Editors, should I prioritise ram or the best processor I can get? And is 13" a good size?

[Adam1998]

My dear Grandad has offered to get me a professional laptop with some power behind it (I'm a student). I've been looking around and I wonder if I should opt for more powerful processors or more ram. I of course wont get an unsuitable processor, it's more of a tear between Ryzen 7 3700u or an I7. Most i7's I look at ina good price range have 8gb ram, but the Ryzen 7's tend to have 16gb. Which is better to strive for in your experience? (Must note I have a decent PC which will be my powerhouse)

Here's an example:

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/compu...d-black-10193317-pdt.html?intcmpid=display~RR

 

[Joe Eh]

Personally I stick with Intel. I expect you are looking to use this for school since you have a main PC, so 8GB of RAM should be enough for most tasks without issue. If you are running large spreadsheets or SQL Queries then you will want more RAM and the 16GB option is what you will want.

I get more AMD Laptops in for repair that need a new motherboard compared to Intel Laptop repairs. I would put it up to the heat output of AMD as they are not as efficient and overheating eventually occurs causing damage. So the idea is longevity compared to performance.

Also 13" Is a great travel size and lighter. I would hit up a Walmart or Best Buy (Somewhere that has computers) so you can get a feel for what will fit you best. I have a 13" for work as I need to take it around a lot it would all be preference on this part.