Computers for Law School 2011 Forum

[geoduck]

got a thinkpad this past week. hate the function/ctrl swap but everything else is cool. put 8 gb ram that i'll never use in it.

Just tell me that you put it in yourself and didn't pay them to do it. God knows you aren't going to really use that 8 gb unless you start doing motion graphics on the side, but it's still nice to have so long as you didn't pay an assload for it.

[bartleby]

i got the thinkpad (it was the december model) for under $400. dropped $80 on two sticks of 4 gb crucial ram on amazon. installed it myself. i don't really think the i3 w/ 8 gb ram is much faster than my old dell dual core 2 gb ram.

[geoduck]

i got the thinkpad (it was the december model) for under $400. dropped $80 on two sticks of 4 gb crucial ram on amazon. installed it myself. i don't really think the i3 w/ 8 gb ram is much faster than my old dell dual core 2 gb ram.

It's probably not much that much faster for day to day use. If you were regularly modifying files of over 2 gb in size, you would certainly notice the difference.

[coldshoulder]

Thinkpad edge vs Thinkpad t series then?

[oldhippie]

Thinkpad edge vs Thinkpad t series then?

same question...will i need the extra speed/power of the t series? no gaming, nothing special, just for school and surfing around...

[bartleby]

i got T series. i bought an Edge series but it felt kinda cheap (and it was also huge - ~15.8 in) so i returned it. i think there's def a diff feel to the T series. honestly, i doubt it matters.

[071816]

Thinkpad edge vs Thinkpad t series then?

I would go T-Series personally, but it really just depends on your own personal preferences. I was able to get the T420 with several upgrades and free shipping for just over $750 (after tax).

[kalvano]

I like my Edge 14". I thought about the T-series, but the Edge was cheaper, and I don't need my computer to be able to stop a bullet.

[ResolutePear]

I like my Edge 14". I thought about the T-series, but the Edge was cheaper, and I don't need my computer to be able to stop a bullet.

Right. T-series laptops are military spec, semi-rugged. Though, to be fair they consider toughbooks to be rugged and those things are awesome but expensive.

If you can get a T-series for cheap and don't mind the extra weight, it will last you forever.

[twairlines]

I pulled the trigger a few days ago on the SlickDeal link that Chimp posted for the ThinkPad T420. I'm glad someone else saw it and posted it because I was just about to post it now (offer is still available). Lenovo is hands down the best laptop in terms of durability and not forcing spec'd out systems that only a gamer would need, like Dell and HP do, and somehow people are gullible to believe that they will ever utilize half the power in the shitty plastic case they come in. With Lenovo you are paying for portability, quality, durability rather than glitz and glamor. In the business world no one comes close to how in demand a Lenovo ThinkPad is.

BTW SlickDeals has saved me prob a few hundred bucks over the last couple of months and I highly recommend the site. I took the $688 deal (not including tax) added some upgrades that took it to about $860 including tax, 3yr warranty, and protective case in addition to the upgrades I chose. The 3 Yr warranty is $80 and is good to have because if there are internal problems there are very few retailers/repair people that are licensed to fix Lenovo's (and alot will not fix Lenovo's due to their internal layouts), and Lenovo does free shipping for repair as well.

After Customer Service was to upgrade 1 component (something I realized I forgot to add) for me after the order was submitted, it resulted in the price being thrown way-off, and it took about 1 day to get the sale rate applied again. In the end it was worth it because the CS lady cancelled my first order and reebooked it, then I got an additional discount that the CS lady added for the hassle which gave me all of the following including tax for $777 which it should have been really $860. Bolded = upgrades beyond what the $688 model (which will more than suffice) has.

Intel Core i5-2410M Processor (2.30GHz, 3MB L3)1
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 6412
14.0 HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
Intel HD Graphics 3000
4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)8
UltraNav with TrackPoint & touchpad plus Fingerprint Reader
320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm4
DVD recordable multiburner5
6 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55+60
No Bluetooth
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 (2x2 AGN)
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable65
3Yr Basic Warranty Extension
ThinkPad 14W Sleeve Case

[071816]

I pulled the trigger a few days ago on the SlickDeal link that Chimp posted for the ThinkPad T420. I'm glad someone else saw it and posted it because I was just about to post it now (offer is still available). Lenovo is hands down the best laptop in terms of durability and not forcing spec'd out systems that only a gamer would need, like Dell and HP do, and somehow people are gullible to believe that they will ever utilize half the power in the shitty plastic case they come in. With Lenovo you are paying for portability, quality, durability rather than glitz and glamor. In the business world no one comes close to how in demand a Lenovo ThinkPad is.

