Computer Setup for school

[Bootes]

Re-reading this thread and saw that I overlooked this. Really good info to know since I prefer to use my pc when I'm at home. Briefly considered a mac.

You can export the audio recording out of OneNote and play it with whatever media player you want. So it is possible, but annoying, to listen to the audio recording on either platform from either platform, but OneNote itself cannot play recordings made on a different platform. Which means you lose the ability to have your audio playback synced with your notes. You might be able to accomplish similar things with competitors, like Evernote, and have better cross system compatibility, I haven't looked into them.

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[1070752]

I haven't read the entire thread, but wait for the Surface Pro 5 to come out, you'll thank me.

 

[tpage10012002]

in all seriousness. I am deciding if I will build a desktop. Do we have time to game in first year?? I dont want to spend $400 on GPU and waste.

 

[dr.d00m]

in all seriousness. I am deciding if I will build a desktop. Do we have time to game in first year?? I dont want to spend $400 on GPU and waste.

That all depends on you, and how you prioritize your time. A $400 GPU is also not mandatory for gaming, as most games will run fine on a GTX 1060 or a RX 480 which are about half the price

 

[Incis0r]

I haven't read the entire thread, but wait for the Surface Pro 5 to come out, you'll thank me.

That Surface Book though...so tempting.

in all seriousness. I am deciding if I will build a desktop. Do we have time to game in first year?? I dont want to spend $400 on GPU and waste.

Depends on your situation. I'm going to be work hard-play hard.

Work Hard M-F.
Play Hard Sat-Sun.

(Inb4 I get a "keep dreaming" comment from a dental student)

He sounds more like a reasonable person now, instead of just worshiping Apple blindly for no justifiable reason other than "it just works" or "Windows sucks and PCs are soo cheap". This isn't like 10 years ago. Apple has stagnated, while Microsoft and PC manufacturers have stepped up their game. Even though Macs are still great, dismissing Windows for all it's negative stereotypes (most of which are just greatly over-exaggerated nowadays) is just doing yourself a disservice and results in missing out on a lot of great products.

Yep, Yep, and Yep. Microsoft is making a comeback!!!!

 

[DMDDDSHopeful]

You can export the audio recording out of OneNote and play it with whatever media player you want. So it is possible, but annoying, to listen to the audio recording on either platform from either platform, but OneNote itself cannot play recordings made on a different platform. Which means you lose the ability to have your audio playback synced with your notes. You might be able to accomplish similar things with competitors, like Evernote, and have better cross system compatibility, I haven't looked into them.

Really? I was just researching OneNote yesterday and I thought Microsoft untethered that and streamlined its use across multiple interfaces. So if I write notes on one device and record audio on that same device, I cannot access it through the cloud on another device even logged into the same account? Am I reading what you said right?

 

[Incis0r]

Lol. I feel bad going in to dental school already having the mindset of doing the bare minimum. Glad i'm not the only one

As to the topic, I will be going with with a Surface book pro. During my Masters program I found doodling on PDF and Powerpoints the best way for me to take notes so I will be trying this approach again.

What others haven't mentioned is using Dropbox, Google Docs, or One drive as a place to store all your notes/documents so that its available across all devices (ie. laptop, pc, mobile, etc) so if in the worst case scenario one goes down you still have the other options. Also there is version control with some of these so in case you accidentally delete and save you can always go back and find what you deleted. Use the cloud!

What specs are you getting on your SB?

I'm pretty stoked, I just got a nice new desktop for my home with an Intel i7 7700K CPU @ 4.20 GHz (I could easily overclock it to 4.5 GHz- 4.7 GHz+), with a SSD and three 2TB HDDs. It's got a heavy lifting graphics card (no integrated garbage), and I just bought a third monitor for it. I got it all for under $1,000. Mac doesn't even have a computer on the market as powerful as this computer, yet they sell computers north of $2K. It's a joke to me, PCs just have so much better value.

