Splurge on a laptop? Forum

[Slytherpuff]

This is great, I've been looking into a new laptop for school as well and it's been super helpful reading through this thread.

[redsox]

Thanks for the update! Sounds really good. Also FYI best buy is having a special where MBA 11.6 inch is 700 and 13.3 is 750, and the lenovo yoga is 750 as well. Those are pretty damn good prices..

No prob, and wow that's pretty awesome. I couldn't handle an 11 inch, but a 13 for like 800 bucks or so is impressive. I didn't know those could break 1k. I'm happy to have a little more specs and sturdyness but that's a great option for many students.

Fiero, hows the screen? Its obviously no MBA but does it feel like it would be a hassle to carry around at all?

I got the cheapest screen (1600x900, "HD+"). It's really nice for web browsing/word processing. Very crisp, no glare. For watching video? Meh. Just okay. Dark colors don't look great on it. And you pretty much need to be right in front of it. It doesn't look nice from an angle. It's definitely built for productivity, not entertainment.

[schmooky]

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[Serett]

For anyone still looking, another incredible deal (make sure to click PC only, the default on the link has another $150 tacked on for Office):

Acer Aspire S7 Ultrabook - $900
2560x1440 (HD+)
Haswell Intel Core i5-4200U 1.60 GHz
8GB DDR3L 1600 MHZ
256GB SSD

[mt2165]

For anyone still looking, another incredible deal (make sure to click PC only, the default on the link has another $150 tacked on for Office):

Acer Aspire S7 Ultrabook - $900
2560x1440 (HD+)
Haswell Intel Core i5-4200U 1.60 GHz
8GB DDR3L 1600 MHZ
256GB SSD

Whoa....amazing

[pfunkera]

I got the Macbook Air - my first Mac, but haven't really used it yet. I wanted something easy to carry around. I still need to set a space to work at home so I will be looking at desks this weekend and then will get a big monitor or two smaller ones.

[ScottRiqui]

I got the Macbook Air - my first Mac, but haven't really used it yet. I wanted something easy to carry around. I still need to set a space to work at home so I will be looking at desks this weekend and then will get a big monitor or two smaller ones.

I don't know what your budget is, but check out the 27" Apple Thunderbolt display. It has speakers, a microphone and a webcam built in, and it has a power cord that connects to your Macbook Air to power & charge it. Just one data cable runs from the laptop to the monitor, and the back of the monitor has your USB, Firewire, and ethernet ports, as well as a pass-through Thunderbolt port so you can connect another monitor or external hard drive.

[gchatbrah]

Haven't really read this thread, but I just wanted to jump in to say that I think the #1 consideration should be quality of keyboard (unless you want to be one of those weird gunners who brings in an external keyboard). Big screens, nice battery life, etc. are all viable considerations, but ultimately your laptop is a vehicle for taking exams, and an absolutely crucial exam-taking skill is fast and efficient typing. Try out different models in the store see what you're comfortable. The mac laptops have fantastic keyboards in general, but if you don't to spend a fortune on a laptop, you'll have to play around with the pc-laptop keyboards to get a feel for what you like. My $400 Asus had a fantastic keyboard, and I really think that was all I needed from a computer in the law school setting.

[pfunkera]

I got the Macbook Air - my first Mac, but haven't really used it yet. I wanted something easy to carry around. I still need to set a space to work at home so I will be looking at desks this weekend and then will get a big monitor or two smaller ones.

I don't know what your budget is, but check out the 27" Apple Thunderbolt display. It has speakers, a microphone and a webcam built in, and it has a power cord that connects to your Macbook Air to power & charge it. Just one data cable runs from the laptop to the monitor, and the back of the monitor has your USB, Firewire, and ethernet ports, as well as a pass-through Thunderbolt port so you can connect another monitor or external hard drive.

I thought about that, but its pricey. I don't know if I want to put that much into monitors. My work monitors are nothing special and serve me well and my home monitor is fine (desktop that is going to the kids). I need to research it a little more, but the Apply one is really nice.

[Serett]

The laptop gods smile upon thee.

