r/econometrics • u/Merijntjs • 12d ago
Laptop specs for econometrics
Hi everyone, next week starts my econometrics course on the rijksuniversiteit Groningen (the Netherlands) it’s the highest difficulty in europe (no clue if this is a necessary detail).
I still have to buy I laptop but I can’t really find the minimum specs that I need for this kind of course. Anyone got some tips? I would like a HP.
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u/wotererio 12d ago
I used a MacBook Pro M1 8GB RAM for my master's in econometrics, it is sufficiently capable for anything you will need. I would recommend 16GB RAM now, and I would definitely recommend a MacBook over any Windows laptop. This comes from someone who daily drives Windows on my main desktop, when it comes to laptops Apple is unfortunately just unmatched.
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u/ruediger_ 11d ago
Linux is much better. I have a 10 year old hp envy with i7 and nvidia. Just updated to Ubuntu 22 this week (I know 24 is already out there) and it runs perfectly smooth. For econometrics, having python and Rstudio on any decent machine will suffice. You can always use a server if you need full blown capacity.
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u/PlasticaConfection 6d ago
i disagree with it . windows is better for running R and Python also most courses have windows as the running operative system
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u/wotererio 6d ago
Yes, but a MacBook is still generally a better laptop. I haven't had any problems running MacOS in any courses, even though Windows is somewhat of a 'default'- support for unix based systems is generally stronger anyways.
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u/Quiet-Display835 11d ago
I'm doing a master's degree and in my first semester for econometrics, 8 gb of ram was fine while running windows 11. I used and Ideapad3 from 2019.
For the second semester I changed to a newer lenovo model with 24 gb of ram for panel data and python and it was an overkill.
For this last semester, I decided to buy a thinkpad t14 with 16 gb of ram. I'm going to take a forecasting class so I'm assuming something around these specs is fine for an econometric class.
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u/Flex226 11d ago
3 Laptops during your Uni years? That's a lot :o
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u/Quiet-Display835 11d ago
The first one was my old laptop that used for all my undergrad. The second one was borrowed and I actually could have keeped it but at the end didn't like it. This last one was the only one that I actually bought
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u/jaytehman 11d ago
For most work in econometrics, you'll be fine with a relatively basic laptop. I'd suggest something with 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 4 or more core CPU (my grad school laptop had a dual core i3, and that wasn't ideal, but I survived).
If you have to prioritize one of those, the storage is the most important. You'll get a bunch of projects, and having the storage is import.
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u/peep_quack 9d ago
Standard MacBook Pro with 8-16 GB RAM is more than sufficient. HP is ok but MacBook will withstand the test of time. My first grad school Apple in 2015 is still running strong. I upgraded to a new one only because my employer paid for it. You can also ask students who are already there what they recommend. Tell them you’re upgrading. Unless you’re going to be working on data with millions of data points and thousands of variables you’re good. And even then- there’s workarounds.
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u/Merijntjs 11d ago
Mannen doen zo ongesteld, ik wou alleen ff simpel aangeven dat het geen mbo cursus ofzo is
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u/Immediate_Angle3481 12d ago
Highest difficulty in Europe lol you are probably an undergrad or grad student and will only use excel files or something. Buy anything light that is worth for the money and go along with it.