Mac vs PC in medical school

[andrewRA4]

Hi all,

My 4-5 year old laptop is about to die, so I think it's time to retire the laptop. I'm looking at some choices for laptops that I will hopefully be able to use in medical school. Which ones do you all recommend? Are there programs which are hard to use with macs?

Also, is it true that some schools will give you a laptop to use?

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[frosted_flake]

I have an asus zenbook. I wish I would have gotten a macbook pro 17in. Small screens (mine is 14) strain my eyes.

 

[hoihaie]

Wait till you get in a school and ask that school which type they recommend.

For example, some schools like WMU requires Macs

 

[andrewRA4]

Wait till you get in a school and ask that school which type they recommend.

For example, some schools like WMU requires Macs

Ahh okay! I'll try to extend the life of my computer for as long as I can then hahah

 

[Ismet]

Mac!

The only real issue I've encountered with Mac is that the Free 138 for Step 1 doesn't run on Mac. But you can just spend a couple hours at a school computer doing that.

 

[WillburCobb]

Mac all the way. I've had a MacBook Pro for the past seven years and it honestly runs like new. The hard drive crashed this week, but it wasn't a solid state so not too surprising. I'm able to replace it (solid state this time) for ~$100 and it'll run like new. The PC (which was decked out, and not even remotely abused) I had before pretty much crashed after 2.5 years. If you're worried about needing PC compatible programs just set it up to dual boot or run parallels. In addition to getting my MBP fixed for super cheap today I also ordered a new 27" iMac so I'm on somewhat of a Mac high right now.

Edit - My fiancée also gave me her 60" LED TV which will be a second monitor - FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[The Buff OP]

Hi all,

My 4-5 year old laptop is about to die, so I think it's time to retire the laptop. I'm looking at some choices for laptops that I will hopefully be able to use in medical school. Which ones do you all recommend? Are there programs which are hard to use with macs?

Also, is it true that some schools will give you a laptop to use?

 

[Make Or Break]

I had a MB pro 2013, but it felt overpriced and unnecessary. Sure it looks fancy, and you will be with the in crowd, but there are plenty of other computers out there which cost way less and deliver the same results.

 

[Make Or Break]

Mac all the way. I've had a MacBook Pro for the past seven years and it honestly runs like new. The hard drive crashed this week, but it wasn't a solid state so not too surprising. I'm able to replace it (solid state this time) for ~$100 and it'll run like new. The PC (which was decked out, and not even remotely abused) I had before pretty much crashed after 2.5 years. If you're worried about needing PC compatible programs just set it up to dual boot or run parallels. In addition to getting my MBP fixed for super cheap today I also ordered a new 27" iMac so I'm on somewhat of a Mac high right now.

Edit - My fiancée also gave me her 60" LED TV which will be a second monitor - FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!!!!!!!!!

Alright I will admit that the 60" LED part sounds awesome

 

[darkjedi]

95% of my classmates have macs of some sort. And it's not because it's "cool to have one," but that they actually are amazing devices that for a long time were unparalleled by windows based systems. The macbook air is still practically unmatched as far as weight/formfactor and battery life goes. For laptops I would get a macbook over any windows based laptop on the market currently, and I say that as someone who still likes PCs and builds his own desktops.

 

[Mad Jack]

Macs are for people that can't handle actual computers. They're overpriced for the specs by double what a comparable win 7 rig would run you much of the time. Then again, 9/10 people don't know what to look for in a windows machine so they buy garbage.

For those that aren't technically minded, Macs are often a better choice most of the time. Not because they're better machines, but because they've been designed from the ground up to baby their users.

 

[WillburCobb]

Alright I will admit that the 60" LED part sounds awesome

It's weird she bought it, but now that we're moving (separate towns for the first two years) she doesn't want to deal with moving it and just told me to take it. I'm not getting cable in my apt., so second 60" monitor - no complaints.

 

[darkjedi]

Macs are for people that can't handle actual computers. They're overpriced for the specs by double what a comparable win 7 rig would run you much of the time. Then again, 9/10 people don't know what to look for in a windows machine so they buy garbage.

For those that aren't technically minded, Macs are often a better choice most of the time. Not because they're better machines, but because they've been designed from the ground up to baby their users.

That is a ridiculous statement. Most people buying windows 8 laptops are exactly the same population. I hated the dell laptop I used during college and so did all my friends that had dells/lenovos/viaos. Piss-poor battery, loud and shoddy construction. I wound up getting a mac when my old laptop finally pooped out because I needed a laptop that would last for a while, and everything with decent build quality with windows had price points above comparable specced macbook pros. I have never looked back since I got so sick of dealing with crap laptops.

