Splurge on a laptop? Forum

chem · Post by **chem** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 5:28 pm

Sure, you need word processing only for 1L. But having a better laptop really opens up the amount of games you can play 2L and 3L edit: in class

igo2northwestern · Post by **igo2northwestern** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 6:07 pm

rinkrat19 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:Legal work is incredibly non resource intensive. You don't need to splurg.

Rinkrat is right. Spend the money on a desk printer and dock statio.
Or if not a dock, at LEAST the monitor, printer, and a spare power adapter. It's great to be able to leave the power adapter you carry to campus in your school bag and not have to worry about forgetting it at home on a day when you'll be on campus for 8 hours, and just have one set up at home to plug into on your desk.

Get the monitor. You'll thank us for this at some point, I think. It'll be amazing for your take-home finals.

09042014 · Post by **09042014** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 6:55 pm

mt2165 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:Legal work is incredibly non resource intensive. You don't need to splurg.

Rinkrat is right. Spend the money on a desk printer and dock statio.
Yeah I'll prolly go the sub 1k route I just want something non budget since I'll be spending so much time on it

I wouldn't go budget, but unless you want an ultrabook, you can do pretty well for 700 bucks.

malleus discentium · Post by **malleus discentium** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 8:06 pm

igo2northwestern wrote:
rinkrat19 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:Legal work is incredibly non resource intensive. You don't need to splurg.

Rinkrat is right. Spend the money on a desk printer and dock statio.
Or if not a dock, at LEAST the monitor, printer, and a spare power adapter. It's great to be able to leave the power adapter you carry to campus in your school bag and not have to worry about forgetting it at home on a day when you'll be on campus for 8 hours, and just have one set up at home to plug into on your desk.
Get the monitor. You'll thank us for this at some point, I think. It'll be amazing for your take-home finals.

I was planning to go the external monitor route. Is 24" 1920x1080 the way to go? What are some good options?

mt2165 · Post by **mt2165** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 8:12 pm

Desert Fox wrote:
mt2165 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:Legal work is incredibly non resource intensive. You don't need to splurg.

Rinkrat is right. Spend the money on a desk printer and dock statio.
Yeah I'll prolly go the sub 1k route I just want something non budget since I'll be spending so much time on it
I wouldn't go budget, but unless you want an ultrabook, you can do pretty well for 700 bucks.

Right right, prolly go the lenovo u430p route. Seems to satisfy a happy medium.

igo2northwestern · Post by **igo2northwestern** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 8:24 pm

malleus discentium wrote:
igo2northwestern wrote:
rinkrat19 wrote:
Desert Fox wrote:Legal work is incredibly non resource intensive. You don't need to splurg.

Rinkrat is right. Spend the money on a desk printer and dock statio.
Or if not a dock, at LEAST the monitor, printer, and a spare power adapter. It's great to be able to leave the power adapter you carry to campus in your school bag and not have to worry about forgetting it at home on a day when you'll be on campus for 8 hours, and just have one set up at home to plug into on your desk.
Get the monitor. You'll thank us for this at some point, I think. It'll be amazing for your take-home finals.
I was planning to go the external monitor route. Is 24" 1920x1080 the way to go? What are some good options?

I think the size issue (and whether you want widescreen) is personal preference. I was fine with a 19", but if you prefer a larger monitor for the dual screen, go for it. If I were in your shoes, I would just go to newegg and get something cheap and well-reviewed. These two would probably be on my list:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824236203
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824001782

rivermaker · Post by **rivermaker** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 8:57 pm

slickdeals.net

Miznitic · Post by **Miznitic** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:11 am

Don't buy a printer. You'll be using the computer lab, or an outside printing service - It's cheaper and you don't have to service a cantankerous printer. The price of toner or ink is stupidly expensive. Docking stations are absurd. Don't get into the habit of using an external keyboard. You probably can't use it during exams, but absolutely not on the bar. Get comfortable with the laptop as it is. The most I would suggest in this regard is getting an external USB monitor like an Asus or an AOC variant. I would also suggest a second power adapter.

Buy a laptop that doesn't weigh a ton and isn't outrageously huge. You're going to be carrying this around a lot. Further, buy a laptop that doesn't choke no matter how many applications you have open. Get as much memory as you can, preferably a laptop with an SSD, and a i5 processor. Additionally, make sure it has a nice display that doesn't hurt your eyes - You're going to be spending the next three years looking at this. (I like Retina, but I've heard good things about WQHD on the Zenbook).

Legal work isn't generally intensive. However, student life can be. I can't count the number of times I noticed people struggling with clunkbooks. You don't want to be one of those people. You don't have to spend thousands, but you should probably budget ~ $1200 for a decent system.

03152016 · Post by **03152016** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:55 am

Miznitic wrote:You don't have to spend thousands, but you should probably budget ~ $1200 for a decent system.

