Computers for Law School 2011 Forum

[ResolutePear]

If those were the only two choices, then yes - I'll agree.

A Celeron processor and 2GB of ram and 150GB of space is good enough for law school. The specs aren't important when choosing, but reliability and durability are.

Well, they weren't the ONLY two choices, but they were the two best deals I saw. I had to struggle not to be tempted by some of HPs higher end laptops, because I'll be living on borrowed money. OTOH, I didn't want to get a netbook, or a $270 dollar computer.

I think that I'll be happier with this one in the long run, especially since I haven't watched a movie in months, so Blu-ray may not be worth as much as I'm valuing it at. I think my main realistic concern is that I'll have to do an emergency backup/reinstall of the system, and it will take a day and a half with a 640 gig HD using USB 2.0 and I'll wish I had the eSATA. I guess I'll have to restrict torrents to my old computer.

What? No.

If you're backing up programs, you're doing it wrong.

Not backing up programs. Having virus trouble, for example, and backing up my files to reinstall Windows.

Correct. You only should be backing up data files - files that don't already come on a program disk or the windows install disk. You should also keep media on a separate disk/partition to allow for easier backups as you can backup data files every 24 hours while backing up media once a week/month.

What troubles me is a backup after the fact that you got a virus. You're just reinfecting your machine ~95% of the time by doing that.

[ItsMyTimeBoston]

I just got a fully loaded ThinkPad 420s. It rocks!

[chenalex]

I just got a fully loaded ThinkPad 420s. It rocks!

What's your definition of fully loaded?

[redfern86]

I just wanted to point out a great sale for a Lenovo Thinkpad if anyone wants to take advantage of it. I just picked up the Thinkpad Edge E420, 2nd gen i5, 4gb ram, 500gb hd - has many of the same features as it more expensive cousin the T420 (hard drive airbag, spill resistant keyboard, internal roll cage) - for $450. Great deal for anyone looking to purchase a solid computer with up to date specs for under $500. Usually $699 you get $150 off + another $100 back if you are a student (instantly in store). You might want to move quickly since, at least in the store, I purchased the last one they had when I went in yesterday. Here's the link, and agreed that the Ideapad just lacks the build quality of the Thinkpad line:

Some extra perks
-Preloaded Win 7 64
-fingerprint scanner
-webcam

Slickdeal Discussion

Office Depot Deal for $450

Thanks so much for the recommendation! I just bought one and I couldn't be happier!

[eandy]

lol@thinkpads. My UG sold those to people. They all died after three years.

[esq]

Thanks so much for the recommendation! I just bought one and I couldn't be happier!

Any time! I'm just glad that someone else was able to cash in on this deal. I've been a loyal thinkpad user since my old z61t c2d, but it was time to upgrade, and I was stoked that I was able to land an i5 for sub $500 (It sure beats paying $1400-1600 for my schools recommended computers with the same specs.)

I forgot to add to my original post - and it's a little thing, but one that really makes the thinkpad line stand out to me - I love the keyboards on thinkpads. They try to mimic the comfort of a soft-touch desktop keyboard with the thinkpad line, and while the edge series is a slight variant on the higher end thinkpads, it's keyboard is still something else. Thinking about taking my final exam on a laptop, I'm really happy that I have such a comfortable keyboard.

[adonai]

Thanks so much for the recommendation! I just bought one and I couldn't be happier!

Any time! I'm just glad that someone else was able to cash in on this deal. I've been a loyal thinkpad user since my old z61t c2d, but it was time to upgrade, and I was stoked that I was able to land an i5 for sub $500 (It sure beats paying $1400-1600 for my schools recommended computers with the same specs.)

I forgot to add to my original post - and it's a little thing, but one that really makes the thinkpad line stand out to me - I love the keyboards on thinkpads. They try to mimic the comfort of a soft-touch desktop keyboard with the thinkpad line, and while the edge series is a slight variant on the higher end thinkpads, it's keyboard is still something else. Thinking about taking my final exam on a laptop, I'm really happy that I have such a comfortable keyboard.

Sucks that the deal is in-store only. Every officemax within a 40 or so mile radius is sold out in my area!

[esq]

Thanks so much for the recommendation! I just bought one and I couldn't be happier!

