13" Laptop Suggestions for an Information Technology Student

AdamFury on 16/10/2017 - 13:52

Hi all. I am in the market for a new laptop after having a 2012 Macbook pro for quite a few years now and it's starting to become a bit cumbersome. Although I do most of my work in the IT industry I've been out of the laptop game for a long time now and have somewhat lost touch with what is really good value.

I am leaning towards a windows based environment as a lot of the programs I use do not have a mac alternative.

Whilst it is going to be mostly for uni work some of the programs I use for rendering can get quite intensive so netbooks and atom processors won't cut it.

Some features that are important to me are having USB-C for future proofing purposes, i5 minimum processor, 8GB RAM minimum, 256GB storage minimum, 1080P display would be great and battery life is important.

I've been doing a lot of research myself over the past few months and am looking to buy before uni resumes next year. One laptop that has really caught my eye has been the Xiaomi Notebook Air 13.3 with the i5-7200U, 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. My only issue with this is being a bit hesitant on the warranty situation as well as not having a whole lot of feedback to go off about it (if anyone has bought and owns one of these I'd love to ask a few questions!) I've seen some great ASUS laptops around as well.

TLDR; Want to buy a laptop

  • Windows based
  • Budget ~ 1k
  • Size: 13 inch (no 15" suggestions please)
  • Minimum specs if possible: USB C / i5 / 8GB RAM / 256GB SSD / 1080P Display / Respectable battery life

Any suggestions appreciated! Feel free to shoot me any questions for anything I might not have mentioned. Thanks guys!

Computing

Comments

  • Quantumcat on 16/10/2017 - 14:01
    +2

    I have a Microsoft Surface Pro 2 (4GB RAM/128GB SSD) and it is doing fine for me as a computer science student (software development). You will likely find a Pro 3 or 4 that would fit your higher requirements.

    Battery is good, mine lasts about ~ 6 hours of constant heavy use, 24 hours of medium use, a week of not being used/lightly used (left on standby most of the time). And this is an old model. The only downside to it is the single USB slot. It's only 11 inches not 13 as you asked for - but did you ask for 13 so that it would be lighter? because the surface is super light, I carry mine around in my shoulder bag all day with no ill effects. It has a mini displayport which is easy to connect with an adapter(~$10 @ Good Guys) to a HDMI cable to attach to a monitor if you need a bigger screen.

    I bought mine second hand (about 1 yr old) and it hasn't failed me in the ~3 years I've owned it despite being rough with it so I'd say it's pretty reliable.

    • AdamFury on 16/10/2017 - 14:19

      Thanks for the suggestion. I have considered the surface pro's. How do you find them for typing? Definitely need something quiet but tactile when I'm writing a few hundred lines of code. 13 inch definitely because of portability and weight so smaller wouldn't be a problem. Only issue is no USB-C :(

      • Quantumcat on 16/10/2017 - 14:22
        +1

        The keyboard makes a definite quiet tip-tip-tip sound (when typing normally in a stabbing motion - if touch-typing a document it's very quiet and you can hardly hear it), but nowhere near as loud as my regular desktop keyboard. TBH I wasn't sure what USB-C was haha I will look it up now.

  • Salmando on 16/10/2017 - 14:29
    +1

    I got the xiaomi 13 inch fingerprint blah blah. Been using it for about 2 weeks. It's fantastic.

    It feels excellent, performance is incredible for the price. Battery is good.

    Slight heat issues when vents are covered. No performance impact, but it does get a little loud. Compared to my previous HP laptop, it's nothing, but compared to my girlfriend's MacBook air out is quite warm. Though I do use it more intensively and it does have a dedicated GPU.

    Worth noting is that the windows version it comes with it's single language Windows 10 which requires more than just changing the language to English.
    If installing new windows 10 as I did, you'll need to manually download the intel/PRO wifi drivers from another device, as it isn't detected by Windows, and it has no lan port.

    I guess the only other thing I can think of is that it has no logo on top, and can be difficult at times to determine which side the screen lifts from. Might need a sticker.

    • agam2104 on 16/10/2017 - 14:33

      One more issue that warranty is not applicable here.

      • 87percent on 16/10/2017 - 18:05

        Warranty IS applicable, you just have to send it back to China (or wherever you purchased it from). ACL doesn't apply though

        • agam2104 on 16/10/2017 - 21:31

          Sending back to China, then getting it back can take weeks.Difficult to work without a laptop for a day for me:)

    • AdamFury on 16/10/2017 - 14:38

      Thanks for your reply! Can I ask a few questions.

      Have you used the fingerprint sensor and does it work well?

      Does it get loud when you are doing basic tasks like web browsing word docs etc?

      With the Windows 10 did you purchase a new copy of Windows then install that and then throw the drivers on?

      With the power brick supplied does it come with an AUS plug or an adaptor and also is the laptop as it's charged via USB C able to be charged by things like powerbanks?

      Cheers!

