I will no longer be using desktops since i'm going to college in just a few months. I think what I'm looking for is a great battery life? I don't think performance is mandatory in my case since my current desktop has a dual core processor and is performing quite well (it's an aging desktop as well).
I'm looking for a laptop for college
- Thread starter Squeezy
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- Nov 5, 2013
- 478
The battery life is quite good on latest laptops, because of their fresh hardware and the Win 8 is doing good about battery usage, so don't bother yourself about it. 
Actually, this depends on your way of usage. If you're a gamer person, who likes to have fun sometimes and distract from problems for a short duration ( like myself ) you'll have to get a laptop with prior hardware. (ex : min. i5 2.4 gHz processor, 1gb graphic cards, 6gb ram etc..) Otherwise than that, if you're not going to play hard-spec games, you can go for almost anything that you wish.. (ex: i3 or i5 processor, 4 gb ram, 512mb graphics etc.)
Just an example : http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron...8&qid=1404069629&sr=1-3&keywords=i5+4gb+500gb
Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, Sony, etc. they will be all good with you. Just decide according to your financial status
Good luck!!
Actually, this depends on your way of usage. If you're a gamer person, who likes to have fun sometimes and distract from problems for a short duration ( like myself ) you'll have to get a laptop with prior hardware. (ex : min. i5 2.4 gHz processor, 1gb graphic cards, 6gb ram etc..) Otherwise than that, if you're not going to play hard-spec games, you can go for almost anything that you wish.. (ex: i3 or i5 processor, 4 gb ram, 512mb graphics etc.)Just an example : http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron...8&qid=1404069629&sr=1-3&keywords=i5+4gb+500gb
Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, Sony, etc. they will be all good with you. Just decide according to your financial status
Good luck!!
The battery life is quite good on latest laptops, because of their fresh hardware and the Win 8 is doing good about battery usage, so don't bother yourself about it.
Just an example : http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i15RV-10000BLK-15-6-Inch-Processor/dp/B00AM7MM84/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1404069629&sr=1-3&keywords=i5 4gb 500gb
Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, Sony, etc. they will be all good with you. Just decide according to your financial status
Good luck!!
I don't play games really so any laptop would do fine really. I wanted to buy a lenovo laptop but reviewers claim that the battery only lasts for around 4-5 hours which is definitely not what im looking for. I also heard that DELL, HP and Acer products are poorly built which is why they overheat a lot and such. I wanted to get a Mac but it's just way too expensive where i live (around 250$ added to the price tag in the actual apple website). Asus looks good and im not sure about sony. All of them seem to be good at some aspects and bad at others (I aint looking for the ultimate laptop
) but as long as it performs well at everyday tasks and has a decent battery life it should do the job.
- Nov 5, 2013
- 478
I don't play games really so any laptop would do fine really. I wanted to buy a lenovo laptop but reviewers claim that the battery only lasts for around 4-5 hours which is definitely not what im looking for. I also heard that DELL, HP and Acer products are poorly built which is why they overheat a lot and such. I wanted to get a Mac but it's just way too expensive where i live (around 250$ added to the price tag in the actual apple website). Asus looks good and im not sure about sony. All of them seem to be good at some aspects and bad at others (I aint looking for the ultimate laptop
Well, I have an HP G6 Pavilion and all I can say is, its heating. Not overheating to close itself etc. but yes, its heating. I'm using this one for like 2 years now, still, its battery usage is good. I dont know about battery usage of Dell, but I can assure you that they have a great customer support, and its not that much heating (a lot of my friend has Dell). Yes, you're kinda true about Lenovo here
Asus has great hardware builds, and nearly all of its parts are Asus branded, they are surely quality products. Sony Vaio series (new ones) are amazing but they may be cost more from other brands. They even have some special models for long time usage based lappies, but as I say, extra cost. :/As I said before, do not worry about battery life that much, new models are already making up to min. 3-4 hours with hard usage nowadays
Windows 8.1 is great at power management/consumption so, it all depends on you and your financial status Thanks.
- Aug 30, 2012
- 6,598
It's for work (I suppose )
So search some with i3 or i5 (Haswell) CPU's with integrated graphics inside (Intel HD Graphics 4400 or 4600). Intel CPU's consumes less power than AMD and they are more optimized. So they will use less power and finally battery will last longer. And those graphics will suit your needs (watching 1080p movies, music, office progs, maybe some basic video/audio/photo editing, and some games on low settings), for me, there's no really need for a laptop to have ultragiga discrete graphic card, since it's mobile computer, it's not the basic purpose of it to play games (In my opinion)
4gigs of RAM minimum.
Rest you can choose yourself.
Good brands are Asus, Acer, Dell, Lenovo, HP...
)So search some with i3 or i5 (Haswell) CPU's with integrated graphics inside (Intel HD Graphics 4400 or 4600). Intel CPU's consumes less power than AMD and they are more optimized. So they will use less power and finally battery will last longer. And those graphics will suit your needs (watching 1080p movies, music, office progs, maybe some basic video/audio/photo editing, and some games on low settings), for me, there's no really need for a laptop to have ultragiga discrete graphic card, since it's mobile computer, it's not the basic purpose of it to play games
(In my opinion)4gigs of RAM minimum.
Rest you can choose yourself.
Good brands are Asus, Acer, Dell, Lenovo, HP...
- Jan 8, 2011
- 22,361
FYI: Sony VAIO's are no longer in production, they sold it to JIP (Japan).
+1 for 4GB RAM as a minimum.
Will your course require you to use certain software? What will you primarily being using the laptop for?
