The Student Room Group

I feel upset because my laptop is too small for uni

So I ordered a new laptop for uni and it is a HP Envy 13.3 inch because I needed a very portable one to fit in my backpack. I opened the laptop and I noticed that the screen size is incredibly smaller than how it looked on the website. I thought it would be similar to the macbook 13" screen but this looks really small, to the point where my eyes strain by staring at it for so long. Now I feel disappointed because the laptop cost £650 and I can't return it now that I opened it. When I go to uni, I notice that it is much smaller than everyone else's and I don't see anyone else using a laptop as small as mine which makes me feel a bit embarrassed. Everyone tends to look at me with my tiny laptop and they probably wonder why is it so small. I heard a group of guys in the library laughing making fun of me by saying "why is his laptop hobbet sized, surely he needs a magnifying glass to use that! ". I don't know how to make myself feel better because I feel so frustrated at myself for not getting one with a bigger screen..... The actual Laptop itself is fast and does the job well... Its just the screen size which makes me very paranoid when using it at uni.
Original post by Anonymous
So I ordered a new laptop for uni and it is a HP Envy 13.3 inch because I needed a very portable one to fit in my backpack. I opened the laptop and I noticed that the screen size is incredibly smaller than how it looked on the website. I thought it would be similar to the macbook 13" screen but this looks really small, to the point where my eyes strain by staring at it for so long. Now I feel disappointed because the laptop cost £650 and I can't return it now that I opened it. When I go to uni, I notice that it is much smaller than everyone else's and I don't see anyone else using a laptop as small as mine which makes me feel a bit embarrassed. Everyone tends to look at me with my tiny laptop and they probably wonder why is it so small. I heard a group of guys in the library laughing making fun of me by saying "why is his laptop hobbet sized, surely he needs a magnifying glass to use that! ". I don't know how to make myself feel better because I feel so frustrated at myself for not getting one with a bigger screen..... The actual Laptop itself is fast and does the job well... Its just the screen size which makes me very paranoid when using it at uni.

This wouldn’t happen at university.

And a 13.3” inch dimension isn’t a matter of perspective its a hard dimension so can’t be smaller then other 13” laptops.
Smaller is better for university. Most people don't have the luxury of buying a brand new laptop for university, so will end up just taking what their parents got them - which while great for using in the house is often annoying big and heavy for carrying every single day but they don't have much choice.
(edited 2 years ago)
if its 13.3" its obvs bigger than the 13" backcook, the bezzels are probs really wide making the screen look smaller maybe. And smaller isnt rlly that bad, who cares if ppl are laughing? ignore em if its portable and has a good battery life thats the most ideal for students.

If its that bad maybe considder buying a cheap monitor for your room, it helped me a lot plus it was easier to watch movies too.

are you sure u cant return it? normally stores have a 14 day return policy, no? ring them up and check to make sure
(edited 2 years ago)
Reply 4
Try lowering the screen resolution down a bit. It will make things easier to read.
Boys and their size fixation! Look it's a perfectly good laptop. Yes, the 15inch one is probably the laptop of choice for most students but plenty of people use ipads in lectures whose screen size is similar to yours so I really do not see what the issue is.

If you are straining to see then simply increase the screen magnification from 100% to 125%. If you are conscious of whipping it out then use the hundreds of desktops available in your library and IT centre and keep the laptop for home or purely lecture use.
Reply 6
Original post by mnot
This wouldn’t happen at university.

And a 13.3” inch dimension isn’t a matter of perspective its a hard dimension so can’t be smaller then other 13” laptops.


That's what I thought but clearly my uni is full of immature people cause it feels like im back in high school again.
Reply 7
Original post by Confusedgoose
if its 13.3" its obvs bigger than the 13" backcook, the bezzels are probs really wide making the screen look smaller maybe. And smaller isnt rlly that bad, who cares if ppl are laughing? ignore em if its portable and has a good battery life thats the most ideal for students.

