Laptop advice needed

[Dreamchaser77]

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Hi SDN,

I am an accepted student for the class of 2023. I have been researching which device I should purchase to get me through at least med school and I'm just not sure what to pick

My schools program requires as follows: NBME has strict requirements that rule out the use of Chromebooks, and devices with displays smaller than 13", which includes Microsoft Surface and similar tablet devices. Also, Windows 7, Windows Home editions and Linux/BSD are not supported as they do not meet security standards.

I have managed to narrow it down to about 3 options. Not a mac person for this go around. I've had one in the past and the OS had a learning curve. I may come back to one later.


1) I called and they said the surface pro wouldn't work, but did not explicitly say a surface book would be a problem so:

Microsoft Surface Book 2 13.5"

Hardrive:	256GB SSD
Ram:	8GB RAM
Processor:	Intel Core I5

It seems really nice, but the add-ons are expensive and I've heard some have cooling problems. I really like that I can use the table portion by itself.


2) Samsung - Notebook 9 Pro 2-in-1 13.3" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive - Platinum Titan

Hardrive:	512G SSD
Ram:	16GB RAM
Processor:	Intel Core I7

Seems pretty nice overall, but I'd like opinions on this device as well. I like that is has better specs across the board

3) Two devices (Minimum standard laptop with a tablet to use as well)



Thoughts: These three options are pretty close pricing wise at around $1700-1900 for the device, warranty, stylus, and a hub. I'd like to stay at this price point or below.

Questions:
What do you use?
What are your experiences with the first two devices?
Were they reliable?
How was it for class use vs at home/ library?
Do you think I'll have a problem with the surface book based on the restrictions?
Technical problems, crashing, Blue screens etc?
If used how was the warranty process?

Would you recommend two devices? And If so what devices would you suggest?


Thanks for your help everybody!

 

[BunnyMan17]

I use the HP spectre x360 15". A laptop that flips over to be a ~tablet. Comes with stylus, highly recommend. You can get the same specs as the surface but don't have to pay for add ons.
A lot of my friends use the surface book or pro. They all really like it and the pen is excellent. The screen size can be a bit of a drag though. Split screen is a lot more comfortable on my eyes when I have a 15"
The surface line seems to be pretty reliable according to them, can't speak to the samsung. The spectre I have has been a tank thus far.
Most people don't go to class. Others may have different experiences but most of the people I knew that had 2 devices ended up using one over the other 80% of the time anyway. That's why I liked the spectre/surface lines.
You should be fine with the spec requirements, no technical problems thus far for me or those with the surface line
I haven't used the warranty yet but I used the one I had in college for my old MBP quite a bit. It saved my life more times than I could count.

Don't overthink this too much. As long as you get something reliable with a decent battery life it'll workout just fine.

 

[alexlex143]

I'm using the Surface Book 2 currently and I haven't had any issues with it at all. It's great for all my needs: watching lectures, OneNote, e-books, school/hospital-secured email, EMR, etc. The tablet functionality does come in handy but doesn't have a long battery life sadly. I love that it's touchscreen and, as previously mentioned, the stylus is really nice.

I agree that splitting the screen on the 13.5" is probably not ideal and if you have the option of getting a larger screen, I would probably say go for it. But it's not that bad, as I have made do just fine through MS1 and thus far through MS2.

I did recently get an iPad mini (or smaller iPad, not sure about the exact apple nomenclature). I've enjoyed having it so far mostly as an extra resource, not for anything in particular though I'm still assessing how it might be best utilized for my needs. I've tried using it to watch lectures while I took notes on my surface book but it's not loud enough IMO and so is kind of a pain imo. Since it's smaller, it's nicer to study from when being lazy and lounging on the couch. It has come in handy in the anatomy lab for neuro a few times but I don't think it would've done me much good for MS1 anatomy since the dissections took ages to complete and were the primary focus. This might not be an issue for you if you'll be studying from prosections though.

I could go on a huge rant about the Apple pencil (especially compared to the stylus for my Surface Book) but I'll avoid the debate and just state that if you want to fully utilize the iPad, you might want to consider getting the pencil (or generic version) so you have the option. I did hear from some of the MS3s that having an iPad mini has been useful for them on rotations because they have been able to install Epic/EMR onto it. I look forward to using it for those purposes next year.

Hopefully this was somewhat helpful to your decision-making!

 

[Terps1011]

I have an asus that meets all these specs and did me well during the last 4 years of school/testing. Bonus is that its touch screen, flips into a tablet mode, and only cost $750. If you want a better deal I'd look around more, i am sure there a plenty other (and cheaper) options!

 

[7331poas]

You are stressing about this wayyyyy too much. Just get a standard windows PC. Anything that can run anki is all you need.

 

[ADSigMel]

I had the same requirements (c/o 2022), and I bought a Surface Book 2 last summer. Hands down, my favorite computer I've ever had. It's got the power to run all the software I like, plus the memory to hold all my textbooks. Also, I like that I can download my lecture slides and then take notes on them by hand during lecture (for the times when I go to class), without having to flip the whole device backward and laying my bare keyboard on my desk - basically, I like that you can flip the screen backward before folding it, so that you can keep it attached to the keyboard while still using it as a tablet. This is important to me because if the battery is low, you can't charge it while the tablet is detached from the rest of the computer.

 

[tradersluck]

New student too. What NBME exams do you even take on laptop? I've got a surface pro and, uh... I'm not going to get something else.

