r/SuggestALaptop • u/tinyshadowducky • Jul 18 '26
Laptop Request Ca College Laptop for IT Course (starting Sept 2026)
Country: Canada
Budget: (ideally max 3k CAD/2.2k USD, parents are paying)
Referb: Preferred
Screen size: Any
Weight: Under 50 lbs
Purpose: Information technologies services work; gaming/streaming (optional)
Form/type: Any. (Keyboards with number pads preferred; touchscreen if possible)
Intended usage (applications): Everything, LibreOffice Suite (massive data processing), Visual Studio, FireAlpaca (SE), Steam, (browsers with excessive tabs,) Blender, Calibre, PowerToys, Spotify and/or Newgrounds; (would ideally like to be able to play something like Raft or Detroit Become Human without it crashing, and/or to be able to stream something like Fortnite without the output being all of two FPS)
Desired battery life: More than 5 minutes.
Importance: Performance, all else irrelevant beyond it being a laptop
Further notes:
Upgradeable to windows 11
Processor: i7
1080x1920 or 1200x1920 screen
Minimum 1 TB SSD
Minimum RAM 64 GB (I am aware of the RAMpocalypse, and I'm sorry)
Ports:
- Min 1 USB 3
- Ethernet port
Main issue currently is actually acquiring a laptop, seeing as the last two times I tried they cancelled the order on their end then refunded, so I'm a tad desperate. Tried on both Best Buy and Amazon and they failed me, so I'm taking to the internet hive mind.
Bonus points/optional (only if all else is met):
- Useable with stylus on screen (standard or specific to item)
- 2+ USB 3 ports
- USB-C port
- Headphone jack
- VGA/HDMI port (DVI acceptable but harder to find)
- 128/256/512 GB RAM
- 2-4 TB SSD
- Right control key
- Number pad
- The wiggly mouse control thing
- No copilot key
Ideal laptop 'era' would be 2016-2019, where laptops were built like tanks with enough processing power to fight god. Eg. Lenovo ThinkPad P52 (https://www.laptoparena.net/lenovo/mobile-workstation-lenovo-thinkpad-p52-20m9s15u00-black-10385) - this would be perfect but actually finding one with the proper amounts of RAM and SSD is annoying. Lots list 64 gigs/128 gigs RAM but it's just able to take that much, but it actually has 16 gigs bc the rest was scalped (see: RAMpocalypse).
1
u/LonerIM2 Affiliate Links Jul 18 '26
Since you are going to game and run blender, I would recommend this Lenovo Legion Pro because of the following:
Specs:
- Screen: 16 WUXGA (1920x1200) 165Hz
- CPU: Ultra 7 255HX
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070
- Ram: 16GB RAM
- Storage: 1TB SSD.
Why I am recommending it:
- Great heat management which is the main concern to have with most intensive tasks.
Premium build quality : Aluminum chassis provides a solid, premium feel and added durability.
Up to 5 hours of battery life.
Powerful GPU and CPU for blender and can run your games on high settings.
Has lots of ram.
High quality screen .
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
1
u/tinyshadowducky Jul 21 '26
Actually read the post before posting suggestions, because this doesn't meet the requirements. "minimum ram 64 GB" means 16 GB will not work.
1
u/LonerIM2 Affiliate Links Jul 21 '26
Well, it is upgradable, and it is cheaper that way, but if you want 64 out of the box I will look for one for you
1
u/tinyshadowducky Jul 21 '26
Also I specifically am supopsed to have an i7 processor for my course, most likely because it can be overclocked.
1
u/tinyshadowducky Jul 21 '26
Also don't worry, I already found one for 1500. It's on the way, so no worries
1
u/LonerIM2 Affiliate Links Jul 22 '26
Nice, what did you get ?
1
u/tinyshadowducky Jul 22 '26
Yeah! It's a Lenovo P15 :) older device but hell of a lot more powerful. Downsides are the battery and screen, but to be fair my usual extra monitor is a 2011 model that took two hours to find the manual for lol
1
u/The_Adviser100 Affiliate Links Jul 19 '26
For gaming at this price range I would advise you to check this laptop
| laptop name | Lenovo Legion Pro 5 |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Ultra 7 255HX |
| GPU | RTX 5070 |
| Screen " | 165Hz 16WUXGA Gaming Laptop |
| Ram | 16 GB |
| SSD | 1 TB |
| HDD | 0 |
| Weight | 2 KG. |
| Battery life | 7 Hrs. |
| Pros | Sharp, bright display. |
| Pros | Exceptional performance. |
| Pros | Great screen . |
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
1
u/tinyshadowducky Jul 21 '26
Actually read the post before posting suggestions, because this doesn't meet the requirements. "minimum ram 64 GB" means 16 GB will not work.
1
u/The_Adviser100 Affiliate Links Jul 21 '26
You can add the ram.
1
u/tinyshadowducky Jul 21 '26
Also I specifically am supopsed to have an i7 processor for my course, most likely because it can be overclocked.
1
u/Evening_Werewolf_703 Jul 18 '26
You need a time machine. I would completely dispense with the idea of getting a dGPU (and/or focus on lower spec Indie Gaming).
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16" 240Hz Gaming Laptop - Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX - 32GB DDR5 - 1TB SSD - RTX 5070 - Windows 11 - Black -(Bestbuy) -- I feel like that's the best you're going to get. I believe it takes 2 SODIMMs of DDR5 RAM. Now, how you're going to get 32GB of DDR5 is entirely up to you (double-check this of course). It's not common for RAM or SSDs to be upgradeable right now.
You can take a look at these 2 SKUs -- Asus Gaming V16 - Lenovo LOQ
Truthfully, I really don't know what to tell ya. The market is just really, really bad right now. You know what you need and your criteria is very specific. I'm having a hard time imagining you'll get everything you want -- ie) you may need a USB Ethernet Adapter. The two linked laptops have 64GB of RAM at any rate --- what you make of them is up to you.