11/04/2026 3:15 pm
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starting classes in two weeks and honestly looking at laptops is making my head spin. my budget is strictly under 700 bucks since im paying for my own books too. I saw some people online swearing by the M1 MacBook Air because the battery is insane but then I see other threads saying i absolutely need 16gb of ram for virtual machines and docker. but the 16gb macs are way over my budget. then some say just get a used ThinkPad and put Linux on it but which model works for coding without it being a brick? i need something portable for my bus commute in Chicago. is 8gb really enough or am i gonna regret it by junior year?
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11/04/2026 3:40 pm
^ This. Also, unfortunately 8GB is a total trap for CS. I had issues with it crashing during simple Docker builds, it's just not as good as expected for multitasking. You'll definitely regret 8GB by junior year. If the T14 is too heavy for the bus, look for these on sale:
- Acer Swift Go 14 Intel Core i7 16GB RAM
- ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED AMD Ryzen 7 16GB RAM
- Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 AMD Ryzen 5 16GB RAM
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11/04/2026 3:15 pm
> is 8gb really enough or am i gonna regret it by junior year? Honestly, 8GB is risky for CS. I am very satisfied with my Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 2 AMD Ryzen 5 16GB RAM. It handles Docker and multiple IDEs with no complaints. It's reliable and safe for long-term use. You can find refurbished ones well under your budget. It's a much safer bet than a base MacBook for your needs.