BTW SlickDeals has saved me prob a few hundred bucks over the last couple of months and I highly recommend the site. I took the $688 deal (not including tax) added some upgrades that took it to about $860 including tax, 3yr warranty, and protective case in addition to the upgrades I chose. The 3 Yr warranty is $80 and is good to have because if there are internal problems there are very few retailers/repair people that are licensed to fix Lenovo's (and alot will not fix Lenovo's due to their internal layouts), and Lenovo does free shipping for repair as well.

After Customer Service was to upgrade 1 component (something I realized I forgot to add) for me after the order was submitted, it resulted in the price being thrown way-off, and it took about 1 day to get the sale rate applied again. In the end it was worth it because the CS lady cancelled my first order and reebooked it, then I got an additional discount that the CS lady added for the hassle which gave me all of the following including tax for $777 which it should have been really $860. Bolded = upgrades beyond what the $688 model (which will more than suffice) has.

Intel Core i5-2410M Processor (2.30GHz, 3MB L3)1
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 6412
14.0 HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
Intel HD Graphics 3000
4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)8
UltraNav with TrackPoint & touchpad plus Fingerprint Reader
320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm4
DVD recordable multiburner5
6 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55+60
No Bluetooth
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 (2x2 AGN)
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable65
3Yr Basic Warranty Extension
ThinkPad 14W Sleeve Case

Good stuff. That deal is awesome. This is very similar to what I got minus the 3 year warranty and case. Cheers!

[twairlines]

Good stuff. That deal is awesome. This is very similar to what I got minus the 3 year warranty and case. Cheers!

Yeah, even w/o the extra discount the lady threw in I was still doing cartwheels. Cheers to us both getting in on this deal! Again, if anyone is well studied on what Lenovo is geared towards then you also know their ThinkPad is the their top of the line laptop, and the T420 probably won't see another sell for a few more months, especially since it's part of their T series (probably the best combo of portability and power for under 1k). If anyone has specific ?'s to good sites for reviews of THinkPad's or my pior experiences, shoot me a PM.

[bartleby]

I pulled the trigger a few days ago on the SlickDeal link that Chimp posted for the ThinkPad T420. I'm glad someone else saw it and posted it because I was just about to post it now (offer is still available). Lenovo is hands down the best laptop in terms of durability and not forcing spec'd out systems that only a gamer would need, like Dell and HP do, and somehow people are gullible to believe that they will ever utilize half the power in the shitty plastic case they come in. With Lenovo you are paying for portability, quality, durability rather than glitz and glamor. In the business world no one comes close to how in demand a Lenovo ThinkPad is.

BTW SlickDeals has saved me prob a few hundred bucks over the last couple of months and I highly recommend the site. I took the $688 deal (not including tax) added some upgrades that took it to about $860 including tax, 3yr warranty, and protective case in addition to the upgrades I chose. The 3 Yr warranty is $80 and is good to have because if there are internal problems there are very few retailers/repair people that are licensed to fix Lenovo's (and alot will not fix Lenovo's due to their internal layouts), and Lenovo does free shipping for repair as well.

Exact opposite. Though I've "saved" a few hundred over the last couple months, I have so much crap that I don't need now. That site is killing me!

[twairlines]

Exact opposite. Though I've "saved" a few hundred over the last couple months, I have so much crap that I don't need now. That site is killing me!

Yeah, there should be a warning label on it like alcohol, and the side effects. I definitely agree, some deals are hard to pass up on then you are stuck with something that not only was not a need, but it may not even get used.

[beach_terror]

I like my Edge 14". I thought about the T-series, but the Edge was cheaper, and I don't need my computer to be able to stop a bullet.

+1. My Edge 14'' got me through 1L. They also just redesigned it and threw a graphics card in it for more or less the same price. If I had 700$ laying around...

