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Price does not matter. I need something fast, thin, and reliable. Help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I have heard good things about the Sony Vaio f series...I do not want an apple computer. As far as usage goes...the only thing I will be doing is a lot of typing and such...but let me know if there is anything else I should check out.

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MacBook Air with SSD

13 inch MacBook Pro.

im_blue wrote:MacBook Air with SSD

Thanks for the response, but no apple please...would like Windows 7.

If you want fast/thin and price is no object, look into the Sony VAIO Z series. The fastest ultraportable tested by PC Magazine in a 3.3 lb package.

Lenovo makes some very thin and light laptops.

I have a Dell XPS M1710 notebook and I hate it.

Chris_cpb wrote:I have a Dell

I found your problem.

kalvano wrote:

Chris_cpb wrote:I have a Dell

I found your problem.

I wish I would have made a request, it was my graduation gift. Sure, it came with a blu-ray player and some type of NDVIA gaming graphics card, but I'm not a computer gamer! The blu-ray player went out after 6 months, the battery went out after 9, and the harddrive was fried after about 2 years. Luckily, it comes with LED lights, which can be changed to 'strobe mode' for when I want to bring it with me to parties

Fef619 wrote:

im_blue wrote:MacBook Air with SSD

Thanks for the response, but no apple please...would like Windows 7.

You can run windows on a mac, just sayin. I hear it runs better on a mac anyways

MeechiganBoy wrote:

Fef619 wrote:

im_blue wrote:MacBook Air with SSD

Thanks for the response, but no apple please...would like Windows 7.

You can run windows on a mac, just sayin. I hear it runs better on a mac anyways

hmm..really..might be something to think about..

Fef619 wrote:

MeechiganBoy wrote:

Fef619 wrote:

im_blue wrote:MacBook Air with SSD

Thanks for the response, but no apple please...would like Windows 7.

You can run windows on a mac, just sayin. I hear it runs better on a mac anyways

hmm..really..might be something to think about..

Windows runs on a mac, but once you get the mac you will use OSX. It works fine, but you have to pay for a full copy of windows (some univerisities have discounts on this though). I wouldn't say it runs better on a mac, but it is a good option if you need to use windows for a certain program. I have always been a windows fan over OSX, but OSX is actually really great (if you can get over how over-priced macs are).

If you go mac though, I would just go for the cheapest mac possbile. I got a 15'inch macbook pro and it is nice, but the screen is made of very thin (less than .5mm) glass that shaters very easily at low velocity impact. Apple does not cover this under ayn warantee and charges you $600+ to fix it (but you can get a third party person to fix it for $220 but it voids your warantee). I do love the mac despite this design flaw on the macbook pro models. This is why I recommend the $900 regular macbook model or the $1800 macbook air model.

I still love my 13" Blackbook. (MacBook C2D.) I'd look into getting one of those on eBay, if you want to save a little. They should be around $550-$850 depending upon revision, condition and configuration.

Mine runs XP Pro just fine, both in Boot Camp and VMware/Parallels, not sure about 7 (haven't tried it yet) but it should be fine (especially with some of the eye candy off.) It's just a little slow now in SnowLeo, I probably need to get around to maxing out the RAM and upgrading the HDD this summer. The only real weak spot is the GMA945/50 (maybe 65 in later revisions?) video chipset which restricts 3D gaming to older titles and won't really do HD acceptably (i.e. to an external display.)

got the new vaio f series...seems pretty sweet so far.

Let's say your budget is roughly $1,000. I'd personally lay out 2 options.

1. $800 PC+SSD

a. Sony Vaio Y+SSD
b. Asus UL30VT-A1+SSD

2. Macbook Pro 13 - $1,099 after $100 rebate at MacConnection.

If you don't pay taxes, wait 1-2 months until Apple releases the iPod Touch promotion.

zeth006 wrote:Let's say your budget is roughly $1,000. I'd personally lay out 2 options.

1. $800 PC+SSD

a. Sony Vaio Y+SSD
b. Asus UL30VT-A1+SSD

2. Macbook Pro 13 - $1,099 after $100 rebate at MacConnection.

If you don't pay taxes, wait 1-2 months until Apple releases the iPod Touch promotion.

Is SSD really that important? $200 for 64gb right?

