Best Laptop in 2017 for medical school?

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AnatomyGrey12 said:
Don't!! I've almost thrown my acer through the wall about 20+ times.
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I should have listened. After a few days of use the laptop turns off anytime the power cord is removed from the laptop and the battery is not charging. F*ck Acer and their sh*ty products Never again, never F-ing again.
Ruined my day bUT ain't going to ruin my vacation.
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libertyyne said:
That is a baller computer. Did you get the normal base or the performance base?
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It's the 2015 model: CR7-00001.

Wanted something powerful for my main machine. Surface Pro 4 was too small, and I didn't enjoy how flimsy the keyboard felt. The convertible 2-in-1s like Lenovo Flex 5 or Dell XPS 13 were too bulky for me to take notes on, so I opted for middle ground. I don't think I'll get to the point of needing the performance base in the newer models.
 
I loved my Surface pro 3 up until right on the two year mark, the hard drive completely crashed. I didn't even use/abuse it too much, just mainly needed it for graduate school. I did love the ability to take notes in onenote, but the lifespan of 2 years really bothers me. Luckily i got an extended warranty and it had just 2 weeks left on it, they sent me a device replacement. On the other hand, my Macbook pro from early 2011 still runs fine, only complaint is that it is a bit slower now, and the battery does not last as long. However, since it is over 6 years old, I can't complain that much. I definitely think it's worth all of the money. Recently got a Mac desktop and I love it so much.
 
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Hey everyone, I'm thinking of purchasing an iPad Pro to complement my MacBook. Was wondering if anyone has tips / recommendations on how to use the ipad optimally and in Med school? I've heard of an app called Duet which sounds really cool! Also, I'm a little confused on whether I should be using notability, Evernote or one note. Please let me know if there are any organizational tips or other applications you recommend looking into. Much appreciated!


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oznefu said:
Hey everyone, I'm thinking of purchasing an iPad Pro to complement my MacBook. Was wondering if anyone has tips / recommendations on how to use the ipad optimally and in Med school? I've heard of an app called Duet which sounds really cool! Also, I'm a little confused on whether I should be using notability, Evernote or one note. Please let me know if there are any organizational tips or other applications you recommend looking into. Much appreciated!
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Basically everyone I know considers Notability the endgame of iPad notetaking. A lot of your classmates will use that same app, so you can share notes and stuff with each other.
 
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Shirafune said:
Settled on a Surface Book (i7/16GB/512GB SSD) for $1700 final price on eBay today! Should be new with full warranty.

First high-end laptop for me and largest purchase so far after starting my job, so very excited to try it out! I'm always apprehensive about big eBay purchases, but supposedly a reputable seller so we'll see.
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Great decision. You can't go wrong with an i7 + SSD.
 
I just got an HP Spectre x360 2-in-1 16gB memory and have been really happy with it so far... except for the fan. Literally the loudest fan I've ever heard on a computer
 
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aymar said:
I just got an HP Spectre x360 2-in-1 16gB memory and have been really happy with it so far... except for the fan. Literally the loudest fan I've ever heard on a computer
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Did you opt for the 13' or the 15'?
 
aymar said:
I have the 13 :( Maybe because its because I have the 4k screen? The problem comes and goes too, sometimes I'll go for a few hours without the fan kicking in at all
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Make sure all the drivers are up to date. Call HP support and they'll walk you through it. If not, return the product if still within the return period?


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13" > 15" all day unless you want a laptop that'll be sitting on your desk for the most of the time. 15"s are so hard to carry hard!
 
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All the HPs I had crapped out after four years , with crazy problems in between. They look nice but awful heat sinks, and loud as heck after the first month. Went in to Best Buy to play around with the Pro 4, but damn that XPS 13 was so nice... Now Im torn between the two.
 
I really like my Lenovo Yoga 910 and it's been going strong ever since I got it.
 
How much Storage space do you guys think would suffice for preclinical?

Currently have a rMBP 2015 model with 8GB memory/256 Flash. Debating upgrading flash storage since I can't upgrade memory.
 
getfat said:
How much Storage space do you guys think would suffice for preclinical?

Currently have a rMBP 2015 model with 8GB memory/256 Flash. Debating upgrading flash storage since I can't upgrade memory.
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Storage of documents and presentations doesn't take much space. It's the software that's going to end up eating more space - what kinds of software do you run on it? Video or photo-editing software obviously takes a lot of space. So does any other graphics-intensive software like ones used in basic research (PyMOL, etc.). Also, why can't you upgrade RAM?
 
aldol16 said:
Storage of documents and presentations doesn't take much space. It's the software that's going to end up eating more space - what kinds of software do you run on it? Video or photo-editing software obviously takes a lot of space. So does any other graphics-intensive software like ones used in basic research (PyMOL, etc.). Also, why can't you upgrade RAM?
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If I remember correctly Apple tends to solder everything together making it annoying to upgrade what tends to be a modular component in a PC.

