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Hey everyone,

I unfortunately broke my laptop recently and need to buy a new one for law school. Previously had a macbook air 13 inch, liked it a lot. However money is tight and idk how feasible dropping 1k+ on a new mac is. Does anyone have any computer recommendations/know what to look for if I were to switch to a pc?

I don't need the computer to be good for gaming, video editing, etc. Just looking for something cheap, light, with good battery so I can take notes, surf the web, etc.

Thanks!

-a nontech savvy TLSer

I purchased a Samsung for $800 through the Microsoft store and have had no issues with it. I hadn't owned a Samsung before this one, but I'll probably stick with them for the next purchase as well. Sometimes you can get a nice package deal in the MS Store, for instance the laptop I purchased was normally $950, but when I ordered Office Live (or whatever the subscription Office is) it dropped the price $150, then I just never renewed the subscription.

mrtux45 wrote:Hey everyone,

I unfortunately broke my laptop recently and need to buy a new one for law school. Previously had a macbook air 13 inch, liked it a lot. However money is tight and idk how feasible dropping 1k+ on a new mac is. Does anyone have any computer recommendations/know what to look for if I were to switch to a pc?

I don't need the computer to be good for gaming, video editing, etc. Just looking for something cheap, light, with good battery so I can take notes, surf the web, etc.

Thanks!

-a nontech savvy TLSer

This is a good one I recommend:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LD4MG ... ref=plSrch

I have an XPS 13 that I bought for ~$750 right before 1L that I really like. I've had no issues at all in ~2 years. You can pick up the same model for ~$500 these days.

Not to confuse you further but I like Asus and Lenovo, although I think Acer and Dell are usually the better bargain. FWIW I think Asus makes great ultrabooks and Lenovo Thinkpads generally have great battery life and keyboards.

But I think it's hard to really recommend a laptop without knowing more about what you want. What screensize do you want? Do you care about having a fullsize keyboard? Do you want a lighter ultrabook or are you ok with a slightly heavier traditional laptop? Are you going to use a dock/do you have connectivity needs?

All that said, Intel > AMD and SSD > HDD. Here's my recommendation: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product. ... A0S5R80919

Bumping this.

Think I'm going to splurge and get a dell xps with a solid state drive.

Is there any reason I would need a touch screen? I feel like I already know the answer lol. Also planning on getting a 13 inch screen

carsondalywashere wrote:Bumping this.

Think I'm going to splurge and get a dell xps with a solid state drive.

Is there any reason I would need a touch screen? I feel like I already know the answer lol. Also planning on getting a 13 inch screen

If money is not an option then I don't see why not. I actually find touch screen laptops useful in certain situations, such as reading through long PDFs.

Nebby wrote:

carsondalywashere wrote:Bumping this.

Think I'm going to splurge and get a dell xps with a solid state drive.

Is there any reason I would need a touch screen? I feel like I already know the answer lol. Also planning on getting a 13 inch screen

If money is not an option then I don't see why not. I actually find touch screen laptops useful in certain situations, such as reading through long PDFs.

While I did say I wanted to splurge, I do want to keep the cost within reason haha. And I'm not a huge fan of touch screens, so it's something I'm considering cutting out of the package.

carsondalywashere wrote:

Nebby wrote:

carsondalywashere wrote:Bumping this.

Think I'm going to splurge and get a dell xps with a solid state drive.

Is there any reason I would need a touch screen? I feel like I already know the answer lol. Also planning on getting a 13 inch screen

If money is not an option then I don't see why not. I actually find touch screen laptops useful in certain situations, such as reading through long PDFs.

While I did say I wanted to splurge, I do want to keep the cost within reason haha. And I'm not a huge fan of touch screens, so it's something I'm considering cutting out of the package.

I think the touch screen only makes sense if its a convertible.

.

I've seen some pretty good deals for the new MacBook Air if you really liked it, a new one for around ~$750 (i5/128GB).

Pomeranian wrote:I've seen some pretty good deals for the new MacBook Air if you really liked it, a new one for around ~$750 (i5/128GB).

