Laptop buying guide for NYU-Poly, applicable to most college students
tl;dr version = i5/8gb RAM/ 256gb+ Storage/>5lbs/Graphics card if you want/Windows over Mac if you're cheap/ Mac AND Windows (and linux) if you're comp sci.
I see a lot of people asking and arguing about laptops, so I wrote a quick guide to help:
The first thing you need to do is to forget Poly’s recommendations immediately. They are outdated and poorly made. You can buy a $200 laptop off of eBay and no professor will complain. Buying a laptop is about finding a compromise of many factors. Here are the factors and some guidelines that you should consider.
Central Processing Unit (CPU): This is the most overrated factor of buying a laptop. A better CPU does not necessarily mean a faster laptop as RAM and storage will be a big factor. Focus on i3, i5, and i7 CPUs and forget about AMD and Core M CPUs. A CPU with a U at the end, such as the i5-4200U, will use less energy but will also be slower. The higher the first number (the 4 of the i5-4200U), the newer the CPU, and newer generally means better. Go for an i3 if you want to save money, go for an i5 in most other cases. If you are really itching to spend some more money or if you’ve found a good deal, then go for an i7.
Random Access Memory (RAM): 4gbs of RAM at this point is unacceptable. Go for 8gbs of RAM in most cases.
Storage: Solid State Drives (SSDs) are way faster than Hard Disk Drives (HDDs), while also consuming less energy. The obvious downside is that they cost more. You can live with 128gbs of storage, however it can be tough, especially if you want to back up photos and videos from your phone onto your laptop. Try to go for 256gbs or more of storage space. HDDs will come in two speeds, 5400 RPM or 7200 RPM. It is extremely common for a laptop to have a 5400 RPM HDD as its only storage. Just know that if you do get one such laptop, it will be slow to boot and start programs. Hybrid drives are HDDs with tiny SSDs. They will reduce some of the HDD slowness but don’t expect much from them.
Screen: There are a few factors of a screen to consider. They usually come in one of two resolutions, 1366 x 768 or 1920 x 1080 (also known as 1080p). You can go for 1366 x 768 to save money, but your eyes will thank you for getting a laptop with a 1920 x 1080 screen. The size of the screen will be closely related to the size of the laptop. Focus on other factors, like CPU or weight, instead of deciding on what screen size you want. The overall quality of screen will vary too. If you want to do graphic design or video editing, you should look for a review of any laptops you are considering to see how their screens stack up. This will not matter to the average user.
Graphics Card/Graphics Processing Unit (GPU): A laptop will either have a dedicated GPU or an integrated GPU (meaning one built into the CPU). If you want to make or play games or work with 3D modeling, get a laptop with dedicated graphics. Integrated graphics has come a long way, to the point that it makes low end GPUs, like the GT 920m, almost pointless. Some mid-range graphics cards such as a 940m or R9 M265X can be a great addition to a laptop. I recommend staying away from the more powerful graphics cards as you will usually be sacrificing a lot in terms of other factors such as weight and price. Keep in mind that desktop graphics cards are way more powerful than laptop graphics cards.
Weight: Always look up the weight of the laptop. Laptops heavier than 5lbs will be a chore to carry around, laptops around 4lbs are fairly light, laptops around 3lbs are very light.
Battery Life: Don’t believe what the manufacturer says the battery life is. They are lying to you. Look up a review to see what you can actually expect for battery life. 3 hours of battery should be enough to get you by, but 6 hours or more can be very convenient. Some classrooms have an outlet on every desk, some have no usable outlets.
Build Quality: This includes everything from keyboard quality to durability. Most laptop manufacturers sell cheap laptops with bad build qualities and good laptops with nice build qualities. Laptops with bad build qualities can fall apart on you in a year or two if you don’t take great care of it. It’s up to you to look up reviews of laptops to see how they fare.
Operating System: I personally prefer Windows (PC). However there are many people who are way better with computers who swear by OSX (Mac). OSX is more flexible. It’s easy to get an OSX machine to run Windows, but it can be pretty difficult to get a Windows machine to run OSX. If you are a computer science major, it’s good to get exposure with both systems (as well as linux). A computer science major will probably work on lots of different computers anyway instead of just relying on their laptop. If you want to do video editing or iOS development, then you’ll definitely want a Mac. You’ll be paying a very heavy premium to get a Mac though, and that’s the biggest problem. In my opinion, the cost is not justified.
Price: Tuition at NYU is about $45,000 a year. If your major is computer related, spending more money on a better laptop can be well worth it, and in the grand scheme of college tuition it may be a very small investment.
Now let’s talk about a few specific laptops.
Lenovo Y50 series: This is a perfect example of compromise. These systems are very powerful but don’t have great build qualities. The screens aren’t so great, and they are on the heavier side. If you want a graphics card and you are trying to save money, this is a great choice.
Microsoft Surface: These don’t make as great of a laptop replacement as I initially thought. It’s hard to be productive on these things. They can be a good choice if you want something light and you want to try taking electronic notes. Do not go with a Surface if it will be your only computer.
Macbook Pro: Macs have great build qualities. They are generally light, durable, have great screens, and have long lasting batteries. Be wary of the new Macbook Pro with only 1 USB port. You’ll need a pricey dongle if you want to plug multiple things in.
Razer Blade: If you have infinite money, I’d highly recommend going for a 14” Razer Blade.
Thinkpad T-Series: T-Series laptops are expensive rugged systems that are leased to businesses. When the leases are up, they are refurbished and sold for cheap. If you are really penny pinching, then I recommend you by a refurbished T-series laptop from eBay, such as the T420.
Asus K501LX: This is the laptop I currently own. I found one open box onnewegg.com for cheap. It has similar positives and negatives as Y50s with the added benefit of being lighter.
One last thing, never buy a laptop for full price. Best Buy, Microsoft Store, and Apple offer student discounts. Newegg.com, Micro Center, andNCIX.com regularly have sales.