Plus, what are you going to do on a laptop that 'requires actual computers'? Again a nonsense statement.

 

[Mad Jack]

That is a ridiculous statement. Most people buying windows 8 laptops are exactly the same population. I hated the dell laptop I used during college and so did all my friends that had dells/lenovos/viaos. Piss-poor battery, loud and shoddy construction. I wound up getting a mac when my old laptop finally pooped out because I needed a laptop that would last for a while, and everything with decent build quality with windows had price points above comparable specced macbook pros. I have never looked back since I got so sick of dealing with crap laptops.

Plus, what are you going to do on a laptop that 'requires actual computers'? Again a nonsense statement.

Dells, Vaios, and Lenovos are garbage (with some particular exceptions, you have to look at where a model's parts are sourced from). Windows 8 is terrible- notice I said a Windows 7 laptop and so far as what am I doing that requires a non-Mac machine, the biggest issue is gaming, followed by the literally dozens of programs I use for various things that won't run on a Mac and don't have Mac equivalents that are of reasonable quality. I could run parallels, but that requires buying a more expensive machine to equal what I'd get in a PC and completely defeats the purpose of getting a mac in the first place.

 

[darkjedi]

Dells, Vaios, and Lenovos are garbage (with some particular exceptions, you have to look at where a model's parts are sourced from). Windows 8 is terrible- notice I said a Windows 7 laptop and so far as what am I doing that requires a non-Mac machine, the biggest issue is gaming, followed by the literally dozens of programs I use for various things that won't run on a Mac and don't have Mac equivalents that are of reasonable quality. I could run parallels, but that requires buying a more expensive machine to equal what I'd get in a PC and completely defeats the purpose of getting a mac in the first place.

laptops are crap for games anyway, that completely defeats the point of laptops

 

[Australopithekus]

This is your answer. Seriously, they're the same. The higher end PCs are even similar in price to the equivalent Apple offerings.

 

[Mad Jack]

laptops are crap for games anyway, that completely defeats the point of laptops

You've clearly never owned a decent gaming laptop playing Skyrim on max settings on a plane is priceless. As is playing FO:NV whenever the fancy strikes you.

 

[WillburCobb]

You've clearly never owned a decent gaming laptop playing Skyrim on max settings on a plane is priceless. As is playing FO:NV whenever the fancy strikes you.

I just wanna play Civilization and Sims...I'm that guy...

 

[darkjedi]

You've clearly never owned a decent gaming laptop playing Skyrim on max settings on a plane is priceless. As is playing FO:NV whenever the fancy strikes you.

Similar mac vs pc argument could be made about comparable specced desktop PCs vs overpriced gaming laptops

 

[maxilofacial]

Laptop>>>>>>>>>Mac. When I say laptop, I'm not talking about the laptop for $299 in Walmart.

 

[Mad Jack]

Similar mac vs pc argument could be made about comparable specced desktop PCs vs overpriced gaming laptops

I own both and a 42" 1080p TV for less than the price of a full spec macbook pro.

 

[Mad Jack]

I just wanna play Civilization and Sims...I'm that guy...

Nothin wrong with that.

 

[Time Table]

Macs are for people that can't handle actual computers. They're overpriced for the specs by double what a comparable win 7 rig would run you much of the time. Then again, 9/10 people don't know what to look for in a windows machine so they buy garbage.

For those that aren't technically minded, Macs are often a better choice most of the time. Not because they're better machines, but because they've been designed from the ground up to baby their users.

I completely agree. I've had a desktop for 7 years, and still going strong another 8 years later for a total of 15 years. And I had a Dell laptop for over 8 years and my dad took it and runs dual boot Ubuntu and Windows XP, yeah it's that old. Literally anyone who cares ever so slightly about their computer ranging from virus protection to not downloading a whole bunch of crap can keep their computer like day 1 for years to come. From my observation, n=5 people, who have Macs don't take care of it as a proper expensive device should be taken care of.

 

[mariambaby3]

There are several ways to look at this issue and several things to consider.

If we are comparing similarly priced machines, then on components alone, you can expect to purchase a higher performing Windows machine for the same price as a Mac counterpart. Likewise, if we are comparing similarly specced machines, then you can expect to pay less for the Windows machine.

Issues with the build quality of Windows can be solved by moving up into the manufacturer's professional/business line - such as Lenovo Thinpads or Dell Latitudes. However, these machines are significantly more expensive than their consumer counterparts and are often similar in price range to Macs of similar specs.

