Computers for Law School 2011 Forum

[geoduck]

Ordered a new Thinkpad w Sandybridge processor...just released this weekend. So stoked! My last Lenovo lasted me five years and I hope this will do the same.

Which model did you get and why? (Just curious.)

Why? Those things are expensive, and I was already planning to get a new laptop for law school. Why not just cut out the middle man (i.e. new battery on a shitty laptop) and go straight to the new laptop?

Batteries aren't that bad. I mean they're not cheap but if you don't need the upgraded power then I wouldn't bother with a new laptop (unless you've already got 3-4+ years out of the laptop). I can understand wanting a new laptop and getting it because of that but if my Dell from 2006 hadn't died last year I would still be using it and if it needed a new battery I probably wouldn't get a new laptop. But that's just me.

Meh, it was a little over 4 years old, and it was definitely showing its age. I just didn't want to rely on it to get me through 1L/finals/the most important year of my professional life.

That's two Moore cycles! Definitely good to be kicked to the curb.

[Tangerine Gleam]

Ordered a new Thinkpad w Sandybridge processor...just released this weekend. So stoked! My last Lenovo lasted me five years and I hope this will do the same.

Which model did you get and why? (Just curious.)

I got the T420 w/ i7 (2.7 ghz) processor. Upgraded to 6 gigs ram and a 500 gig 7200rpm hard drive. It wasn't cheap, but there was a 10% coupon from Logicbuy that applied in addition to the Lenovo savings. Should arrive in a few weeks...I'm very excited.

[bk1]

Meh, it was a little over 4 years old, and it was definitely showing its age. I just didn't want to rely on it to get me through 1L/finals/the most important year of my professional life.

Ah that makes sense. I guess I was just under the impression it was only 1-2 years old.

[bk1]

I got the T420 w/ i7 (2.7 ghz) processor. Upgraded to 6 gigs ram and a 500 gig 7200rpm hard drive. It wasn't cheap, but there was a 10% coupon from Logicbuy that applied in addition to the Lenovo savings. Should arrive in a few weeks...I'm very excited.

Have fun!

I remember when I put 8 gigs of ram into my desktop and people thought that was obscene.

[BackToTheOldHouse]

This seems like a pertinent place to ask this question: what is the best way to keep a brand new PC virus/bug free?

Please feel free to answer this as fully as possible. As primarily a Mac user, I literally haven't thought about viruses/bugs for the past 5 or 6 years. Also, the solution doesn't have to be free (I don't mind paying a reasonable amount for good protection).

[bk1]

This seems like a pertinent place to ask this question: what is the best way to keep a brand new PC virus/bug free?

Please feel free to answer this as fully as possible. As primarily a Mac user, I literally haven't thought about viruses/bugs for the past 5 or 6 years. Also, the solution doesn't have to be free (I don't mind paying a reasonable amount for good protection).

Don't be an idiot, that's the best way to avoid viruses. Don't click on suspicious links, don't download crap you don't trust, etc, etc.

As for what you should do, get a reputable antivirus program. For free I like Avast! and for paid I like Sunbelt's Vipre. Make sure to keep it up to date and you will be fine.

[The Stig]

--ImageRemoved--

(tag...hopefully the picture will brighten some days )

[iwanta170]

Haven't read through this thread but can someone tell me the consensus on MacBook Pro's?

I don't know too much about laptops but I'm looking at these three on the Mac website (student prices listed)

13 inch- 2.7 GHz dual-core $1400
15 inch- 2.0 GHz quad-core $1700
15 inch- 2.2 GHz quad-core $2000

[geoduck]

Haven't read through this thread but can someone tell me the consensus on MacBook Pro's?

I don't know too much about laptops but I'm looking at these three on the Mac website (student prices listed)

13 inch- 2.7 GHz dual-core $1400
15 inch- 2.0 GHz quad-core $1700
15 inch- 2.2 GHz quad-core $2000

The 13 2.7 GHz will do everything you need in a handier package provided you don't want to do heavy gaming. Now every Windows person will tell you how you can get the same or better specs for cheaper in an Asus. If you like Windows 7, take their advice. If you like OSX, get the 13.

[iwanta170]

Haven't read through this thread but can someone tell me the consensus on MacBook Pro's?