      • McBanjo on 16/10/2017 - 14:57
        +1

        Don't have the fingerprint model, but:

        • Bought a cheap Windows 10 OEM key from OzBargain (psngames.org). You will need to do a fresh install.
        • It doesn't get hot or loud with Word/Web Browsing.
        • Mine came with a US plug, got some pliers to bend them to fit the AUS plug, problem sorta solved. I'm sure any $1 adapter could convert the plugs too. The charger is kind of a short cable which is annoying and it's direct PowerPoint Brick to USB-C, not a USB-C socket and cable like the MacBooks. Most Powerbanks will not charge the laptop because it needs USB-PD at ~45W which is rare in those devices. Great device otherwise and very fast charging.
      • Salmando on 16/10/2017 - 15:53

        Haven't tried the fingerprint sensor no. I'm actually not sure I remember seeing drivers installed for it either. I'll check tonight. Typically I've never used them, even having them in the last two laptops of mine.

        No, basic tasks, web browsing, movies etc don't seem to affect it. I also haven't heard it make noise when used on a solid surface. Typically using Photoshop or unity on my bed sheets will do it.

        I transferred my current valid Windows 10 from another laptop. It was a fresh install. I only needed to install the driver to get WiFi, then Windows update got the rest.

        The power brick didn't come with an adaptor, and it doesn't use a removable cable from the brick so can't be changed. It is however a usb-c charger, so you might not have trouble replacing it.

  • nubix on 16/10/2017 - 14:30
    +1

    8th gen ULV processors are quad core so I'd avoid any 7th gen. Get something like this https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/335411

    • agam2104 on 16/10/2017 - 14:34

      8th i5 gen will perform better than i7?

    • AdamFury on 16/10/2017 - 14:55

      Thanks for your reply! I do like the look of that laptop too. So it's a fairly big performance difference in the processor in this compared to the Xiaomi? I do notice that one has a DC IN and looks like it can't be charged by USB - C which is a bit of a bummer!

      • nubix on 16/10/2017 - 15:29
        +1

        Depends on your applications I guess. It's huge for me since I only need burst quad core performance so I will finally be able to downgrade to a 13" macbook once Apple get around to it.

        If you don't need it immediately, I think it's only a matter of time before Xiaomi updates the Air - they're already using it in their Mi Notebook Pro

        • AdamFury on 16/10/2017 - 16:56

          Thanks for your advice. Definitely would be keen on it since it seems like a decent upgrade. I'll be waiting around a little bit since I don't tend to use my laptop until I'm back at uni which will be early Feb. Maybe it will be upgraded by then!

    • GossipGoat on 16/10/2017 - 18:59

      When are the 8th gen i7 laptops coming out?

      • nubix on 16/10/2017 - 19:12

        they are trickling out (see link). dell xps 13 is here too!

        • GossipGoat on 16/10/2017 - 19:18

          Yes I just saw the dell website, but $2,299 is quite steep haha. Would you choose the xps 13 or the hp spectre x360

  • McBanjo on 16/10/2017 - 14:50
    +1

    I really like the Xiaomi Notebook Air 13" for price/performance ratio. Really a Mac user but been thoroughly underwhelmed by their latest models…

    • AdamFury on 16/10/2017 - 14:55

      Definitely agree! Always used a windows desktop and a macbook however Xiaomi seem to have hit their market well with the Air 13. Really clean and good value.

  • Banana on 16/10/2017 - 15:19
    +1

    If you would like it to be 'future-proof' I'd suggest looking to getting 16GB ram.

    • AdamFury on 16/10/2017 - 15:25

      It would definitely be nice! 8GB is just a minimum for me. Haven't seen many 13 inch laptops with 16GB though!

      • Banana on 16/10/2017 - 16:18

        There are a few..but probably will be out of your budget.

  • Kiato on 16/10/2017 - 21:44

    I have the 13.3 fingerprint model that you are considering. I love the this little laptop switching to a English windows is simple it just requires a reformat. running the cpu and the gpu at max load the fans do get loud and the case does get some what hot, but under normal use its near silent and stays pretty cool. The screen hinge has loosened up a little over the past half a year or so but it still works perfectly.

    Additionally though I have recently upgraded to the 15.6" pro and i find it much better than the 13.3 in all aspects. the i5 8th gen was easy to overclock and now performs much faster than the i7 7th gen i have i have in dell laptop… so this thing has essentially replaced a 3k machine for my content photo and video editing. also the size difference between the 13.3 and the 15.6" is around 40mm in length and 20mm width and as near as i can tell height is about the same. So the size of the laptop is closer to a 14". The second nvme slot is very helpful and i put a 1tb Samsung 960 evo and it works well. I'm not sure if this addition information is of any use at all but it both of these laptops are very good and i fully recommend both models.

  • donnot on 16/10/2017 - 22:26

    I had a Surface Pro 3 (i3). Studying Acct & CS. Was great value at the time (~$500) but had to upgrade to the Type cover 4 as I couldn't stand the keyboard (was making far too many errors). RAM was often the bottleneck, even though the CPU wasn't great. Ended up selling for a secondhand Macbook Pro (retina) as I wasn't a huge fan of the keyboard, sleep issues and battery life.

    Tested out a friends' Mi notebook and it's quite nice. Great design, keyboard is solid, as is the display so if you can get past the warranty 'problems' it's a great choice. Though, I'd probably choose this as listed above due to the quad-core CPU.

  • Stevek1960 on 17/10/2017 - 10:06

    Cant really go wrong with a locally purchased ASUS I5 which you will fit into your budget

  • BoomTetrisForJeff on 21/10/2017 - 17:39

    this is really good https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/336296
    if you can stand the 14" screen

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