Any time! I'm just glad that someone else was able to cash in on this deal. I've been a loyal thinkpad user since my old z61t c2d, but it was time to upgrade, and I was stoked that I was able to land an i5 for sub $500 (It sure beats paying $1400-1600 for my schools recommended computers with the same specs.)

I forgot to add to my original post - and it's a little thing, but one that really makes the thinkpad line stand out to me - I love the keyboards on thinkpads. They try to mimic the comfort of a soft-touch desktop keyboard with the thinkpad line, and while the edge series is a slight variant on the higher end thinkpads, it's keyboard is still something else. Thinking about taking my final exam on a laptop, I'm really happy that I have such a comfortable keyboard.

Sucks that the deal is in-store only. Every officemax within a 40 or so mile radius is sold out in my area!

I'm not sure if they are still in stock on-line, but you get the $150 off there and can get the $100 back by mail in rebate too. I admit, though, that the $100 back in the store instantly is what made me pull the trigger. I hate mail in rebates.

Edit: Here's the rebate form. It says that as long as you purchase this before the 23rd, you should be able to cash in on the $100 back if you are a student. You can ask the slickdeals community how it all works for more info, but you should be able to get the same deal online.

$100 Rebate

[BlakcMajikc]

I'm buying my cousin a laptop as a gift. (He is in undergrad and his family can't afford the purchase).
My budget is $400. Any suggestions?

HP Pavilion Laptop: Intel B940 2GHz CPU, 4GB DD3, 320GB HDD, 14" LED LCD (1366x768) w/ Webcam, DVDRW, WiFi N, 6-Cell Battery, Win 7 Home Prem $350
link

Thanks!

[delusional]

I'm buying my cousin a laptop as a gift. (He is in undergrad and his family can't afford the purchase).
My budget is $400. Any suggestions?

HP Pavilion Laptop: Intel B940 2GHz CPU, 4GB DD3, 320GB HDD, 14" LED LCD (1366x768) w/ Webcam, DVDRW, WiFi N, 6-Cell Battery, Win 7 Home Prem $350
link

Hey! I just bought that one too, for my sister, who wanted a good, cheap laptop. I got a look at it before I gave it to her and it definitely came across as a good buy. Just a word of advice - write down the SKU before you go into Best Buy - they didn't have it on display, but when I told the associate the
SKU, he found that it was in stock, and he got it from storage.

[ItsMyTimeBoston]

I just got a fully loaded ThinkPad 420s. It rocks!

What's your definition of fully loaded?

Maybe it isn't quite fully loaded, but close:

INTCRI5-2540MPR(2.6GHZ)
2 x 4GBPC3-10600DDR3 1333SODMM
IT160GB SLDSTDRV,SRATA

[bigjinjapan]

FYI - New Macbook Airs are out, nicely updated with i5 processors, OSX Lion and backlit keyboards at the same price the old ones were going for. Now, can I afford to get an 11-incher on top of that new VAIO I just ordered...

[ResolutePear]

Just putting this out there: Make sure you can get your school's exam software without needing a physical media drive(DVD drive) when buying a MacBook Air. External drives should work in theory, but you just never know.

Either way, that's my warning.

[environmentallaw]

Any opinions on whether AppleCare is worth the cost?

[bendtheslurry]

Any opinions on whether AppleCare is worth the cost?

I think it is and I opted for it on my new mac.

[Bill Cosby]

Ended up going with the Acer Aspire TimelineX is asked about a few pages back.

- Core i5 @ 2.30GHz
- Windows 7 Home Premium
- 4GB RAM
- 640GB hard drive
- on-board graphs
- HDMI port
- 3 USB ports (1 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0)
- 4.88 lbs.

$699

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-TimelineX-AS ... 4PV8J905RN

[Lycurgus]

I just got the new macbook air for school. Not having a CD/DVD drive is pretty annoying. Also I tried playing some video games (HoN), which technically should run perfect with the 4 gigs of ram and the intel graphics card + 1.7 GHz processor. However I have found that it even turning on the video game at lowest settings created a huge amount of heat from the back of the laptop. Be ware!