I seem to have an experience contrary to most of yours. I was a huge apple fan boy- until my apple laptop (valued at nearly $2k) broke. I replaced it with a HP. Great decision, I love this computer (I got it for roughly $450). It has a latest gen i5 CPU, an SSD, and I replaced the optical drive with a 2TB HDD to use as a secondary drive. Not only that, it has all the ports that apple takes off their computer and requires you to buy a dongle for. Another frustrating thing, is that many of Mac's computers actually come shipped with hybrid SSD/HDD drives (this is especially true with their desktops), being much slower than full SSDs. So I get great performance with my HP for less than half the price of what I would have got with a Mac. To me its a no brainer, and most dental software runs on Windows anyway, so might as well get familiar with the OS.

I'm drooling now.

 

[Bootes]

Really? I was just researching OneNote yesterday and I thought Microsoft untethered that and streamlined its use across multiple interfaces. So if I write notes on one device and record audio on that same device, I cannot access it through the cloud on another device even logged into the same account? Am I reading what you said right?

You can record audio on one device and it will sync over the cloud to your other devices. The issue is the format of the audio recording is different on Windows compared to Mac OS/iOS (not sure about Android). So the audio recorded by the Windows version is not playable in the Mac version of OneNote.

 

[Panis et Circenses]

I've dropped my Macbook countless of times without issue. My 2000$ gaming laptop broke after a fall from 2 feet high on carpet. I definitely agree with you about Desktop computers, PC takes the cake easily. However for lifestyle you can't beat the Apple ecosystem. Steve Jobs is still finessing all of us from the grave

If you paid that much for a gaming laptop, you may have gotten ripped off. Here's what I mean as an example:

Here is apple, selling a computer with integrated graphics and an i5 CPU for $2,000. Lol, no joke. 13-inch MacBook Pro - Space Gray

Here is an HP laptop, with an i7 7700 CPU, GTX 1050 GPU, that costs $999.
HP - OMEN 15.6" Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 8GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 - 1TB HDD - Onyx Black/Twinkle Black

And if we're going to be giving anecdotes here, the reason my macbook pro broke was because I dropped it once. I'm not saying apple is terrible, they build fine computers. They are just extremely overpriced when you look at the actual hardware they come shipped with.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

If you paid that much for a gaming laptop, you may have gotten ripped off. Here's what I mean as an example:

Here is apple, selling a computer with integrated graphics and an i5 CPU for $2,000. Lol, no joke. 13-inch MacBook Pro - Space Gray

Here is an HP laptop, with an i7 7700 CPU, GTX 1050 GPU, that costs $999.
HP - OMEN 15.6" Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 8GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 - 1TB HDD - Onyx Black/Twinkle Black

And if we're going to be giving anecdotes here, the reason my macbook pro broke was because I dropped it once. I'm not saying apple is terrible, they build fine computers. They are just extremely overpriced when you look at the actual hardware they come shipped with.

It was a custom built Sager one though I probably did get ripped off lol. If I knew then what i know now

 

[tlovaj]

Man, with all these people dropping mad dough on Macbook pros and sp5's, will I fit in if i settled with a Dell Inspiron?

 

[dr.d00m]

Man, with all these people dropping mad dough on Macbook pros and sp5's, will I fit in if i settled with a Dell Inspiron?

Have you seen the new Inspiron? Looks pretty darn sweet Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming Laptop - Intel i7 Quad-Core | Dell United States
People shouldn't buy a laptop from a certain brand just to integrate with everyone else...that's basically sheep logic. Don't worry about what others have, and just buy whatever's best for you

 

[tlovaj]

Have you seen the new Inspiron? Looks pretty darn sweet Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming Laptop - Intel i7 Quad-Core | Dell United States
People shouldn't buy a laptop from a certain brand just to integrate with everyone else...that's basically sheep logic. Don't worry about what others have, and just buy whatever's best for you

lol yeah. I was just joking around. Those Inspirons are pretty beastly for what you pay for. Even the non-gaming models are comparable to macbook specs.

