I have a budget of around $750 and I expect to be able to code in it. I honestly have not much idea what the ideal requirement of a laptop for a college student should be, which is why I am asking here to get an estimate of the specs I should be considering while choosing one. I would advice against naming any specific laptop as I have no guarantee of its availability in my region.

Edit: Seeing some of the comments, I have decided to add some context and additional constraints:

  • Fit for Computer Science: I wish for the laptop to handle all the tasks expected from the course with reasonable efficiency first and foremost. Gaming support (at least Minecraft) may be desirable but completely optional.
  • Windows only: I am completely inexperienced with Linux and college life, and I want to prioritize my studies over setting up and learning a completely new OS until I am sure I can find enough time to consider switching, so for the time being I am going with Windows. Moreover, the cheapest models among the Macbooks available here cost way above my budget and aren’t feasible either.
  • Newly purchasable models only: My college is offering a grant for newly bought laptops and it is in my best interest to avail the offer to get the most capable model possible, so I will not be purchasing any used laptop.
  • Price matching allotted budget: For the same reason above, I will not be deviating from my budget by more than $100 from either side.

I understand that these constraints narrow down my options by a large margin. If no one can offer something that fulfills the above criteria, that’s OK. I will ask someone else or simply buy one by my own intuition. I will only request you to comment if you actually have a suggestion that respects the above constraints and not just to complain about them.

    • macniel@feddit.orgEnglish
      0·
      4 months ago

      Well fuck so called Industry standards and class requirements.

      The digital world should be built upon non proprietary “standards”.

      • NateNate60@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        4 months ago

        That’s a nice speech but if your boss tells you to use Premier Pro and you don’t, you get fired. If the assignment says to use Premier Pro and you turn in a Davinci Resolve project, you get a zero.

        I don’t disagree that the status quo is bad, but you can’t pretend that the standards as they are don’t exist just because you don’t agree with them.

        • macniel@feddit.orgEnglish
          0·
          4 months ago

          Well fuck that teach if they require you to use proprietary shit.

          And fuck that company as well.

          Yes the status quo exist and I refuse to accept it.

          Besides to circle back, if company and course require software they need to have to provide it and hardware to run it on.

          • NateNate60@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            4 months ago

            It goes without saying that it’s reasonable to expect a company you work for to provide a company computer for work purposes.

            But if a cheque from the company pays for the food on my table and the roof over my head, if they say “dance” during work hours, I’m gonna dance.