@getfat 8GB is fine but if you're gonna get a MBP go big and get the 16GB
 
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Got the zenbook 3 deluxe a week ago! I love it so far, definitely the most expensive electronic I have ever owned
 
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aldol16 said:
Storage of documents and presentations doesn't take much space. It's the software that's going to end up eating more space - what kinds of software do you run on it? Video or photo-editing software obviously takes a lot of space. So does any other graphics-intensive software like ones used in basic research (PyMOL, etc.). Also, why can't you upgrade RAM?
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I use anki pretty extensively. I remember during undergrad last year it ate up a huge amount of space on my MacBook pro. I'm sure content is going to much more extensive than my nonsense classes in undergrad.

eteshoe said:
If I remember correctly Apple tends to solder everything together making it annoying to upgrade what tends to be a modular component in a PC.
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Yup! Its really annoying. Was going to do the "renew" program but i didn't like not having a computer for 2 weeks. I just bought the tardisk pear in order to increase storage. Well see how it works.

eteshoe said:
@getfat 8GB is fine but if you're gonna get a MBP go big and get the 16GB
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I'm really regretting not getting the 16 GB. Haven't had any problems but assumed i could just upgrade it when I bought my rMBP in 2015.
 
eteshoe said:
If I remember correctly Apple tends to solder everything together making it annoying to upgrade what tends to be a modular component in a PC.

@getfat 8GB is fine but if you're gonna get a MBP go big and get the 16GB
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Ah, I see. 16 GB really isn't necessary for anybody who doesn't do hardcore graphics design or video editing work. It's overkill for any academic or science application that I can think of.
 
getfat said:
I use anki pretty extensively. I remember during undergrad last year it ate up a huge amount of space on my MacBook pro. I'm sure content is going to much more extensive than my nonsense classes in undergrad.
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If your Anki decks are biting into a significant portion of your 256 GB hard disk, then perhaps re-evaluate what you're putting into them/how big you're making them? You might also invest in an external hard drive - they're super cheap nowadays - so that you can store Anki decks you've made but won't be using again for some time. For instance, after a block or class is over and you won't need the cards again until studying for Step 1 or something.
 
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aldol16 said:
If your Anki decks are biting into a significant portion of your 256 GB hard disk, then perhaps re-evaluate what you're putting into them/how big you're making them?
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Oh I agree! I was extensively using anki and it really helped my studies. I will try to improve but theres a good chance I am going to do a similar method for medical school and I'm sure its going to use a good portion of my space.

aldol16 said:
You might also invest in an external hard drive - they're super cheap nowadays - so that you can store Anki decks you've made but won't be using again for some time.
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That's a good suggestion! I have thought about it. The only thing that makes me nervous is I might want to use anki decks from previous terms for Step 1 in order to prepare before dedicated period. Doing a little like anki review over 1-2 years before dedicated sounds a lot better to me.
 
getfat said:
That's a good suggestion! I have thought about it. The only thing that makes me nervous is I might want to use anki decks from previous terms for Step 1 in order to prepare before dedicated period. Doing a little like anki review over 1-2 years before dedicated sounds a lot better to me.
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You can still use the Anki decks in your external hard drive. Unless you're using them every day, it's not that much extra work to plug in the external hard drive so you can review whatever you need to. This is why some people I know keep a ton of movies (of dubious origin) on external disks - they can watch those movies whenever they want without having to take up space on their hard disks.
 
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Sorry,I read the title of this thread and grinned. The question is so redundant. It's the same as asking "which car is better to drive to work" (I'm not talking about fancy cars for ego sake. Just something that takes you from point A to point B)
 
Agree about the hard disk thing. Got a Surface Pro, I have a portable drive for the videos and large file stuff, I wanna keep the actual computer fast.
 
bigindian4891 said:
Agree about the hard disk thing. Got a Surface Pro, I have a portable drive for the videos and large file stuff, I wanna keep the actual computer fast.
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Generally speaking, filling up a hard drive shouldn't affect computer speed unless you're using it for hard-core gaming or something like that. You have nothing to worry about!
 
aldol16 said:
Generally speaking, filling up a hard drive shouldn't affect computer speed unless you're using it for hard-core gaming or something like that. You have nothing to worry about!
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Generally speaking, if you don't mind Defeagging your HDD all the time when it's filled, you should me OK. Otherwise it will absolutely effect performance. SSD doesn't have this problem.
 