 

[Dentist.2021]

I ordered a Dell Inspiron 14 with great specs (i7/SSD/8GB/discrete graphics) but the screen just wouldn't stop flickering so I had to return it....make sure that you check the reviews before buying laptops (which I obviously didn't).

 

[1070752]

I ordered a Dell Inspiron 14 with great specs (i7/SSD/8GB/discrete graphics) but the screen just wouldn't stop flickering so I had to return it....make sure that you check the reviews before buying laptops (which I obviously didn't).

Yep definitely do some research

 

[Incis0r]

Update: just spent some time today playing with the Surface Book and the Surface Pro 4.

First of all, just a general observation....the Apple section of the store was empty. The Microsoft section had multiple people browsing.

The Surface Book is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous and a BEAST of a machine, and I can see so many advantages in using it for school. The ease with which you can draw something in, take a picture and insert it into your notes/PowerPoint, audio/video record and time stamp parts of your lecture are all HUGE practical boosts. All this while running a Windows OS that doesn't compromise functionality like other operating systems might.

On top of that, the performance base will make even the most intense tasks simple. I do a lot of video editing, and my 13 inch MacBook Pro has often been unable to keep up with the demands I threw at it. Those times have changed!

Plus it's so easy to convert from laptop to tablet or clipboard. I can foresee drawing on it to explain to patients their X rays (outside the clinic area of course). Travel will be fun with this as well. They also have inbuilt potential to be a scanner!

I love you, Surface Book.

The Surface Pro 4 is decent but to me, it's like an iPad + a keyboard and a stylus with palm rejection...I'm not really impressed with it. But the agent was very happy with his personal SP4, so your mileage may vary.

 

[klownzo]

In on this thread. I'll be bringing my desktop that I built and my surface pro 3. I'll be going to Roseman so they'll be giving me a Dell laptop. If I had the choice though I would get a Surface Book with the dedicated GPU (never know if you'll need to get a quick solo que in). I was just checking it out at the Microsoft store and I think it's the perfect laptop. All the best features of the surface combined with the best from laptops. They give a student discount of 5% at the Microsoft stores.

Here's my desktop specs for my fellow gamers:

CPU: i7 4790k
Memory: 16gb corsair vengeance
Storage: 1 TB Samsung SSD and 2 TB HDD(x2)
GPU:EVGA 980 ti (getting 1080ti next month)
PSU: EVGA 1000W PS
Case: Fractal design R5
Monitors: 27" Acer Predator 1440p and 23" Asus 1080p

Tfw I have a nice desktop and all I do is play LoL and SC2 custom games

 

[DMDDDSHopeful]

Update: just spent some time today playing with the Surface Book and the Surface Pro 4.

First of all, just a general observation....the Apple section of the store was empty. The Microsoft section had multiple people browsing.

The Surface Book is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous and a BEAST of a machine, and I can see so many advantages in using it for school. The ease with which you can draw something in, take a picture and insert it into your notes/PowerPoint, audio/video record and time stamp parts of your lecture are all HUGE practical boosts. All this while running a Windows OS that doesn't compromise functionality like other operating systems might.

On top of that, the performance base will make even the most intense tasks simple. I do a lot of video editing, and my 13 inch MacBook Pro has often been unable to keep up with the demands I threw at it. Those times have changed!

Plus it's so easy to convert from laptop to tablet or clipboard. I can foresee drawing on it to explain to patients their X rays (outside the clinic area of course). Travel will be fun with this as well. They also have inbuilt potential to be a scanner!

I love you, Surface Book.

The Surface Pro 4 is decent but to me, it's like an iPad + a keyboard and a stylus with palm rejection...I'm not really impressed with it. But the agent was very happy with his personal SP4, so your mileage may vary.