[JustHawkin]

I got the Macbook Air - my first Mac, but haven't really used it yet. I wanted something easy to carry around. I still need to set a space to work at home so I will be looking at desks this weekend and then will get a big monitor or two smaller ones.

What specs on the macbook air are sufficient to last me the tree years of law school with your run of the mill usage?

[mt2165]

I got the Macbook Air - my first Mac, but haven't really used it yet. I wanted something easy to carry around. I still need to set a space to work at home so I will be looking at desks this weekend and then will get a big monitor or two smaller ones.

What specs on the macbook air are sufficient to last me the tree years of law school with your run of the mill usage?

I personally think the baseline haswell i5 and 128 flash ssd would be more than fine unless you want a ton of local storage (and even then you can just get an external drive and save a few bucks)

[malleus discentium]

Is this a good choice? It seems to be the best combination of price + processor + weight I can find.

[mt2165]

Is this a good choice? It seems to be the best combination of price + processor + weight I can find.

Yeah I had my eyes on that one too, shame they dropped it from an i7 to an i5 for the same price. I urge you to check out http://microsoftstore.com they have the best deals right now, maybe/prolly save you some money and check out slickdeals

[malleus discentium]

Is this a good choice? It seems to be the best combination of price + processor + weight I can find.

Yeah I had my eyes on that one too, shame they dropped it from an i7 to an i5 for the same price. I urge you to check out http://microsoftstore.com they have the best deals right now, maybe/prolly save you some money and check out slickdeals

Actually, I think I changed my mind to this one since it's i7 and has a bit of SSD for $20 more. How do we feel about this?

[yot11]

I can virtually guarantee you that you will NOT notice the difference between a 4th gen (Haswell) i5 and i7. You WILL notice the difference between a 3rd gen (Ivy bridge) and a 4th gen. You MAY notice the difference between 4gb and 8gb ram.

Running only documents/browser pages? Probably won't miss the 4gb ram. Alt-tabbing between a game, browser window, and netflix (don't laugh, I do this all the time), you will miss the ram.

Don't get too hung up on i3 vs i5 vs i7. DO get hung up on 3rd gen, 4th gen. Intel uses a tick (minor change) - tock (major change) strategy. Haswell is a tock change. Brings significantly better battery life over Ivy Bridge.

Is this a good choice? It seems to be the best combination of price + processor + weight I can find.

Yeah I had my eyes on that one too, shame they dropped it from an i7 to an i5 for the same price. I urge you to check out http://microsoftstore.com they have the best deals right now, maybe/prolly save you some money and check out slickdeals

Actually, I think I changed my mind to this one since it's i7 and has a bit of SSD for $20 more. How do we feel about this?

[malleus discentium]

I can virtually guarantee you that you will NOT notice the difference between a 4th gen (Haswell) i5 and i7. You WILL notice the difference between a 3rd gen (Ivy bridge) and a 4th gen. You MAY notice the difference between 4gb and 8gb ram.

Running only documents/browser pages? Probably won't miss the 4gb ram. Alt-tabbing between a game, browser window, and netflix (don't laugh, I do this all the time), you will miss the ram.

Don't get too hung up on i3 vs i5 vs i7. DO get hung up on 3rd gen, 4th gen. Intel uses a tick (minor change) - tock (major change) strategy. Haswell is a tock change. Brings significantly better battery life over Ivy Bridge.

Is this a good choice? It seems to be the best combination of price + processor + weight I can find.

Yeah I had my eyes on that one too, shame they dropped it from an i7 to an i5 for the same price. I urge you to check out http://microsoftstore.com they have the best deals right now, maybe/prolly save you some money and check out slickdeals

Actually, I think I changed my mind to this one since it's i7 and has a bit of SSD for $20 more. How do we feel about this?

I am a computer dumb: does one of these have an Ivy Bridge and the other a Haswell?

[mt2165]

You'll know by the numbering system i.e i5-4200 the 4 indicating 4th gen=haswell, so they're both haswell. But yeah for what you're probably going to be doing any of the i-series will suffice. Really a i5 is kinda overkill for most consumers,but you should by the higher end one (if the costs are roughly the same) here simply for the ram (which youll notice w heavy multitasking as yot said) and the ssd cache which will save you substantial time booting up. But I will say I still think you can save some money elsewhere and get roughly the same form, performance, battery life, and probably a full hd screen.

