Is a 15.6" laptop too big for college?

runswithascript

I have my eye on a 15.6" 2.6kg laptop from the continent which has specifications I cannot see matched here or in the UK, but I am worried I may regret not going for a 13.3" 1.8kg albeit it with weaker specifications.

I have not found anywhere selling the particular models to see for myself.

Do you take a laptop to college, and do you think 15.6" would be too heavy to lug into the city on the bus each morning and around college?

Yakuza42

Hi dusf,

It really depends on what you are doing. If its word processing i.e taking down notes etc and writing essays; and then perhaps using the internet and watching movies at home, then I would strongly suggest a smaller notebook or even an ultrabook if you have the money. Some mornings I dont even feel the weight of my 15.6'' laptop but other days its the worst thing in the world to have to lug around.

If you are going to be working at anything Graphics intensive and may need a bigger screen I would maybe suggest the 15.6'' as using anything smaller can strain your eyes over long periods of time, and just gets annoying to be honest.

There is also the matter of how much use it will get.. sometimes, if I am on the bus for example, I wont bother taking out my laptop because its just too big and awkward to use, and the battery life isnt great, but if I had something a little smaller and with a longer battery I would be a little more productive.


Here are a few ideas, depending on your budget, for smaller laptops and ultraboks: (btw I only searched one site because I'm in a bit of a hurry, so this list of manufacturers is by no means definitive)

http://www.dabs.ie/products/toshiba-portege-z830-core-i3-2367m-4gb-ram-128gb-ssd-hdd-13-3--windows-7-home-premium-7S41.html?refs=54580000-52720000-52330000-53720000&src=3

http://www.dabs.ie/products/samsung-series-4-400b2b-core-i5-2450m-4gb-ram-500gb-hdd-12-5--win-7-pro-laptop---no-optical-drive-7WHV.html?refs=54590000-52720000&src=3

http://www.dabs.ie/products/samsung-np530u3b-a03uk-i5-2467m-6gb-500gb---16gb-ssd-13-3--silver-81LW.html?refs=54590000-52720000&src=3

runswithascript

Yakuza42 wrote: »

Hi dusf,

It really depends on what you are doing. If its word processing i.e taking down notes etc and writing essays; and then perhaps using the internet and watching movies at home, then I would strongly suggest a smaller notebook or even an ultrabook if you have the money. Some mornings I dont even feel the weight of my 15.6'' laptop but other days its the worst thing in the world to have to lug around.

If you are going to be working at anything Graphics intensive and may need a bigger screen I would maybe suggest the 15.6'' as using anything smaller can strain your eyes over long periods of time, and just gets annoying to be honest.

There is also the matter of how much use it will get.. sometimes, if I am on the bus for example, I wont bother taking out my laptop because its just too big and awkward to use, and the battery life isnt great, but if I had something a little smaller and with a longer battery I would be a little more productive.


Here are a few ideas, depending on your budget, for smaller laptops and ultraboks: (btw I only searched one site because I'm in a bit of a hurry, so this list of manufacturers is by no means definitive)

http://www.dabs.ie/products/toshiba-portege-z830-core-i3-2367m-4gb-ram-128gb-ssd-hdd-13-3--windows-7-home-premium-7S41.html?refs=54580000-52720000-52330000-53720000&src=3

http://www.dabs.ie/products/samsung-series-4-400b2b-core-i5-2450m-4gb-ram-500gb-hdd-12-5--win-7-pro-laptop---no-optical-drive-7WHV.html?refs=54590000-52720000&src=3

http://www.dabs.ie/products/samsung-np530u3b-a03uk-i5-2467m-6gb-500gb---16gb-ssd-13-3--silver-81LW.html?refs=54590000-52720000&src=3

I am leaning towards the 13.4" myself, it's just for the money I cannot find one with a better graphics card than GT 610m, which is many times weaker than the card on the 15.6".

Please see my other thread here where I go into more detail: For work, college, and gaming: higher spec 15.6" or lesser 13.4"?

Also thanks for the links, but as you will see there are much better deals available from Germany.

wnolan1992

I've been using a 17.3" for the last two and a half years, and when it came time to upgrade a few months ago I picked up another 17".

It's totally dependent on how you use the laptop. The majority of work I do during the day is done in a PC lab, so plenty of desk space, so you wouldn't notice the difference between having a 17" and 15"/13". But if you're going to be writing notes in cramped lecture halls or maybe doing a little work on the bus journey home or something, then get the best specced 13" you can afford.

Yakuza42

dusf wrote: »

I am leaning towards the 13.4" myself, it's just for the money I cannot find one with a better graphics card than GT 610m, which is many times weaker than the card on the 15.6".

Please see my other thread here where I go into more detail: For work, college, and gaming: higher spec 15.6" or lesser 13.4"?

Also thanks for the links, but as you will see there are much better deals available from Germany.

Yes I agree Germany is probably the place to look. I dont think I bought anything from Ireland the last time I built my workstation. Wish I could spend more of my money inside of Ireland but it's just too expensive!

runswithascript

Thanks for all the replies.

I went to PC World at the weekend just to get a feel for some of the 15.6" ~2.5kg laptops on offer and they really felt as clunky and cumbersome as I feared they might.

I have started a new thread regarding my pursuit of an affordable 13.3" Ultrabook with an Intel Core i5-3210m and NVIDIA graphics (GT 630+) here.