Best Business school laptops - 2017

Yup! You would definitely require a connector for VGA/HDMI for presentation + you would need a USB to Ethernet adapter as well if you do want to connect to a local LAN. Bought myself a cheap one for $10(Type C to HDMI) but then again, it is a Windows OS and most of the drivers can be easily installed unlike for Mac
I would suggest going to a store and try out both the laptops before purchasing it.

Do you guys think its worth getting a 2 in 1 - laptops with the ability to become tablets?

In my opinion, a 2 in 1 is just not useful. It is extremely uncomfortable to use once its fully turned due to the keypad coming in between your hands(although it would be disabled in Tablet mode). Plus, the presentation mode that most of the laptop companies advertise is also rarely used since for most presentations, you would be using either the VGA or the HDMI cable.

I thought so too.. I'm a bit old school but some of my friends swear by their surface / yogas.

one of the current students from Fuqua suggests me to buy xps13 as well.

He currently owns a Mac and he says it is not quite compatible in general usage.

i got a xps 13. its awesome pretty much in every way except for the webcam is on the lower left so if you ever have to talk to someone on skype, it gets awkward because you are not looking at them.

like the others mention, its light, has great battery life, and can boot up pretty quickly. i chose not to get a touch screen because i think most times you don't need it.

XPS 13 is probably one of the safest choices. But I think there are 2 other strong candidates:

- HP Spectre x360
- Surface Pro 4

What do you think of these?

Have used both these devices and they are really good. But after using the XPS 13, the bezels of Spectre x360 was just too much!! And the surface pro is not really that comfortable if you need to make a lotta presentations. You need to purchase an extra keyboard and thing itself is pretty small for my hands. So, XPS 13 it is for me

The new Spectre x360 has slim bezels as well. Can't really decide between the two.

Just saw it! Awesome! But the rate is a little steep i think?
Oh btw, Dell XPS is now in 2-in-1 as well!!
Best of luck with your decision

Current MBA students, how important has battery life been for you? Should it be a deciding factor for me?

Finally, what do you think of tablets with pen/stylus? Is it practical to take notes on a tablet at b-school?

Any thoughts on the Asus Zenbook?
It's a bit cheaper than other ultrabooks alternative.
Is the saving worth it?

I've got Dell E5470. It's a great business laptop with an incredible battery life (I had real 8 hours of web browsing with low brightness).
It has 14 inch IPS screen, yet it's light and not bulky.
I spent hours of searching and comparing various laptops and have come to the conclusion that this one has the best value for money.

Hello guys,

Need your kind inputs..
I own a lenovo ideapad yoga 13 laptop..Is it ideal for b-school?

Anyone brought a laptop from B&H photo? I only have experience of buying photography stuff from them. I plan to buy Dell XPS 13 for GMAT Prep, applications as well as B-school. They have listed a brand new touch version laptop with 7th Gen i5, 8gb RAM, 128GB SSD for $869. Similar specs model is listed at dell.com and amazon for over $1000. Seems to good be true. Do dell make specials version of laptops to be sold specifically by B&H? If so, I'm kinda scared if they have compromised some parts to make it cheaper.

I see it for $914 on Amazon now. It may be a rolling price reduction that has made it to some retailers but not others....
Microsoft store has it for $899. I would pick the store that has the most points/rebates/etc options without tax. Not sure if you have an Amex/Chase card that offers bonus points from certain stores. 900 bonus points is $9-18. That's better than nothing. Also B&H offers it "used" for $709

I have purchased photo equipment from them and always had a very positive experience (unlike some other photo stores that have tried to up-sell me or mis-represented what they have advertised). I have also purchased used laptops for family from Blinq and out of 3 laptops, all are still working, 1-2 years later. (They have a pretty generous return policy).

In my experience, I have found Dell decent and always turned to them for laptops but Apple hardware is superior based on what I have found. I have had 3 Dell's and 2 Macs I run windows on my Mac and 3 years later, it is still in great shape and still fast.

P.S. In my view 13" is as BIG as you ever want to go. At home, you can always hook it up to a monitor to get a bigger screen but while traveling and in meetings, 13" is so much nicer and easier to deal with than a 15" laptop.

I would suggest you go with any Dell laptops. Since they are durable.

And there are plenty of Dell laptops, which comes with a feature to upgrade your RAM. I believe you don't need much of graphics. So choose any laptop that has at least 1GB graphics card and i5 or i3 processors.

So IMO, below should be ideal for B-schools for 2 years or even for other stuff per se.

1. RAM-4GB(minimum) or 8GB (preferred)
2. i3 or i5 processor. Latest generation ones.
3. 1 GB (minimum) or 2 GB (preferred) graphics.
4. 1TB( sufficient) or 2TB hard drive. I feel 1TB should be sufficient since you can buy portable ones.
5. 14 or 15-inch HD screen
6. HD Webcam

It goes without saying Bluetooth and WiFi inbuilt.

And below list can be good to have.

1. Backlit keyboard.
2. DVD drive (laptops nowadays doesn't have DVD drive by default)

P.S. I feel Dell Inspiron series are really good. They are durable and lightweight. And battery life is good. Solid 5-6 hours of continuous usage in Balanced setting.