$1200
what are you a peasant
everyone knows you need a stealth macbook pro at minimum
i saw some prole walking around with an alienware area 51 and i smacked him right in his peasant face
now if you'll excuse me, i have to get back to 3d printing my torts outline

rinkrat19 · Post by **rinkrat19** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 3:09 am

igo2northwestern wrote:
malleus discentium wrote:
igo2northwestern wrote:
rinkrat19 wrote:Or if not a dock, at LEAST the monitor, printer, and a spare power adapter. It's great to be able to leave the power adapter you carry to campus in your school bag and not have to worry about forgetting it at home on a day when you'll be on campus for 8 hours, and just have one set up at home to plug into on your desk.
Get the monitor. You'll thank us for this at some point, I think. It'll be amazing for your take-home finals.
I was planning to go the external monitor route. Is 24" 1920x1080 the way to go? What are some good options?
I think the size issue (and whether you want widescreen) is personal preference. I was fine with a 19", but if you prefer a larger monitor for the dual screen, go for it. If I were in your shoes, I would just go to newegg and get something cheap and well-reviewed. These two would probably be on my list:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824236203
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824001782

I didn't check those links, but I'll reiterate that being able to turn it 90 degrees is a big plus for reading PDFs, especially. I didn't know that before I bought mine and it's almost tempting to sell it for cheap to a 1L and buy myself a new one.

hoorahray · Post by **hoorahray** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 10:59 am

Even if they aren't workhorses and you can find better specs for less, I love my MacBook Air for the form factor. Don't even notice it's in my bag, which helps when you are hauling casebooks around (which does happen, even with lockers). The 12 hour battery life means not needing to bring a charger with me. At home, it gets docked into a large monitor so that I don't have to squint at 13 inches when I'm outlining. Plus, if you can catch the MBA at Best Buy during a sale, you can get under $900.

Power_of_Facing · Post by **Power_of_Facing** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:11 pm

What thoughts do all of you laptopoisseurs have on the refurbished/outlet laptops available from Lenovo?

I want something light, reasonably cheap, with a decently fast load time, that is ultra-reliable. I am unconcerned about bells and whistles related to gaming, music production, etc.

Fiero85 · Post by **Fiero85** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:29 pm

tagged

mt2165 · Post by **mt2165** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:38 pm

Power_of_Facing wrote:What thoughts do all of you laptopoisseurs have on the refurbished/outlet laptops available from Lenovo?

I want something light, reasonably cheap, with a decently fast load time, that is ultra-reliable. I am unconcerned about bells and whistles related to gaming, music production, etc.

Yeah I've always wondered about refurbished laptops

Humbert Humbert · Post by **Humbert Humbert** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 4:05 pm

mt2165 wrote:
Power_of_Facing wrote:What thoughts do all of you laptopoisseurs have on the refurbished/outlet laptops available from Lenovo?

I want something light, reasonably cheap, with a decently fast load time, that is ultra-reliable. I am unconcerned about bells and whistles related to gaming, music production, etc.
Yeah I've always wondered about refurbished laptops

Also wondering re: refurbished laptops, specifically Macbook Airs. You can buy a 13 inch MBA refurbished for $800. Seems like that + a home monitor setup is a better (and probably still cheaper) option than buying a brand new MBA on its own.

Thoughts?

sfoglia · Post by **sfoglia** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 4:43 pm

Thought that I would contribute, in case my experience proved relevant.

For graduate school, I waited to purchase my laptop until arriving on campus, and purchased it on student discount. (Is that a thing for many schools? I'm not sure if I received one because I went to a huge state school. I actually purchased my laptop on campus.) I went with a Macbook; I had gone through a solid two laptops during college (Acer and Dell, IIRC). The keyboards took a total beating, because I apparently have the tendency to type really aggressively when writing. I also open and close my laptop about eight hundred times a day, without actually shutting down, because I'm subject to sudden, inconvenient inspiration (Think: In the shower, at 3am in the morning, when I'm already running late to an appointment) and want to be able to get out a paragraph before it's lost to me. The tech guy at Mac told me this was maybe not the best habit, so I thought to include.

Anyway, the Macbook has proven a great investment. I'm worried I'm jinxing myself by writing this, but I've had it since then, four years ago, without any issue. I love it. And this is coming from a once devout PC/Microsoft user.

For a printer, nothing saved my life so much in grad school as the scanner that came with it. I saved countless trips I would have otherwise been forced to make to the library or my office to copy excerpts from books, and it was incredibly helpful for making duplicates, too (for me, emailing my comments on student papers, since I preferred to grade hard copies). Get a printer that includes a scanner!

As an aside, if you are terrible at backing up your files, consider Carbonite. You can include multiple computers on one account, so share and split the cost with your mom, dad, sister, brother, lover, whomever.

03152016 · Post by **03152016** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 4:46 pm

Humbert Humbert wrote:
mt2165 wrote:
Power_of_Facing wrote:What thoughts do all of you laptopoisseurs have on the refurbished/outlet laptops available from Lenovo?