ShyGuy0082 said:
Generally speaking, if you don't mind Defeagging your HDD all the time when it's filled, you should me OK. Otherwise it will absolutely effect performance. SSD doesn't have this problem.
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File fragmentation is an issue that's directly related to not how full your HDD is but rather the largest contiguous free space left on the HDD. Even if your disk is 10% full, if you have that data spread over the disk, you're still going to get fragmentation. File fragmentation also only affects those specific files when they are being accessed. It doesn't slow down global performance when you're not actually accessing the fragmented files.
 
I'm not here to argue. I've been at this game for 25 years. You think it's all good for filled HDD, have at it. Filled hard drives absolutely affect performance. Go with SSD and have a second HDD (internal or external) for archives.
 
ShyGuy0082 said:
I'm not here to argue. I've been at this game for 25 years. You think it's all good for filled HDD, have at it. Filled hard drives absolutely affect performance. Go with SSD and have a second HDD (internal or external) for archives.
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I'm not arguing - I'm giving you the fact since you wanted to talk file fragmentation. SSDs are actually known to degrade the more filled they get - a separate issue but one that primarily affects hardcore users and not your average one.
 
Hard core users cannot match servers where there are thousands request and writes to SSD (in case of random access for database). I have few Samsung SSD in my servers running for almost 5 years and I still have 40% write life left on them. Even the most hardcore users never write as much. So the point of "limited writes" is moot.
 
having trouble deciding between a surface book and an imac and ipad pro combo. what would you guys recommend

edit: note taking on a screen is really important to me so a pen and screen is a must
 
Eagleye2 said:
having trouble deciding between a surface book and an imac and ipad pro combo. what would you guys recommend
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Surface book is going to be cheaper than an iMac and iPad Pro combo with similar computing specs, unless much has changed since I last looked. With Apple, you're paying for the name. Getting a Surface Book in this situation is also better, in my opinion, because it keeps your note-taking centralized and in one place as compared to jumping back and forth between the iMac and iPad Pro when you're studying.
 
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Thoughts on the new surface book 2? Prices seem a little hefty..
 
Think computer buying is a really easy decision these days.

If you're a PC person--->get the highest-spec Surface product best suited to your needs that you can afford
If you're a Mac person--->get the highest-spec Apple product best suited to your needs that you can afford
 
TheWolfOfMainStreet said:
Think computer buying is a really easy decision these days.

If you're a PC person--->get the highest-spec Surface product best suited to your needs that you can afford
If you're a Mac person--->get the highest-spec Apple product best suited to your needs that you can afford
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Unless your budget is under $500
 
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From a quick Google all I can tell that is different about surface book 2 is they improved the hinge. So, really the main pro is that the surface book 2 will reduce the price of the original surface book.

I'm a previous MacBook owner, and I now have a surface book. Surface book w/ performance base is *incredible*.

As for computers on a budget, I had bad experiences with Dell computers during undergrad. I bought a cheaper computer just to have to replace it with another cheaper computer. This happened twice with careful but regular use. So I'm in the mindset now that if possible save money to buy a dependable computer. Fighting with your computer is an undesirable.
 
For people that actually need a computer on a budget, I suggest buying a used Thinkpad. I got my Thinkpad T430S for around 300 bucks off ebay, and it has served me well. Can even play a good amount of video games on it without an issue.
 
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Eagleye2 said:
having trouble deciding between a surface book and an imac and ipad pro combo. what would you guys recommend

edit: note taking on a screen is really important to me so a pen and screen is a must
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Hopefully not too late for you, but I would say if anyone is up in the air for a tablet + stylus combo, the better pairing is the iPad Pro + Apple Pencil over the surface tablets. I attached a link below, and can speak to at least 3 individuals I know having surface tablet issues (among various generations). I have used both and feel the apple pencil is more comfortable to write with...but then again it might just be personal preference.

Microsoft Surface Laptops and Tablets Not Recommended by Consumer Reports
 
I'm a big fan of my HP Spectre X360. Pair it with a pen and you're good to go. The battery life is really good too.
 
I have been in need of a new laptop for some time, and with being accepted into at least one school now I think it’s a great time to pull the trigger. I have settled (I think) on getting a Dell XPS 13 8 GB RAM 256 GB SSD. Will this be a good choice if I plan on trying to make it last at least till after residency? What processor would be best, the 7th gen i5 7200U or the 8th gen i7 8550U?

As far as usage, I have really only ever used a laptop for school and work. I don’t do any gaming and I’ve never downloaded any movies. I would want the computer to handle any bioinformatic work I might run into as well as the typical lecture streaming/PowerPoints. Would this computer be able to handle that for nearly the next decade? I’m not too tech savvy lol.
 
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