What type of laptop are you going to use for law school? Forum

storpappa · Post by **storpappa** » Thu May 21, 2015 4:24 pm

stoopkid13 wrote:
storpappa wrote:COSTCO to test drive laptops like DELL. Costco which if you can buy your computer there. They provide an extra year of warranty coverage for free, help with repairs and the pricing
My dad likes buying computers

Ugghh, I don't like being quoted in a discussion that starts with my dad
I'm not old enough for that

stoopkid13 · Post by **stoopkid13** » Thu May 21, 2015 5:25 pm

storpappa wrote:
stoopkid13 wrote:
storpappa wrote:COSTCO to test drive laptops like DELL. Costco which if you can buy your computer there. They provide an extra year of warranty coverage for free, help with repairs and the pricing
My dad likes buying computers
Ugghh, I don't like being quoted in a discussion that starts with my dad
I'm not old enough for that

Appropriate username?

CaptainJapan · Post by **CaptainJapan** » Thu May 21, 2015 5:59 pm

parisian wrote:Does anyone have an opinion whether it's a good idea to purchase Apple Care? the law school says it's strongly recommended to have one, but it seems to me Apple products are pretty reliable and the chances of using AC is kind of unlikely

Get it. It pretty much covers anything...I accidentally kicked my laptop getting up off the couch once and apple care saved me from having to buy a new laptop. Replaced the screen for free $$

neubreed · Post by **neubreed** » Fri May 22, 2015 4:48 pm

CaptainJapan wrote:
parisian wrote:Does anyone have an opinion whether it's a good idea to purchase Apple Care? the law school says it's strongly recommended to have one, but it seems to me Apple products are pretty reliable and the chances of using AC is kind of unlikely
Get it. It pretty much covers anything...I accidentally kicked my laptop getting up off the couch once and apple care saved me from having to buy a new laptop. Replaced the screen for free $$

I agree. Every macbook I've had has had something happen to it a little over a year after buying, whether it be my fault or that of faulty hardware. Then again, if you're lucky or if you trade in your laptop for a new one every year or two, maybe it's not worth it.

And on that note, OMG, in the market for a new laptop and cannot... decide... even though they've all been updated.

New Macbook retina - shitty processor.
New Macbook air - shitty screen.
New Macbook pro retina - I finally want an ultra portable goddammit, I know it's not that much heavier but cahmaaahn.

Apple, u wot m8? this feels personal.

wonka · Post by **wonka** » Fri May 22, 2015 5:48 pm

Post removed.

neubreed · Post by **neubreed** » Fri May 22, 2015 5:56 pm

wonka wrote:
neubreed wrote: I agree. Every macbook I've had has had something happen to it a little over a year after buying, whether it be my fault or that of faulty hardware. Then again, if you're lucky or if you trade in your laptop for a new one every year or two, maybe it's not worth it.

And on that note, OMG, in the market for a new laptop and cannot... decide... even though they've all been updated.

New Macbook retina - shitty processor.
New Macbook air - shitty screen.
New Macbook pro retina - I finally want an ultra portable goddammit, I know it's not that much heavier but cahmaaahn.

Apple, u wot m8? this feels personal.
+1, none of those are right. Chances they'll improve the display on the MBA in the next 3 months?

None. They just updated the air in March. Besides if they improve the display, no one would buy the new macbook retina - that's kind of the one selling point. I'm considering just sticking it out another year with my heavy ass non-retina MBP to see what improvements they'll make to the latter, but I'll be doing a lot of traveling this summer, so that's not ideal.

I was gonna buy a new laptop last December, but decided to stick it out til these spring updates, so this feels like a giant FU from apple. #firstworldproblems

Flokkness · Post by **Flokkness** » Sun May 31, 2015 6:40 pm

I'll be using one of the new Dell XPS 13s (non touch) with a monitor and keyboard for home workstation purposes.

Clemenceau · Post by **Clemenceau** » Sun May 31, 2015 6:47 pm

Flokkness wrote:I'll be using one of the new Dell XPS 13s (non touch) with a monitor and keyboard for home workstation purposes.

Been considering this since they get awesome reviews and $800 aint too bad.

Just haven't been able to convince my inner mac snob to buy a dell.

Flokkness · Post by **Flokkness** » Sun May 31, 2015 11:32 pm

Clemenceau wrote:
Flokkness wrote:I'll be using one of the new Dell XPS 13s (non touch) with a monitor and keyboard for home workstation purposes.
Been considering this since they get awesome reviews and $800 aint too bad.

