Laptop for Grad School

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE*

• Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:

  500

• Are you open to refurbs/used?

  Yes, but prefer new

• How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?

  Build Quality and Preformance

• How important is weight and thinness to you?

  moderately

• Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.

  Larger the Better

• Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.

  Probably not, I have a desktop I can cad on, but would be nice

• If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?

  Not gaming

• Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?

  I would love a full num pad I use excel a lot.

• Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.

  I have a desktop, but will be traveling for a work a bunch this summer and am doing my MBA online. I have before and am allowed to use my work laptop for this, but I have had issues with the restrictions i.e. utalizing llms, sending myself documents, etc.

I have a desktop that I like, but I can't really bring it with me. So I would like a school machine. Something I can leave in the hotel room and work on in the evenings. So battery life isn't a huge issue. I would be traveling with it, but most likely would be in checked baggage so weight isn't a huge issue just a inconvenience.

Overall I'm just looking for a decent capable machine.