One critical difference that exist between Mac and Windows laptops is the battery life. Regardless of how much an individual may dislike a Mac, it is absolutely undeniable that Windows laptop with similarly-sized battery are no match for their Mac counterparts. Some Windows machines are able to rival Macs in terms of battery life, but are only able to achieve this by using larger and heavier batteries. Since most of the hardware is the same between a modern Mac and Windows laptop, the only explanation can be that the OS X operating system is just more efficient. For lifelong Windows users, some of the new Haswell MacBook Pros/Airs can achieve 8 or 9+ hours of battery life (that's even without the energy saving features that Windows have been using for a long time).

 

[okokok]

I got a Surface Pro 3 and I love it. The only problem I've had so far (I've had it for about a month) is if you walk away and it goes to sleep on its own, sometimes it loses its connection to the wifi network you're on. But it's not a huge problem, because you just restart it which takes literally 5 seconds or less, and all your internet tabs are saved. Before I got it I had gotten a Vaio 13 and returned it within Best Buy's 2-week window bc it sucked, but I really really like my surface pro 3.

 

[okokok]

Which btw if it weren't obvious is a PC. I've never really used a mac so I guess I'm not contributing to the PC vs mac topic at hand, but just casting my vote for a sp3 which happens to be a pc.

 

[MrLogan13]

I'm a grad student at a large Midwestern medical school, have taken classes with first year med students. I'd say over 80% use Macs.

 

[Lord Osis]

I had been a loyal PC user all my life since 8088, but I purchased a retina MBP recently for med school because:

1. I wish to keep things simple at least when I am at school busy studying.
2. The seamless synchronization that the Macbook-iPhone-iPad Mini trinity provides looks sexy. I know you can do nearly the same thing with an exclusively PC-Android environment or PC-Android-iOS mix-match. From my experience with all these operating systems, I realized that I prefer the exclusive Apple environment.
3. Lightweight and thin... and the Retina display! Yeah, of course you can go for thin Windows-based laptops with similar specs, but with above consideration, I thought I'd be sticking to Apple for my med school education.

Of course I'm not throwing out my old laptop. It has a far better GPU and a way more spacious HDD (non-SSD), so this guy is now my home entertainment machine instead of being my work partner.

 

[ciestar]

I had been a loyal PC user all my life since 8088, but I purchased a retina MBP recently for med school because:

1. I wish to keep things simple at least when I am at school busy studying.
2. The seamless synchronization that the Macbook-iPhone-iPad Mini trinity provides looks sexy. I know you can do nearly the same thing with an exclusively PC-Android environment or PC-Android-iOS mix-match. From my experience with all these operating systems, I realized that I prefer the exclusive Apple environment.
3. Lightweight and thin... and the Retina display! Yeah, of course you can go for thin Windows-based laptops with similar specs, but with above consideration, I thought I'd be sticking to Apple for my med school education.

Of course I'm not throwing out my old laptop. It has a far better GPU and a way more spacious HDD (non-SSD), so this guys is now my home entertainment machine instead of being my work partner.

#2 is my favorite part about having my MacBook. It's so much easier to sync them together. The battery life is a nice feature too. I've never looked back.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

Ehm... I'll leave this opinion here:
I have not yet used my laptop at school. It's just not necessary if your school provides you with coursepacks and such. However, YMMV. I would say to buy an iPad/tablet so that it's portable and can be brought into your anatomy lab (if allowed -- and in a Ziploc bag!) and used to easily annotate slides. Though it's tempting, you don't need heavy processing power.

I made the mistake of thinking that, after, 8 yrs of Macbook Pro usage, a high-end PC laptop would do it. Instead it has been relegated to sitting on my kitchen table since it's a bit too big to be convenient.

The best thing to do is to wait until you know where you're going... and then ask current students. Don't jump the gun, you have plenty of time to figure it out.

 

[bambam92]

dat macbook pro where its at…gets no viruses even when frequenting the naughty sights

 

[GoPelicans]

How do you do hyperlinks on SDN? I recently bought:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6...06&st=categoryid$pcmcat247400050000&cp=1&lp=7

for $299 a few days ago. I would love to try a mac but I simply can't justify the cost when a normal laptop does me just fine -- my old Inspiron 6000 lasted me almost 8 years.

 

[Ismet]

How do you do hyperlinks on SDN? I recently bought:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6...06&st=categoryid$pcmcat247400050000&cp=1&lp=7

for $299 a few days ago. I would love to try a mac but I simply can't justify the cost when a normal laptop does me just fine.

