Laptop for Degree maths student

B

BGG

New member
Just want a robust, portable, good for maths student (Matlab, R, Python etc). Light enough to carry around but ok to take some mishandling.
Is there a better solidly built system ?
Which of the spec below should i upgrade for robustness/reliability?
Would the Initia laptop be less robust ?
(appreciate a boring ask with all these amazing game machines available!)
Many thanks

Chassis & Display
Lafité Pro Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 60Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor i7-1165G7 (2.8GHz, 4.7GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 3200MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
Integrated Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 65W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Lafité Pro Series Integrated 73WH Lithium Ion Battery
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 + 1 x USB 3.2 (TYPE C) + 1 x USB 3.2 + 1 x USB 2.0
Keyboard Language
LAFITÉ PRO 15 SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
Clevo NS50MU (i7-1165G7, FHD IPS, 60Hz N7, Thunderbolt, 73WH, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 2 to 4 working days
Price: £1,005.00 including VAT and Delivery
 
Last edited:
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
BGG said:
Just want a robust, portable, good for maths student (Matlab, R, Python etc). Light enough to carry around but ok to take some mishandling.
Is there a better solidly built system ?
Which of the spec below should i upgrade for robustness/reliability?
Would the Initia laptop be less robust ?
(appreciate a boring ask with all these amazing game machines available!)
Many thanks

Chassis & Display
Lafité Pro Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 60Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor i7-1165G7 (2.8GHz, 4.7GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 3200MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
Integrated Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 65W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
Lafité Pro Series Integrated 73WH Lithium Ion Battery
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 + 1 x USB 3.2 (TYPE C) + 1 x USB 3.2 + 1 x USB 2.0
Keyboard Language
LAFITÉ PRO 15 SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
Clevo NS50MU (i7-1165G7, FHD IPS, 60Hz N7, Thunderbolt, 73WH, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 2 to 4 working days
Price: £1,005.00 including VAT and Delivery
Click to expand...
The only thing worth mentioning is that Matlab, R and Python can benefit from GPU acceleration. This all depends on your compiling needs, but for future proofing, it may be worth factoring in an nVidia GPU for this which is compatible with all those compilers.

This obviously would raise the cost.

What's your max budget, how much could you stretch to?
 
B

BGG

New member
Thank you. I can go up a bit for benefit. Just don't want to go too high as dropped or stolen is not an impossible end for it!
 
Aza

Aza

Rising Star
BGG said:
Thank you. I can go up a bit for benefit. Just don't want to go too high as dropped or stolen is not an impossible end for it!
Click to expand...
Back when I was at uni there were various insurance packages for students, but I also had insurance as part of my student bank account.
It would all depend on what account you have etc, and with most you have to register the items like phones/laptops beforehand, but certainly worth doing.

I remember living in halls and student digs, so many random people coming round and stuff would go missing, even the people you live with you dont really know... especially if you found roommates through adverts etc.

When my phone got smashed I was glad i'd had it covered rather than having to pay the full price for a new one, it saved me money overall.

Anyway...back to thread, need a budget idea before anyone can suggest anything useful :)
 
polycrac

polycrac

Super Star
SpyderTracks said:
The only thing worth mentioning is that Matlab, R and Python can benefit from GPU acceleration. This all depends on your compiling needs, but for future proofing, it may be worth factoring in an nVidia GPU for this which is compatible with all those compilers.

This obviously would raise the cost.

What's your max budget, how much could you stretch to?
Click to expand...
As a Maths lecturer, our undergrads are rarely doing anything heavyweight enough to get significant benefit from this (I can't say that for sure, for you - Uni courses are not like A levels, curriculums vary a lot). If they do, it tends to be in final year/masters machine-learning modules or final year projects where we'd generally make high power computing facilities available. This is because we have to assume everyone is on a tight budget and scraping by with a creaky old laptop or none at all. I'd suggest either you won't really need it or you'd need so much more that the laptop wouldn't be much help, with or without GPU. You could certainly get away with just integrated graphics if the budget is looking tight.

Of course, if you do any gaming then that's a great reason to stick a GPU in and if the parents are funding this and you need justification to add the GPU, please ignore my comment completely ;)

Battery life is going to be more of a consideration, Unis are slow at responding to the rise in need for charging points by students - our students have every classroom, coffee bar etc. on campus all mapped out to know which are the 'best' tables for access to charging and there's a lot of competition for the best spots.
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
polycrac said:
As a Maths lecturer, our undergrads are rarely doing anything heavyweight enough to get significant benefit from this (I can't say that for sure, for you - Uni courses are not like A levels, curriculums vary a lot). If they do, it tends to be in final year/masters machine-learning modules or final year projects where we'd generally make high power computing facilities available. This is because we have to assume everyone is on a tight budget and scraping by with a creaky old laptop or none at all. I'd suggest either you won't really need it or you'd need so much more that the laptop wouldn't be much help, with or without GPU. You could certainly get away with just integrated graphics if the budget is looking tight.

Of course, if you do any gaming then that's a great reason to stick a GPU in and if the parents are funding this and you need justification to add the GPU, please ignore my comment completely ;)

Battery life is going to be more of a consideration, Unis are slow at responding to the rise in need for charging points by students - our students have every classroom, coffee bar etc. on campus all mapped out to know which are the 'best' tables for access to charging and there's a lot of competition for the best spots.
Click to expand...
Perfect advice.

If GPU is not required then I think the build @BGG suggested is very appropriate.

My only amendment would be dual drives and split OS and data to prevent loss.
 
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