Idk what I should buy since I feel like the macbooks are too expensive. What can you guys recommend?

Hello all, I'm a 25 year old vet who's getting back into school and recently got accepted to a computer science program. I have no idea what to expect on the type of load I'll see day to day with school and just programming in general.

I was hoping some people here could give me some insight into what the best laptop would be for me. I'd like to keep it around $800-1300 if possible. I don't need a gaming laptop as I have a full desktop at home already.

Thank you in advance!

My dad wants to buy me a macbook, but a lot of people have said not to do so, which is something that i myself agree with. Any suggestions for a windows operated laptop that's powerful & affordable? Thanks in advance.

I’ll be going into comp sci this fall at a big university and I’m looking for a cheap laptop ($600-800) that I can use during classes and on the go - whenever I’m not in my dorm on my main PC. My desktop is a 3060ti and has some pretty good specs, it’s going to be my main driver, however, during in-person classes I’m going to need something cheap but powerful enough to take notes and code on. I don’t want a 2 in 1, as I would never use the tablet function. Let me know what you guys think.

From what I’ve seen when doing research a Thinkpad or an Ideapad is probably my best option, but idk which model is best suited for me, and whether to go for refurbished or new, any advice is appreciated

Total budget: $400

Are you open to refurbs/used? Yes

How would you prioritize form factor, build quality, performance, and battery life? Solid build quality, prefer 16GB 4ram, decent battery life

Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A. Preferably 14” since I will be using for programming at school

Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run. No gaming, using IntelliJ, maybe run a VM

If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want? N/A

Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)? Comfortable keyboard

Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.

I’m on a budget for this laptop since I have a good desktop pc I use at home for gaming and everything else. This is strictly for use on campus so it doesn’t have to be something too good but I do want it to last.

I was looking at this thinkpad t480. Opinions?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/235086158475?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=sVIU4m-5R0e&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=fbceB5slT8S&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Edit:

Also found this carbon x1 g7

https://www.ebay.com/itm/195874628923?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=CUKe-_2zQui&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=fbceB5slT8S&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I'm looking for a laptop with good battery backup(must) and good performance. Something that'll last me 4 years and would be able to handle multiple programming tasks and all them softwares in my engineering. I won't game at ALL.

I'm currently in 1st year and I'm not sure what specs laptop I should go for. I would prefer a laptop that can last >4hrs during heavy tasks without much lagging.

Some laptops I looked at :-

1. Asus Vivobook 14X i5 13500h RTX 2050, 16GB RAM upgradable to 24GB, 1 TB SSD - 72K

2. Base M1 Macbook Air with 3 years apple care - 75K

3. Lenovo yoga 6 i5 1240p 12core 16GB RAM 512GB SSD - 59 K (edited- RAM)

4. Lenovo Ideapad Slim 5 i5 12450h 8core 16GB RAM 1TB SSD - 58.5 K

5. Lenovo yoga 6i i5 13500h 12core 16GB RAM 1TB SSD - 71 K

Edit- I'm gonna be doing development and I can't buy 16GB mac. It's out of my budget. Please suggest good windows laptops. I don't want something that's overkill, but can just get the work done.

PS- All the above prices are with discounts combined.

I am a student starting in the fall as a computer science major and looking for a a laptop to last me 4+ years unsure on my budget. I would prefer windows as I’ve simply always used it and just don’t like Mac’s. I know a Mac is technically better but I just can’t stand the software of the system.

I’m committing to UT for CS and need to buy a new laptop because my old one is broken and it sucked anyway. What laptop would you recommend for a new CS student? My budget is up to $2,000, but I’d prefer to spend less if possible. Also, does it matter if I plan to go into machine learning/AI, or would most of the heavy computing be done in the cloud?

My brother in law is starting university and will be majoring in Computer Science. He’s looking for a laptop with a budget around $1,400 (give or take) that will be best for his needs. I’m assuming it’s mostly for his schoolwork and some gaming. We’re not necessarily looking for the cheapest option. Any suggestions will be strongly considered.

Hi all,

I've got a wonderful desktop which I've done all of my college work on, however, one of my classes this semester requires a laptop. While I am a CS student, I know very little in the realm of which machines are reliable as well as what my hardware needs are, so I'm hoping to find help here. Thanks!

• Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:
  $300 USD (I'd be willing to fork out up to $500 but would like to be able to pay bills, so y'know)

• Are you open to refurbs/used?
  If they are trustworthy and I can get at least 5 good years of use out of them.

• How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?
  I would want the OS to be Windows, as that is what I've worked with all my life and due to the nature of the class I will be programming in a time crunch. Enough to worry about without having to learn to navigate a new OS. In addition, I could always set up a VM if needed, right?

• How important is weight and thinness to you?
  Not at all.

• Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.
  N/A

• Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.
  The heaviest thing I'll be doing is compiling and running college level programming assignments.

• If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?
  No.

• Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
  I would like a numpad, but I can do without it. I would like a keyboard that you can "feel" the button presses.

• Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
  I don't want anything fancy dancy, would actually prefer a lack of a touchscreen, I just want something cheap, simple, but reliable, if such a laptop exists. I've had a bad run with them which is why I opted to get a desktop, but in the year 2022 everyone expects you to have a laptop in every class.

Hi, I am an incoming CS student and am looking at getting a laptop. I am planning on using it to do classes, and I’m hoping to do take the AI track and do research in AI as an undergrad. As my laptop will need to be able to do these things for all 4 years, I am not sure if the lower or middle RPI laptops will be powerful enough since they lack a GPU but the top one is very expensive. What laptops would yall recommend? Would a Mac be a good option? What do yall use and how does it work for you?

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone could give me a recommendation for a laptop to run linux on. I'd use it almost exclusively for coding and regular day to day tasks like emails and browsing the web. I'm also often on the go when I work so battery life is very important. The final 'requirement' of sorts is linux compatibility, since it'd be my everyday workstation I'd really want it to be as stable as possible and require not too many tweaking on my part.

So in essence:

1. good battery life

2. good linux compatibility

3. good keyboard

4. good portability

5. good enough screen

Is what I'm looking for. Ideally it'd also be little budget friendly. Thanks for any suggestions!

Hello all! Still waiting on CAO results but I THINK my daughter may get an offer for her first choice of Computer Science. She is predicted 590 points and range is 500-625 at the school. 🙏🏼 We want to buy a new laptop. We are from France and sales are currently going on. Thoughts about good model? I saw a Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 6… or maybe Dell? Ideally it could allow for dual booting with Linux… (pre-installed or not) + Windows. Thanks for any input from the experts!!! 😛 Ideally it would not cost a fortune, but a good value for price and good functionality. 🙏🏼

Planning on coding/3d design/video editing Primarily coding as comp sci

hello,

I am an upcoming computer science student and planning to buy a laptop for college. I've done a lot of research on MacBooks (apple silicon) vs windows and people are saying different things and I am confused. I was at first planning to get a MacBook pro but many said that the applications that a cs student would use in college aren't compatible with macs and many said that they work fine. and if I end up having to buy a windows laptop for college, I don't know what brand or specifications would run smoothly. Please help

Thank you to everyone who is trying to help, I appreciate it!!

UPDATE: I emailed the undergrad office for CS for the college I am going to (like many of the people under this post recommended) and they said that windows and mac are fine and that the professors have workarounds for the new apple silicon chips for the things that aren't compatible.

If anyone is viewing this post and is not sure like I was, PLEASE email or call your CS undergrad office and ask before making your purchase decision. they will tell you what is best to do/buy.

Thank you again to everyone who responded to this post and tried to help!