Laptop for Computer Securities

[render-freak]

Hey everyone!

I am on the verge to start the next chapter in my life and need all your expertise to help me decide on a laptop I will be using for the next 4 years!

I am taking a computer science major but more specifically focused on computer securities.

My budget is around $1400 all in. I am Canadian so keep that in mind lol.

For size, I prefer something compact between 13-14 inches for screen. For thickness I would prefer it not too thick but it depends on the bang for the buck.

Battery life, I expect the laptop to get through a whole day on a single charge, which sadly for me is about 12 hours on some days.

Display, I prefer 1080p IPS at the minimum.

That's all I could think of at this moment guys.

Thank you guys in advance!

 

[boosted1g]

I absolutely love my Yoga 2 pro.

13.3 in 3200x1800 IPS screen, Core i7, 8gb ram, intel AC 7260 wifi w/Bluetooth, and 256 GB SSD drive will be very nice for programing or any other application you put on it.
Very light 3.1 lbs and has good battery life. If you want more battery life you can decrease resolution to 1920x1080.
It is rated to do 6hrs of video on single charge, and it absolutely sips power when in sleep mode (I left it off charger for a full day in sleep mode and it lost 5% of battery).

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/yoga-laptop-series/yoga-laptop-2-pro/
I got mine for $900 USD

 

[ESPclipse]

There are definitely laptops that, with a few upgrades, should be able to meet your requirements starting as low as $500 USD (apologies, I don't know the conversion, but the difference should not be too great). Considering your field of study and anticipated use of the laptop, I would stick to something sporting a small Intel processor with integrated graphics, as a discreet graphics processor will surely beckon more power. Also, Intel has significantly better emulation and hardware acceleration support than AMD, which I would have liked to see when I was in school. Laptops that fit into this spec are not hard to find and are sold by a variety of vendors. If mass storage is not a requirement, you may want to upgrade to an SSD, as it will require less power to operate when compared to a traditional hard disk drive. Finally, I would buy the best 12-cell battery that the laptop can support, obviously so you can store more power, but also because the raise on the laptop (because 12-cell batteries are tall) often improves cooling and, at least to me, makes for a more comfortable typing experience. Any laptop that meets these requirements, with upgrades, can be purchased in total for probably around $800, and should serve you well for four years. Hell, I have been using the same laptop for six years, including college, that I bought for $400 in 2011 and it still runs like a champ. Just know your priorities and keep your eyes open. Happy (laptop) hunting!

 

[render-freak]

Thanks for the very quick responses guys! at this point our dollar is about 20% less than USD add our stupid 13% tax on top of the price. I do not really mind on that stuff as my price given is all in before taxes anyway.

ESPclipse, thanks for the info! I was considering a T450 with an i5 and little upgrades, not too sure.

boosted1g, I will look into the Yoga 2 Pro thanks! My only concern about it is the thermal limitation.

I apologize for not noting this earlier, but a 256 ssd is good enough for me as my school gives unlimited google drive free of charge. I will be archiving in the cloud and storing on my home server for longevity.

 

[boosted1g]

The thermal issue is not really a problem unless you running tasks that are going to consume most all the CPU.
If that is the case you can always switch to use active cooling instead of passive (of course that will reduce battery life).

I personally have had no issues with cooling when on battery power. Granted I am not stressing the CPU either.

 

[render-freak]

The thermal issue is not really a problem unless you running tasks that are going to consume most all the CPU.
If that is the case you can always switch to use active cooling instead of passive (of course that will reduce battery life).

I personally have had no issues with cooling when on battery power. Granted I am not stressing the CPU either.

Thanks for clearing that up for me! Although my mind hasn't been completely made up, hypothetically if I were to buy a Yoga 2 Pro, how would I go on to configure it?

Actually just checked Lenovo, they have the new Yoga 3 and Yoga 3 Pro with intel's 5th gen processors. Although the Pro is an core M processor.

 

[boosted1g]

The core M processors are weaker then a core i7 or core i5 at the benneifit of greater battery life. If just doing coding and not having to do any raw computing or algorithims then the core M would give you longer battery life and adaquete performance. Otherwise you will want the power of the i7U (which is more like a desktop i3 + turbo core)