Can all those features you mentioned about inserting drawings into PowerPoint and all that ease of functionality work theoretically with a touchscreen laptop and running OneNote? Like those 2-in-1 convertible laptops?

In on this thread. I'll be bringing my desktop that I built and my surface pro 3. I'll be going to Roseman so they'll be giving me a Dell laptop. If I had the choice though I would get a Surface Book with the dedicated GPU (never know if you'll need to get a quick solo que in). I was just checking it out at the Microsoft store and I think it's the perfect laptop. All the best features of the surface combined with the best from laptops. They give a student discount of 5% at the Microsoft stores.

Here's my desktop specs for my fellow gamers:

CPU: i7 4790k
Memory: 16gb corsair vengeance
Storage: 1 TB Samsung SSD and 2 TB HDD(x2)
GPU:EVGA 980 ti (getting 1080ti next month)
PSU: EVGA 1000W PS
Case: Fractal design R5
Monitors: 27" Acer Predator 1440p and 23" Asus 1080p

Tfw I have a nice desktop and all I do is play LoL and SC2 custom games

Dude, that's like having a Lamborghini and it only gets used to go grocery shopping.

 

[dr.d00m]

Can all those features you mentioned about inserting drawings into PowerPoint and all that ease of functionality work theoretically with a touchscreen laptop and running OneNote? Like those 2-in-1 convertible laptops?

Yes, but not nearly as well. The Surface products and only a handful of other 2-in-1's use an active digitizer in their screens which results in pinpoint precision when you use the pen to write on it and do other tasks that require such precision. Other laptops with touchscreens do not, and thus the experience won't be as good. The Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Yoga also comes with a pen and active digitizer, so that might be a good alternative to the Surface.

If you don't plan on taking that much notes though, then I guess any touchscreen laptop would work for things like inserting pics into Powerpoint/OneNote and recording lectures

 

[Incis0r]

Can all those features you mentioned about inserting drawings into PowerPoint and all that ease of functionality work theoretically with a touchscreen laptop and running OneNote? Like those 2-in-1 convertible laptops?

Excellent question!!

And the answer is - theoretically, yes it can work. I've been trying to find this kind of stylus solution for a computer for YEARS. I remember even getting a stylus for the iPad and trying to make it work (hint: I failed miserably).

Bottom line is: I'm sure there's another computer out there that has similar features, but the Surface Book is the best I've seen in this field. Everything works together so beautifully.

I used to use a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 before and that did all those things, but it had no keyboard and it was Android. Still, I love that device and still have it.

 

[CityRaider]

i was originally sold on the surface but cant really decide what i want to do - if there is truly no time to take notes in class, then im not sure what i would need the stylus for. and if the surface battery time is as bad as ive read then it doesn't really fit the bill for a tablet either

ive got an aging macbook, but would like to get a fresh windows device for school. at the surface price point you could buy an ipad pro with pencil and a lower end windows laptop

 

[dr.d00m]

i was originally sold on the surface but cant really decide what i want to do - if there is truly no time to take notes in class, then im not sure what i would need the stylus for. and if the surface battery time is as bad as ive read then it doesn't really fit the bill for a tablet either

ive got an aging macbook, but would like to get a fresh windows device for school. at the surface price point you could buy an ipad pro with pencil and a lower end windows laptop

An iPad Pro is nothing more than a blown up iPhone running a gimped mobile operating system (iOS). And the pencil is just a glorified doodling tool. Not a bad product for a casual user, but in no way justified at the pricepoint Apple has decided for it.

The Surface Book has around a 10-12 hour battery life so I don't exactly understand what the problem is. The Surface Pro 4 has subpar battery life but that's to be expected from something so thin and light having actual laptop components and running a FULL operating system. Want better battery life and productivity? Go with the Book.