Also I would be careful with the macbook pros, I have one and dropped it and the thin glass screen cracked. Apple wanted $600 to fix it, but I got it done online for $220. Not to mention that the new pros you can't replace a thing yourself, and Apple charges an arm and a leg to do any type of service. I would say a regular 13 inch macbook if you want apple (same performance as the pro), but they are a bit cliche and ugly.

Jericwithers wrote:

zeth006 wrote:Let's say your budget is roughly $1,000. I'd personally lay out 2 options.

1. $800 PC+SSD

a. Sony Vaio Y+SSD
b. Asus UL30VT-A1+SSD

2. Macbook Pro 13 - $1,099 after $100 rebate at MacConnection.

If you don't pay taxes, wait 1-2 months until Apple releases the iPod Touch promotion.

Is SSD really that important? $200 for 64gb right?

Also I would be careful with the macbook pros, I have one and dropped it and the thin glass screen cracked. Apple wanted $600 to fix it, but I got it done online for $220. Not to mention that the new pros you can't replace a thing yourself, and Apple charges an arm and a leg to do any type of service. I would say a regular 13 inch macbook if you want apple (same performance as the pro), but they are a bit cliche and ugly.

SSDs are just a luxury if you want things to run super snappy. Boot times will go down drastically and Chrome browser will load up before you even press the button.

And the part about nothing in the Pros being replaceable is incorrect. Unless you're talking about replacing the GPU or some other part that's probably soddered in and will thus bring about the voiding of your warranty upon any evidence of tampering, Pro parts are as swappable as Dell parts. You can swap out RAM and hard drives which is what 90% of us who do any sort of upgrading do anyway.

I don't want to sound pedantic, but unless you're planning to game, you probably won't need to replace any other part for law school. Plenty of great deals on i5-equipped notebook PCs for under $1,000 out there. You do not buy a Macbook Pro solely for processing power. If you do, you're doing it wrong because you can find better speced PCs. The HP Envy 14 as one example is going to retail for $999. Expect HP to release a sweetass introductory discount on it. i5+ATI 5650 on a thin, 5.25lb, 14" machine for gamers or video-editing=win.

You might be talking about Mac Pros, which is a different story. They're one good reason even many of your staunchest Apple fanboys choose to make their own Frankensteins or do what I do, which is buy a cheap Dell and upgrade the hell out of it.

what's your opinion on computers with that are 15-16 inches and are light weight?

zeth006 wrote:SSDs are just a luxury if you want things to run super snappy. Boot times will go down drastically and Chrome browser will load up before you even press the button.

And the part about nothing in the Pros being replaceable is incorrect. Unless you're talking about replacing the GPU or some other part that's probably soddered in and will thus bring about the voiding of your warranty upon any evidence of tampering, Pro parts are as swappable as Dell parts. You can swap out RAM and hard drives which is what 90% of us who do any sort of upgrading do anyway.

I don't want to sound pedantic, but unless you're planning to game, you probably won't need to replace any other part for law school. Plenty of great deals on i5-equipped notebook PCs for under $1,000 out there. You do not buy a Macbook Pro solely for processing power. If you do, you're doing it wrong because you can find better speced PCs. The HP Envy 14 as one example is going to retail for $999. Expect HP to release a sweetass introductory discount on it. i5+ATI 5650 on a thin, 5.25lb, 14" machine for gamers or video-editing=win.

You might be talking about Mac Pros, which is a different story. They're one good reason even many of your staunchest Apple fanboys choose to make their own Frankensteins or do what I do, which is buy a cheap Dell and upgrade the hell out of it.

As far as I know the new pros cannot open up-- at all. It is 2 metal shells 'glued' together. You can send it off to online retailers to replace parts (hard drive, battery, ram, screen, keyboard), but nothing can be done in the comfort of the average user's living room. I would at least like a laptop where I can replace a battery and hard drive if failure occurs on my own, rather than sending it to Apple and paying $$$ to do so. The 2008 macbook pros allow you to replace the battery and hard drive through a door on the bottom, but the new ones do not have any way to take a peek on the inside of your laptop without a lot of work.

I also still don't see the argument for a pro over a regular macbook, so why do you recommend a pro over the regular--besides for the simplistic beauty of the pro's metal shell (which is its downfall for being able to replace parts in home).

.

Jericwithers wrote:

zeth006 wrote:SSDs are just a luxury if you want things to run super snappy. Boot times will go down drastically and Chrome browser will load up before you even press the button.

