Computer reviews from Reddit

Summary

We analyzed 203 Reddit reviews across 66 subreddits and 82 posts to rank the best Computer brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/computers, r/UCSantaBarbara, r/davinciresolve, r/SuggestALaptop, r/mac. Top-rated brands include Apple (4.6/5), Lenovo (4.3/5), Dell (4.3/5).

Stats
Reviews203
Subreddits66
Posts82
Brands39
Products76
Top communities
r/computers31r/UCSantaBarbara16r/davinciresolve15r/SuggestALaptop10r/mac9
203 reviews from
and
By Brand
/
By Product
#1

Apple

4.6
(66)
"MacBook Air. Trust me, it clears EVERY OTHER LAPTOP IN THE MARKET. M4 chip is just outstanding, and for a computer with no fan, I’m shocked at what it can do."
·
"I’m biased toward Apple - got a MacBook Air my freshman year of UCSB and never looked back. MacBooks today are actually good value for the price."
·
"I'd actually recommend the MacBook Air with M3 chip (option 3 at $999). It's got plenty of power for most finance and math software, plus a solid 16GB RAM."
·
"I’d say to get a newer MacBook. It’s undefeated in terms of portability and battery life."
·
"Yes, that is an excellent family computer, I have a slightly older M1 model for my family of 6 and it works great."
·
"So, I bought my daughter a MacBook Air M3 for Christmas."
·
"Buy a used m1 macbook off swappa."
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"The new Mac Mini is honestly a beast."
·
"Get a Mac mini."
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"Get a Mac Mini with a student discount, I know it’s double the price, but if you’re able to do it it’s worth it."
·
#2

Lenovo

4.3
(28)
"Get a ThinkPad or a MacBook Pro. ThinkPads are great. They're affordable and last a long time."
·
"Since you have an Iphone it would make sense to get a macbook but I'd personally recommend a think pad because it will last you past your 4 years here and have pretty good specs for its price."
·
"I bought one for around $200 and haven’t had any issues since."
·
"Lenovo is the go to for just doing typical work things."
·
"Refurbished Lenovo thinkpads with a Ryzen CPU and 16gb ram are around $400."
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"I'd recommend something with a good processor."
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"I’m a huge proponent of ThinkPads. All their models run well — just make sure the specs are sufficient."
·
"Hands down a Thinkpad."
·
"Lenovo Thinkpad"
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"Dell Precision series or Lenovo Thinkpad T or P series do well in my experience."
·
#3

Dell

4.3
(14)
"I’ve got this one for work and it’s been great for ArcPro and Drone2Map."
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"I’d go with a Lenovo ThinkPad or Dell XPS."
·
"I would suggest dell/hp/lenovo for ease of repair if needed."
·
"Get a used office computer that's less than 10 years old, with an Intel i5 (or i7), an SSD, and at least 8GB RAM."
·
"I have a Dell XPS and it is pretty good and cheaper than that depending on the specs."
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"I recommend to get just a refurbished dell latitude 5490 or 7490."
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"Optiplex are great but look for a sff with at least an i5-8500 or i5-9500."
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"I say ho for an optiplex 3050 or a hp prodesk 600 g3 mini i5-6500T edition."
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"Would rather see you with specs like this for $200"
·
"Found a Dell Optiplex 7040 SFF for $100 with a core i5 6600 and 16 GB DDR4."
·
#4

HP

4.2
(11)
"If you can get a used HP elitebook I'd go that route."
·
"It is my favorite computer even though we are at what 14th. Gen I 7 now?"
·
"Bump the memory to 64GB and run all the things."
·
"If you can get an HP Pavilion for a good price then it'll last you a looooooooong time."
·
"I bought from amazon a hp elitedesk 800 g3 mini with intel i5 6500t."
·
"I’ve been using an HP Envy i7-4770 16gb ram since 2014 and it still works great."
·
"Plopped a spare nvme and ssd that I already had."
·
"HP....light weight, many usb and hdmi ports..durable."
·
"Its a hp pavillion idk if thats affordable for you but if it is thats a good cheap one."
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"Just got my son a basic HP for 280 something and it's fine."
·
#5