I don't know too much about laptops but I'm looking at these three on the Mac website (student prices listed)

13 inch- 2.7 GHz dual-core $1400
15 inch- 2.0 GHz quad-core $1700
15 inch- 2.2 GHz quad-core $2000

The 13 2.7 GHz will do everything you need in a handier package provided you don't want to do heavy gaming. Now every Windows person will tell you how you can get the same or better specs for cheaper in an Asus. If you like Windows 7, take their advice. If you like OSX, get the 13.

I am tired of Windows operating systems. They have been a nightmare. I'll look more into the 13 inch model.

[deepspacenine]

Haven't read through this thread but can someone tell me the consensus on MacBook Pro's?

I don't know too much about laptops but I'm looking at these three on the Mac website (student prices listed)

13 inch- 2.7 GHz dual-core $1400
15 inch- 2.0 GHz quad-core $1700
15 inch- 2.2 GHz quad-core $2000

The 13 2.7 GHz will do everything you need in a handier package provided you don't want to do heavy gaming. Now every Windows person will tell you how you can get the same or better specs for cheaper in an Asus. If you like Windows 7, take their advice. If you like OSX, get the 13.

I am tired of Windows operating systems. They have been a nightmare. I'll look more into the 13 inch model.

Are you getting the MacBook Pro. I'd suggest if you don't need to game (I do, and thus I have a MacBook Pro) get the MacBook Air. It's insnaely light weight, has amazing battery, and an SSD which addresses the biggest bottle neck in modern computing (hard disk speed). I'd wait a bit though as the new MacBook Air's with the i3-i5 processors may be coming out before August.

[deepspacenine]

How many redditors do we got on this thread?
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[trudat15]

Lenovo users: thoughts on T410 vs x201?
Or should I be looking at T420? x220?

[alexanderhamilton]

So I have a 4-5 year old laptop, is it worth risking it in 1L, or should I get a new one?

Microsoft XP Home Edition
HP Compaq
Intel Celeron CPU 430 @1.73 GHz
1.99 GB RAM
About 5-7 GB of free space left, total of about 55GB mostly filled with games, movies, programs and other nonsense
Battery life tops out at about an hour
A big screen probably around 15 inches

So far it's worked with nary a hiccup. I get it serviced once a year to make sure it's alright. If I get a new one it would be pretty much only for law school notes, exams, papers and work related stuff while the current one I'm on I would use for gaming and movies and so forth. I'm looking for something cheap, reliable and durable, good battery life and memory space, portable and not as large and unwieldy as my current one but not so small that the keyboard is cramped or screen is puny. Hate Mac's, prefer PC's. Suggestions?

[geoduck]

So I have a 4-5 year old laptop, is it worth risking it in 1L, or should I get a new one?

Microsoft XP Home Edition
HP Compaq
Intel Celeron CPU 430 @1.73 GHz
1.99 GB RAM
About 5-7 GB of free space left, total of about 55GB mostly filled with games, movies, programs and other nonsense
Battery life tops out at about an hour
A big screen probably around 15 inches

So far it's worked with nary a hiccup. I get it serviced once a year to make sure it's alright. If I get a new one it would be pretty much only for law school notes, exams, papers and work related stuff while the current one I'm on I would use for gaming and movies and so forth. I'm looking for something cheap, reliable and durable, good battery life and memory space, portable and not as large and unwieldy as my current one but not so small that the keyboard is cramped or screen is puny. Hate Mac's, prefer PC's. Suggestions?

Yes. Get rid of it. Get rid of it immediately. You had me at "Compaq... Celeron... about an hour". You can spend almost nothing and be massively impressed in speed, storage and portability. I'll let the PC guys tell you the model, but nice low spec Lenovo should do you just fine.

[Marionberry]

Lenovo users: thoughts on T410 vs x201?
Or should I be looking at T420? x220?

For your basic law school purposes (word processing and internet) the T410 and x201 will be more than sufficient. Basically, it comes down to whether or not you want a 12" or 14" screen. The 14" is gonna be heavier and less handy, and I'm not sure about the build quality on the X series but the T410 may be a little tougher. Maybe not, I don't know.

[bk1]

So I have a 4-5 year old laptop, is it worth risking it in 1L, or should I get a new one?

Microsoft XP Home Edition
HP Compaq
Intel Celeron CPU 430 @1.73 GHz
1.99 GB RAM
About 5-7 GB of free space left, total of about 55GB mostly filled with games, movies, programs and other nonsense
Battery life tops out at about an hour
A big screen probably around 15 inches

So far it's worked with nary a hiccup. I get it serviced once a year to make sure it's alright. If I get a new one it would be pretty much only for law school notes, exams, papers and work related stuff while the current one I'm on I would use for gaming and movies and so forth. I'm looking for something cheap, reliable and durable, good battery life and memory space, portable and not as large and unwieldy as my current one but not so small that the keyboard is cramped or screen is puny. Hate Mac's, prefer PC's. Suggestions?