Just haven't been able to convince my inner mac snob to buy a dell.

The $800 base is really basic. Entry is probably the third model up (bigger SSD option & more unmoddable RAM, touch optional). End result is well above $800 when all is said and done. Depending on your wallet size it might be a bad investment with such major chipset change more or less right around the corner. I'd I hadn't had a giant old HP that was creaking along at six+ years of age I would've saved the money til then. But yeah - it's an awesome little laptop, looks great too.

stoopkid13 · Post by **stoopkid13** » Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:24 am

Flokkness wrote:
Clemenceau wrote:
Flokkness wrote:I'll be using one of the new Dell XPS 13s (non touch) with a monitor and keyboard for home workstation purposes.
Been considering this since they get awesome reviews and $800 aint too bad.

Just haven't been able to convince my inner mac snob to buy a dell.
The $800 base is really basic. Entry is probably the third model up (bigger SSD option & more unmoddable RAM, touch optional). End result is well above $800 when all is said and done. Depending on your wallet size it might be a bad investment with such major chipset change more or less right around the corner. I'd I hadn't had a giant old HP that was creaking along at six+ years of age I would've saved the money til then. But yeah - it's an awesome little laptop, looks great too.

I think you could get away with the base model. I don't think you really need 8 gb of ram if you aren't gaming or doing photoshop. I don't think you need 256 gb if you aren't storing a lot of videos, programs, or high resolution photos. Even then, if you run out of space, just use a flash drive or SD card or if you really need space buy an external HD. For the $100 you'd spend on an extra 128GB in SSD space, you can get a 256GB SD card or a 2TB external HD. I agree that it might be worth waiting for Skylake though.

ChemEng1642 · Post by **ChemEng1642** » Mon Jun 01, 2015 9:31 am

stoopkid13 wrote:
Flokkness wrote:
Clemenceau wrote:
Flokkness wrote:I'll be using one of the new Dell XPS 13s (non touch) with a monitor and keyboard for home workstation purposes.
Been considering this since they get awesome reviews and $800 aint too bad.

Just haven't been able to convince my inner mac snob to buy a dell.
The $800 base is really basic. Entry is probably the third model up (bigger SSD option & more unmoddable RAM, touch optional). End result is well above $800 when all is said and done. Depending on your wallet size it might be a bad investment with such major chipset change more or less right around the corner. I'd I hadn't had a giant old HP that was creaking along at six+ years of age I would've saved the money til then. But yeah - it's an awesome little laptop, looks great too.
I think you could get away with the base model. I don't think you really need 8 gb of ram if you aren't gaming or doing photoshop. I don't think you need 256 gb if you aren't storing a lot of videos, programs, or high resolution photos. Even then, if you run out of space, just use a flash drive or SD card or if you really need space buy an external HD. For the $100 you'd spend on an extra 128GB in SSD space, you can get a 256GB SD card or a 2TB external HD. I agree that it might be worth waiting for Skylake though.

Wait for slickdeals to come around!

Flokkness · Post by **Flokkness** » Mon Jun 01, 2015 9:48 am

stoopkid13 wrote:
Flokkness wrote:
Clemenceau wrote:
Flokkness wrote:I'll be using one of the new Dell XPS 13s (non touch) with a monitor and keyboard for home workstation purposes.
Been considering this since they get awesome reviews and $800 aint too bad.

Just haven't been able to convince my inner mac snob to buy a dell.
The $800 base is really basic. Entry is probably the third model up (bigger SSD option & more unmoddable RAM, touch optional). End result is well above $800 when all is said and done. Depending on your wallet size it might be a bad investment with such major chipset change more or less right around the corner. I'd I hadn't had a giant old HP that was creaking along at six+ years of age I would've saved the money til then. But yeah - it's an awesome little laptop, looks great too.
I think you could get away with the base model. I don't think you really need 8 gb of ram if you aren't gaming or doing photoshop. I don't think you need 256 gb if you aren't storing a lot of videos, programs, or high resolution photos. Even then, if you run out of space, just use a flash drive or SD card or if you really need space buy an external HD. For the $100 you'd spend on an extra 128GB in SSD space, you can get a 256GB SD card or a 2TB external HD. I agree that it might be worth waiting for Skylake though.

