# Recommend sturdy laptop for college student?



## JohnG (Jun 8, 2018)

Hi all

One of my progeny needs a new laptop. I would prefer to buy a MacBook Air but he's used to Windows.

The key here is "sturdy." His last one made it three years, which isn't that bad. It was a rather powerful Alienware branded computer (Dell I think) that had 16 GB of RAM and a fast processor. Ideally, its replacement can handle a bit of a beating.

Any recommendations?

Thank you,

John


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## chimuelo (Jun 8, 2018)

Toughbook by Panasonic.
If you want to make everyone jealous a B300 Getac.


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## storyteller (Jun 8, 2018)

JohnG said:


> Hi all
> 
> One of my progeny needs a new laptop. I would prefer to buy a MacBook Air but he's used to Windows.
> 
> ...


I'd go with your instincts and go MacBook [Air/Pro/etc]. Your progeny can run Parallels if Windows is really needed.


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## Phillip (Jun 8, 2018)

What happened to Alienware laptop?


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## JohnG (Jun 8, 2018)

Phillip said:


> What happened to Alienware laptop?



Needed a new mobo, a part that costs $1,000 I am told. It's three years old and has been in the clutches of a high school, then college student, so that's probably not such bad mileage.


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## JohnG (Jun 8, 2018)

storyteller said:


> Your progeny can run Parallels if Windows is really needed.



I'll talk to him. He likes to play games and he studies physics, so I'm not keen to oversteer him lest there be some program he needs for the latter or some deep bonding regarding the former that I would thereby thwart.

I do like Macs but at some point one has to consider the recipient's own views, nettlesome though that may be.


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## TehComposerer (Jun 8, 2018)

I bought a 14" Razer Blade a couple of years ago for mobile gaming and music production and it's still going strong today. Very similar build quality to a MacBook.


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## JohnG (Jun 8, 2018)

I will look at Razer -- thanks

Anyone have a view on Acer -- price looks too good to be true but most reviews are strong:

Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop, 15.6" Full HD IPS, Intel i7-7700HQ CPU, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, GeForce GTX 1060-6GB, VR Ready, Red Backlit KB, Metal Chassis, Windows 10 64-bit, G3-571-77QK

It's only about $1,050 on Amazon.

(Main issue off the bat is a single USB 3.1 port, so need to add "AmazonBasics USB 3.1 Type-C to 4 Port USB Hub," which converts the laptop's left side usb c (3.1) port to usb 3.0 ports power the rift's 2 usb sensors at usb 3.0 bandwidth speeds.)


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## Symfoniq (Jun 8, 2018)

As someone who has owned one Mac or another since 1988 and thinks the 2013-2015 MacBook Pro was the greatest portable computer ever made, I'd honestly feel sorry for your son if he went off to college with a current MacBook or MacBook Pro _and_ he ever needs to plug it into anything.

My 2017 MacBook Pro is the most expensive laptop I've ever bought, and it's also by far the most aggravating. Dongle hell is real if you ever need to do anything but connect to WiFi. Connect to a device with a USB port? Dongle. Monitor with a Mini-DisplayPort? Dongle. Projector with a HDMI port? Dongle.

I also own a Lenovo ThinkPad P50. It is solidly built, and I'll never need a dongle to plug anything into it, not even an Ethernet cable. This particular model might be overkill for your son's needs, but maybe check out the ThinkPad Carbon X1 series: Thin and light, but you can still, you know...plug things into it.


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## Tyll (Jun 8, 2018)

Whats exactly do you want it to run and how big is the importance of a long battery life? What about using it in a library? Does it have to be extra quiet? 
Also would you pay an extra $150 for a bright screen that is usable in brighter places/outside?


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## JohnG (Jun 8, 2018)

Tyll said:


> Whats exactly do you want it to run and how big is the importance of a long battery life? What about using it in a library? Does it have to be extra quiet?
> Also would you pay an extra $150 for a bright screen that is usable in brighter places/outside?



