Suggestions for laptop for son as a college freshman?

[Wade Lippman]

We bought our son a high end laptop 7 years ago. The screen broke 3 times in the first 18 months. The reviews mentioned a fragile screen, but we didn't see that.
Got him a Chromebook and it was fine for the next 2.5 years. It had plenty of power to do whatever he wanted. Word processing and internet browsing doesn't require much power.

So if your son is like mine, the two most important properties are small size (my son likes 11") and durable.
I have a Yoga 11e; you can drop it 2' without hurting it.

[Jim Becker]

The bottom line is that the device must be able to run the specific applications that the school requires for their curriculum...regardless of cost for the device itself...

[Chris Parks]

Besides the laptop the most critical thing is back up, if the Uni does not have facilities to back up work that would present problems if it was lost then at least an external HDD is required.

[Carlos Alvarez]

A lot of my customers have gone to MacBooks, even if they are primarily a Windows company, for the quality, reliability, and low cost. I know "low cost" seems opposite of "MacBook," but companies carefully look at the total cost of ownership, while consumers just look at the price tag. My customers are reporting basically zero issues with the MacBooks over a very long time, and plenty of Windows issues as well as hardware issues with cheaper laptops.

[roger wiegand]

A lot depends on how good the computer support on campus is. If they have excellent hardware/software support available on campus then a Windows machine can be made to work. If "desktop support" is absent or provided by you remotely then a Mac will be vastly easier to maintain. Both will do the job, the Mac much ore elegantly. My job, as the family desktop support person has gotten much easier and more pleasant since we got rid of the Windows machines. I do keep a version of Windows running on one of my Macs under VMware for a couple of programs that I use that are Windows only.

[Curt Harms]

My understanding is that there are two classes of Windows notebooks - - business and consumer. Business class machines are more money and higher quality/more durable. I have two Thinkpads (business class) T410 & X201. I replaced the spinning disk with a 256 GB. SSD. I run Ubuntu linux the vast majority of the time, Thinkpads have a reputation for being linux friendly. I do run Windows 10 on the X201 for a few minutes every 28 days and no issues there though the application is not demanding. I paid a little over $200 for both machines plus the SSDs, Corporate refurbs off Ebay.

[Matt Meiser]

That was my point. A business class machine or high end consumer machine like the HP series I mentioned or the Macs, whichever runs the applications he needs. My employer several years ago tried buying high powered lower grade consumer machines with the idea of spending less and replacing more often. We had all kinds of trouble and it wasn't worth it. Mine developed numerous stress cracks in the case from toting around the country, the hinge died, the battery didn't hold up to constant use and charge cycles, the keyboard didn't hold up, and on and on. It barely made it out of warranty even with Dell replacing most of the parts over time. We now get workstation-class laptops. Somehow we manage to run Windows, just like most of the business world and I'm on only my 3rd laptop in 11 years, including the first that only lasted about 2 years. The second due to a wave of hiring and higher priority replacements, mine got pushed out 5 years and while it was getting pretty long in the tooth but didn't keep me from doing my computing-intensive job. Its simply untrue that you can't get 4 years out of a good quality Windows-based device if that's what he needs for the program he's in.

[Carlos Alvarez]

Also remember that all Macs can run Windows in multiple ways (natively, or virtualized). They can all virtualize Windows applications, while maintaining the security and reliability of the underlying Unix operating system. PC Mag used to call the MacBook "the most reliable Windows laptop," not sure if they still do. They do a better job at Windows drivers than most other companies.

[Marshall Harrison]

I got 13" Apple MacBook Airs for my girls when they started college. BestBuy has (or had) student discounts.

I bought Windows machines for them in High School but in know time they were always so messed up from updates, viruses and Windows screwy registry screwups that they were slow and useless. Never going that route again.

[Carlos Alvarez]

BestBuy has (or had) student discounts.

Apple has student discounts for many products, and they can also be used at retail stores such as Best Buy and others. If you get a Best Buy credit account, you can get the Apple discount PLUS the credit discounts/bonuses too. Our last iPhones were about 12% off by stacking all the discounts and BB credit card bonuses.

[Derek Meyer]

Check out the Microsoft Surface Laptop and see if you can get a refurbished unit from the Microsoft store. We bought one for an employee at my work and saved about $800 over the cost of a new one, and the unit is top notch. I will look seriously at one for my next laptop.

[Dave Lehnert]

I always buy $300-$400 Windows laptops and get 6 to 8 years out of them.
The one I'm on now is 4 years old and think of it as new.

[Jerome Stanek]

I have bought a lot of refurb laptops from Mirocenter The one my wife is using is 6 years old the one I am using is 4 years and the ones out in the shop are 6 and 7 years. I got some for family members also that have lasted a long time in fact my niece has one that she takes to collage.

[Jim Becker]

I always buy $300-$400 Windows laptops and get 6 to 8 years out of them.
The one I'm on now is 4 years old and think of it as new.

I have bought a lot of refurb laptops from Mirocenter The one my wife is using is 6 years old the one I am using is 4 years and the ones out in the shop are 6 and 7 years. I got some for family members also that have lasted a long time in fact my niece has one that she takes to collage.

Consider that a college student is going to be constantly carting the computer around and that adds risk for physical damage over a very short time period. That's one reason that some of us have recommended more robust "business quality" machines. A laptop that sits on a desk or stays in the home the majority of the time is a bit different than one that is constantly in motion from dorm/apartment to classroom to library to coffee shop and back and forth. A broken laptop is an inconvenience for anyone, but it can be a real serious issue for a student or a business person.

[Carlos Alvarez]

Consider that a college student is going to be constantly carting the computer around and that adds risk for physical damage over a very short time period. That's one reason that some of us have recommended more robust "business quality" machines. A laptop that sits on a desk or stays in the home the majority of the time is a bit different than one that is constantly in motion from dorm/apartment to classroom to library to coffee shop and back and forth. A broken laptop is an inconvenience for anyone, but it can be a real serious issue for a student or a business person.

Yup, and even with business assignments we can give junk to the people who just use it at a desk all the time. Usage time and style varies a lot too. We've had users who type super-fast and spend 90% of the work time active on the computer; the keyboards and mice on the cheap stuff can't take that. Low-needs usage can be covered by almost anything.