University laptop for computer science

[Aydin7]

Hi there, I am starting university in ~5 months and will need a laptop for general use, programming, note taking and league of legends. I realise that in 5 months time there are likely to be new release and/or better deals, but my parents and I are looking for a rough idea of how much it will cost.

I have a gaming desktop which I built myself, but when it comes to laptops I am completely in the dark. Having a start(or perhaps end) point from this thread which I could use to research laptops would be immensely helpful.

1. What is your budget?
-The point of this thread is to hopeful figure out a budget
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
~15 inch
3. What screen resolution do you want?
-Don't mind
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
-Portable laptop
5. How much battery life do you need?
-The larger the better(6 hours+)
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)?
-League of legends and some CIV
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
-Programming, word processor, web browsing etc
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
-256GB SSD or larger
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
-
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
-Permanently? High build quality is important
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
-Non
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.
-Non
13. What country do you live in?
-England
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Long battery life, high build quality, low weight, low noise, good cooling are all important features.
A mechanical keyboard would be amazing and strong wifi adapter, but they aren't necessary.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, any input is appreciated.

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... One thing that comes to mind is "Will VMware - VT ware be used on your Laptop for the Computer science"... You must have a certain enabled CPU's for doing this. https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?deviceCategory=cpu&productid=66&deviceCategory=cpu&details=1&cpu_series=66&page=1&display_interval=10&sortColumn=Partner&sortOrder=Asc

 

[geofelt]

You can't get it all, at any price.

There will always be some compromises.

I recently shopped for a laptop to travel with that could play civ4.

I thought 14" was a bit small, so I opted for a Lenovo Y700.
It is not a top end gamer, but is very capable when outfitted with a ssd.

For you, portability might trump screen size.
Definitely go with a 6tn gen intel processor, Speed and i5/57 are not all that important.

Usually, you pay a premium for a ssd. It might be cheaper to buy a laptop with a slow 5400rpm drive and plan on replacing it with a ssd of your choice.

If you want to play fast action games, opt for a discrete gaming card. Most any will be a sufficient jump over the quite good intel integrated graphics.

I would opt for a IPS screen for the quality.

The Thinkpad models have outstanding keyboards. The T460s is only 3lbs.
I think the integrated graphics will do for your games.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t460s/

 

[Aydin7]

Hello... One thing that comes to mind is "Will VMware - VT ware be used on your Laptop for the Computer science"... You must have a certain enabled CPU's for doing this. https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?deviceCategory=cpu&productid=66&deviceCategory=cpu&details=1&cpu_series=66&page=1&display_interval=10&sortColumn=Partner&sortOrder=Asc

Virtual machines are park of the course, but they have dedicated computers for that work so I shouldn't need to use my laptop for it.

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... Wanna to be able to do some Home Work at home with this subject? you have the option. B )

 

[Aydin7]

You can't get it all, at any price.

There will always be some compromises.

I recently shopped for a laptop to travel with that could play civ4.

I thought 14" was a bit small, so I opted for a Lenovo Y700.
It is not a top end gamer, but is very capable when outfitted with a ssd.

For you, portability might trump screen size.
Definitely go with a 6tn gen intel processor, Speed and i5/57 are not all that important.

Usually, you pay a premium for a ssd. It might be cheaper to buy a laptop with a slow 5400rpm drive and plan on replacing it with a ssd of your choice.

If you want to play fast action games, opt for a discrete gaming card. Most any will be a sufficient jump over the quite good intel integrated graphics.

I would opt for a IPS screen for the quality.

The Thinkpad models have outstanding keyboards. The T460s is only 3lbs.
I think the integrated graphics will do for your games.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t460s/

I am definitely willing to compromise on screen size, that matters the least to me really. As for buying with a hdd and then replacing, won't it be incompatible or the connector bottleneck the SSD?
I've heard great things about thinkpad build quality and the keyboards so that I will definitely consider your recommendation.

 

[Aydin7]

Hello... Wanna to be able to do some Home Work at home with this subject? you have the option. B )

Yeah...work at home haha.