Unrelated topic, Laptop question

[paulsharvey]

Wife and I are gonna need to get son a laptop for use in college, and I'll admit I'm very far separated from the computer scene. No CAD, graphics design, or complex processing stuff; but something that works well, and can handle getting thrown (hopefully not literally) in a truck. He's going to be commuting for atleast the first couple semester, and he has a 'gaming pc' desk top at our house; but needs something to take to school/use at school between/before/after classes. Probably touch screen, as I had one at work, until they "upgraded" me to a non-touch screen. I dont think a tablet or chrome book type thing is going to be the right choice; just a functional, cheap, durable laptop. Any recommendations? Any to avoid? For not CAD/graphic design/gaming; is there anything that you would specifically look for, or runaway from?

 

[Tpondel]

I've bought quite a few over the decades from Dell. Good laptops. Very good service.

 

[drssg]

The biggest difference I've seen in recent years is the solid state drive (SSD). That makes a world of difference in the performance, and they aren't that expensive anymore.

 

[Yander]

I'm a big fan of HP. I buy them for home and we also use them where I work and have for years. Stay away from Lenovo.

Here are the specs on the one I just bought for home use. Get 32GB of physical memory. You'll notice below that my computer only has 18.2GB of remaining physical memory and all I have running when I took this snapshot of my system is the Chrome and IE browsers. Windows 11 is a memory hog and if your son has any applications for school that take up memory it will be dog slow with too little physical memory.

You definitely want a Solid State Hard Drive (SSD)

Memory is actually more important than processor speed in many cases.

You should be able to get a good computer for around the $500 mark.

 

[deserteagle71]

Willing to bet that most colleges/universities use primarily Apple's MacBooks, not a Windows laptop. Compatibility with what others are using can be important.

 

[Yander]

Here is one that would check all of my boxes for a college student. I think the main thing is find out if he would want a 15" or 17" monitor. I'm guessing smaller for carrying it around campus.

Amazon.com

 

[paulsharvey]

Yes, the SSD is going to be a must; that's what we use for work; and they are in vehicles all the time; and they slide off the seats, get stuff put on top of them, ect

 

[paulsharvey]

Willing to bet that most colleges/universities use primarily Apple's MacBooks, not a Windows laptop. Compatibility with what others are using can be important.

Good point, never thought about that. Only worked 1 place ever that used any apple stuff, and that was Ipads. Never been with a company that used apple computers; and that might be worth asking about. Hopefully not, really never liked apple stuff.

 

[ericm979]

I'm a big fan of HP. I buy them for home and we also use them where I work and have for years. Stay away from Lenovo.

I've hated every HP laptop I've been given for work even when I worked for them. The keyboards don't agree with me and the rest is just a laptop. I've used Lenovos for personal stuff for 15 years and my latest work machine is a Lenovo. They have been reliable for me. I like the keyboards, they have good feel.

You definitely want a Solid State Hard Drive (SSD)

Memory is actually more important than processor speed in many cases.

I agree with both of those statements.

 

[deserteagle71]

Good point, never thought about that. Only worked 1 place ever that used any apple stuff, and that was Ipads. Never been with a company that used apple computers; and that might be worth asking about. Hopefully not, really never liked apple stuff.

Most businesses use Windows computers. Most graphic artists and most educational institutions seem to use Macs.

I like Macs...very stable, dependable. Still have an Apple MacIntosh IIsi connected to an Apple Imagewriter impact printer down in my basement that I bought in 1990 - it still works fine! But the software programs I have to use don't work on Apple architecture; I'd have to use Windows emulators for them to work on a Mac and that's just too slow. So both my desktop and laptop are Windows (both Dell).

As others have said - don't skimp on the RAM or the hard drive...and yes, the solid state hard drives are wonderful.