Picking a laptop

[cca931]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'm deciding on which laptop to buy for med school. Which would you recommend: Dell or Toshiba?

 

[DrBowtie]

If you go with Dell, get a good warranty.

 

[kdnysux]

I'm deciding on which laptop to buy for med school. Which would you recommend: Dell or Toshiba?

Ive had Toshiba for years and loved it except for the short battery life. But for med school, i decided to buy a sony vaio bec it's super portable (2.7 lbs!) with internal optical drive, and 6+ battery life. The panel is super-thin, so I heard from the reviews that it might break easily. What I can say is, I like my vaio so far, but if Toshiba had something as sleek and portable as the vaoi, I would've gone with the Toshiba. The Toshiba I had was so dependable. I never had a problem with it and the features were excellent. I had it for like 4 or 5 years and never took it in for service. I dont recommend you do the same, but it just proves how well my Toshiba was. so, overall, if i have to pick between dell and toshiba, id pick toshiba...unless you can afford a sony, then pick sony only bec of the longer batt life and portability.

 

[rpkall]

Whatever's cheaper. All you really need is an average computer unit and a fast internet connection to access online course materials. EVERYTHING is online at most schools. Harrison's Internal medicine, lecture notes, presentations, flash tutorials, etc, etc, etc. Any computer nowadays will be adequate for paper writing, powerpoints, and all that dorky stuff. Save some money on the computer and buy other stuff, like a flashdrive, some textbooks, all that. Just my humble opinion.

Unless you're a gamer, and you're using this "med school thing" as an excuse to buy your next supercomputer. 😉

 

[jebus]

neither dell nor toshiba.
get (in order) a
1)lenovo
2)sony
3)apple (but wait until the end of the summer if you're considering the apple).

 

[ti89]

Not a dell for sure.

 

[crazy_cavalier]

Thinkpad tablet for me plz. Very good stuff.

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

Not a dell for sure.

I've had several dells that have lasted for years. I love em

 

[Dizz]

IBM Thinkpads , Asus , Acer , MSI , Apple (With Intel's Core Duo , MacBooks)!

Make sure to get a Intel Core Duo or Intel Pentium M processer , aviod Celeron. You can also get a AMD Turion64 if you want something like the Pentium M but cheaper and less battery life , also aviod the AMD Mobile Sempron.

Aviod: HP/Compaq , Sony , Alienware.

Dells are meh and Toshiba is meh aswell.

All in all IBM Thinkpads > all.

 

[theblastopore]

Thinkpad tablet for me plz. Very good stuff.

I'm using an X41 Tablet. It's way too slow for the price. It's almost $1k more than the Sony S260 I got LAST YEAR (I got a good deal on the S260, though), but it's a lot slower than the S260. The X41 is using a 1.8" 4200rpm hard drive, which is more expensive on the main stream 2.5" 5400rpm hard drive and is also slower.

If I were to buy a new laptop, I would go with the Sony S series (or "SZ" or some other letter after the "S"). The thing with Sony is that its accessories are expensive. A regular battery costs $200 and an extended battery costs $300.

Dell supposedly has cheap components, but I think it's OK. It's usually cheaper. Check out http://www.xpbargains.com if you are gona get a Dell

 

[beefballs]

bump

 

[rehanyazdani]

Get a Tosiba tablet pc. I'm still in college and use it to take all of my notes. It's fantastic. You stay really organized that way. If you plan on taking notes on your laptop in class, then go for a tablet. You probably will be drawing diagrams/structures in your notes, and that's not possible on a regular laptop.

 

[olydoc2b]

Get a Tosiba tablet pc. I'm still in college and use it to take all of my notes. It's fantastic. You stay really organized that way. If you plan on taking notes on your laptop in class, then go for a tablet. You probably will be drawing diagrams/structures in your notes, and that's not possible on a regular laptop.

So I've tried at several stores to play around with any tablet (although i'd likely get the toshiba) but I haven't been able to because they are missing the pen, it's not working, whatever. At CompUSA, though, a guy just told me that you have to write really large and slowly to have it work at all. Have you found that to be true?