[Shammis]

MacBook airs are not gaming computers though...shouldve gotten the MacBook Pro if that's something you worry about. As far as apple care goes? Most Definitely get it. It's saved me in the past...So happy to hear about ExamSoft updating a version for the new Mac OS.

[joemoviebuff]

I just got the new macbook air for school. Not having a CD/DVD drive is pretty annoying. Also I tried playing some video games (HoN), which technically should run perfect with the 4 gigs of ram and the intel graphics card + 1.7 GHz processor. However I have found that it even turning on the video game at lowest settings created a huge amount of heat from the back of the laptop. Be ware!

I waited for the new Airs to come out before deciding between that and a Pro, and honestly I was a little disappointed with the specs. Honestly I would say if you feel this way about it after only a couple days, take it back and get a Pro for the same price.

[ResolutePear]

I just got the new macbook air for school. Not having a CD/DVD drive is pretty annoying. Also I tried playing some video games (HoN), which technically should run perfect with the 4 gigs of ram and the intel graphics card + 1.7 GHz processor. However I have found that it even turning on the video game at lowest settings created a huge amount of heat from the back of the laptop. Be ware!

Games for OSX typically require more power than their Windows counterparts. Windows devs tend to use DirectX while OSX really only has OpenGL - and a broken OpenGL implementation at that.

[chenalex]

I just got a fully loaded ThinkPad 420s. It rocks!

What's your definition of fully loaded?

Maybe it isn't quite fully loaded, but close:

INTCRI5-2540MPR(2.6GHZ)
2 x 4GBPC3-10600DDR3 1333SODMM
IT160GB SLDSTDRV,SRATA

Mine is almost identical except I have the 128Gb SSD instead of the 160GB. Did you upgrade the wireless card? I didn't and I'm kind of regretting my decision.

[Naked Dude]

FYI - New Macbook Airs are out, nicely updated with i5 processors, OSX Lion and backlit keyboards at the same price the old ones were going for. Now, can I afford to get an 11-incher on top of that new VAIO I just ordered...

I feel you. I'm trying to find a way to justify an Air after buying a new laptop a month ago. Still can't justify it...I'm trying though. Believe me, I'm trying. Travel? Nah don't travel that much. Uh...portability, yeah. My laptop is my desktop replacement and uh something something backup computer etc

[ResolutePear]

I'd recommend a laptop/desktop combo when possible.

I'd also recommend a quality built computer - boutiques like ibuypower push out some of the best stuff aside from building it yourself - which to be honest.. if you can get into law school, you can build your own computer. Might take you a day or two if you don't know anything about it, but being able to learn about computer components and basic diagnostics helps A LOT in life.

[Naked Dude]

I'd recommend a laptop/desktop combo when possible.

I'd also recommend a quality built computer - boutiques like ibuypower push out some of the best stuff aside from building it yourself - which to be honest.. if you can get into law school, you can build your own computer. Might take you a day or two if you don't know anything about it, but being able to learn about computer components and basic diagnostics helps A LOT in life.

Why do you recommend a laptop/desktop combo? And as a corollary to that how about a desktop replacement laptop/light laptop?

[ResolutePear]

I'd recommend a laptop/desktop combo when possible.

I'd also recommend a quality built computer - boutiques like ibuypower push out some of the best stuff aside from building it yourself - which to be honest.. if you can get into law school, you can build your own computer. Might take you a day or two if you don't know anything about it, but being able to learn about computer components and basic diagnostics helps A LOT in life.

Why do you recommend a laptop/desktop combo? And as a corollary to that how about a desktop replacement laptop/light laptop?

You'll use your laptop less and extend the life of it - as good quality desktops can take the abuse of never shutting off and other things such as constant typing and liquid spills(just replace the keyboard).

The reason why I recommend you build your own computer comes from the fact that you can custom tailor your computer to however you would like to use it. For instance, I have a 3-4 screen combo now and although I understand that not everybody is a poweruser - even having a 2-monitor combo with a good keyboard and mouse makes for a more productive environment imo.

If you have a hard-on for laptops though, then sure - a desktop replacement would work, but you should understand that there is a premium on price, maintenance, and other intangibles for the tradeoff of mobility. You're also locked into using the manufacturer for replacement parts.

At the end of the day, it's all preferences and price points.