Recommend me a Laptop

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Next year I'm going to start a software engineering degree. Currently, I have a desktop and have no idea about laptops. My budget is around $1000.
 
Next year I'm going to start a software engineering degree. Currently, I have a desktop and have no idea about laptops. My budget is around $1000.
You can search for some Ryzen based laptop that has a 6800u cpu with integrated graphics if you do not care about gaming on it
 
Suresh if you are in India, you can buy a 12th Gen i7 laptops from HP, Asus all under 80k from Croma or the Online marketplace.

For your requirement, you need at least i5 12th Generation with 16GB RAM would be recommended..
 
software engineering degree
That will be a waste of money and a waste of time. In software/IT these days (even in big IT tech companies), degrees hold very less value. Specialized software/IT skills are what hold value. Hence, instead go for a short-term specialized course and certification in (example) Big Data framework using Hadoop and Spark, Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, DevOps, etc.
 
Bro this is a personal opinion. Aside from other specs, do get a 17" one. I used to use a 17" and it was so comfortable to use than my new 15". I did sacrifice display size for more processing power, VGA, and ram. Keep an eye out for black Friday deals as well.

And get that degree! It will open more doors for you, especially if you are from a south Asian country.
 
Macbook pro M2 is the best
I have a m1 max macbook pro and I can tell you that it is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too powerful for what he needs. Having power isn’t a bad thing, but it will be atleast 4 times the budget (atleast in his/my country), which is pretty unnecessary for his case. I am a computer science grad myself, so I probably have an idea of what he might need, and its not a mbp.

Even if he goes into machine learning, mbp won’t help much, as tensorflow support is pretty weak for apple silicon at this moment.
 
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Get macbook air and be done with it. Have used Lenovo thinkpads and hp ones before, but once I got macbook pro, I haven't looked back.

I just got the macbook pro 16 recently and it has been pretty snappy. Pretty silent machine and power efficient than the intel ones.
 
If you are studying comp engineering, you need to install Linux, yes or yes. Ask in Linux forums for references about recommended hardware.

But be aware, that Linux is not 100% with all hardware. For example, two months ago, someone gifted me a cheap laptop ($350) and was 100% not compatible with Linux, which is a shame because I've been forced to install on it Win10 ultimately.

I only use Windows on my main PC, but all my servers and laptops are over Linux because I cannot care less about Windows software on a portable basis, but tasking over Linux is outstanding when you mostly play over shell. And for software developing, any Linux distribution is nuts.

Buy the most powerful laptop your budget can afford, but the most compatible with Linux possible. As I say, check Linux forums, for example MX Linux forum (I'm ULTRA fan of MX Linux, what a delightful piece of engineering and the community is brutal).

If you are not careful about this, you may end with a Linux non-compliant WIFI chipset, a Linux non-compliant Audio card or BT chipset or whatever, which will ruin your day because you will feel that your Linux system is a hindrance and you will need to return to Windows like it happened to me.

Anyway, if you want things super-easy, buy a CHROMEBOOK, and then install whatever you like (Windows or Linux, or dual boot or keep Chrome OS which is not bad and you can unlock developer mode, which basically means, you have a Linux system by default).

The best Chromebook you have with your budget will be fine. Otherwise, just stick to Dell which is extremely Linux-friendly.

Apple Macbooks are also a thing (although for $1K you are going to buy a shit), and since they switched from x86 architecture, I feel it's not worthy anymore for development purposes, just a pose.
 
Bro, check your college website to see if any computer fairs or discounts are going for freshmen... if so, you will probably get the best price there, and a Linux-friendly set-up is always the way to go.... I would say get the range of specs and brand that will last for years... my college laptop that I bought for USD$200-300 with a discount 10 years ago is still runs smooth and runs forex EA 24/7! the best investment ever made!

All the best in your college! people say it's a waste of money, I would say it's worth it! in my case :)
I made a few close friends, met my fiance, and met my business partner and we still do business together in a few ventures! and it got me into one of the top firms in my field that build my practical business foundation and bank balances for the first few projects.
 
Having a degree in something (anything) will set you apart from the people who do not. Later in life you will be happy you did get a degree.

As for laptop, I can only recommend MacBook m1 or m2. Windows laptops are janky imo. Screens usually SUCK, and their trackpad SUCKS compared to Magic Trackpad on macs. There’s many other reasons I personally prefer MacOS but I am not making any money selling you on a Mac. So you’ll have to learn.
 
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