If its that bad maybe considder buying a cheap monitor for your room, it helped me a lot plus it was easier to watch movies too.

are you sure u cant return it? normally stores have a 14 day return policy, no? ring them up and check to make sure

This is the model of my laptop
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-envy-13-3-laptop-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-silver-10218519-pdt.html?istCompanyId=bec25c7e-cbcd-460d-81d5-a25372d2e3d7&istFeedId=4d7eb93e-055f-499d-8ee5-1cdcc50d67d1&istItemId=iaiiiiixm&istBid=tztx&srcid=198&cmpid=ppc~gg~1011+(Shopping+Ads)+Laptops+-+Premium+Laptop+SKUs~HP~Exact&mctag=gg_goog_7904&kwid=GOOGLE&device=c&ds_kids=92700061636229860&tgtid=1011+(Shopping+Ads)+Laptops+-+Premium+Laptop+SKUs&gclid=CjwKCAjw-sqKBhBjEiwAVaQ9a2wkq6cDbCbV1PLGRdiYNk-QpWhnx_wvkJNn4lot4zC14d2Zr2eu8hoCdjkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

For some reason it looks a lot smaller than the Macbook 13"
size does not matter... it is what you do with your equipment :yep:
Reply 9
Yes, my uni is seen more like an ex-poly "party" uni where people just go there to have fun instead of studying so that's probably why. Yours looks perfectly adequate for uni, I was looking at it before i bought this one and now i regret it. I didn't realise how much of a difference an extra inch makes.
If you don't like it and can't return it, resell it. Nowt we can tell you to do otherwise...
Reply 11
Original post by Anonymous
So I ordered a new laptop for uni and it is a HP Envy 13.3 inch because I needed a very portable one to fit in my backpack. I opened the laptop and I noticed that the screen size is incredibly smaller than how it looked on the website. I thought it would be similar to the macbook 13" screen but this looks really small, to the point where my eyes strain by staring at it for so long. Now I feel disappointed because the laptop cost £650 and I can't return it now that I opened it. When I go to uni, I notice that it is much smaller than everyone else's and I don't see anyone else using a laptop as small as mine which makes me feel a bit embarrassed. Everyone tends to look at me with my tiny laptop and they probably wonder why is it so small. I heard a group of guys in the library laughing making fun of me by saying "why is his laptop hobbet sized, surely he needs a magnifying glass to use that! ". I don't know how to make myself feel better because I feel so frustrated at myself for not getting one with a bigger screen..... The actual Laptop itself is fast and does the job well... Its just the screen size which makes me very paranoid when using it at uni.

If your eyes are straining when using it then increase the display scale in the Windows display settings, it will make everything larger. Also 13.3 inch is far from tiny, I used a Latitude E5250 with a 12.5 inch screen throughout 6th form and no one made fun of me for its size and on paper should be larger than the Macbook. In fact I never saw anyone mock each other purely because of their laptop, and I assume that doesn't happen at uni because everyone has matured. But if it bothers you so much then you can return it, pretty much everything has a 30 day money back guarantee even if opened.
Original post by efftee
If your eyes are straining when using it then increase the display scale in the Windows display settings, it will make everything larger. Also 13.3 inch is far from tiny, I used a Latitude E5250 with a 12.5 inch screen throughout 6th form and no one made fun of me for its size and on paper should be larger than the Macbook. In fact I never saw anyone mock each other purely because of their laptop, and I assume that doesn't happen at uni because everyone has matured. But if it bothers you so much then you can return it, pretty much everything has a 30 day money back guarantee even if opened.

As i said, maybe it's just people at my uni are really immature... It's been more than 30 days now so I can't return it. I think im just going to carry on using it without thinking about what others are thinking about it for now. thanks
Pretty sure my work laptop (provided by the company I work for, and they give the same laptops to everyone except maybe the executives) has a 13" screen, so if that screen size is good enough for professionals in a multinational organisation I imagine it's more than suitable for students. Also as noted it's not possible for a 13.3" laptop to be smaller than a 13" one.

The reaction of the other students sounds unrealistic and honestly I find it hard to believe. Assuming it did happen though that just is a sign they are very stupid and immature people not worth getting to know. And if you aren't planning on getting to know them, it doesn't matter what they think...

