2014-2015 Laptop Discussion : Business School Life

jkaustubh

Manager

Joined: 24 Sep 2012

Status:MBA Candidate, Class of 2017

Affiliations: SMU Cox

Posts: 186

Location: United States (TX)

Concentration: General Management, Strategy

Schools: Cox '17 (M$) Smith '17 (A$) Simon '17 (A)

GMAT 1: 710 Q48 V39

GPA: 3.75

WE:Project Management (Energy and Utilities)

2014-2015 Laptop Discussion [#permalink]

20 Jan 2015, 02:05

2014-15 Laptop and Software Discussion

The laptop is the single most important tool that you will have while in business school. It will be your best friend or your worst enemy. This is a thread for everyone to discuss the best laptops, notebooks, netbooks, tablets, apps, and accessories for their MBA electronic needs!

Example:

Hardware configuration:
- Model: netbook, notebook, tablet, 2-in-1 (convertibles)
- Make : Lenovo, Dell, Apple, Acer, ASUS etc
- Screen size: 10" - 17"
- Hard disk space: SSD or HDD?
- Ram: 4-16 GB
- etc...

Accesories
- External hd/pendrive
- Big monitor/s at home
- etc...

Online Applications/Programs
- Office 2013
- Dropbox account
- etc...

Apps
- Note taking apps
- Angry Birds (haha)
- extreme gaming

Consider Making Suggestions Such as:
1. Weight/size/screen size
2. Battery life (longer with smaller screen, assuming the same battery capacity)
3. Fits better on airplanes (may or may not be a factor for you)
4. I use a dual 24" monitor setup at work/home, so I am satisfying my need for large screens.
5. Touch Screen required or not
6. Your personal budget that you are thinking of spending on the laptop

Previous discussions:

2012-2013 Laptop Discussion

2011 Laptop Discussion

2010 Laptop Discussion

DLEmba

Manager

Joined: 17 Dec 2013

Posts: 102

Location: United States

Concentration: Strategy, General Management

Schools: Duke '17 (M)

GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V38

Re: 2014-2015 Laptop Discussion [#permalink]

27 Feb 2015, 08:10

jkaustubh wrote:

2014-15 Laptop and Software Discussion

The laptop is the single most important tool that you will have while in business school. It will be your best friend or your worst enemy. This is a thread for everyone to discuss the best laptops, notebooks, netbooks, tablets, apps, and accessories for their MBA electronic needs!

Example:

Hardware configuration:
- Model: netbook, notebook, tablet, 2-in-1 (convertibles)
- Make : Lenovo, Dell, Apple, Acer, ASUS etc
- Screen size: 10" - 17"
- Hard disk space: SSD or HDD?
- Ram: 4-16 GB
- etc...

Accesories
- External hd/pendrive
- Big monitor/s at home
- etc...

Online Applications/Programs
- Office 2013
- Dropbox account
- etc...

Apps
- Note taking apps
- Angry Birds (haha)
- extreme gaming

Consider Making Suggestions Such as:
1. Weight/size/screen size
2. Battery life (longer with smaller screen, assuming the same battery capacity)
3. Fits better on airplanes (may or may not be a factor for you)
4. I use a dual 24" monitor setup at work/home, so I am satisfying my need for large screens.
5. Touch Screen required or not
6. Your personal budget that you are thinking of spending on the laptop

Previous discussions:

2012-2013 Laptop Discussion

2011 Laptop Discussion

2010 Laptop Discussion

I was thinking about using my Surface Pro 3. It seems to fit all the specs at all the schools I was accepted to. Opinions?

tlcheung

Intern

Joined: 20 Jun 2013

Posts: 31

Location: Hong Kong

Schools: LBS '17 (D) Cambridge'16 (D) Said'16 (M) Cranfield '16 (A$) IESE '16 (WD)

GMAT 1: 720 Q50 V38

Re: 2014-2015 Laptop Discussion [#permalink]

16 Mar 2015, 20:28

I would like to bring my MacBook Air to the school. Is it sufficient?

APY89

Manager

Joined: 03 Jun 2014

Posts: 54

Location: United States

Concentration: Entrepreneurship, General Management

Schools: McDonough '17 (A) Tepper '17 (M$)

GMAT 1: 640 Q42 V36

GMAT 2: 710 Q48 V40

GPA: 3.38

WE:Operations (Consulting)

Re: 2014-2015 Laptop Discussion [#permalink]

24 Mar 2015, 08:49

tlcheung wrote:

I would like to bring my MacBook Air to the school. Is it sufficient?

I've been told to avoid using Macs for B School. A current first year at Tepper mentioned that she bought a brand new MacBook Pro for school, but it broke after only 2 weeks of use. She mentioned that she was running a mirror version of Windows on it which I believe is what caused it to break (very taxing on the laptop). Sounds like Macs can work, but they are also an unnecessary risk/hassle.

I've heard good things about the Surface Pro 3. From what I've heard, they are great for taking handwritten notes (then translated into a word doc format).

I had my eye on the Dell XPS 13". Any thoughts?

SoCalMBA2017

Intern

Joined: 25 Mar 2015

Posts: 12

Schools: Marshall '17 (M)

Re: 2014-2015 Laptop Discussion [#permalink]

26 Mar 2015, 10:20

tlcheung I've seen on the blogosphere that Macs can cause problems running parallel for Excel. However, I have seen many B-school students with Macbooks (just check out Instagram). If you're devoted to Apple, go ahead and get what you like, but be prepared with a contingency plan (such as using school computers).

APY89 Check out if you get a student discount for Dell. That might sway your decision. I've been leaning toward a Surface Pro 3, but once you select the version with enough memory and all of the accessories (keyboard case, etc.) it becomes significantly more expensive than the Dell.

tlcheung

Intern

Joined: 20 Jun 2013

Posts: 31

Location: Hong Kong

Schools: LBS '17 (D) Cambridge'16 (D) Said'16 (M) Cranfield '16 (A$) IESE '16 (WD)

GMAT 1: 720 Q50 V38

Re: 2014-2015 Laptop Discussion [#permalink]

06 Oct 2015, 17:03

Is Microsoft Surface 3 enough for business school?

thecheftony

Intern

Joined: 21 Jul 2015

Posts: 36

Location: United States

Concentration: Entrepreneurship, Healthcare

Schools: HBS '18 (A) Ross '18 (A$)

GMAT 1: 700 Q48 V38

GMAT 2: 750 Q50 V41

GPA: 3.78

WE:Engineering (Pharmaceuticals and Biotech)

Re: 2014-2015 Laptop Discussion [#permalink]

12 Oct 2015, 12:59

I don't really think the computer itself matters... If this were an engineering PhD program where you are running computation heavy simulation programs, maybe. But for what you'll need in business school, I'm certain a laptop from 5 years ago would work just fine specification-wise. I think it's personal preference on tablet vs laptop or mobility.

7865

Intern

Joined: 18 Nov 2015

Posts: 9

Re: 2014-2015 Laptop Discussion [#permalink]

18 Nov 2015, 06:48

Thank you for sharing the good information.

gmatclubot

Re: 2014-2015 Laptop Discussion [#permalink]

18 Nov 2015, 06:48

2014-2015 Laptop Discussion

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