@mageecrew, if there is time to explore some of the Oregon’s cost line south of Portland definitely do it. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Ashland, in southwest Oregon has a great Shakespeare festival, although I don’t know when the plays actually start, and is a cute city. Bend is the place to go if you are an outdoorsy type. And then there is Crater Lake Nat’l Park. I have spent less time in Washington, but Olympic NP is beautiful, but can be very wet. Seattle is fun. The San Juan Islands in northwestern WA are a trip in themselves. I don’t remember what part of the US you are from, but note that it is about a 250 mi drive from Portland to Olympic NP. Also, Portland is a great city. My D15 want to live there.
I’d go with the Dell Latitude 5425. The Latitudes are their business line and solid. My Olin student has that model (all Olin students have to buy that laptop and it came loaded with the software they needed including MATLAB). The Dell runs MATLAB with no problem, not needing any additional graphics cards, just the CPU graphics. I’m going to buy a Dell for my S17.
I’d go with the Dell Latitude 5425. The Latitudes are their business line and solid. My Olin student has that model (all Olin students have to buy that laptop and it came loaded with the software they needed including MATLAB). The Dell runs MATLAB with no problem, not needing any additional graphics cards, just the CPU graphics. I’m going to buy a Dell for my S17.
Grad gift: We are splurging on a family trip to Europe as opposed to the usual summer visits to family. Once she starts her college life, who knows how she will be spending her summers? It will be a nice chance for some special family time.
@stem2017 my DS16 has the high end Surface that he uses for engineering. We purchased it based upon the specs provided by his school’s engineering department and recommendations from other engineering students. The price you quote is about what we spent elsewhere. He loves it and says the stylus is invaluable for the high level math they do as well.
^very helpful - thanks.
@STEM2017 The Surface Book seems cool, but it’s way too pricy for us - it’s over $1000 more than other ultrabooks that have 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and an i7. In our experimentation with a Surface Pro, it didn’t sit as well on a lap when you’re seated or lying on a bed because of the kickstand. The screen is slightly small too and it is also pricier than comparably equipped ultrabooks. At VT I think you have to have the stylus, so that limits choices somewhat.
I’m leaning towards an HP Spectre x360 again. The original has held up good for 2 years for one son and ran SoldWorks and MatLab just fine. And that is with just an i5/8GB configuration.
Frankly, I’m disappointed in user reviews for all of the main contenders. Seems like every brand has a fair number of issues. Not sure if it’s just ridiculous users or spotty QC.
Popping in from 2016 to say that a very useful gift my daughters received and loved were the collegiate Vera Bradley duffles. A good size and don’t take up much room in a dorm. They don’t have every school but they have quite a few. Even my kid who doesn’t love Vera Bradley really likes hers. The lanyards are also great for college.
@NoVADad99 Thanks for the heads up on the Dell Latitude. Forgot about those, although that’s what I use at work. Another potential option.
My son got a Lenovo laptop for engineering two years ago. He has been very happy with it and is still using it. For Christmas this year, we got him an android tablet. Prior to having the tablet, he carried his laptop around every day. He carries the tablet around day to day and leaves the laptop in his dorm (taking it with him when necessary).
To me you sacrifice quality when you go with a tablet/laptop combo or you pay a premium. Sacrificing quality isn’t a good choice to me and paying a premium depends on how much it is. What can you do with the premium that would make having separate devices more workable? May allow you to upgrade more often providing better solution.
YMMV. Get what works for you.
Grad Gift: we are also doing a trip instead of a party or a big gift. D15 is in southern Spain, and we are meeting here there. Then S17 and D15 are going to Rome for a week. He will be gone for a bit more than 2 weeks. We all are excited about the trip. We did get S a new Harry Potter Ravenclaw sweatshirt because he has worn his current one to tatters. We also got him a new backpack for school that will hold his current, huge 15", laptop. Part of his school scholarship is a technology allowance to buy a new computer, so we do not have to spring for that ourselves. Plus he will be able to use what is left of the technology money to get a new calculator. His good graphing calculator is lost, somewhere… maybe in his room that really needs cleaning?
If you have a resourceful kid, they can find a lot of their textbooks in PDF form. A device that is comfortable to read those on is good - both a laptop and tablet can work. Some books can also be found in Kindle form for significantly cheaper too. For one class, one kid got the current version of the book and several other kids chipped in to pay for it. That way they had the problem sets the prof would assign and used the PDF version for reading.
Please add @fun1234 Rice university
@youcee all of the recommended laptops on the VT list are touch screen-is this a necessity for CS/engineering? D17 steadfastly loathes touch screens and is convinced they’re neither fish nor fowl with regards to laptops.
I, typing on a Lenovo ideapad, disagree with her, but unless I have some logical reason why a touchscreen laptop is preferred, she won’t listen to me (stuuuuuuuborn…)
@MotherOfDragons VT has more specific requirements re inking capability than other schools I’ve seen. For CS I think either a Mac or a PC is acceptable. For something like ME, Windows is better because of the software they have to run. My son (not at VT) said he never uses his stylus and doesn’t even know if it still works. It’s also a 2-1 which rotates all the way around so it can be flat like a tablet, but I don’t think he uses that either. Basically uses it like a non-touch laptop. Google for PC or computer requirements at your daughter’s school to see if they have any. Otherwise I’d guess whatever she wants is fine with a few caveats for some engineering majors such as ME.
Please add @Houston1021 Rice University
^^Yeah we’ve looked at that UA one months ago, it’s kind of vague-I liked how VT had specific brands, makes and models.
D17 says as long as it has a core i7 and 8gb ram she’s good. No macs in this family.
I think I’ll stick to working on quilts and let her figure the laptop out with H.
If you are still doing updates, my DS is going to attend the Ohio State University in the Fall. I have been a long time-time lurker, but I had to write when I read you all were surprised OSU was not represented on the list!
^Go Buckeyes!