Those all are good questions; doubt I can give a definitive answer except that it doesn't have to be "extra" quiet. 

I don't even know if college students reading sciences do anything in a library these days, except maybe sleep. His defunct computer only lasted about 2 hours on the battery by the end, which he found a bit trying but not the end of the world.

A bright screen? I'd say no -- he's a physicist and has the complexion to show it.



Symfoniq said:


> y 2017 MacBook Pro is the most expensive laptop I've ever bought,



Definitely would not go this route; would get him an Air first I think, but he just doesn't love Macs.


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## chrisphan (Jun 8, 2018)

Razer Blade, Dell XPS, HP Omen all seem to be great products. I have no experience with Acer or Asus.


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## CoffeeLover (Jun 8, 2018)

JohnG said:


> Hi all
> 
> One of my progeny needs a new laptop. I would prefer to buy a MacBook Air but he's used to Windows.
> 
> ...


ive got lenovo yoga 920 i7 16 gb ram 512gb M.2 
it comes with windows10 home but easy upgraded to pro for 20-40 bucks 
its perfect mobile computer for me
it has handled every task ive thrown at it
it runs cubase pro with stock VI's and plugins 
while at the same time i am having 6-7 servers running vpn network routing,active directory domain services,ISS,security services,hacking my mobile router and back up services and more in hyper V and virtualbox while im making demo sketches on cubase the fly.
it is a beautiful piece of hardware and all aluminum.
ive had it since November before it got released on public market.
but for school and semi heavy media tasks it has been very good for me.
i am not a gamer so i dont know how it performs in serious gaming?


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## BenG (Jun 8, 2018)

Hey John,

I recently bought an Asus Zenbook (i7, 16gb, 512 SSD) and have been very happy with it thus far. My model is actually a MacBook Air clone and is very well built. Costco/Microsoft often have it at a great price!


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## Tyll (Jun 9, 2018)

16GB RAM is far from needed for school task and also hardly any game needs that much either.
If you want to do some gaming you'll want a GTX 1050 or 1060. In that case you're into the $800+ category. Most models here still have replaceable RAM so in case you ever need more, you'll most likely be able to add those yourself (at a much cheaper price too).

If it's a laptop just for working you can basically buy any new computer with an 8250U processor. The new generation made the jump from 2 to 4 cores and is virtually all you'll need in quite some time for a good working experience. Add a SSD and you're good. You can have that for as low as $350-400. Also it's not like too much changes until the very very high end models (Dell XPS and similar). So effectively you pay about $1300 extra to have a brighter screen, longer battery life (though the 8250U is much less power hungry and is even moderately good with a smaller/cheaper battery and the ability to use it for gaming). If you have the money and just straight up don't care about spending it, get an XPS and that's that. In any other case, get the cheapest 8250U-model you can find, add a SSD yourself if it's cheaper than buying one with a SSD, buy a true gaming computer for $800 that is much, much more quite (gaming on a laptop is not enjoyable without a closed back headset) and powerful and than do whatever you want with the remaining $500.

Also, I don't believe in this whole "build quality" stuff. in laptops anymore. I have had about 10 computer over the last 10 years including multiple MacBooks, Microsoft surface, HP, Dell, Asus etc. and there is not a single brand that hasn't had manufacturing or software problems at some time. One would expect that at least the high end models have less of those, but even that proven wrong for me.
I can highly recommend using notebookcheck.com to research some particular model and see what it's flaws are - at least on a hardware level.


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## Morning Coffee (Jun 9, 2018)

Not sure at how sturdy they are but the HP envy 13 might be another alternative to the MacBook air.


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## AllanH (Jun 9, 2018)

I would suggest you look at the "business lines" from at least Dell and HP: Dell Latitude and HP Probook. In my experience they are far better built and can be serviced for much longer than your typical retail laptop (e.g. Dell Inspiron, Alienware, ...).

I would also consider Lenovo. I have little personal experience with Acer laptop, but I have much positive experience with Acer build-quality on Chromebooks.