I bet you that computer will die within a year or two. I had two HP laptops before I bought my MacBook, both HPs were junk and died in under a year. In my last HP, the wireless card broke, track pad broke, and the screen was a permanent shade of light blue. Then I got a MacBook and it will be 6 years this December. Only issue was my RAM card crapping out 2 years ago. I know that Macs are expensive for what you're getting, but I really like the peace of mind that comes with a solid computer that will last you 5+ years.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

Yeah, HPs just tend to be junk. Unfortunately, I don't listen to my rational mind and recently bought one for myself... The sales on Woot were just too good to pass up.

On the other hand, my MBP from 2006 is still running strong after only having to replace the battery ~3 yrs ago. Of course it has a halogen backlight and is about an inch thick, but such is the pace of technology...

 

[kyamh]

I love my 8-yr-old Lenovo thinkpad. It runs fine but I got a new lenovo because I want a light weight and small screen machine with a 64bit processor.

I have used plenty of macs, including a month of a MacBook exclusively for a collaboration I was working in, but I still don't like them Especially not for working with data. If I didn't have a PC, my next computer would only run Linux, right now I have a partition.

 

[ciestar]

I bet you that computer will die within a year or two. I had two HP laptops before I bought my MacBook, both HPs were junk and died in under a year. In my last HP, the wireless card broke, track pad broke, and the screen was a permanent shade of light blue. Then I got a MacBook and it will be 6 years this December. Only issue was my RAM card crapping out 2 years ago. I know that Macs are expensive for what you're getting, but I really like the peace of mind that comes with a solid computer that will last you 5+ years.

My fiances old HP laptop (it wasn't even one of the cheaper models) battery wouldn't hold a charge after like 6 months and then eventually the port to plug it in was broken too. The one hinge also completely broke off. Then finally, the fan in the computer died. This all happened within about a year. Needless to say, no HP.

The Dell we have LCD panel died within two months of having the computer. (Was not pleased, died during finals week). Battery was also shot after about a year and I had the warranty to replace it. Then, the keys on the keyboard managed to fall out (yay warranties).

Zero problems with my MacBook and I've had it for two years.

 

[Mad Jack]

I don't get why people still buy Dell and HP, their machines are garbage. HP had been awful since the merger with Compaq, and Dell has sucked since at least 2003.

 

[WillburCobb]

I bet you that computer will die within a year or two. I had two HP laptops before I bought my MacBook, both HPs were junk and died in under a year. In my last HP, the wireless card broke, track pad broke, and the screen was a permanent shade of light blue. Then I got a MacBook and it will be 6 years this December. Only issue was my RAM card crapping out 2 years ago. I know that Macs are expensive for what you're getting, but I really like the peace of mind that comes with a solid computer that will last you 5+ years.

Plus when something finally craps out on a Mac it is just one thing 99% of the time v. several things all at once or in a very short time frame. Replacing that one thing for a few hundred at most and getting another several years out of a computer running like new/nearly new definitely beats having to shell out for a whole new computer. The initial price of a Mac May seem steep, but it more than pays for itself in the long run if you take care of it.

 

[WillburCobb]

I don't get why people still buy Dell and HP, their machines are garbage. HP had been awful since the merger with Compaq, and Dell has sucked since at least 2003.

Both my brother and I bought full spec custom Dells, that were very well taken care of, from when they were still putting out decent products. They both pretty much tanked a little after 2 years. I was very anti Apple at the time I decided to finally give up on my PC, but was somehow was talked into buying a MBP. I haven't looked back since. I have a number of friends in IT and most of the PC ones even claim that Apple makes the better product, but they just stick with PCs out of habit.

 

[Ismet]

Plus when something finally craps out on a Mac it is just one thing 99% of the time v. several things all at once or in a very short time frame. Replacing that one thing for a few hundred at most and getting another several years out of a computer running like new/nearly new definitely beats having to shell out for a whole new computer. The initial price of a Mac May seem steep, but it more than pays for itself in the long run if you take care of it.

Yep, plus with 3 years of AppleCare, sometimes you get a really nice Genius who replaces things that don't even need to be replaced. I went to the Genius Bar for help with the RAM because luckily it died a week before AppleCare was going to run out, they noticed that I was almost out of warranty, and they threw in a brand new battery. The 2 year extension of warranty seems expensive, but it more than pays for itself. Especially when chargers are $80 a pop.

 

[WillburCobb]

Yep, plus with 3 years of AppleCare, sometimes you get a really nice Genius who replaces things that don't even need to be replaced. I went to the Genius Bar for help with the RAM because luckily it died a week before AppleCare was going to run out, they noticed that I was almost out of warranty, and they threw in a brand new battery. The 2 year extension of warranty seems expensive, but it more than pays for itself. Especially when chargers are $80 a pop.

