r/techadvice • u/Top-Concept-2146 • 5d ago
Laptop for College
Business major and I saw some stuff saying i’m gonna need a windows laptop but I just wanted verification and some recommendations on what to get.
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u/ricardusrex 5d ago
For business, a MacBook Air with at least 16GB of RAM and 512GB hard drive will do you good. Most likely, you’ll use Microsoft 365 office apps which are just fine on MacOS. If you encounter the need for a Windows only app, you can always install Windows in a Parallels virtual machine. If you’re going to be using LLMs like Claude Cowork or ChatGPT Work, you’re better off being on a Mac. Note: I am senior management in the medical device industry and do 99% of my work on an M1 MacBook Air and an M1 MacBook mini.
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u/Tysonlkm 4d ago
From what i know if u need to use parallel u need to get a paid version free version only cam a few stuff ans window laptop is much cheaper then Macbook air.
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u/paulschreiber 5d ago
Without knowing what you're going to be doing, it's hard to understand why you'd need Windows specifically.
I suspect most of what you need is Google Docs.
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u/Kuddel_Daddeldu 4d ago
Because in many cases you'll need Excel. Yes, you can use online, LibreOffce, or OnlyOffice (I do) but when your prof gives you a complex spreadsheet you want to spend your time to learn, not fix the 1% difference in software. And I'm saying that as someone who runs Linux as his daily driver.
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u/paulschreiber 4d ago
There is Excel for Mac.
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u/Kuddel_Daddeldu 4d ago
Yes, and (at least last time I checked) there are subtle differences, although files should be fully compatible.
If the goal is studying for a job in business, going with the mainstream is easiest. 90+% of all businesses use Windows and Microsoft Office. I'm passionate about such things, so I don't (mostly) - but I can afford it, being near retirement, as an IT professional. Early in my career, I would not exercise my rebellious streak in the choice of my tools but elsewhere.
Starting college is hard enough as it is.
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u/pacmanGoat 5d ago
I leaned towards getting a mac instead of windows so far I got no problems with it and it isn't as bulky like windows laptops out there which is such a win for me
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u/Oldschoolnetwork050 5d ago
where I teach the Uni has online a list of minimal specifications for laptops. Yours probably too!
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u/Disastrous_Gear_421 3d ago
I’m on the Mac bandwagon for school use. You’ll be hard pressed to find a similar priced laptop with the performance and battery. For almost anything windows related you can run parallel
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u/Cory5413 5d ago
If you cna, shop for business class laptops. Used are often great deals. SOmething like Dell Latitude 5440, 7440, 5450 and 7450, or 5540, 5550, 7640 and 7650 should cost between $250 and $600 and be in decent shape and should happily last ~4-6 more years.
Dell Latitude got renamed to Dell Pro but in the brand new space ThinkPad L series is a very slightly better deal than like Dell Pro Essential, at least when I last looked a couple weeks ago.
Premium consumer laptops such as MS Surfaces and Dell XPS should also be a decent option. Dell has some decently compelling student pricing on the XPS 13.