laptop

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
I've traditionally been a PC user but recently purchased a MacBook Pro and love it. I think any up-to-date product should do the trick -- really is just preference.
 
I would have gone with a Macbook pro, but my school "gives" us a PC laptop which has yet to be decided (I heard hp 🙁 )
 
i was thinking of picking up a rMBP too! but wanted to make sure that there were no issues w it..i know sometimes they only allow windows

so ill put boot camp and install windows on it
 
Taking my macbook air.
School gives out some kind of craptops pre-loaded with thingies and programs and their kool-aid.
Currently debating whether I want to fork over $$$ for some kind of desktop so that I can buy a 30in 2560x1600 monitor and run it side by side with my old 1600x1200 monitor for my home computer. It would feel like really wasteful spending, but I have dual 24in monitors at work right now and that kicks ass.
 
im also looking at surface pro 3 and the thinkpad Yoga....how often will we need to look at a image/chart/diagram/ etc and have to make specific annotations to specific parts?

i tried them out today at the ms store and its very nice but i can still write faster w pen and paper..
 
masaraksh said:
Taking my macbook air.
School gives out some kind of craptops pre-loaded with thingies and programs and their kool-aid.
Currently debating whether I want to fork over $$$ for some kind of desktop so that I can buy a 30in 2560x1600 monitor and run it side by side with my old 1600x1200 monitor for my home computer. It would feel like really wasteful spending, but I have dual 24in monitors at work right now and that kicks ass.
Click to expand...

27 inch Imac 🙂
 
I have an Asus. It was great for a year.. but then starting to run slow. (Im rough on my equipment anyways. I need a ballistic case for me laptop..do they sell those? Off topic.)
Moral: buy a mac
 
Bomikepa said:
27 inch Imac 🙂
Click to expand...

its nice.

For the $1900+ that a imac costs I think can do better though: Mac Mini ($600) + 2x 30in 2560x1600 displays. All, I need is some way to have lots of computer real estate (but I'm not sure how much time I'll be spending at home anyway).
 
masaraksh said:
its nice.

For the $1900+ that a imac costs I think can do better though: Mac Mini ($600) + 2x 30in 2560x1600 displays. All, I need is some way to have lots of computer real estate (but I'm not sure how much time I'll be spending at home anyway).
Click to expand...

Yep. Apple charges a premium fortheir hardware!

So each display is around $650...are you looking at the dell ulteasharps?
 
I'm just an incoming M1 but I am using an ipad mini with a keyboard cover to take to class everyday and it has all my books pdf on it. I intend to take notes by pen and paper because I am faster and retain more that way and I have an Acer 15.6" I have had since high school that still runs really well. I am still in the hunt for a new laptop, waiting it out until next year to see what all this talk is about a macbook air retina 12inch laptop from apple. I've always been PC and I really like the yoga 2 pro but I am considering switching since I have an iPhone and an iPad and love both eventhough I don't agree with Apple's business standards and practices.
 
Why the hell anyone buys a macbook is beyond me. I can get far more horsepower for far less money with a win7 laptop.

Probably getting an Ipad for certain medical apps though, if only because the lifespan during which apps are typically backwards compatible is substantially longer than most Android apps.
 
Mad Jack said:
Why the hell anyone buys a macbook is beyond me. I can get far more horsepower for far less money with a win7 laptop.

Probably getting an Ipad for certain medical apps though, if only because the lifespan during which apps are typically backwards compatible is substantially longer than most Android apps.
Click to expand...

Agreed. And iPad is so mainstream that it may just be easier to be on the same platform of apps as everyone else. I definitely agree about the lack of power for the price for a macbook. Basically paying for a label. I like to compare it to buying an 8oz red bull for the same price as 16oz every other energy drink. Red bull knows they have the popular name so they charge for it, so does apple. It kinda stinks.
 
13 inch macbook air w/ max specs. Love it so far.
 
I think ima buy the surface pro 3,I also have an alienware M14X R2, THAT I will bring 🙂
 
Whatever brand you buy, get something light you won't mind lugging around with you to class. MacBook Air = MBP in computing power as far as the average plebe is concerned but saving that extra weight is really nice.
 