 

[Incis0r]

The Surface Book has around a 10-12 hour battery life so I don't exactly understand what the problem is. The Surface Pro 4 has subpar battery life but that's to be expected from something so thin and light having actual laptop components and running a FULL operating system. Want better battery life and productivity? Go with the Book

It's unbelievable - 12 hour battery life in such a powerful system. So cool!

 

[CityRaider]

An iPad Pro is nothing more than a blown up iPhone running a gimped mobile operating system (iOS). And the pencil is just a glorified doodling tool. Not a bad product for a casual user, but in no way justified at the pricepoint Apple has decided for it.

The Surface Book has around a 10-12 hour battery life so I don't exactly understand what the problem is. The Surface Pro 4 has subpar battery life but that's to be expected from something so thin and light having actual laptop components and running a FULL operating system. Want better battery life and productivity? Go with the Book.

im just struggling with the price point of the surface book (especially now that it is a generation old) and all the rumors ive seen regarding the surface book 2 is that it will be just a regular old expensive laptop

 

[dr.d00m]

im just struggling with the price point of the surface book (especially now that it is a generation old) and all the rumors ive seen regarding the surface book 2 is that it will be just a regular old expensive laptop

Rumors are after all, just rumors. I've seen them too, hope it's not true. In any case, wait until the summer before buying anything since most of the new laptops should be out by then and you'll be able to weigh all your options properly.

But as it stands now, the Surface Book (w/ Performance Base) is arguably the best laptop you can get. With the 10% student discount from the Microsoft Store, it costs about the same as a Macbook Pro 15 while having much more value

 

[klownzo]

Dude, that's like having a Lamborghini and it only gets used to go grocery shopping.

I know... at least with driving a lambo to the grocery store other people get to check it out. I live with me fiancee and she could care less about computers. The only comments she makes is that she "think its cute" how I have a nerdy side. At least I get to feed in LoL with style

 

[Kareful]

Anyone on the lower end of the price spectrum (>800) looking at 2-in-1 laptops?

 

[Polkadotfan]

I'm now wondering if I'm boring with my regular ole' laptop....

 

[SmileItsLife]

I'm now wondering if I'm boring with my regular ole' laptop....

What kind of laptop?

 

[Master Yoda]

Bump.
So my Sony VGN-NW265F with Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU T4300 @ 2.1GHz with 4.00 GB memory that I bought in 2009 is not good enough for dental school??
If not, what do you guys recommend? I am clueless when it comes to laptops.

 

[Bootes]

Bump.
So my Sony VGN-NW265F with Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU T4300 @ 2.1GHz with 4.00 GB memory that I bought in 2009 is not good enough for dental school??
If not, what do you guys recommend? I am clueless when it comes to laptops.

If it's good enough for you right now, it'll be good enough for dental school. In general, dental school does not require a high end computer, just the usual ability to view websites, powerpoint presentations, and edit Word documents.

 

[Cali20002]

Bump.
So my Sony VGN-NW265F with Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU T4300 @ 2.1GHz with 4.00 GB memory that I bought in 2009 is not good enough for dental school??
If not, what do you guys recommend? I am clueless when it comes to laptops.

You really can't go wrong with a macbook pro retina (pre-touch bar) or surface book.

 

[Rand627]

I'm pretty stoked, I just got a nice new desktop for my home with an Intel i7 7700K CPU @ 4.20 GHz (I could easily overclock it to 4.5 GHz- 4.7 GHz+), with a SSD and three 2TB HDDs. It's got a heavy lifting graphics card (no integrated garbage), and I just bought a third monitor for it. I got it all for under $1,000. Mac doesn't even have a computer on the market as powerful as this computer, yet they sell computers north of $2K. It's a joke to me, PCs just have so much better value.

