Incoming MSI, what laptop should I get?

[jvlop]

I am struggling to define which laptop would best suit me for Medical School. Wether to go with a traditional Windows HP or go the Mac route and decide between a Macbook Air or a Macbook Pro.

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[DermViser]

 

[CherryRedDracul]

Get a P-P-P-Powerbook!

 

[sinombre]

 

[sinombre]

Get what you're more comfortable with. Just about anything you buy will have more than enough power to do whatever you need it to do.

 

[MilkIsGood]

something light with good battery life

 

[tco]

Lenovo's are durable as all get out. I have an Asus that was cheap and gives me enough processing power to do anything I need study-wise and work-wise. You really can't go wrong as long as you aren't a fool about it.

 

[001100010010011]

"Can this play Pathoma?"

 

[Chillbo Baggins]

I am struggling to define which laptop would best suit me for Medical School. Wether to go with a traditional Windows HP or go the Mac route and decide between a Macbook Air or a Macbook Pro.

If you go with Windows, don't get an HP.

HP sucks.

 

[evilbooyaa]

Get something with solid battery life. Besides that, any laptop that is being sold nowadays will have more than enough processing power to do everything you want in regards to medical school.

 

[byaaaaaaah23]

MacBook Airs are seriously awesome if you plan to bring your computer around a lot. Same computer just no CD drive but tbh i really don't think anyone uses those anymore lol

 

[Sephiroth]

How much do you have to spend? If we're dealing with a very large budget that won't strain finances at all, I'd say get a macbook air with the max specs. You may not need them in many cases, but I think sometimes the 1.4Ghz i5 just might not cut it. Just turn down the performance levels when you don't need it to save battery life. You'll probably want windows to dual boot as there are a few things that still don't run on OSX. Then to make up for the smaller disc space there and to back up all your stuff, pick up a USB3 external hard drive - they've gotten pretty inexpensive as of late. And maybe get a usb cd-rom drive if you think you may need it (also pretty cheap). Actually, if I had a lot of money to throw around, I'd have that, as well as a desktop PC at home for all my high-powered game and video streaming stuff, plus set up remote access so I could use the desktop's harddrive for a lot of things.

If you have a tighter budget, I'd say avoid apple because for the same hardware specs you pay a lot more, and theres not really any noticeable performance difference (I use to own what was at the time a high-end macbook pro). I actually have an HP myself and it's pretty good. But w/e, just get something with the specs you'll need within your price range. Personally I tend to be a fan of Asus.

 

[maxxor]

Apple or Lenovo. Pick your OS, then pick from the best vendor for each.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

MacBook Airs are seriously awesome if you plan to bring your computer around a lot. Same computer just no CD drive but tbh i really don't think anyone uses those anymore lol

I bought the external CD/DVD drive accessory when I got my Air last year. I've used it literally once. CDs and DVDs really are obsolete at this point.

But I'd put in another plug for the Macbook air - can't tell you how awesome the long battery life is. Can go all day without worrying about plugging it in. My department paid for it though, so the cost argument was a non-factor for me...

 

[C.glabrata123]

I bought the external CD/DVD drive accessory when I got my Air last year. I've used it literally once. CDs and DVDs really are obsolete at this point.

But I'd put in another plug for the Macbook air - can't tell you how awesome the long battery life is. Can go all day without worrying about plugging it in. My department paid for it though, so the cost argument was a non-factor for me...

The new Macbook Pros supposedly get 9 hours battery life and have flash storage instead of a hard drive. They do not have a CD drive anymore and the 13 inch weighs only 0.5 lb more than the Macbook Air.

 

[Keona]

Go to a store and see which one turns on the fastest, both initially and from sleep. Those little annoying minutes waiting for it to turn on can be a time suck that you'll have every day when you're in study mode. I found my macbook to be faster, and it doesn't crash on me often. My school is becoming mac predominant when I look around the library.

 

[Freddie Mercury]

Whatever you get (Macbook, PC etc), make sure it has a solid state drive (SSD). It makes everything lightning fast. For most of the computers you're gonna buy in the store, the speed bottleneck isn't the CPU, its the hard drive. A computer with an SSD is like 20x faster than without, its night and day!

 

[evilbooyaa]

What this thread is:

 

[mdambitions]

I'm stalking the UPS guy, who should be delivering my Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga any minute...

 

[Deadlifts]

Lenovo Thinkpad T or X series. You can find lightly used or refurbished on ebay for cheap if you do your research. They aren't pretty but they have super strong frames, great battery life with the extended batteries, and easily the best keyboards.

FAFSA was all like you're awarded "$2500" budget for a computer...That's redonk.

 

[mdambitions]

Neither, I purchased the Thinkpad Yoga. They bred the Yoga and the Thinkpad and came out with this guy:

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/yoga-series/yoga/

 

[Packman2003]

Find out if your school uses any software that doesn't run on a Mac. Whatever you get you will need 3 things to go with it under any circumstance: a large monitor that you can plug into it, a good set of headphones, a comfortable and durable desk chair.

 

[Deadlifts]

Neither, I purchased the Thinkpad Yoga. They bred the Yoga and the Thinkpad and came out with this guy:

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/yoga-series/yoga/

The 1080p displays are notorious for ghosting. Hopefully they fixed that issue with your model.

I just don't see the appeal of the 2-in-1 devices yet. They come with the U processors so you gain a little battery life for a loss in power (that best available i7-4600U doesn't really see any appreciable difference from an i5-3320M or comparable processor). I guess the benefit is you only have to carry one device while I have to carry my iPad2 and Thinkpad 430. I get the benefit of having two better performing devices. With careful shopping, it also cost me a good amount less than a brand new model. Refurb iPad2 64gb was ~$200, new Thinkpad 430 was ~$480 with shipping.

 

[bluefalcon32]

I am having trouble deciding between the Macbook Pro and the Lenovo Flex 2. My biggest issue is OneNote. I want to use this program for my note taking but the issue is that the free Mac version has more limited capability than say 2013 or 2010 OneNote. For those using OneNote from Office 365 on a Mac, is it the same exact thing as OneNote for a Windows PC (ie OneNote 2013 or OneNote for Office 365 for Windows) in terms of functionality and things one can do? Can one print their notes and actually save them on their hd? Thanks.

 

[Brain Bucket]

I am struggling to define which laptop would best suit me for Medical School. Wether to go with a traditional Windows HP or go the Mac route and decide between a Macbook Air or a Macbook Pro.

You can't really call yourself a medical student until you've compiled Mandriva.

 

[kami333]

I just don't see the appeal of the 2-in-1 devices yet. They come with the U processors so you gain a little battery life for a loss in power (that best available i7-4600U doesn't really see any appreciable difference from an i5-3320M or comparable processor).

Out of curiosity, what do you do that requires/benefits from an i7? Especially when talking about i7 vs i5.