2010 Laptop discussion

Can you flesh that out (dumb it down) a bit more?

When are you guys going to order your new laptop? Is this too early? Lenovo is having a decent sales + 10% off, so I might actually pull the trigger.

Sure!

https://www.parallels.com/eu/products/de ... otutorial/

Click on Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac Experience Video.

Parallels is basically an application. You launch it, and through that application you can launch Windows (whatever version you want) on a seperate window, while you are working the Mac OS. You don't need to reboot your Mac to launch it, it's running like any other application would. Now the cool thing is that a) it's surprisingly fast (unbelievable fast to be exact, sometimes faster than just having another Windows laptop) b) it's very intuitive and user friendly c) there is no wait whatsoever when you are going back and worth from Windows to Mac and d) has great interactivity between the two (meaning that you can copy files from the Mac to the PC by simply drag and dropping, access the same hardware, usb sticks, flash drives, have coherent mode and have all Windows apps on your doc like if they were Mac applications, etc.)

For everyone not willing to compromise safety and speed of a Mac and compatibility of Windows OS, a virtual machine app is the answer.

*Note. Parallels is not the only software available, there are other great softwares like VMware Fusion which do exactly the same.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Good question, I have been seriously considering the Lenovo T410s. If you visit the Lenovo site there is a sale that runs until April 21st. That being said, I believe there could be some substantial benefits to purchasing your computer via the school store. I would also advise email the school and asking for some of the requirements. For example, Penn prefers that the system runs Office 2007 rather than any later edition.

I think the benefit of purchasing one through the store would also be easy warranty/repair and I have heard that some schools provide free software to students.

Check out the Lenovo website, go to "Products" and click "Special offers" to view the sales going on from now until April 21st. I'm still undecided on whether to buy now or buy later.

I've noticed that many manufacturers release new models/upgrades around the beginning of most quarters. Deals usually start to pop-up at the beginning of the quarter to get rid of inventory of the previous models to make room for the new models. I bought my desktop that way and purchased a 2500 computer for 1500 as they made room for the new inventory.

Could be some value in waiting until at least early July because not only could you have excess inventory deals but more back to school price competition.

So after going thru all the options... I am down on IBM or Asus but what they are missing is a HDMI port... which is sort of nice to have if you wanna play streamed video to your TV.

the acer AS1810 has an HDMI port and has a similar footprint to the asus (11.6", no dvd drive).
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I've figured that I'll just run with a Dell,

There two computers that I'm looking at,


Vostro V13
Processor Intel® Core™ 2 Duo SU7300 (1.3GHz, 3M L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB) ULV

Memory
4GB (4GX1) DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM, 1 DIMM


or the Vostro 3300

Processor
Intel® Core™ i5-520M (2.40GHz base, up to 2.93GHz, 2C/4T, 3MB L3)

Memory
3GB (1X2G+1X1G) DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM, 2 DIMM


? They've stopped manufacturing the Vostro 1320 which was what I initially thought of getting.. I'm unfamiliar with processors, so what kind of processor is the V13 running, and would that be sufficient?

a good resource for processors is https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php. you can search for each processor there. The su7300, while not a super high end processor, should be more than enough for basic b-school tasks (email, powerpoint, excel, web surfing, etc).

the core i5 is much newer, and according to the benchmark tests, performs almost 3 times better than the su7300. i suppose if you wanted to use this laptop as your primary pc, and wanted it to last as long as possible, then it would be better to get the one with the core i5 processor. on the other hand, if you're only going to use it as a travel laptop in the future, and the price difference is large, then i'd probably just get the cheaper one
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Thanks for the link! Well, I guess my main concern was the weight. The Vostro V13 is about 1.6kg, while the Vostro 3300 is much heavier. Costwise, the 3300 is about $100 more expensive than the V13, so that's not really a significant difference. I guess I'll probably choose the 3300, it wouldn't hurt to lug around something heavier...

Some of the asus and lenovo models have HDMI ports but it can be confusing to sort out the different variations on each model. I believe that the Asus UL30A has hdmi and it's hit or miss with their other models. For lenovo, I'm pretty sure that thinkpad models don't have it while many of the Ideapad ones do.

So I've confused the hell out of my brain on this laptop issue. I'm hoping someone here can help me declutter and decide.

1. I have a laptop - dell 700m that I bought in December 2005. It is running XP SP3 and barring some perf issues serves me pretty well. It's probably a little over 5 lbs and battery lasts about 4 hours.
2. I have a desktop from undergrad days that is now my Media PC. I keep it connected to my TV and it is actually running Windows 7 really well!
3. I am very tempted to buy a new machine but I am very tight on cash and based on the loan info I have right now, I will need to save every penny during b school.

That said, I am also unable to find any suitable machine!
My requirements are
i5 proc [i prefer to buy the best and have it last me a long time]
a bigger screen (13.5"?) because I know I'll be sitting hunched over this for a long time
less than 5 lbs and the lighter the better.
Price in the range of ~1200.


What do you guys think?
Should I just make do with my 700m as long as I can, and upgrade when it dies? Or is it better to do it at the start of school?
Does a laptop like this even exist?

I've mixed the questions of "should i buy" with "what should i buy" and now I can't decide.

I'm not sure if you made your final decision yet, but the official Kellogg laptop is just a bit over 1200 and is i5. The screen is just 12", but it is light. I am planning on getting an external monitor/keyboard/mouse at home either way.

Yes! I've decided on K . How about you?
I saw that model and it looks great except for that screen. The 12" as my main machine will be a pain. And if I'm buying a monitor then why not just hook it up to my desktop I guess.

Yeah I was decided on K before DAK. I personally have a problem using any laptop on its own, so will definitely have a 2nd or even maybe 3rd screen so I can display everything large when at home. I don't want to bring a desktop because I want to travel light and have everything with me at all times on my laptop.

HP announced "Envy 14" today. It has a 14.5" screen and an i-5 proc, and it will be $999.
Add some $ for extra battery and I think it will probably be a very good option!

I'm excited

Apparently the Asus UL30A A2 has a 12.5 hour battery life?!

Mmm.. that, would be good.

Also

https://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops ... aspx?pid=2

To clarify on this: to run Windows, you have to install drivers for the components (network, video card, etc). Where can you find Windows drivers fro Mac? Or the Windows use the MacOS drivers somehow?

What about this one?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002OOWBZM

All I really want is decent battery life and the ability to output to two external monitors. The former is a go, but I'm not sure if the second is possible. Can anyone opine?