Posted: 5/19/2026 5:22:54 PM EDT
[Last Edit: jerrmy][Edited]
|
I've been way out of the laptop world for quite some time and we need to get my daughter a laptop for school. Would like it to be able to do all the school related stuff as well as game on it but nothing super intense. Where is a good place to start? I'd like to keep it around 1k if that is reasonable. ETA High school and she has zero aspirations of a STEM degree She has never used a Mac. We aren't savages! |
|
What type of program is she going to be doing? The reason being is liberal arts type stuff can use almost anything. STEM programs can have programs they have to use that might be Windows only. That is becoming less common but they should have a form or something with recommended operating systems. If she can use a Mac I'd get her a MacBook Air especially if she already uses an iPhone. If Windows only look at business class laptops. There is a major component crunch right now because of the AI DC's being built and them gobbling up a significant chunk of the supply. Things like RAM sticks have gone up in price 3-5X this year alone. SSD's are also up about 3-4X right now. Rumor is that Apple is adjusting pricing next month so if you can swing it the sooner the better. Prices aren't going down closer to "normal" anytime soon. As for MS Office she should get that for free through her school. If they don't provide Office (most schools do) MS has programs for college students to get a free year of 365 personal. |
|
Originally Posted By jerrmy: I've been way out of the laptop world for quite some time and we need to get my daughter a laptop for school. Would like it to be able to do all the school related stuff as well as game on it but nothing super intense. Where is a good place to start? I'd like to keep it around 1k if that is reasonable. High school or college? For high school or a liberal arts college degree, any Apple laptop or mid range Windows laptop should fit the bill. For a STEM degree, the university should have information on what's required. Follow their suggestions unless you or your daughter is willing to do tech support to get things working. Also, as a college student, she should be able to buy Windows Office and other required software at deeply discounted student prices. Maybe the laptop too, depending on the laptop and school. |
|
Originally Posted By R2point0: Dell refurb business class machine. Reliable. Will play casual games, but not graphics heavy ones. This. It'll be the best bang for the buck and the most usable as dammed near every industry is based on windows. I say this as a mechanical engineer forced to deal with apple computers in an engineering environment. It simply does not work. It's good for email and Internet and that's where it's real world usefulness ends for a $3000 computer. I could have a pretty decent CAD box for that money instead of a paperweight. I'm also a framework and Asus ROG fan. Framework if you want to be able to actually repair and upgrade your computer vs you are stuck with exactly what you ordered (apple is extra guilty of this). Framework machines are not cheap. Again, dell refurbished business class machine is the best bang for the buck until you need a real GPU, then Lenovo legion. I got my engineering degree with libre office/open office. Worked fine. |
|
Like any young adult, she'll kill it sooner or later. Get her a Chromebook made by HP, ACER, etc . All the programs reside in the cloud, so if she kills it, her work should be saved in the cloud. One bonus is that many Chromebooks are pretty inexpensive (like less than $200)so if you can find one with a backlit keyboard option for a little more money, you'll be doing her a big favor. Walmart has a ton of options. Most have 4gb of ram, which isn't much, but the Chromebook isn't launching programs, managing storage and processes, so 4gig of ram for a Chromebook is perfectly fine. |
"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition" - Rudyard Kipling
|
Discountelectronics.com Lots of corporate off-lease business class PCs. I have bought 4 over the years for kids and myself and they stand behind their products with one year warranty. I have had them ship and picked up from store. If you are local, they'll bring out a batch of them so you can pick out one that looks to have the least cosmetic issues (ie., it wasn't dropped). I am using a G3 Workbook I got for $299 about 3 years ago that was still selling new for $2600 at the time. When I had a road PC go dead on me, they brought out a couple of same model and let me pick which one I wanted as a replacement. Big tech sector and state government are in their city so they get some really nice batches of PCs that have never left the docking station. |
Crap Magnet Extraordinaire
|
Originally Posted By xanadu: Like any young adult, she'll kill it sooner or later. Get her a Chromebook made by HP, ACER, etc . All the programs reside in the cloud, so if she kills it, her work should be saved in the cloud. One bonus is that many Chromebooks are pretty inexpensive (like less than $200)so if you can find one with a backlit keyboard option for a little more money, you'll be doing her a big favor. Walmart has a ton of options. Most have 4gb of ram, which isn't much, but the Chromebook isn't launching programs, managing storage and processes, so 4gig of ram for a Chromebook is perfectly fine. Chrome books are absolute garbage. Unless you pony up and get one with a real CPU in it and not one with a nerfed old ass celeron or such level, it's going to suck ass. I have a Samsung Chromebook with 4GB ram and an OLED display, but they put absolute dog shit 40xxx class CPU in it and it can't get out of it's own way. Get a Macbook Neo and be done. |
|
Originally Posted By BooJangles: Chrome books are absolute garbage. Unless you pony up and get one with a real CPU in it and not one with a nerfed old ass celeron or such level, it's going to suck ass. I have a Samsung Chromebook with 4GB ram and an OLED display, but they put absolute dog shit 40xxx class CPU in it and it can't get out of it's own way. Get a Macbook Neo and be done. Originally Posted By BooJangles: Originally Posted By xanadu: Like any young adult, she'll kill it sooner or later. Get her a Chromebook made by HP, ACER, etc . All the programs reside in the cloud, so if she kills it, her work should be saved in the cloud. One bonus is that many Chromebooks are pretty inexpensive (like less than $200)so if you can find one with a backlit keyboard option for a little more money, you'll be doing her a big favor. Walmart has a ton of options. Most have 4gb of ram, which isn't much, but the Chromebook isn't launching programs, managing storage and processes, so 4gig of ram for a Chromebook is perfectly fine. Chrome books are absolute garbage. Unless you pony up and get one with a real CPU in it and not one with a nerfed old ass celeron or such level, it's going to suck ass. I have a Samsung Chromebook with 4GB ram and an OLED display, but they put absolute dog shit 40xxx class CPU in it and it can't get out of it's own way. Get a Macbook Neo and be done. |
"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition" - Rudyard Kipling
|
Originally Posted By BooJangles: Chrome books are absolute garbage. Unless you pony up and get one with a real CPU in it and not one with a nerfed old ass celeron or such level, it's going to suck ass. I have a Samsung Chromebook with 4GB ram and an OLED display, but they put absolute dog shit 40xxx class CPU in it and it can't get out of it's own way. Get a Macbook Neo and be done. Chromebooks remind me of lower end "Vista Ready" systems in the early 2000's. Just because it runs, that doesn't mean it runs well. |