And the part about nothing in the Pros being replaceable is incorrect. Unless you're talking about replacing the GPU or some other part that's probably soddered in and will thus bring about the voiding of your warranty upon any evidence of tampering, Pro parts are as swappable as Dell parts. You can swap out RAM and hard drives which is what 90% of us who do any sort of upgrading do anyway.

I don't want to sound pedantic, but unless you're planning to game, you probably won't need to replace any other part for law school. Plenty of great deals on i5-equipped notebook PCs for under $1,000 out there. You do not buy a Macbook Pro solely for processing power. If you do, you're doing it wrong because you can find better speced PCs. The HP Envy 14 as one example is going to retail for $999. Expect HP to release a sweetass introductory discount on it. i5+ATI 5650 on a thin, 5.25lb, 14" machine for gamers or video-editing=win.

You might be talking about Mac Pros, which is a different story. They're one good reason even many of your staunchest Apple fanboys choose to make their own Frankensteins or do what I do, which is buy a cheap Dell and upgrade the hell out of it.

As far as I know the new pros cannot open up-- at all. It is 2 metal shells 'glued' together. You can send it off to online retailers to replace parts (hard drive, battery, ram, screen, keyboard), but nothing can be done in the comfort of the average user's living room. I would at least like a laptop where I can replace a battery and hard drive if failure occurs on my own, rather than sending it to Apple and paying $$$ to do so. The 2008 macbook pros allow you to replace the battery and hard drive through a door on the bottom, but the new ones do not have any way to take a peek on the inside of your laptop without a lot of work.

I also still don't see the argument for a pro over a regular macbook, so why do you recommend a pro over the regular--besides for the simplistic beauty of the pro's metal shell (which is its downfall for being able to replace parts in home).

Ok. Let's clear up some misinformation. The 2009 and 2010 aluminum unibody notebooks are indeed built off of just one slab of aluminum--and also a lid on the bottom portion. I couldn't tell you 100% for sure, but from where I'm typing, the screen and keyboard don't look like parts you'd want to tamper with and there are no screws located nearby to deal with either. I'll bet that they're not easily user replaceable without voiding your warranty. That's established. The battery I know for sure isn't user replaceable. But the benefit of integrating the battery is it helps achieve lower weight and smaller dimensions. But the hard drive and RAM are user replaceable. There are countless of videos on the web that give instructions on how to do so. The bottom portion consists of several screws and replacing both does not by any means void your warranty--assuming of course you have no plans to spill your breakfast soup all over the motherboard while performing the upgrade.

But here's my question. If my $170 Applecare protection covers any hardware failure for any of these parts, why would I want to tamper with any of these parts? And just how many people do you know going to law school who will have any concern with this? I can understand being able to change your oil and tires. But screen and keyboard? My last Dell's generic, low-end WXGA screen replacement alone cost $150 on eBay. And that was the cheapest I could find it for. I dunno about you. But I'd rather sacrifice the freedom to tamper with my screen and keyboard if for $170 I can pay someone to have both replaced free of charge. The same goes for the battery. I hear under some remaining battery life stipulations, Apple replaces your battery free under warranty.

I personally have never replaced any batteries on my last few PC laptops since I never really needed to regain the extra 20-30% battery life lost over the entire laptop's life. OEM batteries (not some cheap Chinese knockoff) tend to be kind of pricey. Maybe I'm just different for not needing to reclaim what little lost battery life, but for all practical purposes, I've always had a preference for only upgrading RAM and HDDs to save $.


Also the MBP 13 is more than just a new, shiny machine. The CPU underwent a minor upgrade, but the integrated 320M GPU is the best on the market right now; initial benchmarks show it rivals the dedicated 310M found on other PC laptops on the market. It's extremely power-efficient on top of having performance that's sufficient for a lot of 3D games out there. Plus let's not forget it supports HD playback. The current white Macbook hasn't undergone any hardware upgrades yet and it's slightly thicker and heavier. For just $50 more, I got all the upgrades and an aluminum unibody which assists in cooling.

zozin wrote:http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1270

Ah I am mistaken then; good to know. Still can't replace the battery, but that isn't a bad trade off for one that has a larger capacity and a longer life span. Thanks for setting me straight.

...the screens really are still super fragile though lol.

zozin wrote:http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1270

Speak of the devil!

Youtube has plenty of hard drive upgrade tips. It's a surprisingly easy upgrade.