What would be ideal for a 1st year computer science student, a MacBook or a Windows laptop? My budget is ₹1 lakh.

A computer science student should always go with a Windows laptop. Specifically, because of the wider number of programs available on Windows. Not only that, there are more configurations available on Windows, so you can choose the one that fits your needs. And an important factor is the price. In your budget, you’ll find multiple Windows-based laptop options to choose from, whereas the choice will be limited in a Macbook.

I would suggest going with a workstation class laptop. It will be available in your budget of Rs. 1 lakh. The HP Zbook workstation lineup is a good option to consider. They come with Professional-grade components like the Nvidia Quadro Series of cards and Intel vPro certified processors. You can actually configure it on the website according to your needs. You will need a powerful laptop in Computer science when you finally start machine learning in the third year.

If you’d like to learn more about which notebook is right for you, then check out the tech4growth section on dqindia website or the nextgenit section on ciol website.