You can get away with the base model, it's just a question of what performance ceiling (i.e. hassle) you're willing to live with for the reduced price. If you run a bare bones laptop it's absolutely viable, though. You can hook up your SD/external but can't swap RAM on these bad boys which is a gigantic annoyance IMO. But for that Dell's entry level would be fricking awesome even with the i3. Goddammit Dell.

lsletsgo · Post by **lsletsgo** » Mon Jun 01, 2015 9:59 pm

Got the new 15 inch Retina Macbook Pro with the dGPU for law school today. Total came out to around $2.4k including the $200 education discount and tax. So worth! Next step, trying to sell my 2013 13 inch Retina Macbook Pro that I used during undergrad. Any recommendations on where I can sell it safely?

lacrossebrother · Post by **lacrossebrother** » Mon Jun 01, 2015 10:00 pm

chicks who have PCs don't shave their legs.

curlietop86 · Post by **curlietop86** » Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:37 pm

abl · Post by **abl** » Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:59 pm

Any guesses as to when Skylake might actually be available for laptops? Are we talking August? October?

wonka · Post by **wonka** » Tue Jun 02, 2015 3:11 pm

Post removed.

stoopkid13 · Post by **stoopkid13** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 10:54 am

abl wrote:Any guesses as to when Skylake might actually be available for laptops? Are we talking August? October?

No idea and I don't think anyone does but they say 2H 2015... It might be tight. But Windows 10 releases July 29 and I would at least wait for that (or get a computer with a free OS upgrade).

ETA: looks like it might be after August--more info is expected at Intel's Developer Forum in August.

curlietop86 · Post by **curlietop86** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:37 pm

tortsandtiaras · Post by **tortsandtiaras** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:39 pm

curlietop86 wrote:
wonka wrote:
curlietop86 wrote:
neubreed wrote:
wonka wrote:
neubreed wrote: I agree. Every macbook I've had has had something happen to it a little over a year after buying, whether it be my fault or that of faulty hardware. Then again, if you're lucky or if you trade in your laptop for a new one every year or two, maybe it's not worth it.

And on that note, OMG, in the market for a new laptop and cannot... decide... even though they've all been updated.

New Macbook retina - shitty processor.
New Macbook air - shitty screen.
New Macbook pro retina - I finally want an ultra portable goddammit, I know it's not that much heavier but cahmaaahn.

Apple, u wot m8? this feels personal.
+1, none of those are right. Chances they'll improve the display on the MBA in the next 3 months?
None. They just updated the air in March. Besides if they improve the display, no one would buy the new macbook retina - that's kind of the one selling point. I'm considering just sticking it out another year with my heavy ass non-retina MBP to see what improvements they'll make to the latter, but I'll be doing a lot of traveling this summer, so that's not ideal.

I was gonna buy a new laptop last December, but decided to stick it out til these spring updates, so this feels like a giant FU from apple. #firstworldproblems
this is also my issue. i'm using a 2013 MBP retina at work right now and the battery life is AWFUL - anyone have experiences with the battery life on newer MBP retina models?
+1.

I actually like most things about the new retina MBP. I went and scoped some out at the store and they've made it a lot thinner and lighter than previous generations. It seems like the only way to go, EXCEPT my current laptop is a MBP from about 3-4 years ago and oh myyyy the battery life is just atrocious.
UPDATE: i went to the apple store yesterday to get my phone fixed and walked out with a shiny new MBP retina. a coworker has the 2014 MBP retina and says his battery life has been great, so i went for it. so excited to get it all set up (nerd alert!).

This is what I would like as well! Did you get 13'' or 15''? If you don't mind sharing (and totally assuming educational pricing), how much was it total?

dasani13 · Post by **dasani13** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:47 pm

I got my 13" MBP retina last week and I'm kinda obsessed with it.

White Dwarf · Post by **White Dwarf** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 6:52 pm

I kinda want to get a Mac, but I've talked so much crap about them over the years that I don't know if my street cred can take the hit.

haus · Post by **haus** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 7:33 pm

White Dwarf wrote:I kinda want to get a Mac, but I've talked so much crap about them over the years that I don't know if my street cred can take the hit.

Don't worry, if you are going to law school, you will have no street creed left to lose....

Mozart Lacrimosa · Post by **Mozart Lacrimosa** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 7:55 pm

Flokkness wrote:I'll be using one of the new Dell XPS 13s (non touch) with a monitor and keyboard for home workstation purposes.

I went to a demo and liked the xps but my wrist kept rubbing the touchpad while typing, it was stressing me out haha. Do you notice this too? Maybe you just get over it.

Iwanttolawschool · Post by **Iwanttolawschool** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 10:06 pm

Ive never used a mac, is it hard to get used to?

I just want a 14-15" screen that's readable outside, nice keyboard, and ability to do some gaming. So far I've heard that Samsung might be my best bet, but it's expensive.