I want something light, reasonably cheap, with a decently fast load time, that is ultra-reliable. I am unconcerned about bells and whistles related to gaming, music production, etc.
Yeah I've always wondered about refurbished laptops
Also wondering re: refurbished laptops, specifically Macbook Airs. You can buy a 13 inch MBA refurbished for $800. Seems like that + a home monitor setup is a better (and probably still cheaper) option than buying a brand new MBA on its own.

Thoughts?

ya i kno someone who did the refurb macbook thing
worked out rly well for her, no complaints, good condition
as long as u don't have a problem knowing that sum1 probably once used your laptop to jack off

Power_of_Facing · Post by **Power_of_Facing** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 4:54 pm

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Len ... 627.0.html

Would laptop Mavens say that this is a decent buy, refurbished, for $350?

Again, I'm looking for something light, reasonably cheap, with a decently fast load time, that is ultra-reliable. I am unconcerned about bells and whistles related to gaming, music production, etc.

Serett · Post by **Serett** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 4:59 pm

As long as it's legitimately refurbished/recertified (by which I mostly mean you're buying it from either the manufacturer or from a reputable partner reseller, and it's refurbed rather than just used), you can pretty safely take a chance on it. Don't buy random used computers; do buy refurbs from reputable electronics manufacturers/sellers. They can really have better quality control than new PCs in those cases, although issues can of course arise just based on preexisting usage of the components. Still, that's what the discounted price is for.

I got in on this, and for the components, it's the best ultrabook deal I've found since I started looking in January. It's unfortunately out-of-stock now, but I'm posting it to prove that if you keep an eye out, there's no reason to pay over $1000 for a school laptop (so long as you're not running graphic design programs or gaming on it). Even something with a standard HDD, a third-gen Intel i-series processor, and 4 GB RAM ought to work fine for law school purposes for three years. One can probably find something very reliable and satisfactory for $500-$700.

Edit: On printers, I managed to snag this when it was on sale for only $100. The overall message of this post: decide what you want/need in advance of when you need it, be flexible regarding nonsense like brand, and look for sales. I love it so far, although laser also has its upside.

Power_of_Facing, it's obviously not state-of-the-art, but as long as you're okay with it's battery length, I think that would be a good-enough buy.

09042014 · Post by **09042014** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 5:01 pm

Power_of_Facing wrote:http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Len ... 627.0.html

Would laptop mavens say that this is a decent buy, refurbished, for $350?

Again, I'm looking for something light, reasonably cheap, with a decently fast load time, that is ultra-reliable. I am unconcerned about bells and whistles related to gaming, music production, etc.

It's not really light though right?

Though I wouldn't worry too much if you are going to backpack it around.

heavoldgotjuice · Post by **heavoldgotjuice** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 5:27 pm

ive splurged on women, but never a laptop... maybe only incidentally

YYZ · Post by **YYZ** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 5:45 pm

Pretty easy. Macbook Air or an ultrabook. You'll lug that thing around all day and boot/start up multiple times a day. Lightweight and fast startup are very nice. I would resist something with a hard drive. From my personal experience and observing other law students, hard drives seem to crash from being moved around so much. Not something you can afford during the semester. I saw at least 3 students with crashed Macbook Pro hard drives who had to spend a ton of time at an Apple store trying to find a solution.

Law school is so expensive and your laptop is so critical. Don't skimp on a computer. You can save money in plenty of other areas (books from half.com, amazon, etc.).

hipcatdaddio · Post by **hipcatdaddio** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 6:02 pm

to preface this: I've done lots of IT work in the past, but never for a particular computer company so I'm not promoting one brand over another based on anything like that.

Anyways,

I personally go with a HP simply because they are incredibly customizable and as long as you install a simple anti-virus there's nothing that will go wrong that you can't easily troubleshoot. However, HPs do not have the best battery life and I would recommend buying an expanded battery for one. That said, you can get a very solid HP (i7, 1TB harddrive, 8GB RAM, 1080p HD, 15in, 4600 HD graphics) for well under $1000.

I have had Lenovo in the past and I have no complaints about them. My lenovo that I purchased 6 years ago is still running well. I had to purchase a new battery for it, but other than that $115 expenditure, nothing is wrong. They're simple machines that will do anything needed for law school, but if you install a lot of software to try and make it a high-performance computer, you may run into some slow downs.

I don't recommend a Mac for the obvious reasons, but if you're someone that knows very little about computers and are looking for something that will run all your everyday school and entertainment software, as well as you have the money to spend, go for it. It's a secure option. A Mac will encounter relatively few problems and most of those will resolve themselves by restarting the computer.

I would avoid Asus, I've never encountered a single person who has owned one that would recommend it. A Dell or Acer is not a bad choice, but I simply prefer HP or Lenovo over these two brands. Again, these are my personal preferences based on my personal experience.

09042014 · Post by **09042014** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:42 pm

Disposable laptop

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/toshiba-sat ... &cp=1&lp=1

notactuallyposting · Post by **notactuallyposting** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 12:50 am

I haven't read the thread, so can somebody fill me in? Is this guy asking if he should jizz on a computer?

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