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I'm going to be starting law school next year and will be in the market for a new laptop. I am not a Mac fan so I am looking for something other than Mac. What are the components that I should be looking for in a quality laptop that will be useful in LS?

Law School isn't really a computer-intensive affair. You just need to make sure you get something more than a tablet or chromebook or whatever that can run your school's exam software.

make sure to get a hi res screen so you get the best quality possible when you're watching hulu instead of studying

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NoBladesNoBows wrote:

Brut wrote:make sure to get a hi res screen so you get the best quality possible when you're watching hulu instead of studying

Would this work? http://us.msi.com/product/nb/GT80-Titan ... o-overview

Yes, a $3800 high-end gaming machine can also run Word and Firefox and isn't overkill at all.

You can get a laptop that is entirely sufficient for law school for about $500 at Best Buy. You probably want to pay a bit more than that to get something with a nice screen and decent reliability. Past that, it's just how much you want to pay and what bells and whistles you want.

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NoBladesNoBows wrote:

Brut wrote:make sure to get a hi res screen so you get the best quality possible when you're watching hulu instead of studying

Would this work? http://us.msi.com/product/nb/GT80-Titan ... o-overview

That particular model is actually a bad idea because the mechanical keyboard is really loud and your classmates will want to kill you during class/exams.

Think about something thin/lightweight. You're going to have three full casebooks in your bag because you are an idiot 1L who actually reads and you haven't cut your books yet.

Here's what you should get if you aren't on a budget:
16gb ram
Ssd
15" screen
Thin

I would really look at the just announced Surface 3 (not pro, although that is a good option as well for a bit more) as a daily driver, easily strong enough but more mobile etc. Maybe grab a separate keyboard/mouse and a big monitor if you want to set up a home workstation.

I see surface pros a lot, but I do want to stress one thing. Make sure you get the most reliable laptop you can. It doesn't need to be the fastest or best, but something like a thinkpad or macbook. (actually gaming laptops with high-powered components are actually bad, because they have a higher failure rate, lower battery life, more heat etc.)
It seems like a ridiculous thing to think about, but the difference between a $160,000 job and poverty is going to be getting through two weeks of finals hitch free. You want to make sure you have a laptop that you can absolutely rely on to not crap out, preferably with enough battery life to get you through a four hour exam comfortably in case of power issues, and a comfortable keyboard. Bear in mind, with softest, if your laptop craps out a week before finals - you won't be able to just get a new one and reinstall everything - you'll be past the deadline.

So don't go for recommendations for like the HPcrapbook, cuz you can spend only 500 bucks and get a 10X faster computer than that thinkpad. It's that cheap cuz they stuff cheap b-shelf parts into a chassis that'll overheat and burn out in a month, and pair it with a crappy keyboard that'll make your hands cramp 1 hour into a 3 hour final.

sequins wrote:I see surface pros a lot, but I do want to stress one thing. Make sure you get the most reliable laptop you can. It doesn't need to be the fastest or best, but something like a thinkpad or macbook. (actually gaming laptops with high-powered components are actually bad, because they have a higher failure rate, lower battery life, more heat etc.)
It seems like a ridiculous thing to think about, but the difference between a $160,000 job and poverty is going to be getting through two weeks of finals hitch free. You want to make sure you have a laptop that you can absolutely rely on to not crap out, preferably with enough battery life to get you through a four hour exam comfortably in case of power issues, and a comfortable keyboard. Bear in mind, with softest, if your laptop craps out a week before finals - you won't be able to just get a new one and reinstall everything - you'll be past the deadline.

So don't go for recommendations for like the HPcrapbook, cuz you can spend only 500 bucks and get a 10X faster computer than that thinkpad. It's that cheap cuz they stuff cheap b-shelf parts into a chassis that'll overheat and burn out in a month, and pair it with a crappy keyboard that'll make your hands cramp 1 hour into a 3 hour final.

