Laptop Suggestions
 

My cousin just graduated high school and I was thinking of getting her a new laptop for university. She was looking into a Macbook Pro but her friends have told her for business(Excel etc) it's probably better to use Windows than a Mac. (Not sure if theirs any proof to that though lol)

She isn't into gaming and doesn't need something top of the line, just something that looks very sleek and probably light with a decent graphics card and processor(i5 or even i3). But not too basic since she'll probably replace her desktop with this laptop.

Budget: Probably under $1600-ish would be ideal since she doesn't need anything top of the line or for gaming.

Any suggestions on what laptop to get? I've heard good things about ASUS.

Thx

No need to spend $1600 on laptop it's overkill.

If she wants something high end she could go with this: [Comp] Thinkpad X1 Carbon $958.62 - RedFlagDeals.com Forums

I don't think she needs anything high end, just something that looks very sleek and light but can still preform everyday tasks(not run games like D3/SC2 etc lol)

I'm guessing under $1000 would be good than?

Get a nice Ultrabook from Asus, or if you want a 15", get the Samsung Series 9

Yup, I agree with her friends. Last semester some of the programs/software my class was required to use was not compatible with mac.

For her needs like Manic! said, $1600 is overkill imo. I would suggest looking at some $1000~ ultrabooks instead (fast, thin/sleek, lightweight, battery life)

Tell her to take a look at the:

1) HP Spectre 14 Tech Specs | HP Ultrabook
2) Asus Zenbook UX31A
3) Samsung NP900
4) Thinkpad X1 Carbon

Sure it would be cool to tell all your friends "I just bought a MBP", but for it's price and specs, there's definitely a lot better competitors out there. MS Excel will run on Mac alright, but once you get to more high-end business/accounting softwares, that's a whole different story....

She's a girl? Just get her a 13.3" MacBook Air and you will forever be her favourite cousin.

Man I wish you were my cousin. lol. The choices from skyhigh are good. Except I'd avoid the HP.

Until she starts school and finds out the software she needs won't run on OSX and has to use bootcamp.

i could be wrong but can macbooks still boot into windows aswell? or has that changed? if she has any use for a macbook, and can still boot into windows aswell, why not get that? if not, then as others mentioned, $1600 is overkill.

don't know much about laptops but i picked up an acer aspire timelinex not too long ago for like 700 and its pretty good imo. fairly light, thin and has an amazing battery life.
thought i might share that to expand your options.

Just a note about bootcamp. The batter life won't be as good when it's running windows.

also if she gets a mac she will have to learn
2 different operating systems.

Well assuming she already knows one or the other.

Lol looks like I'm returning my mac.

Another option is a Dell 14Z $899 with a dedicated video card something I don't even think she needs.
The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

Without the video card and 750 GB HD for $709.

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

base macbook air with apple care. At the end of the 3 years when she is ready to resell it, it would retain the most value out of all the suggestions listed.

iwork for spreadsheet functionality or word processing.

anything else she can fall back to VM or bootcamp

If I didn't sometimes play games I'd go with a Mac Air too. Very portable and convenient for students. $1029 to start and you don't really need the expensive add ons just for school.

Shes taking business classes. Business runs on Windows and Microsoft office. Also switching between different operation systems during the school day would be a pain in the ass.

lol business classes "requiring" microsoft office?

iwork can do everything the student needs in place of ms office(it will save to office file formats if needed).

only SOME classes require windows, most likely her business classes will NOT require windows. If she does need it she can use bootcamp OR with 8gb of ram she can run windows on a Virtual machine.

the macbook air is the best bang for buck out of all the machines suggested(also retains most value after the warranty is over). make sure you use the education discount option.

^MBA has the best bang for the buck? Thanks for the morning laugh!
As discussed on the other laptops thread, quite a few features on the PC - Excel 2012 are no where to be found on the Mac equivalent. You will also be spending more time trying to figure out the 'equivalen't on the Mac Excel in a business stats class when you should be focusing on how to solve the damn problem. My 0.02. (Unless they've changed Excel 2012 for MAC to mimic the PC vers, my point stands)

:suspicious:

Do tell me why they retain the most value after 3 years.

And don't say because Apple.

That is exactly why... people pay way more for used Apples than any PC product. No judgment on whether it's "worth it" or not but that is the reality.

Mark

Since she is a gril I hae to say MacBook pro or Macbook Air.
Personally my next labtop will be a Mac. They just seem to last longer (could be the built quality) and looks better.
Too bad I got a gaming desktop 2 years ago stop gaming so the desktop is going to last me a good 7+ years lol.........

Thats like saying since she is a girl she should by a Miata when she has 2 kids and that will be here only car.

When she gets a job in the real world she will not be able to use a mac then what?