Question Best 800$ Laptop for a ComSci Student?

zedec.pacaldo

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Mar 17, 2018
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Hey guys I'm not sure which is better for programming. I'm going to college soon (comsci student) so I'll be leaving my desktop at home. Have to look for a laptop with 800$ in my pocket allotted for it. Not sure for which cpu is better supported/better performs in adobe products (ae and pp) since I might be using them even in my course. Ideally, a lighter and thinner laptop might be better so going for amd is the right way(?) (I heard amd iGPU is waaaay better than intel.) Another problem is also for the gpu if you do not recommend both iGPUs, which discrete gpu is better supported for video editing? AMD or NVIDIA?

Those are my questions lately, for the rest of the parts (memory, storage, etc.) I think I know my way through. What are your thoughts?

Here are some in my list:

HP Envy x360
-Ryzen 5 2500U
-13" FHD IPS(?) Touch Screen
-8GB DDR4 2400
-1TB HDD (with m.2 slot for SSD upgrade up to 256 GB)
-Vega 8 Graphics

Lenovo Ideapad Flex 5
-i7 8550U
-15.6" FHD IPS Touch Screen
-8GB DDR4 2133
-500GB HDD (with m.2 slot for SSD upgrade up to 512 GB)
-Intel UHD Graphics 620

Lenovo Ideapad L340
-Ryzen 5 3500U
-17.3" HD+ (1600x900) Anti Glare
-8GB DDR4 2400
-754GB SSD
-Vega 8 Graphics

Acer Swift 3
-Ryzen 5 2500U
-15.6 FHD IPS
-8GB DDR4 2400
-256 SSD
-Vega 8 Graphics

Acer Aspire 5
-i5 7200U
-17.3" FHD IPS
-8GB DDR4
-256 SSD
-Nvidia 940MX 2GB

HP Envy 13t
-i7 8550U
-13.3" FHD IPS
-8GB LPDDR3
-256 SSD NVMe M.2
-Intel UHD Graphics 620

Here's the questionnaire:
1. What is your budget? $800

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? Ultrabooks - Half Inch Thickness. 13-15" Sizes.

3. What screen resolution do you want? FHD

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Portable with a little more power.

5. How much battery life do you need? Anything that could last me half day (the least) or a full day.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? Dota 2 (I'd be fine with low. But with 800$, It would be great if I can play it on ultra FHD.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) Photo editing, Video Editing, Programming, Browsing, Office Tools.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? 500 GB is fine, a small SSD space is a must for boot up. Would be great if I get a 500GB SSD in that price range.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. None. I prefer buying from stores. Just need some advice on brand and models because stores here pretty much have the latest laptops.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? For my whole college life (4-5 Years)

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? None. I'd get an external.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons. I like Dell, Lenovo, HP, Asus, Acer. I wouldn't go for Apple.

13. What country do you live in? Philippines

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed. Not much Photoshop and Video Editing. Just some. I have a home desktop that's capable enough of rendering my work if necessary.
 
Last edited:
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Deleted member 14196

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Anyone of those last three would be good But my favorite pic is the last one the HP 13 T. Unless you want to dedicate a GPU and then you’re looking at a heavy laptop
 
Apr 11, 2019
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Just a side note, I believe since you are going to University anything that costs more than 400$ will do any job the University throws at you.
Since most Universities themselves provide workspaces which are fitted with relatively cheap PCs nothing should pose any big trouble.
So I would say maybe get what you find best. (Or maybe they even have somewhere some specs for something like this on one of their websites?)
 

zedec.pacaldo

Reputable
Mar 17, 2018
39
0
4,530
Just a side note, I believe since you are going to University anything that costs more than 400$ will do any job the University throws at you.
Since most Universities themselves provide workspaces which are fitted with relatively cheap PCs nothing should pose any big trouble.
So I would say maybe get what you find best. (Or maybe they even have somewhere some specs for something like this on one of their websites?)

Sure, but most brands have the same/similar specs. By best, I'm also considering the reliability of the laptop, customer service, and warranty. Which is why I'm asking for others' thoughts on these brands.
 

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