How much you wanna spend?

Do you want gaming capability?

What size/weight you looking for?

Any other preferences?

My go to suggestions for law school purposes are ASUS Ultralights and Lenovo Thinkpads but depending on the answers to the questions then it might change my recommendation.

[alexanderhamilton]

So I have a 4-5 year old laptop, is it worth risking it in 1L, or should I get a new one?

Microsoft XP Home Edition
HP Compaq
Intel Celeron CPU 430 @1.73 GHz
1.99 GB RAM
About 5-7 GB of free space left, total of about 55GB mostly filled with games, movies, programs and other nonsense
Battery life tops out at about an hour
A big screen probably around 15 inches

So far it's worked with nary a hiccup. I get it serviced once a year to make sure it's alright. If I get a new one it would be pretty much only for law school notes, exams, papers and work related stuff while the current one I'm on I would use for gaming and movies and so forth. I'm looking for something cheap, reliable and durable, good battery life and memory space, portable and not as large and unwieldy as my current one but not so small that the keyboard is cramped or screen is puny. Hate Mac's, prefer PC's. Suggestions?

How much you wanna spend?

Do you want gaming capability?

What size/weight you looking for?

Any other preferences?

My go to suggestions for law school purposes are ASUS Ultralights and Lenovo Thinkpads but depending on the answers to the questions then it might change my recommendation.

Spend, probably no more than $700, in fact if I could get something in the $400-500 range that would be even better. The cheaper the better.

Gaming capacity would be nice, but it's more of an optional thing as long as it can play Civ 4, Bioware, GTA and the games that work on my current laptop I'll be fine. I don't really play that much and I don't want to distract myself. Should be capable of playing HD movies though. Very much into moves.

Lightweight is preferable, The current one I think might be 6 pounds or so it's pretty big at I think 15 inch screen maybe even larger. Something not so bulky and easy to manuevur would be best. 12 or 13 in screen maybe so the keyboad isn't too cramped.

No Mac's, I have an aversion to them. Also something that won't break or require frequent servicing. I need something durable and hardy. Not that I intend to be slinging it around, but just in case. Also good battery life and more memory than what I have now (60 GB).

I'll look into the two you mentioned. The Asus looks almost ideal.

[geoduck]

So I have a 4-5 year old laptop, is it worth risking it in 1L, or should I get a new one?

Microsoft XP Home Edition
HP Compaq
Intel Celeron CPU 430 @1.73 GHz
1.99 GB RAM
About 5-7 GB of free space left, total of about 55GB mostly filled with games, movies, programs and other nonsense
Battery life tops out at about an hour
A big screen probably around 15 inches

So far it's worked with nary a hiccup. I get it serviced once a year to make sure it's alright. If I get a new one it would be pretty much only for law school notes, exams, papers and work related stuff while the current one I'm on I would use for gaming and movies and so forth. I'm looking for something cheap, reliable and durable, good battery life and memory space, portable and not as large and unwieldy as my current one but not so small that the keyboard is cramped or screen is puny. Hate Mac's, prefer PC's. Suggestions?

How much you wanna spend?

Do you want gaming capability?

What size/weight you looking for?

Any other preferences?

My go to suggestions for law school purposes are ASUS Ultralights and Lenovo Thinkpads but depending on the answers to the questions then it might change my recommendation.

Spend, probably no more than $700, in fact if I could get something in the $400-500 range that would be even better. The cheaper the better.

Gaming capacity would be nice, but it's more of an optional thing as long as it can play Civ 4, Bioware, GTA and the games that work on my current laptop I'll be fine. I don't really play that much and I don't want to distract myself. Should be capable of playing HD movies though. Very much into moves.

Lightweight is preferable, The current one I think might be 6 pounds or so it's pretty big at I think 15 inch screen maybe even larger. Something not so bulky and easy to manuevur would be best. 12 or 13 in screen maybe so the keyboad isn't too cramped.

No Mac's, I have an aversion to them. Also something that won't break or require frequent servicing. I need something durable and hardy. Not that I intend to be slinging it around, but just in case. Also good battery life and more memory than what I have now (60 GB).