Luckily my fiancée is really close friends with the main Apple IT guy at a university where I currently live, so I pretty much get all the benefits of AppleCare and then some at the cost of picking of his tab when we go out anytime I need anything. Parts and labor for a brand new battery and 480gb solid state hard drive in my MBP = one bar tab

 

[zeppelinpage4]

I see both macs and PCs in my class and people seem to do fine with either.
Check with your program and ask if one is better, but if both are fine, then just go with the one you're most comfortable using I say.

-PC owner

 

[Pose]

What software are Mac users using for note taking and PPT/PDF annotation? Just switched to Mac, and let's say I'm a bit disappointed there's no real version of OneNote available, and Evernote requires a monthly or annual fee if you want similar features...

 

[phunky]

Macs are pretty much the standard these days.

 

[Judson]

Hi all,

My 4-5 year old laptop is about to die, so I think it's time to retire the laptop. I'm looking at some choices for laptops that I will hopefully be able to use in medical school. Which ones do you all recommend? Are there programs which are hard to use with macs?

Also, is it true that some schools will give you a laptop to use?

I've heard that some med schools give their students laptops or tablets. I was recently on the market for a new computer. I did a lot of research and basically found that it's a matter of preference. Nowadays you will be hard-pressed to find a program that can't be run on both a mac and a pc (especially since you can actually run an instance of windows on a mac).

Definitely go with something that will last you many years. If you go with a pc it will be easier to upgrade RAM and graphics cards. If you go with a mac you will need to spend the extra cash now to future-proof it. Definitely go with an i5 or i7 processor and minimum 8gb of RAM. Storage is variable. I went with a 128gb SSD on my macbook pro for the read/write/boot-up speeds. I picked up a 1tb external hard drive to compensate for lost storage space.

Last comment - if you go with a pc you will be able to get faster components for cheaper but (anecdote warning) everyone I have talked to with a mac tells me they have had theirs for 4-8 years and it still runs like new.

 

[WillburCobb]

What software are Mac users using for note taking and PPT/PDF annotation? Just switched to Mac, and let's say I'm a bit disappointed there's no real version of OneNote available, and Evernote requires a monthly or annual fee if you want similar features...

You can get OneNote for Apple products, though I've heard mixed reviews (and the issues generally tend to fall in Microsoft's hands to boot). Search the allo forum, there have been a few threads on this topic in the past several months. Notability is one app that comes to mind.

 

[Ismet]

You can get OneNote for Apple products, though I've heard mixed reviews (and the issues generally tend to fall in Microsoft's hands to boot). Search the allo forum, there have been a few threads on this topic in the past several months. Notability is one app that comes to mind.

I think Notability is only for iDevices, not computers.

 

[darkjedi]

Yep, plus with 3 years of AppleCare, sometimes you get a really nice Genius who replaces things that don't even need to be replaced. I went to the Genius Bar for help with the RAM because luckily it died a week before AppleCare was going to run out, they noticed that I was almost out of warranty, and they threw in a brand new battery. The 2 year extension of warranty seems expensive, but it more than pays for itself. Especially when chargers are $80 a pop.

Apple replaced my laptop for free because my SD card slot stopped reading cards correctly. At first they tried to replace the whole motherboard, but apparently it didn't work, so they just replaced my 2009 with the newest edition 2013 macbook pro in the store.

 

[DoctorWhoo]

Similar mac vs pc argument could be made about comparable specced desktop PCs vs overpriced gaming laptops

Everything you've said on this thread is literally the exact same thing that I was thinking... You're my nerd soulmate.

On a serious note, I have been building computers since 4th grade and have been a diehard PC fanatic for as long as I can remember... But after having yet another poorly constructed laptop crap out on me, I decided to get in the market for a premium laptop. To my surprise, most premium line PC's are more expensive than similarly spec'ed macs right now. I ended up being cornered into buying a MBP w/ Retina and have yet to regret the decision. The build quality is pretty freaking sweet! I still use my desktop for the "heavy lifting" though... So I kind of have the best of both worlds .

 

[Judson]

some schools include laptops in the tuition cost. we are going to be given lenovo yoga s100, which are awesome. no mac cant match a good pc's speed, lol. the mac os is inherently slow compared to windows. plus, for all that "amazing" hardware in a mac, youd think theyd be durable, but one drop on a tiled floor and theyre toast.

http://www.cnet.com/news/macbook-pro-declared-best-performing-windows-laptop/

Old but interesting article. In the pc's defense, the price points on a pc are stellar compared to macs.

OP - Realistically, only a small percentage of premed/med will need anything more than a machine that can check email, write documents and presentations, and maybe perform intense statistical analyses or render big images (if you're involved in research). The differences between a pc or mac for our purposes are trivial.