that is light and versatile. Preferably on the small side of the spectrum. I would like to be able to take notes and stuff on it and be able to use programs such as Solidworks and Photoshop without worrying about the program completely crashing all the time or the computer heating up to a unbearable temperature. I have a mouse already so I won't need one but will need to have a few USB spots. Thanks in advance for reading and if there is any clarifying questions I can answer let me know.

 

there you go night theme users!

-

UX330CA/UA. CA is m3 and 1080p IPS, UA is i5 7200u and 4k IPS

13", it's ~$600/800, should have good battery life.

[xc3ll]

If you want handwritten notes, you should look into the Acer Switch Alpha. The base configurations are pretty good for the money. It's basicly a cheaper Surface Pro

[Gung Pow Chicken]

What kind of budget are you trying to stick around?

 

[Grizwald200]

4 hours ago, Icuw1pc said:

What kind of budget are you trying to stick around?

 

Under 700

 

[Shreyas1]

Personally, I would go with a cheap chromebook and spend the rest on a more powerful desktop.

[Pendragon]

3 hours ago, Grizwald200 said:

Under 700

 

X260 or T460 on Thinkpad Outlet or Ebay Refurb.

 

If you want to go DIY, a T430 with a quad core runs you like 400 ish but you get a sick quad core. 

[Gung Pow Chicken]

3 hours ago, Grizwald200 said:

Under 700

 

T430!

 

You will get the most longevity and power from one of these bad boys.

You can get a bare bones T430 on ebay for around $100 USD.

Here are a list of upgrades I would recommend:

 

Upgrade list.

CPU: i7-3630QM $70 USD (or any mobile QM chip) (XM Chips also work I've had a few of them)

HFS: FRU 0B41089 (Dual pipe and larger fan for better cooling) $12.99 USD

Ram: 16gb DDR3 (corsair,kingston,hyperx,samsung...) Avg $80-$130 USD

Storage: SSD (Main Drive) ?

Optional Storage: mSATA SSD ?

Optional Storage: Ultrabay Drive Adapter ?

Display: AUO B140RTN02.1 1600x900 Matte Black ( great screen IMO) $40 USD

Keyboard: Either stick with the xx30 series or move to the legendary xx20 series. $30 USD

Battery: 9-cell $50 USD

 

TOTAL: under $400 for just these upgrades minus your storage drive (plenty of options for $300)