Typically, harddrives fail first in laptops (heat and getting bumped), so get a good-sized SSD. Since he studies physics he needs enough storage for Linux as that's very common in engineering and science. 128G is a minimum.

EDIT: For "at school" he can likely get away with a Chromebook. I would get a chromebook for the backback and a desktop for home.


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## JohnG (Jun 9, 2018)

Thanks everyone. Lots of great advice here. 

In browsing through it seems that there is a large selection out there, with quite a few brands. 

I use a very basic MacBook Air for email and such; it’s a lightweight comparatively, yet it seems fast enough for me. 

It seems that most students these days don’t need too much storage because they store docs in Google instead of locally. 

I always like extra RAM myself but maybe 8GB is enough these days. 

Thanks again


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## Michael Antrum (Jun 10, 2018)

I've got a Lenovo ThinkPad W530 with an i7 and 32gb RAM, which is a tough as old boots. It has a replaceable battery (two sizes available_ and the DVD can be removed to put in a second SSD. It has an illuminated keyboard, fingerprint reader, and is the best PC laptop I've ever owned. I stopped using my MacBook Pro because it tops out at 16Gb RAM, even though I prefer the Mac in almost every other way.

The Screen is also 1920 x 1080, so you get a lot of real estate.

Cracking bit of kit I picked up second hand for £800.


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## JohnG (Jun 11, 2018)

thanks Mikey

Looking at Lenovo yoga, which looks good as long as the hinge that allows it to do a 180 doesn't get loose. 

I'm still trying to work out whether $1,050 is too good to be true on the Acer (specs above) I vastly prefer to spend more and get a longer expected life than save a few hundred and have to replace it in a year.

Otherwise the Acer looks awesome, though I've read some complaints about the screen.


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## JohnG (Jun 12, 2018)

Thanks for all the input. We went to see a lot of these laptops and read a lot of reviews on Amazon. After looking at them the Acer does look like it's too good to be true, but it has a metal case and room for a second 2.5" drive, which made it look like the best choice.

The "rugged" computers are probably great, but they weigh a ton and they generally cost a lot more for similar performance.


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## ranaprathap (Jun 12, 2018)

If sturdy is the way to go, definitely look into Lenovo Thinkpads. But the LG Gram 2018 seems like some of the best you can get in 2018 - super lightweight and exceptional battery life. The Dell XPS is a great option too.


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## JohnG (Jun 12, 2018)

ranaprathap said:


> Lenovo Thinkpads



He looked at those and they were kind of a close second, but he liked the case on the Acer better.



ranaprathap said:


> LG Gram 2018



That does look great indeed. Almost twice as expensive, so that's a bit of an issue, but agree it's a great-looking machine.

I am particularly attracted to the "military grade" claim, and the ratings generally look good. I'm going to look a bit further at this, as an 8GB RAM version is $1500. Quite a bit more in percentage terms but in the long run might be a better deal.

[edit: anyone know the story with the CPU? says 1.8GHz which seems low for i7 chipset?]


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## ranaprathap (Jun 16, 2018)

If you haven't already pulled the trigger, then this is a pretty good comparison from a guy I trust as a youtube reviewer.


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## chimuelo (Jun 17, 2018)

Couldn’t resist showing this.
By November the 6 Core 3.8GHz Xeon E 2186M should be available.
Did I mention waterproof and anti glare?


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## JohnG (Jun 18, 2018)

those are awesome @chimuelo Kind o' pricey though!

I'm rolling the dice, splitting the difference with the Acer, which has a metal exterior, and adding a case to protect it.

I have been surprised by how many contradictory professional reviews of laptops I've dug up. Some tell you the Dell XPS is awesome, but many Amazon reviews are quite troubling. The LG gram looked great but some reviews say the screen / top folding part bend when you are just holding it and give it thumbs down.

Overall I've never seen such an absence of consensus.

Thank you everyone!


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