It sounds more like you have anxiety over not conspicuously consuming flashy Apple products or oversized screens to show off how much money you have, which is something you should probably work on because it's not really productive or conducive (or relevant) for academic study.
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by Anonymous
So I ordered a new laptop for uni and it is a HP Envy 13.3 inch because I needed a very portable one to fit in my backpack. I opened the laptop and I noticed that the screen size is incredibly smaller than how it looked on the website. I thought it would be similar to the macbook 13" screen but this looks really small, to the point where my eyes strain by staring at it for so long. Now I feel disappointed because the laptop cost £650 and I can't return it now that I opened it. When I go to uni, I notice that it is much smaller than everyone else's and I don't see anyone else using a laptop as small as mine which makes me feel a bit embarrassed. Everyone tends to look at me with my tiny laptop and they probably wonder why is it so small. I heard a group of guys in the library laughing making fun of me by saying "why is his laptop hobbet sized, surely he needs a magnifying glass to use that! ". I don't know how to make myself feel better because I feel so frustrated at myself for not getting one with a bigger screen..... The actual Laptop itself is fast and does the job well... Its just the screen size which makes me very paranoid when using it at uni.


link it to a monitor for longer projects
Reply 15
Original post by artful_lounger
Pretty sure my work laptop (provided by the company I work for, and they give the same laptops to everyone except maybe the executives) has a 13" screen, so if that screen size is good enough for professionals in a multinational organisation I imagine it's more than suitable for students.


Working for massive PC manufacturer. Can confirm that we sell hundreds of thousands of 13" corporate laptops every year. They are very popular and large enough for practical use.
Original post by Anonymous
So I ordered a new laptop for uni and it is a HP Envy 13.3 inch because I needed a very portable one to fit in my backpack. I opened the laptop and I noticed that the screen size is incredibly smaller than how it looked on the website. I thought it would be similar to the macbook 13" screen but this looks really small, to the point where my eyes strain by staring at it for so long. Now I feel disappointed because the laptop cost £650 and I can't return it now that I opened it. When I go to uni, I notice that it is much smaller than everyone else's and I don't see anyone else using a laptop as small as mine which makes me feel a bit embarrassed. Everyone tends to look at me with my tiny laptop and they probably wonder why is it so small. I heard a group of guys in the library laughing making fun of me by saying "why is his laptop hobbet sized, surely he needs a magnifying glass to use that! ". I don't know how to make myself feel better because I feel so frustrated at myself for not getting one with a bigger screen..... The actual Laptop itself is fast and does the job well... Its just the screen size which makes me very paranoid when using it at uni.

Did you buy it online? If so, and fewer than 14 days have elapsed since it was delivered, you can return it for whatever reason.
Reply 17
Original post by Anonymous
So I ordered a new laptop for uni and it is a HP Envy 13.3 inch because I needed a very portable one to fit in my backpack. I opened the laptop and I noticed that the screen size is incredibly smaller than how it looked on the website. I thought it would be similar to the macbook 13" screen but this looks really small, to the point where my eyes strain by staring at it for so long. Now I feel disappointed because the laptop cost £650 and I can't return it now that I opened it. When I go to uni, I notice that it is much smaller than everyone else's and I don't see anyone else using a laptop as small as mine which makes me feel a bit embarrassed. Everyone tends to look at me with my tiny laptop and they probably wonder why is it so small. I heard a group of guys in the library laughing making fun of me by saying "why is his laptop hobbet sized, surely he needs a magnifying glass to use that! ". I don't know how to make myself feel better because I feel so frustrated at myself for not getting one with a bigger screen..... The actual Laptop itself is fast and does the job well... Its just the screen size which makes me very paranoid when using it at uni.

13.3" is the ideal sizer for students and is a very popular choice. Your story sounds bizarre, but if you are really that bothered, sell it and get another. Lots of students would love to have it.
(edited 2 years ago)
I've got a 10 inch PC and a love it :dontknow: (MSG2). Can't stand big PCs (in terms of practicality and having to lug it around) I have a 15.6 inch (aka mr traditional size) PC and i was like NOPE not carrying that big PC for 9 hours a day, granted i'm not at uni but i plan on using the tablet/PC for uni if i go to uni. i'll take a 10-13 inch PC (14 if we're pushing it) over a 15.6 inch PC any day of the week. #SmallPCsFTW
Reply 19
I have a ryzen 7 13 inch envy and it is ideal - I took it with me to Oxon and it performed brilliantly

I HDMI it to my 32 inch monitor for 'big' stuff or using netflix etc

This all sounds very bizarre to me

Quick Reply