I seem to have an experience contrary to most of yours. I was a huge apple fan boy- until my apple laptop (valued at nearly $2k) broke. I replaced it with a HP. Great decision, I love this computer (I got it for roughly $450). It has a latest gen i5 CPU, an SSD, and I replaced the optical drive with a 2TB HDD to use as a secondary drive. Not only that, it has all the ports that apple takes off their computer and requires you to buy a dongle for. Another frustrating thing, is that many of Mac's computers actually come shipped with hybrid SSD/HDD drives (this is especially true with their desktops), being much slower than full SSDs. So I get great performance with my HP for less than half the price of what I would have got with a Mac. To me its a no brainer, and most dental software runs on Windows anyway, so might as well get familiar with the OS.

Why would you go through all the trouble of listing those specs and then say "a heavy lifting gpu". Tell us what it is!

 

[DOC YANKEM]

Why would you go through all the trouble of listing those specs and then say "a heavy lifting gpu". Tell us what it is!

Based on his $1,000 budget, the graphics card or gpu is a 1080 at best. With his prior knowledge in computer building, I will give @Panis et Circenses the benefit of the doubt it is the more recent 1080ti (more budget friendly and very similar in performance to the 1080).

Personally, I would have gone with an i5-7600k and focus more of the budget towards the graphics card.

 

[DOC YANKEM]

Bump.
So my Sony VGN-NW265F with Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU T4300 @ 2.1GHz with 4.00 GB memory that I bought in 2009 is not good enough for dental school??
If not, what do you guys recommend? I am clueless when it comes to laptops.

You have a processor chip that is multiple generations old which will heavily limit your options in terms of multi-tasking and tasks that require a lot of processing power such as creative content (i.e. making videos, editing videos, live streaming) or playing up to date video games. The 4 GB of ram is not bad, but I would aim for at least 8 GB. Especially if you open multiple tabs in your browser or you tend to keep your laptop on for longer periods of time (i.e. weeks or months). You will eventually run out of virtual memory space, and your options are to upgrade the ram or restart your laptop.

 

[Master Yoda]

You have a processor chip that is multiple generations old which will heavily limit your options in terms of multi-tasking and tasks that require a lot of processing power such as creative content (i.e. making videos, editing videos, live streaming) or playing up to date video games. The 4 GB of ram is not bad, but I would aim for at least 8 GB. Especially if you open multiple tabs in your browser or you tend to keep your laptop on for longer periods of time (i.e. weeks or months). You will eventually run out of virtual memory space, and your options are to upgrade the ram or restart your laptop.

The ram is already maxed out and I don't know if I can upgrade it....what kind of laptop do you recommend?

 

[Master Yoda]

You really can't go wrong with a macbook pro retina (pre-touch bar) or surface book.

any specific specs I need to worry about?

 

[Cali20002]

any specific specs I need to worry about?

Not really. The specs are more than meets the eye to the typical user. My older i7 quad core 8gb ram 1gb dedicated graphics card laptop is significantly slower than my new dual core 8gb ram integrated graphics card mac. I would get the last macbook pro retina that doesnt have the new touchbar.

 

[dr.d00m]

Bump.
So my Sony VGN-NW265F with Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU T4300 @ 2.1GHz with 4.00 GB memory that I bought in 2009 is not good enough for dental school??
If not, what do you guys recommend? I am clueless when it comes to laptops.

any specific specs I need to worry about?

Make sure to get a laptop with at least an i5 CPU and 8gb of RAM. For storage, a SSD with at least 256gb of storage would be ideal.

With all the stuff you have to endure in school, frustration because your computer is slower than my grandma shouldn't be one of them

 

[blablabla1]

any specific specs I need to worry about?

Always go for the most RAM you can get is all I'm gonna say. The difference between an i5 and i7 dual core won't be noticed, but the difference between 4 vs 8 vs 12 gb of RAM is huge.

Definitely aim for 8 gb minimum but I've been finding that 12 gb is optimal for me. Especially if you, like me, run Windows with lots of google chrome tabs/windows because both the operating system and the browser are such unoptimized resource hogs.

 

[DOC YANKEM]

The ram is already maxed out and I don't know if I can upgrade it....what kind of laptop do you recommend?