[rebelx13]

I'll be rocking a small Alienware (yes, with the glowing head logo). Will this appear highly unprofessional if I need to whip it out outside of class (maybe a conference, office hours, etc)?

[Z3RO]

Just bought this Asus from Amazon for 600. They're advertising 12 hours battery life, but people are reporting more like 10. Good enough for me.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003JZ ... os_product

Not knowing how plentiful outlets are gonna be in some of the older classrooms at NU, I figured this was a good move.

[Remnantofisrael]

So just to piss everyone off, has anyone here actually fully given a Mac a chance in the last few years and regretted it? Perhaps this is a poor sample, but I know lots of people on both sides of the aisle, but the most convincing argument is that I know a number of people who have gone PC from MAC and hated it, went back as quickly as they could. I also know plenty who've gone MAC from PC and not a SINGLE PERSON from that group regretted it.

Seriously- any stories about people regretting going to mac?

And just so everyone knows, I am a PC guy, and have never used a mac. But considering. My biggest issue was it wasn't taking market share, but now it seems half law students and maybe 1/4th of the firms use them, and the number is growing. Market share is over 10% now and booming compared to other OS options.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10 ... ommon.html

[ResolutePear]

So just to piss everyone off, has anyone here actually fully given a Mac a chance in the last few years and regretted it? Perhaps this is a poor sample, but I know lots of people on both sides of the aisle, but the most convincing argument is that I know a number of people who have gone PC from MAC and hated it, went back as quickly as they could. I also know plenty who've gone MAC from PC and not a SINGLE PERSON from that group regretted it.

Seriously- any stories about people regretting going to mac?

I run OSX on PC hardware.

Bought a copy of OSX for 30 bucks for this purpose.

Fuck the apple tax - better hardware at 25% of the price.

[Remnantofisrael]

I run OSX on PC hardware.

Bought a copy of OSX for 30 bucks for this purpose.

Fuck the apple tax - better hardware at 25% of the price.

Did you switch from PC? If so is it fair to say you prefer Mac but don't want to pay the "luxury tax"?

Also, any issues booting to OSX and running parallels windows on a PC?

[beach_terror]

I run OSX on PC hardware.

Bought a copy of OSX for 30 bucks for this purpose.

Fuck the apple tax - better hardware at 25% of the price.

Did you switch from PC? If so is it fair to say you prefer Mac but don't want to pay the "luxury tax"?

Also, any issues booting to OSX and running parallels windows on a PC?

lol, you must be new around here

[ResolutePear]

I run OSX on PC hardware.

Bought a copy of OSX for 30 bucks for this purpose.

Fuck the apple tax - better hardware at 25% of the price.

Did you switch from PC? If so is it fair to say you prefer Mac but don't want to pay the "luxury tax"?

Also, any issues booting to OSX and running parallels windows on a PC?

Apple forces you to buy a "mac" in order to develop iPhone applications.

I don't necessarily prefer it, nor like it. Though, I doubt many if anybody would like my tastes in operating system and GUI - or lack thereof.

[Remnantofisrael]

To be honest I read the first 3 pages and the last couple, as well as a couple in the middle. I did a forum search to see if this specific question had been addressed but didn't find anything, even though I'm sure now some person who needs to get a fucking life will link a thread tangentially related and attempt to belittle me through a combination of web and legal speak that they think they understand but really are in for a world of hurt once they realize that law school is a hell of a lot bigger than this anonymous forum, and the world much bigger than law school.

So yeah. New.

And to save you some time when you quote this-

tl;dr

[Remnantofisrael]

I run OSX on PC hardware.

Bought a copy of OSX for 30 bucks for this purpose.

Fuck the apple tax - better hardware at 25% of the price.

Did you switch from PC? If so is it fair to say you prefer Mac but don't want to pay the "luxury tax"?

Also, any issues booting to OSX and running parallels windows on a PC?

Apple forces you to buy a "mac" in order to develop iPhone applications.

I don't necessarily prefer it, nor like it. Though, I doubt many if anybody would like my tastes in operating system and GUI - or lack thereof.

Makes sense, thanks for the response. Anyone else have a tale about regretting going mac?

[beach_terror]

tl;dr

Also, you mad

(you need to lighten up)