Surface experiences

[FourniersGreenGang]

Hey everyone,

So I am looking to get a new computer for 1st year of med school, and I am set on the surface pro 4 or the surface book. I know there are a ton of threads about the positives and negatives of different laptops to get, but I was wondering if people who use the surface pro 4 and the surface book can shine some more light on which to get and why? Is anybody using the surface book and encountering problems? Thanks!

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[costales]

I tried one once. It was a POS. Get a MacBook Pro and an iPad Mini - it's an investment that will outlast your med school and residency. (Build your own PC box for games.)

 

[sabsaf123]

I tried one once. It was a POS. Get a MacBook Pro and an iPad Mini - it's an investment that will outlast your med school and residency. (Build your own PC box for games.)

What do you take notes on?

 

[costales]

I used a school-issued Dell convertible. It had a lot of issues. (The IT people tried an HP convertible after that, and it was a veritable POS - keyboard problems galore).

 

[FourniersGreenGang]

Thanks for the reply, yeah I don't really care about gaming but I just wanted to take notes digitally and have something portable to easily carry, which is why I was leaning more toward the pro. I used an ipad mini in grad school and it was kind of a pain in the a** to be honest.

 

[abn632]

Do you handwrite or type your notes? If you type, then it doesn't really matter what you get. If you handwrite your notes, then a Pro 3 or 4 is what you want. A classmate of mine used a Pro 3. He uploaded powerpoint slides into OneNote and took notes that way. Another classmate had a convertible Lenovo with a touchscreen and stylus - same thing, handwritten notes. Both of them were very happy at being able to highlight, jot notes down, draw stuff, etc.

I personally used an iPad Air 2. I would have preferred a Pro 3, but it was a gift so I made do. I used Notability and an Adonit stylus to handwrite notes. An iPad is nice to have and use, but it isn't a "real" computer whereas the Pro 3/4 is. I don't know much about the Surface book, but it looks to me to be WAAAAY too expensive.

If I could do it all over again, I would get a Pro 3/4 to carry with me to class. I'd build a cheap but powerful desktop computer with dual monitor setup for my office at home. Then I'd get Mouse Without Borders so that when I'm home, I can use my Pro as a third screen and Mouse Without Borders to seamlessly move between the three monitors.

 

[zoreo09]

I used a Surface 3 for handwriting my notes this year and I think it worked great! Was super convenient for drawing diagrams and making quick annotations during class. Several other people in my class also got a Surface within the first half of the school year. All seemed pleased with the switch.

 

[FourniersGreenGang]

Awesome! Thanks so much for all the replies. Yeah I was planning on handwriting into one note so I'm really glad to hear you guys had great experiences with the surface. Cool thanks for the advice!

 

[DrPatriot]

I wrote all of my notes with paper and pen during undergrad. I bought the SP4 in December to use in med school this year. I'm really happy with it so far. Definitely pick up an external monitor for your house. This thing is ridiculously portable and the stylus is insane!

 

[ArsèneLupin]

Hey I just finished my 4th year and graduated. Used a Surface Pro 2 when it came out and an SP 1 before that. I highly recommend it. it made preclinical studying and taking notes great and step studying easier imo. good luck

 

[FourniersGreenGang]

Awesome thanks that's exactly what I was hoping for!

 

[Moose A Moose]

Everyone that I know who owns a Surface has had issues with tech when taking exams.

I'd avoid them for school.

 

[bon22]

The part that's really off putting for me is the Amazon reviews are all over the place.

 

[DrPatriot]

Everyone that I know who owns a Surface has had issues with tech when taking exams.

I'd avoid them for school.

When I first got it it seemed to have a lot more issues. The only thing I have now is every once in awhile the Surface doesn't want to wake up from sleep so you have to hold down the power button for 15 seconds and it restarts. It is sort of annoying but it doesn't happen often. Other than that a lot of issues have been resolved and they are functional machines. I'm happy with my purchase so far.

 

[uworldrelay]

get used 2012 MBP-$500
get 16gb ram-$90
get SSD samsung 850 pro-$120