 

[NickNaylor]

The Surface line of products weren't out yet when I was in medical school, but I've got several residency classmates that have them and love them. I haven't heard any complaints about them from anyone.

 

[ginsengreset]

I had the same requirements (c/o 2022), and I bought a Surface Book 2 last summer. Hands down, my favorite computer I've ever had. It's got the power to run all the software I like, plus the memory to hold all my textbooks. Also, I like that I can download my lecture slides and then take notes on them by hand during lecture (for the times when I go to class), without having to flip the whole device backward and laying my bare keyboard on my desk - basically, I like that you can flip the screen backward before folding it, so that you can keep it attached to the keyboard while still using it as a tablet. This is important to me because if the battery is low, you can't charge it while the tablet is detached from the rest of the computer.

I second everything the above poster said regarding the Surface Book 2; it's a fantastic device that has everything you'd need in an ipad + macbook combo. You actually can charge the tablet screen while it's detached from the base - the central port on the bottom of the screen is a Surface connector port, the same as the charging port on the base.

 

[libertyyne]

I use a Dell XPS 15. It's been solid . I have a 4k tv that I use as an external monitor.

You are overthinking this, you are not going to be using this for running complex compute tasks. Buy anything that is reasonable reliable, have backups, and you should be good. The surface books are great, and my classmates who have them love them.

I don't anotate, I just smash the spacebar , so I have an ergo mouse with multiple keys mapped to different anki options.

 

[kraskadva]

1) I called and they said the surface pro wouldn't work, but did not explicitly say a surface book would be a problem so:

Microsoft Surface Book 2 13.5"
Hardrive:256GB SSDRam:8GB RAMProcessor:Intel Core I5
It seems really nice, but the add-ons are expensive and I've heard some have cooling problems. I really like that I can use the table portion by itself.

I've got the Surface Book (v1) and love it. Works great for everything I need, including NBME exams.

if the battery is low, you can't charge it while the tablet is detached from the rest of the computer.

Yeah you can - the charger plugs into the bottom of the tablet (where it would attach to the keyboard)

What NBME exams do you even take on laptop? I've got a surface pro and, uh... I'm not going to get something else.

All of them. Before you make bold "never" statements, run the compatability tests - TLS 1.1 Deactivation Test - wbt.nbme.org/exam (click both links)
I know folks whose Surface Pros didn't work on test day and it was *an issue*. If yours works, then great. But if not...

 

[Shammyguy3]

My wife has the Surface Book 2, and I'm thinking of getting the same. I was wondering however, about two things.

1) screen size - should I get the 15" or the 13.5"? The bigger screen size will cost $300-400 more
2) hard drive size - 1 TB, 512 GB, 256 GB? (I am completely illiterate when it comes to things like this)

 

[ginsengreset]

My wife has the Surface Book 2, and I'm thinking of getting the same. I was wondering however, about two things.

1) screen size - should I get the 15" or the 13.5"? The bigger screen size will cost $300-400 more
2) hard drive size - 1 TB, 512 GB, 256 GB? (I am completely illiterate when it comes to things like this)

1) I bought the 13.5'' Surface Book three years ago, and despite being used to 15.6'' screens, I didn't think it was too small. The 15'' SB2 also draws more power than the charger can provide (so the battery depletes despite being plugged in) when you're doing GPU-intensive tasks like gaming/video rendering/etc. The only real hardware difference is that the 15'' model has a built-in XBox receiver. There's no numpad or anything that would take advantage of the extra real estate afforded by the bigger laptop size. Finally, the 15'' model feels pretty bulky and awkward when you detach the screen to use as a tablet, in contrast with the 13'' model.

2) My old Surface Book had 256 GB of memory which I'm close to using up. I recently upgraded to a SB2 with 512 GB, which I think should be enough for anyone to last through all of med school + probably some of residency.

 

[Shammyguy3]

1) I bought the 13.5'' Surface Book three years ago, and despite being used to 15.6'' screens, I didn't think it was too small. The 15'' SB2 also draws more power than the charger can provide (so the battery depletes despite being plugged in) when you're doing GPU-intensive tasks like gaming/video rendering/etc. The only real hardware difference is that the 15'' model has a built-in XBox receiver. There's no numpad or anything that would take advantage of the extra real estate afforded by the bigger laptop size. Finally, the 15'' model feels pretty bulky and awkward when you detach the screen to use as a tablet, in contrast with the 13'' model.

2) My old Surface Book had 256 GB of memory which I'm close to using up. I recently upgraded to a SB2 with 512 GB, which I think should be enough for anyone to last through all of med school + probably some of residency.

Excellent, thanks a ton for the info. Seems like I'll go with the 13.5 " 512 GB which is about $800 cheaper than the 15" 1 TB option.

 

[mistafab]

Bruh, just go to best buy and purchase a windows laptop for 250-300 dollars.

You do not need some magic workstation to creep on people on facebook, take tests, or study.

 

[kraskadva]

Bruh, just go to best buy and purchase a windows laptop for 250-300 dollars.

You do not need some magic workstation to creep on people on facebook, take tests, or study.

100% true

While I enjoy my surface book and it's extra features (tablet option, writing on screen, etc.) The $400 hp I got from Wal-Mart can handle (and on occasion has) absolutely everything I need to do for school, including NBME exams.

 

[Dreamchaser77]

Hi everyone, sorry for the late response. All of the advice has been very helpful and is very much appreciated.

I think I will go with the surface book for school. I like the extra features. I have a macbook I can use for my backup.

Good luck with school everyone.