I agree that the MPB is probably ideal if you're going the Apple route, but I myself have a Macbook Air and it's awesome. It's light weight, fast, and efficient. However, I have a little dilemma at my hands right now. with M1 about to start, I'm thinking about whether or not to buy a newer laptop. My Macbook air has only 120 GB on it, with 75GB free right now. With the functionality of Microsoft oneNote on Windows, It's been recommended to download parallels on mac osx and then get Microsoft oneNote that way. However, Parallels takes up a good chunk of hard drive space and I don't want sacrifice my laptop speed/ space. So my question is whether you guys think i should go the new laptop route or buy an external hard drive (500GB-1TB Hard drive) and save parallels onto that and conserve the hard drive space on my laptop itself. Thanks in advance!
 
Glossy screens are terrible. There's a reason business laptops don't have them. They make the screen look bright and flashy in the Best Buy showroom but they're awful for general use.

My school is making me buy a Thinkpad Yoga, which is actually a pretty perfect device IMO. I don't think I really care about the touchscreen/convertible part, but it's a lightweight thin high-res laptop with a Trackpoint. It's a Thinkpad. Therefore I am happy.
 
allojay said:
I agree that the MPB is probably ideal if you're going the Apple route, but I myself have a Macbook Air and it's awesome. It's light weight, fast, and efficient. However, I have a little dilemma at my hands right now. with M1 about to start, I'm thinking about whether or not to buy a newer laptop. My Macbook air has only 120 GB on it, with 75GB free right now. With the functionality of Microsoft oneNote on Windows, It's been recommended to download parallels on mac osx and then get Microsoft oneNote that way. However, Parallels takes up a good chunk of hard drive space and I don't want sacrifice my laptop speed/ space. So my question is whether you guys think i should go the new laptop route or buy an external hard drive (500GB-1TB Hard drive) and save parallels onto that and conserve the hard drive space on my laptop itself. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

External hard drive won't help in this case. You can replace the internal SSD with a bigger one, but that is pricey and difficult. Cheaper than a whole new laptop, of course.
 
I would not 'replace' a Macbook air with a Macbook pro. I think thats basically unnecessary spending because apart from the hard drive space (which can be added) an MBA is really going to perform just as well as a MBP for all the tasks that you will likely need in med school (internet, excel, word, note software, R/stata/ stats whatnot, netflix, movies, ... you can also run windows within OSX with paralels or VMware). Also, MBA is nice and light. Shell out the money for a big monitor or something.
 
Bringing a 2012 MBA to school, also have an iPad Air. Probably going to wait until the Broadwell rMBA's are released to buy a new computer.
 
Still running an '09 MBP 13'', its great. It started to slow down significantly last year so I upgraded to a solid state drive and added more ram. It felt, and still feels, like a new comp. This thing just works, always. Any PC i've had previously would fail within 2 years, so I definitely think the additional cost for the MBP has more than paid for itself.
Edit: Also had to replace the battery recently.
I think I spent ~$300 for the upgraded/replaced parts.
 
Trod said:
Still running an '09 MBP 13'', its great. It started to slow down significantly last year so I upgraded to a solid state drive and added more ram. It felt, and still feels, like a new comp. This thing just works, always. Any PC i've had previously would fail within 2 years, so I definitely think the additional cost for the MBP has more than paid for itself.
Edit: Also had to replace the battery recently.
I think I spent ~$300 for the upgraded/replaced parts.
Click to expand...
I'm still using a '08 15" MBP. It's only issues are some very minor slowing down and the battery craping out. Before that I had a decked out XPS that pretty much turned into a POS within 1.5 years - you may pay more for Apple products but it's worth it. I'll be giving my MBP to my fiancée and using my iPad and a loaded (WAY more than I actually need) '14 27" iMac for school.
 
Just got a 15" rMBP and I couldn't love it more.
 
I see they're serving the Apple kool-aid here on SDN.
 
tmn said:
I see they're serving the Apple kool-aid here on SDN.
Click to expand...

It's hard to go wrong with Apple hardware, while it's pretty easy to go wrong with PC hardware. There's a lot of great PC hardware out there though. I don't, and won't, own a Mac.
 
I have a 2008 MBP I will use until it dies. It's doing great still, which is why I'm on the apple bandwagon. They last forever, don't seem to get viruses, and repairs are usually free at the apple store.
 
tmn said:
I see they're serving the Apple kool-aid here on SDN.
Click to expand...

I freely admit that Apple hardware is horribly overpriced for what you get. I paid an insane amount of money for a box that I could build a desktop version of for probably a third of the price or get an equivalent PC version of for half the price. If value is what you're looking for, then Apple is certainly not the way to go. However, in terms of "how much do I enjoy using this machine," Apple >>>>>>>> PC in my experience.
 
jonnythan said:
External hard drive won't help in this case. You can replace the internal SSD with a bigger one, but that is pricey and difficult. Cheaper than a whole new laptop, of course.
Click to expand...