Yeah I specifically got a new macbook before starting this year even though my other one was just a few years old and ran fine because I wanted to be as confident as possible that I wouldn't run into any problems with this shit.

lacrossebrother wrote:Here's what you should get if you aren't on a budget:
16gb ram
Ssd
15" screen
Thin

unnecessary amount of ram

dabigchina wrote:

NoBladesNoBows wrote:

Brut wrote:make sure to get a hi res screen so you get the best quality possible when you're watching hulu instead of studying

Would this work? http://us.msi.com/product/nb/GT80-Titan ... o-overview

That particular model is actually a bad really good idea because the mechanical keyboard is really loud and your classmates will get distractedwant to kill youduring class/exams.

There fixed it for ya.

Mack.Hambleton wrote:

lacrossebrother wrote:Here's what you should get if you aren't on a budget:
16gb ram
Ssd
15" screen
Thin

unnecessary amount of ram

They said the same about 8gb 3 years ago brah. Can't imagine going back to 4 today.

Is there any merit in having a dinky laptop for class and a nice, big screen set-up at home? Or is it important to have a good laptop for exam-taking?

iguazu wrote:Is there any merit in having a dinky laptop for class and a nice, big screen set-up at home? Or is it important to have a good laptop for exam-taking?

There's no need to have a good laptop for exam taking because the software locks everything down except the testing app (simple word processor). I think that might be not the case at like three schools but idk even in those cases I can't imagine there being an advantage to screen real estate. Not having a shitty keyboard could be nice though.

But I don't get it also. At home you can have a dock and a big dual monitor setup to put your good laptop in.

hokie6260 wrote:I'm going to be starting law school next year and will be in the market for a new laptop. I am not a Mac fan so I am looking for something other than Mac. What are the components that I should be looking for in a quality laptop that will be useful in LS?

If it is in good working order, has a full size keyboard, and was made after circa 2005, it has everything you need for law school. Everything else is just luxury features (thin, long battery life, etc.).

On a somewhat related note, I sometimes read on here that exams can be a bit of a time test.

Do you need to be able to type very quickly to do well, or is an average typist OK? I'm also looking at getting a new laptop, and I am just wondering if I should prioritize models with full-sized keyboards to maximize my typing speed.

Barbaroix2 wrote:On a somewhat related note, I sometimes read on here that exams can be a bit of a time test.

Do you need to be able to type very quickly to do well, or is an average typist OK? I'm also looking at getting a new laptop, and I am just wondering if I should prioritize models with full-sized keyboards to maximize my typing speed.

Yes, get a computer that doesn't handicap your typing, especially if you're not a particularly fast typer. (How many wpm do you describe as "average"?)
Some people can type fine on a smaller keyboard, but that is a serious handicap to some. So it's not that small keyboard = bad, it's how it affects you.

rinkrat19 wrote:

Barbaroix2 wrote:On a somewhat related note, I sometimes read on here that exams can be a bit of a time test.

Do you need to be able to type very quickly to do well, or is an average typist OK? I'm also looking at getting a new laptop, and I am just wondering if I should prioritize models with full-sized keyboards to maximize my typing speed.

Yes, get a computer that doesn't handicap your typing, especially if you're not a particularly fast typer. (How many wpm do you describe as "average"?)
Some people can type fine on a smaller keyboard, but that is a serious handicap to some. So it's not that small keyboard = bad, it's how it affects you.

I think I'm generally around 50-55 wpm.

That's slow. My gwam is north of 100

Buy a cheap laptop for a class (400-500) and a nice desktop for home (1000) with nice peripherals like mechanical keyboard and dual monitor.

orangecup wrote:Buy a cheap laptop for a class (400-500) and a nice desktop for home (1000) with nice peripherals like mechanical keyboard and dual monitor.

I think the better way of spending 1500 is on a good laptop (~1100) and then a couple monitors/keyboard/mouse to use as a dock at home.

Small, fast, and cheap. Find an ultrabook for $1k or less. Shouldn't be difficult to find a good deal before school starts if you start keeping an eye out now.