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PC/Chromebook/Mac purchasing guide and recommendations

Chromebooks:

Pros: Great Battery life, low cost, ease of use, does productivity work efficiently.

Cons: Not ideal for GPU based workloads such as nonlinear video editing, CAD, and software development.

Use case: General Computing (eg. word processing, web browsing, media viewing)

14 inch

Lenovo 14e

11 inch
Lenovo 100e mk2

Specs

  Minimum Recommended
RAM 4gb 4gb
Screen Resolution 1366x768 1920x1080
Storage 16gb 32gb
End of auto update 2025 2026+

 

How to check how long a Chromebook will continue to receive updates check

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Windows laptops

Pros: Can do almost any computing task, huge software catalog, large variety of form factors and models to choose from. 

Cons: More expensive than Chromebooks, cheapest options can be a poor experience, Windows is less intuitive than ChromeOS.

Use case: General Computing, CAD, programming, Video Editing, Graphics work

Specs

  Minimum Recommended
RAM 8gb 16gb
Storage 256gb SSD 256+ SSD
CPU Intel i3, or AMD Ryzen 3 Intel i5, Intel i7, AMD Ryzen 5, or 7
Graphics  Intel integrated Ryzen Vega, Nvidia GTX/RTX graphics
Operating System Windows 10, or Linux  
     

 

Lenovo Ideapad Series *preferably with Ryzen CPU (low cost for good performance)

Acer Nitro 5 Series: (affordable entry level to mid range gaming/CAD/Graphic design capable laptops)

Lenovo Thinkpad L,T,X,P series laptops (available in ranges from thin and light to portable workstations for CAD/Gaming/Video Editinglines 

Dell XPS 13 and 15 series:lines: (Focus on portability and battery life over raw performance)

Asus TUF seriesline (mid to high end gaming/CAD/Graphic design laptops)

Razer Blade series line (high end gaming/CAD/Graphic design capable)

 

 


Apple computers

 

Pros: Good build quality (dependent on model), High end specs compared to low cost PC/Chromebook options, 

Cons: High price for lower performance than PC alternatives, compatible with less existing software than windows, limited choice of devices. Limited ability to run major enterprise and engineering software (eg. Creo, autocad)Solidworks)

Use case: Using apple exclusive software (eg. garageband, iMovie), General Computing,  programming, Non Linear Video Editing, Graphics work.

General ComputingGraphics Work Nonlinear Video EditingProgramming
any apple computerMacbook Pro 16"Macbook Pro 16"Macbook Pro 13,16

 

128gb SSD minimum | 256gb recommended

 

 

Glossary of terms:

CPU: Central Processing unit (or processor) runs programs and executes any general computing task, faster CPU means things tend to open faster.

GPU: Graphics Processing Unit (also known as Video Card), used to render things in 3D and do video work. Very important for CAD, graphic design work, non Linear Video editing and to an extent software development.

RAM: Temporary storage for running tasks, an example of a a ram dependent task would be having many many tabs of chrome/safari open at once.

Non Linear Video Editing:  Professional Video Editing software such as FinalCut or Adobe Premiere. Requires a high end computer and vastly more demanding and capable than basic editors such as iMovie or Windows Movie maker.

General Computing:  Document/presentation/spreadsheet creation, email, Anything that can be done in a web browser, etc.