AMD

4.0
(10)
"I highly recommend an amd x3d as in late game my 5800x3d is at 100% utilization."
·
"Go for AMD versions because most of the time AMD processors have better single core performance compared to Intel"
·
"I would recommend an AMD CPU since Intels quality has tanked in the past year."
·
"For this price I would build PC on Ryzen 5 5600G."
·
"Grab one of those X3D CPUs from AMD, they make a difference in CPU-heavy games."
·
"If you’re doing 1080p here you go 5 5500."
·
"For budget GPUs I recommend the rx580 or Rx 5500xt."
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"If you have the means to afford better components soon... then go for the same build I have."
·
"Go for the same priced Rx580 or the RX 470."
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"If you havent bought motherboard yet go for amd if you can."
#6

Acer

3.7
(10)
"I would advise you to check this laptop, Acer Swift X."
·
"I would recommend Acer Swift X because it comes with everything you need, AMD Ryzen 7 5825U Octa-Core CPU which is one of the best in your budget."
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"I would like to recommend this laptop Acer Swift Go 14."
·
"I recommend to go after either Acer Swift go 14 OLED or Asus Zenbook 14. Both of them comes with latest Intel Core ultra 5 125H processor, 16 GB"
·
"I would recommend this Acer Aspire 5 because it comes with an i5-13420H CPU, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. Slim, sleek."
·
"For general use in this price range I would advise you to check this laptop Acer Aspire 5 with 8 core i5-13420H, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD."
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"My laptop -Acer swift x, ran me 750 bucks prime day 3 yrs ago."
·
"I'd go with the Acer out of the 2 options."
·
"Stay away from ACER"
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"People told me that acer is not a good brand."
#7

Nvidia

5.0
(5)
"I would recommend nvidia cards because of the processing power."
·
"Do get a good computer for your design work, which can be GPU-intensive."
·
"Desktop PC would be much cheaper than any laptop, and more productive."
·
"Something with at least 16GB of RAM and an Nvidia graphics card."
·
"Nvidia card with ray tracing is recommended."
#8

Asus

4.2
(5)
"I have an Asus creators laptop, love it and great for editing."
·
"Asus or Lenovo refurbished or used laptop with 16 gb ram should fall within your budget."
·
"This is a very solid price for a laptop that meets your standards if your are looking for low-mid."
·
"ASUS ZENBOOK 15 (€1,099) Pros: Intel Core i7-13700H processor."
·
"Asus makes a decent laptop with a Ryzen processor for around $260-320."
#9

Wahoo

5.0
(4)
"Elemnt Bolt V2 is absolutely rock solid."
·
"The Bolt v2 is a great device, I’d definitely get it."
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"Wahoo Bolt! The pros use it in world tour races!"
·
"I have the Element Bolt V2 and love it."
#10

Garmin

5.0
(4)
"Garmin Edge Explore 2 — really affordable, has usb-c, great battery life."
·
"Garmin edge 530 is also really good and in your price range."
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"Pick a budget and pick up a garmin in that range."
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"Garmin Edge Explore 2 is primarily a navigation device."
#11

Chromebook

4.7
(3)
"It's almost certain that's what they're using at school."
·
"Chromebook is a great choice for this."
·
"I definitely recommend 8 RAM."
#12

PC

3.5
(4)
"A nice gaming PC with more RAM."
·
"For my money I’d build a pc with a b580 GPU and an 8 core CPU."
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"I think you'd be better off with a desktop PC/ gaming laptop + iPad."
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"Avoid gaming laptops , you will mostly run into either battery or monitor issues within 1-2 years."
#13

