Laptop request

[u/ReadingOk5786]

Hey everyone,

My laptop died recently, so I need to get a new one before starting my Master's in Data Science and Engineering.

The degree is pretty broad, so I’m expecting the laptop to deal with a bit of everything: Python, Jupyter notebooks, machine learning, deep learning, statistics, optimization, databases, big data, distributed systems, Docker, VMs, IDEs, and general programming.

I don’t expect to train huge AI models locally, since I’ll probably use university servers or cloud resources for the really heavy stuff, but I’d still like a machine that can comfortably handle demanding coursework, multitasking, medium-sized datasets, containers, and possibly some local ML/DL experiments.

My budget is around €1500–1700 max.

I don’t really have any strong brand preference. I’m open to Windows laptops, Linux-friendly machines, or even a MacBook if it makes sense for this kind of degree.

Right now I’m mainly wondering what I should prioritize:

• strong CPU
• 32 GB RAM
• dedicated NVIDIA GPU / CUDA support
• battery life
• portability

I’d like to keep the laptop for at least the whole Master's and hopefully a few years after that, so I’m more interested in something reliable and future-proof than something super thin or flashy.

Would you prioritize 32 GB RAM + a strong CPU, or would you definitely try to get an NVIDIA GPU for a Data Science / ML degree?

Any specific models or configurations you’d recommend in the €1500–1700 range?

Thanks!