Thanks for replying! About how much is it to replace the internal SSD? just wondering..
 
masaraksh said:
I would not 'replace' a Macbook air with a Macbook pro. I think thats basically unnecessary spending because apart from the hard drive space (which can be added) an MBA is really going to perform just as well as a MBP for all the tasks that you will likely need in med school (internet, excel, word, note software, R/stata/ stats whatnot, netflix, movies, ... you can also run windows within OSX with paralels or VMware). Also, MBA is nice and light. Shell out the money for a big monitor or something.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree and understand what you're saying but my issue is the limited hard drive space on my MBA. I have about 128 GB and about 70 GB thats free. I want to get parallels with windows oneNote but I'm not sure if the space that it will take up might affect the MBAs performance.
 
allojay said:
Yeah, I agree and understand what you're saying but my issue is the limited hard drive space on my MBA. I have about 128 GB and about 70 GB thats free. I want to get parallels with windows oneNote but I'm not sure if the space that it will take up might affect the MBAs performance.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what the VM game is like on OSX, but instead of dual booting you might be able to install some kind of virtualization program that will allow you to run Windows within OSX. I imagine this will save you space by not having to repartition your drive with Parallels. I would definitely go this route if the only thing you're going to use on Windows is OneNote - it seems silly to install a second OS just to use one program. If you're planning on using anything else on Windows, though - particularly anything that is graphics- or otherwise computing-intensive - then this probably wouldn't be a good solution.
 
NickNaylor said:
I'm not sure what the VM game is like on OSX, but instead of dual booting you might be able to install some kind of virtualization program that will allow you to run Windows within OSX. I imagine this will save you space by not having to repartition your drive with Parallels. I would definitely go this route if the only thing you're going to use on Windows is OneNote - it seems silly to install a second OS just to use one program. If you're planning on using anything else on Windows, though - particularly anything that is graphics- or otherwise computing-intensive - then this probably wouldn't be a good solution.
Click to expand...

I snagged a copy of VMware Fusion through my work. No dual booting or partitioning. I run a windows VM right in OSX.

@NickNaylor you jelly of my VM game?


Again, it's up to you, but I love my MBA. Got a new battery for it and it feels fresh as ever. And it is light. My school is gonna provide us with some kind of PC laptoptablet so I'll have that too. Only thing I'll need is maybe a big 30in display or two at home.

I think it's just a waste to swap to a MBP for $2500 when your main reason for it is hard drive space.
 
Thinkpad t430 and an iPad.

Word.
 
No, the Think pad Yoga screen isn't glossy. It's a little more glossy than a traditional matte screen though.
 
Lenovo Thinkpad T430S. Strong, durable, reliable and looks nice to me. We'll see how it holds up with time.
 
I am trying out a surface pro 3 to see if it's worth keeping.

Trackpad isn't the greatest and there translation between the hardwear and my input isn't always smooth. Sometimes keys stop working. Trackpad stops working etc

I have also considerd mba but I want a 15 inch screen I have a MacBook Pro 13 inch for 4 years and I need a bigger screen
For everyone w Lenovo,
Is there a store I can go to to try it out first?
 
NickNaylor said:
I'm not sure what the VM game is like on OSX, but instead of dual booting you might be able to install some kind of virtualization program that will allow you to run Windows within OSX. I imagine this will save you space by not having to repartition your drive with Parallels. I would definitely go this route if the only thing you're going to use on Windows is OneNote - it seems silly to install a second OS just to use one program. If you're planning on using anything else on Windows, though - particularly anything that is graphics- or otherwise computing-intensive - then this probably wouldn't be a good solution.
Click to expand...


Isn't one note on mac now too?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
Laptop/monitor for medical school
Replies
12
Views
7K
RangerBob
RangerBob
TigerLily223
Laptop (MacBook) vs. Latest iPad?
Replies
17
Views
6K
homunculusus
H
Lifeblood_20
Laptop + tablet for medical school
Replies
37
Views
13K
Ganon
Ganon
T
Computer/Laptop for Residency + Fellowships
Replies
7
Views
5K
NickNaylor
NickNaylor
P
Ideas on my laptop/tablet setup idea for med school?
Replies
13
Views
3K
theendisnigh
theendisnigh
Top