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So let's say that you plan to make full use of a schools $4,000 loan for a laptop to start off your 1L year. Obviously, you only need a laptop for taking notes and general internet access, however lets pretend you want a laptop that can be tabbed out of a running game on the highest settings, playing music, streaming videos, and god-knows-what-else all at once without breaking a sweat.

I have fun looking at what can be bought on a laptop with 4k, and would like to see what others can come up with.

Look at Falcon Northwest, Biohazard Computers, or Velocity Micro.

Its a loan. Its not free money. $4000 can make a huge difference when youre trying to pay it, and interest, off. Just get something basic that takes notes and has internet capabilities for $800 and send back the $3200.

bmontminy wrote:So let's say that you plan to make full use of a schools $4,000 loan for a laptop to start off your 1L year. Obviously, you only need a laptop for taking notes and general internet access, however lets pretend you want a laptop that can be tabbed out of a running game on the highest settings, playing music, streaming videos, and god-knows-what-else all at once without breaking a sweat.

I have fun looking at what can be bought on a laptop with 4k, and would like to see what others can come up with.

i'm a lenovo thinkpad fan either T or W series.

Don't waste money on a gaming laptop, they are overpriced for the performance you receive. You can buy/build your own desktop for gaming for under $800, pay $800 for a decent laptop and still save the $2400 you would have spent on high-spec laptop.

gdane5 wrote:Its a loan. Its not free money. $4000 can make a huge difference when youre trying to pay it, and interest, off. Just get something basic that takes notes and has internet capabilities for $800 and send back the $3200.

This isn't universally true. If the school's LRAP is going to cover most or all of the loan because this person will be working in a low-paying public service job, then he/she go ahead and get a great computer.

Buy a $4000 laptop at a store, send the receipt to the law school, then return the laptop and get a cheaper one. Thus increasing your first year COL limit by the difference in the expensive laptop and cheaper laptop.

r3dhat wrote:Don't waste money on a gaming laptop, they are overpriced for the performance you receive. You can buy/build your own desktop for gaming for under $800, pay $800 for a decent laptop and still save the $2400 you would have spent on high-spec laptop.

TITCR...although a gaming PC might cost a bit more than 800...

just throwing this out there but i believe that apple does a 10-20% off for students sale in august/september. i think last year they even gave a free ipod touch with purchase. does anyone know if this is for sure? i remember getting an email last year.

i guess if your school has great larp and you're set on ten years of PI then why not go to town with your loans and live it up in law school. I saw you spend your three years in law school having fun with loan-financed caribbean vacations before slaving away in the public defenders office for 10 years. worst plan ever.

JuTMSY4 wrote:

r3dhat wrote:Don't waste money on a gaming laptop, they are overpriced for the performance you receive. You can buy/build your own desktop for gaming for under $800, pay $800 for a decent laptop and still save the $2400 you would have spent on high-spec laptop.

TITCR...although a gaming PC might cost a bit more than 800...

True. Factor in a 30" monitor to get the most out of your Crossfired or SLI'ed gfx cards.

webbylu87 wrote:just throwing this out there but i believe that apple does a 10-20% off for students sale in august/september. i think last year they even gave a free ipod touch with purchase. does anyone know if this is for sure? i remember getting an email last year.

They definitely did! Why doesn't anyone plan to buy a Mac? I hear very little talk about them. Is TLS anti-Mac

Newegg.... a builders dream

Screw games, you aren't going to have enough time to play them to justify the added expense of buying a laptop that is capable of playing current games.

This is what I would do.

Spend approx. $2000 on the laptop itself, and then bundle accesories with it.

IE: With Dell I would go with this
Get a Dell Latitude E-6400/6410 0r E-3200 with 3 year onsite warranty + accident replacement
Add a e-port docking station
Add an Ultrasharp U2410 24" Monitor or an Ultrasharp 2709w if you can find one.
Add a 2310cn Color Laser Printer with duplexing

The previous posters are correct to say you will save a substantial amount of money (and get better performance) just building a 1200$ gaming PC and getting an 800$ laptop for school use. However, if you really want to merge the two (and I understand the want to do this - and it isn't like its a terrible option - you just pay for some of that convenience) I would HIGHLY recommend a Sager laptop. ( see: http://www.sagernotebook.com/ ) They are the best for a gaming laptop in both price and build quality.


Edit: oh, and you will not need to spend 4k to get what you want. 2k for the laptop + peripherals will do it.

djgoldbe wrote:The previous posters are correct to say you will save a substantial amount of money (and get better performance) just building a 1200$ gaming PC and getting an 800$ laptop for school use. However, if you really want to merge the two (and I understand the want to do this - and it isn't like its a terrible option - you just pay for some of that convenience) I would HIGHLY recommend a Sager laptop. ( see: http://www.sagernotebook.com/ ) They are the best for a gaming laptop in both price and build quality.


Edit: oh, and you will not need to spend 4k to get what you want. 2k for the laptop + peripherals will do it.

+1 on the sager

the value's pretty good

The new Macbook pros might be coming out tomorrow. I'll be buying myself one of those when they do.

I'm not a law school student though.

My only advice would be get something light. You have to carry the damn thing around all day, and some of the Thinkpad's are wicked heavy.

Sager.

For example SAGER NP8120 weighing in at $4993

18.4" FHD WUXGA Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Dual Lamp Screen (1920x1080)
- Intel® Core™ i7-920XM Extreme, 2.0-3.20GHz, (45nm, 8MB L3 cache)
- Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- SLi ENABLED DUAL (2) 1024MB PCI-Express nVIDIA GTX 285M's (2048MB Total) w/GDDR3 DX10 Video Cards (User Upgradeable)
- ~ 8,192MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires 64-Bit to utilize Full 4GB)
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (12 Cell)
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- 3 Year Parts and Service Warranty

webbylu87 wrote:just throwing this out there but i believe that apple does a 10-20% off for students sale in august/september. i think last year they even gave a free ipod touch with purchase. does anyone know if this is for sure? i remember getting an email last year.

But then you'd have a mac. I'm not sure I follow.


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Aside, in response to various other posts: Sager is an excellent performance laptop company. This post is being typed on one, which I've had for about two years. No complaints, though if you go this route, you'll probably also want a netbook.

DeSilentio2728 wrote:Buy a $4000 laptop at a store, send the receipt to the law school, then return the laptop and get a cheaper one. Thus increasing your first year COL limit by the difference in the expensive laptop and cheaper laptop.

You would need the receipt to return the laptop wouldn't you?

oberlin08 wrote:

DeSilentio2728 wrote:Buy a $4000 laptop at a store, send the receipt to the law school, then return the laptop and get a cheaper one. Thus increasing your first year COL limit by the difference in the expensive laptop and cheaper laptop.

You would need the receipt to return the laptop wouldn't you?

Stupid question. Have you ever heard of a copier?

If you are looking for a laptop that can stream video, music and multitask like crazy "without breaking a sweat", you definitely need to look into the new i7 Macbook Pros. You will not regret it. Trust me.

webbylu87 wrote:just throwing this out there but i believe that apple does a 10-20% off for students sale in august/september. i think last year they even gave a free ipod touch with purchase. does anyone know if this is for sure? i remember getting an email last year.

Students normally save around 10% or so all year on Macs, but they throw in a free iPod during the summer (usually June-August). And they did just update the MacBook Pros.

But I'd still save some of that money.