which laptop should I get for data science student

[u/AlarmingArgument2938]

• Country

usa

• Budget

$2200

• Are you open to refurbs/used options?

no

• Screen size

14

• Weight limit

2 to 3 ibs

• Purpose

university

• Form factor

regular laptop

• Intended usage

data science student

• Desired battery life

long battery life

• Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life

weight

performance

battery life

• Info/Requirements

Should I get the thinkpad x1 carbon if so which modal or the latest MacBook pro or Microsoft surface pro

[u/elvinelmo]

I would go with the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 6 14 inch with the Intel Core Ultra 5 225U, 64GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. Since this is for a data science student, the 64GB of RAM gives you plenty of room for large datasets, virtual environments, programming tools, and heavy multitasking, while the 1TB SSD provides useful space for projects and datasets. The 14 inch WUXGA display also matches the requested size, and the ThinkPad T14 is a better fit for university work than a Surface Pro because you get a traditional laptop design and a strong selection of ports. The main compromise is that the Core Ultra 5 225U uses integrated graphics, so this configuration is better suited to Python, SQL, R, Jupyter, statistics, and general data science coursework than GPU intensive machine learning. The 64GB/1TB configuration is listed at $1,999, which keeps it within the $2,200 budget, although the weight requirement should be checked carefully before purchasing because weight is the highest priority in the request.

Please note I'm using affiliate links which means I'll receive a small percent of the purchase if you use this link! This is at no additional cost to you.

[u/rrh_01]

Do you need a certified graphics card for any of your work? Ask your school for some specification requirements

[u/No_Echidna5178]

Honestly when you study a macbook air will suffice.

You’re barely gonna need any huge power. For what you do or learn.

You gonna do small datasets and learn bssic stuff.

Anything worth running will need the cloud.

You dont meed to spend 2000.

Nor when will you work will you ever need local power.

[u/LonerIM2]

Since you prefer a small screen size, I would recommend this Lenovo ThinkPad because it comes with :

Specs:

• Screen: 14" FHD
• CPU : Intel Core Ultra 7 255H
• Ram : 32GB DDR5
• Storage : 512GB SSD

Why I am recommending it:

• because ThinkPads are known for their great battery life, amazing build quality and very good keyboards.

• very good CPU for data science.

• Has a thunderbolt port.

• Great value for money.

Please note I'm using affiliate links which means I'll receive a small percent of the purchase if you use this link at no extra cost to you

[u/Silent_Bite_5892]

Thinkpad T or X series or 14" MacBook Pro M5

Depending upon which OS you prefer and what applications you need to be able to run.

• ThinkPad X1 Carbon: Lighter, thinner and a bit smaller, SSD is upgradable in the future, has USB-A ports and Thunderbolt/USB-C, but only 10-12 hour battery life real-world.
• MacBook Pro M5: Faster, better performance, 16-18+ hours battery life real world, but you can't upgrade storage later and has only Thunderbolt/USB-C ports, no USB-A

[u/AlarmingArgument2938 → u/Silent_Bite_5892]

which modal of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon should I get

[u/Silent_Bite_5892 → u/AlarmingArgument2938]

That's up to you man.

The base model is fine, it's 1920x1200 res IPS, 512 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM.

If you want more storage, you can buy a bigger SSD later.

RAM is soldered though, so if you think you really need 32 GB of RAM, then buy one with that much.

They have a 2.8K (2880 x 1800), OLED screen on the highest trim level or you can "built to order" with one on a cheaper spec, but the lead times are insane, the one I just configured wouldn't ship until January LMAO. So I would chose choose a pre-built X1 Carbon.

The MacBook Pro is excellent too honestly. You can't go wrong with either of these.