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Message
College Laptop
Posted on 4/2/26 at 4:22 pm
Posted on 4/2/26 at 4:22 pm
My daughter is starting college this summer and needs a laptop. What would you guys recommend around 5-600 dollars? TIA
7
Posted on 4/2/26 at 4:41 pm to pittmanmt63
You should check if her department has required software and recommended specs. An engineering student might need a laptop that runs CAD while a business major might only need a browser and Microsoft Office. Those two students are going to have different hardware requirements.
ETA: If there's no specific requirement, I'd consider the Macbook Neo which is $499 with the educational discount.
ETA: If there's no specific requirement, I'd consider the Macbook Neo which is $499 with the educational discount.
This post was edited on 4/2/26 at 4:43 pm
Posted on 4/2/26 at 5:59 pm to pittmanmt63
I’d say look at what the college uses for their class software (google classroom, Microsoft, Moodle, etc) and decide from there. A Chromebook is considerably cheaper than a full blown desktop replacement windows machine. LSU uses Microsoft so we found last years model Lenovo yoga’s that they can write on.
Posted on 4/2/26 at 6:19 pm to pittmanmt63
Find a certified-used Surface book 4
Posted on 4/2/26 at 7:52 pm to pittmanmt63
Ouch. 2 minute search, that’s a tough range.
Dell pro 13 238v/32 for $800
Ebay
Dell pro 14 236v/16 $590
Ebay
HP pavilion 14 125H/16 $440
eBay
Lenovo thinkpad e14 125u/16 $390
Ebay
Edit: if you don’t need usbc charging or thunderbolt docking, then you can go much cheaper. I have a like-new 4GB i3-1220p asus laptop I’d let go for $120. Super capable if you spend $30 and add another 8gb of RAM.
Dell pro 13 238v/32 for $800
Ebay
Dell pro 14 236v/16 $590
Ebay
HP pavilion 14 125H/16 $440
eBay
Lenovo thinkpad e14 125u/16 $390
Ebay
Edit: if you don’t need usbc charging or thunderbolt docking, then you can go much cheaper. I have a like-new 4GB i3-1220p asus laptop I’d let go for $120. Super capable if you spend $30 and add another 8gb of RAM.
This post was edited on 4/3/26 at 8:35 am
Posted on 4/2/26 at 8:52 pm to TigerFanatic99
quote:
used Surface book 4
I'm typing on a used Surface Laptop 4 w/ 16GB of RAM I bought used for $300 on eBay like this. Showed up without a fingerprint, wiped and ready to boot like I pulled it out of the original box.
The Macbook Neo is an iPad with a keyboard.
Posted on 4/2/26 at 9:19 pm to pittmanmt63
Just go to Best Buy and ask the local nerd/geek squad dude for help. Tell him all she will need and the price range if possible, make sure to ask for a laptop with good longevity
Posted on 4/2/26 at 9:38 pm to TheGeauxt9
quote:
make sure to ask for a laptop with good longevity
Far better than asking a board of geeks that are 40+ year old people that have been working in/with tech for decades. We're not talking about TVs.
Posted on 4/3/26 at 9:16 am to LemmyLives
Exactly, if at all possible or unless a deal is just too good to be true, never buy retail laptops.
The only “positive” is they can usually be fully reset from the system firmware just by holding esc at startup and going through the menus. Everything else is a negative.
The only “positive” is they can usually be fully reset from the system firmware just by holding esc at startup and going through the menus. Everything else is a negative.
Posted on 4/5/26 at 10:44 pm to pittmanmt63
I switched back to MacBook after an 8-year hiatus. Superior experience for $850 (Costco a couple months ago.) I don’t think I’d even consider anything else for the average student. (I don’t really miss the touch screen, but don’t understand why Apple hates them for laptops. I guess to try to keep the iPad relevant.)
Even with a 14” portable USB-C monitor, the battery lasts forever. I use google drive and a work cloud server both with desktop apps for native Finder environment, so I don’t need a ton of storage. Suspect same would be true of a student. And the RAM is used so efficiently it runs better than my 36 gig HP. And this is just an Air.
Spend the extra couple hundred and get it over a clunky windows laptop. She’ll thank you.
Even with a 14” portable USB-C monitor, the battery lasts forever. I use google drive and a work cloud server both with desktop apps for native Finder environment, so I don’t need a ton of storage. Suspect same would be true of a student. And the RAM is used so efficiently it runs better than my 36 gig HP. And this is just an Air.