I think I'm going with a 13" Macbook air. My law school offers some discounts if you buy through them which is a nice plus. My old laptop was the 2014 macbook air and it was the perfect computer for basic student needs like internet, note taking, paper writing etc. The computer is super light and has great battery life

I think I read somewhere that the macOS is no good for the bar/exams in many states/law schools? Is this accurate? Just throwing this out there since macs have been mentioned a few times.

I see lots of people have made general recommendations on laptops they've had and liked, but is there any specific things to watch out for when laptop shopping for law school?

capnobvious123 wrote:I think I read somewhere that the macOS is no good for the bar/exams in many states/law schools? Is this accurate? Just throwing this out there since macs have been mentioned a few times.

I see lots of people have made general recommendations on laptops they've had and liked, but is there any specific things to watch out for when laptop shopping for law school?

looking at the exam software's requirements for macs, it just looks like your mac has to be always using the most up-to-date software. Which might be a pain in the ass.

capnobvious123 wrote:I think I read somewhere that the macOS is no good for the bar/exams in many states/law schools? Is this accurate? Just throwing this out there since macs have been mentioned a few times.

I see lots of people have made general recommendations on laptops they've had and liked, but is there any specific things to watch out for when laptop shopping for law school?

You can run Windows on a Mac. No need to worry (except about the fact that you have to use Windows).

Anybody have experience with HPs? I was looking at a 2-in-1, i5, 8Gb RAM, and 128SSD. Those are basically my minimum specs, w/ the SSD being optional. I think I saw an i7, 12Gb, 1Tb HDD too, but not sure if that's worth the extra $150-200.

Any quality brands I should be looking at that with similar specs? $800 hard ceiling.

conker wrote:

capnobvious123 wrote:I think I read somewhere that the macOS is no good for the bar/exams in many states/law schools? Is this accurate? Just throwing this out there since macs have been mentioned a few times.

I see lots of people have made general recommendations on laptops they've had and liked, but is there any specific things to watch out for when laptop shopping for law school?

You can run Windows on a Mac. No need to worry.

I'm aware that's a possibility, is that necessary to run the necessary software for exams/the bar? Or is it possible to do one or both using the regular OS?

carsondalywashere wrote:

Nebby wrote:

carsondalywashere wrote:Bumping this.

Think I'm going to splurge and get a dell xps with a solid state drive.

Is there any reason I would need a touch screen? I feel like I already know the answer lol. Also planning on getting a 13 inch screen

If money is not an option then I don't see why not. I actually find touch screen laptops useful in certain situations, such as reading through long PDFs.

While I did say I wanted to splurge, I do want to keep the cost within reason haha. And I'm not a huge fan of touch screens, so it's something I'm considering cutting out of the package.

Regarding touch screens, the usability with OneNote and Microsoft Edge is actually amazing enough that I'm sort of being swayed in that direction now. While I'm not certain how useful it would actually be, it looks like it would be. You can highlight parts of .pdfs, web pages, your screen, or whatever and copy-paste them into your digital notebook. You can also write or highlight and whatever you write will also remain attached to whatever you copy-paste. Images (in addition to regular text and your handwriting) are supposed to be searchable too.

Regarding MacBook Pros, make sure you try out both the 2015 version and the 2017 version. Personally, I think the 2017 MacBook Pro's keyboard is garbage. It doesn't have nearly enough key travel, and I still prefer island keys... way easier to type when you don't have to look at your keys.

Check out the MS Surface Laptop. It was just released a couple months ago. IMO, It is the only Windows laptop that competes with the 2017 Macbooks. Nice form factor, lightweight, and newest i7 processor is an option.

Check your OS against the compatible systems for ExamSoft/Softest. I had issues with updating windows, because ExamSoft only worked on older editions of windows, and ExamSoft was required for all exams (plus the bar, btw). A lot of people bought brand new machines but had to downgrade their OS to use ExamSoft. It was a crazy headache.

I think, there are some good laptops available out there. If you have extra money, then Apple Mac Book pro would be a great choice. But if you are on the budget, then Asus ZenBook is another good choice you can buy. Check this site for more information, https://pandapopcorn.com/best-laptop-la ... 2017-2018/