[yot11]

I am a computer dumb: does one of these have an Ivy Bridge and the other a Haswell?

Sorry for the confusion. As poster above has stated, they are both 4th gen (Haswell). Just a general warning to pay attention to that for the unaware.

I don't have any hands-on experience with a hybrid disk, so I can't speak first-hand to its effectiveness. Cursory look at reports seem to indicate that it does offer a performance boost over traditional HDD.

I am also not particularly sold on either of those computers. Neither are a bad deal, but neither are knock-your-socks-off either. If you need one right now, you won't go wrong. But you can also do better if you wait/keep looking.

[2014applicant]

Opinions on Thinkpad X240 versus Thinkpad T440S versus Acer Aspire S7 (as posted above)?

Top priorities are keyboard, screen quality, and portability.

[mt2165]

Opinions on Thinkpad X240 versus Thinkpad T440S versus Acer Aspire S7 (as posted above)?

Top priorities are keyboard, screen quality, and portability.

Those are all solid enough choices that I would bite on the s7 offer just to save money. I've heard fantastic things about the s7 build quality, with its aluminum/gorilla glass chassis. The s7 clearly has the best screen and is the most portable, I've heard the s7's key travel is a little less than desired but overall fine.

[Fiero85]

Opinions on Thinkpad X240 versus Thinkpad T440S versus Acer Aspire S7 (as posted above)?

Top priorities are keyboard, screen quality, and portability.

Those are all solid enough choices that I would bite on the s7 offer just to save money. I've heard fantastic things about the s7 build quality, with its aluminum/gorilla glass chassis. The s7 clearly has the best screen and is the most portable, I've heard the s7's key travel is a little less than desired but overall fine.

Seconded. If cost and/or the screen quality trump keyboard, which it sounds like they do, cop the S7.

I'll add that both the Lenovo models above are very portable, not a factor I would worry about between the three.

I love my T440s so far but I don't care about screen quality and was prioritizing 1) confidence in the build quality 2) battery life 3) keyboard. Satisfied with all the above priorities.

[2014applicant]

Thanks for advice thus far.

Keyboard is one of the most important factors. If I go Lenovo, I won't upgrade much, so price ends up being approximately the same ... If I go with the Acer, I just get the bonus of additional ram, SSD, nice screen, etc ... However, build quality seems to be a bit of a concern - there are definitely some horror story reviews. Most bad reviews for the Lenovos just seem to be complaining about the trackpad.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to see any of these in person. I like the compactness of the X240, but not sure if the screen is just too small. I also understand the keyboard is slightly truncated as compared to the standard size on the T440s.

[Fiero85]

Thanks for advice thus far.

Keyboard is one of the most important factors. If I go Lenovo, I won't upgrade much, so price ends up being approximately the same ... If I go with the Acer, I just get the bonus of additional ram, SSD, nice screen, etc ... However, build quality seems to be a bit of a concern - there are definitely some horror story reviews. Most bad reviews for the Lenovos just seem to be complaining about the trackpad.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to see any of these in person. I like the compactness of the X240, but not sure if the screen is just too small. I also understand the keyboard is slightly truncated as compared to the standard size on the T440s.

Gotcha. Well i can't add much other than the T440s keyboard rocks and I personally wouldn't want to go as small as the X240 in terms of size. I just prefer 14/15 sizes to 12/13 sizes.

Kinda sucks that you can't see them in person. The S7 is probably fine and closest to what you're looking for straight up. Get one with SSD and you should be fine, and it'll be less cash. I bet the keyboard is alright too. BUT Lenovo is the safer play, for a little price premium. For LS that might be the right move. The S7 will have a nicer screen and cost less, but the Lenovos have better keyboard/battery/sturdiness.

Pretty much just gotta make a personal choice on what you want to priortize more for those above factors. It's hard to say between a stock T440s and upgraded S7 though.

[2014applicant]

Is your T440s pretty comparable to X1 Carbon dimension wise? I have seen the X1's in stores. Per the specs, it looks like the form factor is about the same, and T440s is just a pound or so heavier.