Microsoft

4.0
(3)
"Microsoft surface is a good choice if you're doing some light whiteboarding, making drawings or diagrams, taking notes that you want to save digitally."
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"Basic laptop will do, though I found my friends Microsoft."
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"Surfaces or macbooks seem to be the most common in colleges."
#14

Microsoft Windows

3.3
(3)
"Windows is my go to, I prefer it over Mac in many aspects. Mac has better anti-virus than Windows."
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"If you are using a windows system, it makes it easier to navigate the software realm of engineering than using a mac operating system."
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"Do not use a mac book if you are going into stem. Life is easier with a strong laptop with a window os."
#15

Costco

5.0
(2)
"Costco for sure, OR if you want him to be able to work on his own pc later on you could buy his parts separately."
·
"If you're a member, Costco hands down."
#16

Apple Mac

4.5
(2)
"Apple silicon chips crush similar TDP x86 processors. When I was training neural nets last quarter, the M1P graphics was slightly slower than a desktop 4070ti and faster than Google Colab’s NVIDIA Tesla’s."
·
"My mac has been just fine. Some things do feel like workarounds, but it isn't like there's a lack of lab machines for students to use."
#17

Apple Mac Mini

4.5
(2)
"I use a Mac Mini and MacBook Pro, myself."
·
"The new Mac Mini is very good, cheap, and tiny."
#18

Intel

4.5
(2)
"This is pretty much a perfect build for you."
·
"One could get a used system for very cheap if your area has a decent used PC market."
#19

CyberPowerPC

4.0
(2)
"I like the cyber power pc prebuilds."
·
"Cyberpowerpc is a nice company to order a pc."
#20

Amazon

4.0
(2)
"Amazon and/or Amazon Refurbished should have something with a Ryzen and 32gb RAM around $400."
·
"I would just get a lightly used gaming laptop on Amazon or something."
#21

Alienware

2.3
(3)
"I have an Alienware M18 and it's running resolve studio beautifully."
·
"I think that ever since Dell bought Alienware that they are overrated and overpriced."
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"Alienware is overpriced and it's debatable if they've been good gaming computers."
#22

LG

5.0
(1)
"I have an lg gram and its amazing."
#23

Minix

5.0
(1)
"N100 is great for video decoding if that’s something in your future."
#24

NZXT

5.0
(1)
"I love it! not the same as buying a random amazon prebuilt."
#27

Apple MacBook Air

5.0
(1)
"Get the MacBook air in any spec within your budget."
#28

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X

5.0
(1)
"This is probably the best you can get right now without overspending like crazy."
#29

Igpsport

5.0
(1)
"Igpsport bsc300. It's a Chinese brand, so is 1/3 the price of the western brands."
#30

Asus ROG

4.0
(1)
"If you want a gaming laptop, get an ROG Zephyrus."
#31

Qotom

4.0
(1)
"I use this fanless Qotom as a node, it just runs TrueNAS."
#32

BMAX

4.0
(1)
"I’ve been running a BMAX mini PC from Amazon - under $200."
#33

NVIDIA

4.0
(1)
"Rtx 3050-3060 laptop on eBay. Bases on your son's needs it will satisfy him."
#34

Copilot+

4.0
(1)
"If you want local AI, then consider a Copilot+ computer."
#35

Dell Inspiron 15

4.0
(1)
"For me in Canada, I would say the dell inspiron 15 is great since its so cheap."
#36

Lenovo Budget Laptops

4.0
(1)
"Lenovo makes some decent budget laptops in 15 inch & 17 inch sizes with decent specs for school & work."
#37

Best Buy Gaming PC

4.0
(1)
"I got the cheapest gaming PC best buy had to offer."
#38

MSI

4.0
(1)
"I have the MSI Prestige AI EVO 17" with upgraded Intel ultra 9, 32Gb RAM and dedicated 4060 mobile GPU."
#39

DELL

4.0
(1)
"Just get a DELL Precission, XPS or any Asus, MSI or HP."

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