+1 for 4GB RAM as a minimum.
Will your course require you to use certain software? What will you primarily being using the laptop for?
- May 26, 2014
- 1,051
Somebody forgot Apple...
A Macbook Air has nice battery life and good performance, you can grab it now from MacMall at $949: http://www.macmall.com/n/Macbook-Air/macNavLinks-macNavLinks.221
A Macbook Air has nice battery life and good performance, you can grab it now from MacMall at $949: http://www.macmall.com/n/Macbook-Air/macNavLinks-macNavLinks.221
Frankly, i was leaning towards shelling out some extra cash and get a macbook air. It isn't for 949$ where I live though. It's around 1250-1400$ which is why i was hesitating considering it isnt the "actual" price. surprisingly the store is the official apple distributor. If it's worth the price tag here i'd get it, and this is why i started this thread. Do you say I go for it? (catalysts are definitely helpful
)@DaZa9 I don't really have a fixed budget, as long as it's worth the price i'll consider getting it.
@BoraMurdar Thanks for the tips
!@Huracan Probably watching videos/movies, listening to music, lurking through some powerpoint presentations and writing essays (Primarily for university related work but i'll also be using it for some sorts of entertainment since im throwing away my current desktop)
Last edited:
- May 26, 2014
- 1,051
It depends on what you thinkFrankly, i was leaning towards shelling out some extra cash and get a macbook air. It isn't for 949$ where I live though. It's around 1250-1400$ which is why i was hesitating considering it isnt the "actual" price. surprisingly the store is the official apple distributor. If it's worth the price tag here i'd get it, and this is why i started this thread. Do you say I go for it? (catalysts are definitely helpful
Most lightweight laptops are around $1000. Do you think this appeals to you?:
http://shop.lenovo.com/il/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t440s/
Or this?:
http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/macbook-pro
Or this?:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/ho...VY-TouchSmart-14t-k100-Ultrabook-ENERGY-STAR-
It depends on what you think
Most lightweight laptops are around $1000. Do you think this appeals to you?:
http://shop.lenovo.com/il/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t440s/
Or this?:
http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/macbook-pro
Or this?:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/ho...VY-TouchSmart-14t-k100-Ultrabook-ENERGY-STAR-
I just searched for mac laptops at some non-official stores (still reputable in my region) and they were much cheaper (just a little bit more than the price on the apple site) so theres that, do you say I get the macbook air or pro?
EDIT: on a second though I just found out that theres the lenovo thinkpad x240 which has a much greater battery life than macs and is a bit cheaper as well.
- Aug 30, 2012
- 6,598
This would be my choice
some review on laptopmag
http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/dell-inspiron-15-7537.aspx#
- May 26, 2014
- 1,051
If you need more power, go for the Pro. Differences:
CPU:
Air: Intel Core i5 Dual-Core 1.4 GHz (Intel HD 5000 graphics)
Pro 13 inch: Intel i5 Dual-Core 2.4 GHz( Intel Iris Graphics)
Pro 15 inch: Intel i7 Quad-Core 2.0 GHz (Intel Iris Pro Graphics)
RAM:
Air/Pro 13inch: 4GB DDR3 SDRAM
Pro 15 inch: 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM
SSD/HDD:
Air/Pro 13 inch: 128 GB PCIe
Pro 15 inch: 256 GB PCIe
Display:
Air: Regular Display (1440X900)
Pro 13/15 inch: Retina Display
Hmm the specs on macbooks arent exactly "modern" am i right? does the build quality make up for that high price? Im not going to be hasty, since im doing my research carefully and thoroughly (and i dont want to spend loads of money on something that i might be better off buying something else for less)
- Aug 30, 2012
- 6,598
If you buy Mac, you can always be sure that you could bought a lot better for that money
If you buy Mac, you can always be sure that you could bought a lot better for that money
that's exactly what I thought once I saw the specs (they're not even mentioned accurately on their website..)
Apple just lost 10 respect points from me
- Aug 16, 2013
- 356
After doing some searches I think this is a very good product for the price in my local store it's around 850$. It really has a great specs.
I might get back after doing another searches
- Intel® Core™ i7-4702MQ Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.20)
- 8GB DDR3 RAM 1333MHz
- 1TB HDD
- DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL
- AMD Radeon HD 8750M (2GB dedicated DDR3)
- 15.6" HD LED Display(1366 x 768)
- Webcam and Microphone
- Wi-Fi - Bluetooth - USB - Ethernet
- HDMI
- Lithium-Ion 6 Cell Battery
I might get back after doing another searches
- Jan 24, 2011
- 9,378
- Aug 16, 2013
- 356
Well, its CPU is a dual-core i7 clocked at 1.8 is very weak point for me. and 16GB is a waste since 8GB is more than enough.
This would be my choice
some review on laptopmag
http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/dell-inspiron-15-7537.aspx#
- Aug 30, 2012
- 6,598
Manufacturers often picks CPUs with lower base clock speed to consume less power when they work.
In this case clock speed of i7 is not a big deal, because that particular CPU has turbo boost so it can increase clock speed when it's needed and hyperthreading for memory intensive applications.
If you are not bothered by that, when you use Adobe Premiere to make a movie, particular CPU will encode the whole movie in 30min, comparing to another 4 core CPU with clock speeds of 2.66 Ghz that will encode the whole movie in 20min, then for a laptop, I think it's enough to have that dual core with 4 threads CPU.
There are always lot of variations of the same model so in the end you can choose the same config with 8gb of ram and stronger processor if you want.
Haswells are very strong CPUs, you can rarely max out it with some regular everyday program.
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