 

[gottalovemilk]

get the new ibm/lenovo X60 or X60s or a used ibm x40.


true the harddrive is slow on the previous version of ibm, but the newer notebooks are faster and use the new dual-core cpu.

 

[63768]

i plan on getting myself an ibm thinkpad. i've used dells and a toshiba over the years and both brands have been great.

 

[tulane06]

Thinkpads are the sh$t!

 

[ND2005]

Thinkpads are the sh$t!

And Dells are just plain sh$t

 

[KAI1927]

Tulane06, What does Tulane recommend for a laptop, are mac's ok? I am really not sure what kind of special software we will have to run at school if any.

 

[rehanyazdani]

So I've tried at several stores to play around with any tablet (although i'd likely get the toshiba) but I haven't been able to because they are missing the pen, it's not working, whatever. At CompUSA, though, a guy just told me that you have to write really large and slowly to have it work at all. Have you found that to be true?

Not true at all! It's just like writing on a piece of paper. I haven't had to write larger than usual or slowly. I write at my normal pace and size. Even when I'm on battery power, with the cpu speed at its lowest, writing isn't hindered at all. I would go for the Toshiba as well. Check out www.toshibadirect.com, and look at the Satellite R10. It starts at $850 but you can customize it. That's one heck of a deal for a tablet.

 

[tcar18]

Jebus-

why wait till the end of summer for apple? second generation?

 

[jebus]

Jebus-

why wait till the end of summer for apple? second generation?

Yeah, I've noticed with my macs (I've been using them since 1988 - yes, I'm a dork like that) that their first hardware revisions suck! It's like buying a new car: they always advise you to wait for the second model year for cars. If you look up the reviews for the new macbooks, they downgraded a few things from the old powerbooks (the viewing-angle has been reduced by ~10º, for instance). But as they refine their computers they're great. I've got no complaints with my 1 year old powerbook.
Also, by then someone should find a way to dual-boot the macbooks with OS X and windows. (Of course, by then someone will likely also find a way to install OS X on any laptop that has similar hardware to the macbooks....)

 

[ND2005]

Jebus-

why wait till the end of summer for apple? second generation?

Not Jebus, but a few reasons:

1) There is a small chance the MacBook Pro may get an update by then (nothing major, just a tweak)

2) There is a strong chance (>90%) that there will be a new consumer line laptop (what is now the iBook, and may or may not be renamed for the new models) by then. This hypothetical laptop will probably have the new intel solo chip rather than duo, and will be more affordable for those just looking for an entry-level laptop.

 

[jebus]

Not Jebus, but a few reasons:

You aren't jebus, but I agree with you about both of those points. You deserve a raise. Keep up the good work.

 

[erin682]

And Dells are just plain sh$t

So true. I've had so many problems with mine. Its crashed twice in two years not to mention a host of other problems.

 

[tulane06]

KAI, you will probably be OK with a Mac, but things will always be easier with a computer that runs on Windows. I don't think the school has any specific recommendations, but I will try to look that up.

 

[Elastase]

So I've tried at several stores to play around with any tablet (although i'd likely get the toshiba) but I haven't been able to because they are missing the pen, it's not working, whatever. At CompUSA, though, a guy just told me that you have to write really large and slowly to have it work at all. Have you found that to be true?

I've have a Toshiba Tablet PC (this is my third year using it). Its awesome...no problems at all! I highly recommend them, and they are a LOT cheaper now.

 

[wildcatbio06]

Since this has headed in the tech direction what are your thoughts on the new Microsoft Vista OS. Should someone wait to buy a computer until they start coming out with it pre-installed or should they just go ahead and get a computer with XP?

 

[thinmints]

Since this has headed in the tech direction what are your thoughts on the new Microsoft Vista OS. Should someone wait to buy a computer until they start coming out with it pre-installed or should they just go ahead and get a computer with XP?

Also, what are the requirements for Windows Vista? Are there any laptops out there that are compatible?

 

[Scintillation]

I vote toshiba. Dell sucks.