You can always upgrade ram in any computer. In this case, you need to look for TWO of 4 GB laptop ram sticks. If you have the money, then I would go for TWO of 8 GB. Like I mentioned earlier, 4 GB is not bad but personally I would upgrade it.

If you are up to the task, I would also get a 256 GB SSD in your 2009 laptop. You can also go for a 128 GB SSD, since the windows OS takes up 10-20 GB of space. With the remaining 100 GB of space, the laptop will meet all your daily needs for dental school.

Depending on your budget, I would rather upgrade your current 2009 laptop for about 100-150 dollars. If you happen to have 800-1000 dollars under your bed, then I would buy a "lightly" used mid-2015 macbook pro with 16 GB of ram and 256 GB of SSD.

Anything over 1,000 dollars is not worth buying in the laptop industry.

 

[Master Yoda]

You can always upgrade ram in any computer. In this case, you need to look for TWO of 4 GB laptop ram sticks. If you have the money, then I would go for TWO of 8 GB. Like I mentioned earlier, 4 GB is not bad but personally I would upgrade it.

If you are up to the task, I would also get a 256 GB SSD in your 2009 laptop. You can also go for a 128 GB SSD, since the windows OS takes up 10-20 GB of space. With the remaining 100 GB of space, the laptop will meet all your daily needs for dental school.

Depending on your budget, I would rather upgrade your current 2009 laptop for about 100-150 dollars. If you happen to have 800-1000 dollars under your bed, then I would buy a "lightly" used mid-2015 macbook pro with 16 GB of ram and 256 GB of SSD.

Anything over 1,000 dollars is not worth buying in the laptop industry.

Thank you. Money is not an issue because I am not buying the laptop....a family member is buying it for me as a gift....
I just want a make sure it is something that would last me 4 years without giving any problems (although nothing is guaranteed in the world of technology).

 

[DOC YANKEM]

Thank you. Money is not an issue because I am not buying the laptop....a family member is buying it for me as a gift....
I just want a make sure it is something that would last me 4 years without giving any problems (although nothing is guaranteed in the world of technology).

In terms of daily school work, the mid-2015 macbook pro will last you for the next 4-5 years. Since a family member is buying you a new laptop, then I would buy the latest macbook pro version (2016?) WITHOUT the touchbar.

 

[blablabla1]

In terms of daily school work, the mid-2015 macbook pro will last you for the next 4-5 years. Since a family member is buying you a new laptop, then I would buy the latest macbook pro version (2016?) WITHOUT the touchbar.

Honestly, I don't agree with this. Mostly because the 2016 MacBook Pro without the touch bar only has two ports and they're both USB-C ports. You would get more bang for your buck if you bought a brand new (on sale for around 1700-1800 dollars) or refurbished (straight from Apple though) 15 inch MacBook Pro that's a 2015 model. They all come with 16 gb of RAM, i7 processors, and 256 gb of storage minimum. It will easily last 4-5 years and won't have any of the nuisances of the new MacBook Pros.

 

[Cali20002]

Honestly, I don't agree with this. Mostly because the 2016 MacBook Pro without the touch bar only has two ports and they're both USB-C ports. You would get more bang for your buck if you bought a brand new (on sale for around 1700-1800 dollars) or refurbished (straight from Apple though) 15 inch MacBook Pro that's a 2015 model. They all come with 16 gb of RAM, i7 processors, and 256 gb of storage minimum. It will easily last 4-5 years and won't have any of the nuisances of the new MacBook Pros.

He's talking about the early-mid 2015 model that was sold until the touchbar retina came out. That one doesn't have usb c

 

[Kareful]

You can always upgrade ram in any computer. In this case, you need to look for TWO of 4 GB laptop ram sticks. If you have the money, then I would go for TWO of 8 GB. Like I mentioned earlier, 4 GB is not bad but personally I would upgrade it.

