Let’s face it: the variety of laptops available in today’s world is INSANE. So many variations, brands, configurations, sizes, colors, etc. One of the most frequent questions I’m asked constantly: “Should I get a PC (Windows) or a Mac?” The answer? It depends.
Each of the two major operating systems have their advantages and their disadvantages. Something else I often hear is “my Mac runs way better than my PC!” Often, when comparing the machine the user had versus the Mac they have now, the Mac cost 3X as much as the original PC did; hence the reason they notice the performance shift. If you want to compare apples-to-apples (no pun intended), you need to compare like-priced machines and similar specifications.
IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ ANY FURTHER AND WANT TO JUST FIND MY TOP 4 PICKS, SEE THEM BELOW:
1. Lenovo IdeaPad 3i
2. Apple MacBook Air 13″ M2 (WITH APPLE CARE)
3. Dell Inspirion 3520
4. Microsoft Surface Book 14″
What I tend to recommend is if the college/university doesn’t specifically tell you which to get, I tend to recommend sticking with PCs for your engineering, computer science, chemistry, physics, biology majors since there are some specialty softwares that run on PCs only. Additionally, you have the added flexibility on PCs to run several virtual machines for your Computer Science and Cyber Security/Engineering classes.
Unfortunately, that is one thing that has changed with newer Macs: it’s a lot more limited on the virtual machines you can run when Apple moved to Silicon processors. However, that Apple Silicon processor has been a game changer for several other majors, especially the Graphic Design and Communication Arts degrees. The newer Macs are workhorses when it comes to running Adobe Creative Cloud, AVID, Final Cut Pro, and many other programs.
PCs:
- If you don’t have recommendations from the school, or are undecided on your major, stick with a PC.
- Any “Sciences” related degree (Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Computer Science) often requires special software to be used for the different classes, which periodically is PC-only and is not supported on Macs.
Macs:
- Macs are very popular in the general Communication Arts field and Graphic Design industry.
- The software used in these fields/industries are usually more optimized on Macs and tend to run a lot better on them.
- If you are used to Macs already and want to stick with them, feel free.
- Make sure you check in with the school first to see if you will need any special software not available on Macs before you start your degree.
One last thing…
Before I get into my recommendations, you will notice I don’t recommend any Chromebooks (or iPads). While Chromebooks have proven to be great machines for numerous high schools and some college programs, I have overall seen more trouble and frustration coming from these machines whenever any sort of software is needed for a class. Same thing for iPads: you can’t install “software” that many programs may require from the App Store. I’m not saying to not get these as companions or primary “daily use” machines, but keep this in mind when considering them. Trust me, I had an iPad Air, then an iPad Pro as my secondary device because of the convenience, so I’m not dogging on them.
If you have any questions on recommendations, feel free to ask in the comments at the end of the post! Now, on to the recommendations (which I will try and keep updated throughout the summer):
*NOTICE: I am not sponsored by any of the brands mentioned and am simply doing it out of my own experience over nearly the last decade. Some of the links in this post may be affiliate and give me a small commission if you order directly from here.*

/anch
RECOMMENDATIONS
General Degree/Undecided:
ASUS Vivobook (Basic)
Lenovo V15 (Basic/Intermediate)
Dell Inspiron 3520 (Intermediate)
Lenovo IdeaPad 3i (Intermediate/Best)
Apple MacBook Air 13″ M2 (WITH APPLE CARE) (Best)
Microsoft Surface Book 14″ (Best)
Computer Science/Engineering:
Lenovo V15 (Basic/Intermediate)
Dell Inspirion 3520 (Intermediate)
Lenovo IdeaPad 3i (Intermediate)
Lenovo Legion 5i (Best)
ASUS ROG G16 (Best)
ASUS G15 (Best)
Business:
ASUS Vivobook (Basic/Intermediate)
Dell Inspiron 3520 (Intermediate)
Lenovo IdeaPad 3i (Best)
Apple MacBook Air 13″ M2 (WITH APPLE CARE) (Best)
Microsoft Surface Book 14″ (Best)
Graphic Design/Comm Arts:
Dell Inspiron 3520 (Basic, can run graphic design, basic video editing)
Apple MacBook Air 13″ M2 (WITH APPLE CARE) (Intermediate)
Apple MacBook Air 15″ M3 (WITH APPLE CARE) (Intermediate/Best)
Apple MacBook Pro 14″ M3 Pro (WITH APPLE CARE) (Best)
Lenovo Legion 5i (Best)
ASUS ROG G16 (Best)
ASUS G15 (Best)
Nursing/Medical Profession:
Microsoft Surface Book 14″ (Intermediate)
Apple MacBook Air 13″ M2 (WITH APPLE CARE) (Best)
Lenovo Legion 5i (Best)
Lenovo IdeaPad 3i (Best)
Biology/Chemistry/Physics:
ASUS Vivobook (Basic)
Microsoft Surface Book 14″ (Intermediate)
Lenovo IdeaPad 3i (Intermediate/Best)
Lenovo Legion 5i (Best)
ASUS ROG G16 (Best)
ASUS G15 (Best)
If you find any deals, please feel free to share them with me in the comments!
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This is great info. Thanks Anthony!