Spend the extra couple hundred and get it over a clunky windows laptop. She’ll thank you.
Posted on 4/6/26 at 8:22 am to pittmanmt63
Like another poster said, if she doesn't need any windows specific software (sometimes seen in engineering courses) I would heavily consider the Macbook Neo.
Posted on 4/6/26 at 1:58 pm to WavinWilly
Thank you all! She says she needs to def be able to get deep into excel and one other program they use for actuarial science. She wanted a 14" so I found an HP omnibook with snapdragon x plus?? 1TB SSD and 16 GB RAM
model# is 14-HE0099nr asking I can get it for 450.00 new. Snapdragon I have no clue about not really a computer guy but the processor model is a snapdragon x plus 3.4ghz 8 processor count X1P-42-100
model# is 14-HE0099nr asking I can get it for 450.00 new. Snapdragon I have no clue about not really a computer guy but the processor model is a snapdragon x plus 3.4ghz 8 processor count X1P-42-100
Posted on 4/6/26 at 3:09 pm to pittmanmt63
I’d be wary of snapdragon. A year ago I was sure they would be the greatest because of how much support Microsoft was supposedly giving them at the time. It turned out to be AI hype. In reality, that support faded off and almost no software supports their hardware acceleration making them kind of a lost cause. Could have been really great but nobody put in the work.
If sticking with windows, get core ultra preferably V series. Intel is putting in serious work for hardware support and the v series has Apple like power and portability. Bonus: it’s not made by Intel.
If she’s doing graphic design, then Nvidia is still recommend but those machines aren’t very portable at all and schools will usually furnish cloud solutions rather than make students buy bulky $1500 laptops.
If sticking with windows, get core ultra preferably V series. Intel is putting in serious work for hardware support and the v series has Apple like power and portability. Bonus: it’s not made by Intel.
If she’s doing graphic design, then Nvidia is still recommend but those machines aren’t very portable at all and schools will usually furnish cloud solutions rather than make students buy bulky $1500 laptops.
This post was edited on 4/6/26 at 9:46 pm
Posted on 4/6/26 at 4:43 pm to Dallaswho
Thank you I'll look for an intel machine Could the apple neo handle what she needs? She is a big iPhone person
Posted on 4/6/26 at 4:50 pm to pittmanmt63
quote:
She is a big iPhone person
We got our daughter a Macbook Air for Christmas. Shop around for deals at Best Buy and other places. The one we bought was $200 off and cheaper than anywhere else we could find at the time. I sort of wish we had waited on the Neo, but it hadn't been announced yet. She's about to graduate so we wanted her Christmas present to be something she'll get a ton of use in at college.
Posted on 4/6/26 at 6:58 pm to pittmanmt63
I’d at least step up to air with Apple. M3/m4 is fine. Don’t need m5. Neo is crippled by a 8GB RAM on a 64bit memory bus but only heavy media, gaming, and AI are really going to be affected. I wouldn’t want it but it’ll probably be fine for school work.
If she’s doing data analysis on an Neo, even with python, she’ll be limited to a couple million rows and have to get really good about deleting unused frames.
If she’s doing data analysis on an Neo, even with python, she’ll be limited to a couple million rows and have to get really good about deleting unused frames.
This post was edited on 4/6/26 at 7:00 pm
Posted on 4/6/26 at 7:43 pm to Dallaswho
Posted on 4/6/26 at 8:42 pm to pittmanmt63
quote:
She says she needs to be able to get deep into Excel and another program for actuarial science.
In that case, you definitely want to stay with Windows.
The Snapdragon is an ARM chip, which can cause compatibility issues with the specialized x86-based software and VBA macros required for actuarial science.
It's a little out of your price range, but I recommend the HP Omnibook instead. It uses an Intel Core Ultra 5 (x86), so it's natively compatible with all her tools while still offering the same high efficiency and battery life.
The 16GB of RAM is better for her data analysis, while the 2-in-1 design and included stylus are perfect for marking up class notes.
Posted on 4/8/26 at 1:57 pm to TAMU-93
quote:I would have 100% bought the wrong one had I not done this.
You should check if her department has required software and recommended specs
Posted on 4/9/26 at 2:00 pm to AlxTgr
quote:
You should check if her department has required software and recommended specs
I would have 100% bought the wrong one had I not done this.
What did they recommend?
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