If you are up to the task, I would also get a 256 GB SSD in your 2009 laptop. You can also go for a 128 GB SSD, since the windows OS takes up 10-20 GB of space. With the remaining 100 GB of space, the laptop will meet all your daily needs for dental school.

Depending on your budget, I would rather upgrade your current 2009 laptop for about 100-150 dollars. If you happen to have 800-1000 dollars under your bed, then I would buy a "lightly" used mid-2015 macbook pro with 16 GB of ram and 256 GB of SSD.

Anything over 1,000 dollars is not worth buying in the laptop industry.

I have about $800 in my mattress. Any recommendations outside of Apple in terms of a laptop? Opinions on the 2-in-1 tablet laptop combinations?

 

[DOC YANKEM]

I have about $800 in my mattress. Any recommendations outside of Apple in terms of a laptop? Opinions on the 2-in-1 tablet laptop combinations?

I don't see the point of 2-in-1 laptops for dental students. When do you ever use the tablet functionality? Typing your notes is significantly more efficient than writing down notes.

In terms of non-Apple laptops, you could always get the popular surface pro 4. All you need is an i5 processor, 8 or 16 GB RAM, and 128+ GB SSD. Intel i7 processors are overkill, they are best utilized by content creators and high end gamers using 4k.

Lenovo Ideapad OR Lenovo Flex 4 have been popular in my opinion.

 

[DMDDDSHopeful]

I don't see the point of 2-in-1 laptops for dental students. When do you ever use the tablet functionality? Typing your notes is significantly more efficient than writing down notes.

In terms of non-Apple laptops, you could always get the popular surface pro 4. All you need is an i5 processor, 8 or 16 GB RAM, and 128+ GB SSD. Intel i7 processors are overkill, they are best utilized by content creators and high end gamers using 4k.

Lenovo Ideapad OR Lenovo Flex 4 have been popular in my opinion.

Interesting that you mentioned the Lenovo Flex 4. I purchased the 2-in-1 after a lot of research. 8GB RAM 256SSD HD 1080P with a dedicated GPU (would've been fine with integrated as well) for $400. There was a good sale for $300 a month ago. Awesome keyboard, backlit, etc.

Biggest complaint is the keyboard design. If you google it, the right shift key is a nuisance in its location. Requires modding.

Purchased $30 touchscreen pens that work great off Amazon. Now just keeping it until school starts so it's nested away until then.

 

[DOC YANKEM]

Interesting that you mentioned the Lenovo Flex 4. I purchased the 2-in-1 after a lot of research. 8GB RAM 256SSD HD 1080P with a dedicated GPU (would've been fine with integrated as well) for $400. There was a good sale for $300 a month ago. Awesome keyboard, backlit, etc.

Biggest complaint is the keyboard design. If you google it, the right shift key is a nuisance in its location. Requires modding.

Purchased $30 touchscreen pens that work great off Amazon. Now just keeping it until school starts so it's nested away until then.

Lenovo have been making amazing laptops, especially 2-in-1, the past few years at a competitive price. With any laptop that you decide to buy, you shouldn't expect much from the keyboards. Once you have experienced high end mechanical keyboards there is no going back.

 

[Kareful]

I don't see the point of 2-in-1 laptops for dental students. When do you ever use the tablet functionality? Typing your notes is significantly more efficient than writing down notes.

In terms of non-Apple laptops, you could always get the popular surface pro 4. All you need is an i5 processor, 8 or 16 GB RAM, and 128+ GB SSD. Intel i7 processors are overkill, they are best utilized by content creators and high end gamers using 4k.

Lenovo Ideapad OR Lenovo Flex 4 have been popular in my opinion.

I suppose I was thinking in terms of being able to draw on the screen with a stylus. However, when I think about it, laptops can have those capabilities on their own. I've been looking into the dell inspiron series. They seem to have some of the specs you mentioned with excellent battery life on select models as well on top of being lower budget computers.