I'll look into the two you mentioned. The Asus looks almost ideal.

It is nearly impossible to get a non-netbook that will have less memory than your current laptop and that is unable to play HD movies and your old games. You should be able to get something that makes you super happy for $600. Asus and Lenovo are definitely the places to look. Dell and HP are not.

[bk1]

Spend, probably no more than $700, in fact if I could get something in the $400-500 range that would be even better. The cheaper the better.

Gaming capacity would be nice, but it's more of an optional thing as long as it can play Civ 4, Bioware, GTA and the games that work on my current laptop I'll be fine. I don't really play that much and I don't want to distract myself. Should be capable of playing HD movies though. Very much into moves.

Lightweight is preferable, The current one I think might be 6 pounds or so it's pretty big at I think 15 inch screen maybe even larger. Something not so bulky and easy to manuevur would be best. 12 or 13 in screen maybe so the keyboad isn't too cramped.

No Mac's, I have an aversion to them. Also something that won't break or require frequent servicing. I need something durable and hardy. Not that I intend to be slinging it around, but just in case. Also good battery life and more memory than what I have now (60 GB).

I'll look into the two you mentioned. The Asus looks almost ideal.

Any modern laptop is going to be able to run anything your old laptop could. Heck I looked at the system reqs for those games and they were pretty easy for the older stuff (Civ 4 needed a Pentium 4, lol) and even fairly easy for the more modern ones (Dragon Age 2/Mass Effect 2 both need a 1.8ghz Core 2 Duo).

I haven't looked recently but, iirc, getting a 13" laptop is going to run you more than a 14" with comparable specs. If you're going for cheapest I'd go with an ASUS UL80 (there are a few versions but I bought the UL80-VT as a gift and it's been great) or a Thinkpad Edge, these will run you around $500 right now. If you want a bit more power/specs I think I'd lean towards the Thinkpad T series being really affordable but I haven't done too much recent research. For now it seems like you can get a decent Core 2 Duo model for 400-500, an i3/i5 for 500-700.

That being said, wait until right before school. Things will be cheaper in 3-4 months and your money will go longer. Plus you might get better specs for the same price.

[alexanderhamilton]

Cool thanks, I'll probably get one in the summer then.

[clarsen]

After scanning through most of this thread I think I am pretty sold on going with a PC, and right now I am most intrigued by ASUS. I'm still researching specific models, but definitely something around 13" ranging $500-$700.

Besides the obvious (Amazon, Newegg, etc.), does anyone have a favorite website (or local retailer) to purchase from that are reputable and offer good prices? I know that Apple offers student discounts, but that obviously won't help me, so what about other retailers?

[zeth006]

After scanning through most of this thread I think I am pretty sold on going with a PC, and right now I am most intrigued by ASUS. I'm still researching specific models, but definitely something around 13" ranging $500-$700.

Besides the obvious (Amazon, Newegg, etc.), does anyone have a favorite website (or local retailer) to purchase from that are reputable and offer good prices? I know that Apple offers student discounts, but that obviously won't help me, so what about other retailers?

Slickdeals.net is always my favorite. It's not a retailer site, but people there are really good about posting any decent to great notebook deals. I'd say check there at least once a day. If a 13" or 14" notebook appears on the frontpage, chances are that it's worth considering. No need to check every single notebook site out there.

Oh, and it never hurts to check your favorite retailer once a month for some less known clearance item that occasionally pops up.

[thelaststraw05]

After scanning through most of this thread I think I am pretty sold on going with a PC, and right now I am most intrigued by ASUS. I'm still researching specific models, but definitely something around 13" ranging $500-$700.

Besides the obvious (Amazon, Newegg, etc.), does anyone have a favorite website (or local retailer) to purchase from that are reputable and offer good prices? I know that Apple offers student discounts, but that obviously won't help me, so what about other retailers?

This is what I got. It is fantastic.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+P ... Id=1260752

[zeth006]

After scanning through most of this thread I think I am pretty sold on going with a PC, and right now I am most intrigued by ASUS. I'm still researching specific models, but definitely something around 13" ranging $500-$700.

Besides the obvious (Amazon, Newegg, etc.), does anyone have a favorite website (or local retailer) to purchase from that are reputable and offer good prices? I know that Apple offers student discounts, but that obviously won't help me, so what about other retailers?

This is what I got. It is fantastic.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+P ... Id=1260752

That puppy's gone down in price. I'd definitely consider it.