He's starting his Masters in Architecture this week and has been told a laptop will be needed to present powerpoint presentations. There's also a likelihood that he needs a laptop for graphic rendering.
We need to find him a laptop with the following characteristics:
-> mid to high performance machine
-> weight is not an issue
-> screen size must be equal or larger than 13 inches
-> while battery is not a big issue, it needs to last at least 5 hours after a charge
-> under $1200
I posted a similar thread last November to find a laptop for my sibling, and everyone here was so helpful. Hopefully, we can find my friend a laptop as well!
Many thanks.
Keep it simple: I'd get an i3 or i5-based intel processor ending in the letter U (ultra low voltage, efficient processors). I'd also get a full HD display of 15 inches or more if doing rendering work. I'd get 8GB of ram out-of-the-box, or I'd add the extra 4GB to a 4GB machine. I'd get a 500GB or higher hard drive (common).
A possible shortlist to consider, to help nail down some models:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?atclk=Monitor+Resolution_1920+x+1080&mnp=600&ci=6782&Ns=p_PRICE_2|0&N=4110474287+4294949016&mxp=900
If constant rendering won't be a concern (and a full HD display isn't a concern), then I'd get an entry-level laptop with an any Pentium or Celeron Intel processor with a model name starting with the letter N or ending in the letter U, which should cope just fine with some light rendering tasks and all the other basic stuff you can throw at it, while keeping power usage and heat down. I'd probably be fine with 4GB memory and only add more later if I wanted it. I'd also consider an AMD A4-5000 based entry-level laptop.
Battery life of 5 hours or more will depend on what you are doing with it, but most laptops selling today should find that no problem with light tasks and reasonable screen brightness.