2012-13 Laptop Discussion

The lenovo twist is slick and sexy. Except the resolution I see no reason not to buy it.
And its decently powerful - i5 onward.

Did you check the samsung ativ pro? I think that and the lenovo twist are the best considering ROI.

Thanks for the advice.

What do you think about the screen size? 11", 12", 13"?

I don't know. I think 13" is pretty optimum-ish. a 11-12 inch screen with full HD makes it painful to read text, so you have to almost zoom in all the time.
13" is a good balance between multimedia and portability.

My laptop is a Dell XPS13 that I bought back in early 2010. It works fine still, but I only really use it for checking email, basic Excel and Word, and music. Is the general consensus to bring a much newer one to school or would something 3+ years old cut it? I don't have the specific specs on hand, but can pull those up if that would help the answer.

Cornell's computer requirement page specifically states "Hardware under 2 years of age"

I guess it depends on the specs of the machine... but you may be safer investing in something new. Up to you, you could always try it out and decide later.

128gb should be enough, but you'll definitely have to pay attention to storage. with 256 you wouldn't have to worry at all. keep in mind that documents take up VERY little space, but data sets, pictures, videos, music, etc take up much more.

screen size is largely an opinion question, although I will say that if you're looking at especially small laptops (for example macbook air 11") make sure you test out excel and such on them, because it can get ugly trying to manipulate a spreadsheet with a small screen. for me, 13" is ideal. 15" is too big, 11" is too small. 13 - just right. :D.

as for i5 vs i7 - i5 should be plenty, you'll be able to do everything, it just may be a bit slower. i plan on going for the i7 though, i don't deal well with slow computers.

i would not take minimum recommended specs for laptop as a strict guideline.

kellogg's minimum recommended spec for mac is:
Model: 13” MacBook Pro or MacBook Air
Processor: 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 with 3MB cache
Memory: 4GB RAM
Hard Drive: At least 256 GB SATA hard disk (5400 RPM)

however, i've been using a 2010 13" macbook air with 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 128GB (SSD) and it has been more than enough (even when running windows on VMware). there are several classmates who still use the old school plastic, white macbooks (discontinued) without an issue. it just might be a little slower booting up and opening programs.

if your computer can boot up in under 30 seconds and can multi task between word, outlook, excel, and a browser without slowing down, you're fine.

most people have a 13". i would not recommend anything smaller. excel work is a pain on small screens. if you want something smaller, get a 13-15" laptop and a tablet. i'm seeing more and more classmates with ipads since all reading material and class slides are posted online. check your schools policy on tablets in the classroom. kellogg doesn't allow laptops in classrooms but allow tablets.

if your buying a new laptop, i highly recommend you spring for an SSD rather than a faster processor. also, everybody uses dropbox so no need for external HHD unless you regularly like to back up your system.

As someone who buys a laptop every 3 months (for our company) here is what I recommend:

1. Wait till June if you can for Intel's Haswell chipset. You will get double the battery life from the same PC or get ultrabooks that are much lighter.
2. Unless you plan to do heavy graphics work, Integrated graphics upward of HD4000 are more than enough. You dont need a separate graphic chip. I use photoshop and integrated graphics perform quite well.
3. SSD is the single most important upgrade that I would consider. Its such a performance boost that a second generation core i7 with SSD will perform much better than a 3rd gen core i7 with top of the line specs. Just as an example - my outlook (that has 4 email accounts, 2GB database) takes 45 seconds to sync on my desktop (regular HDD) and <5 seconds on my laptop (SSD). Both have quad core processors.
4. Look for quality of screen. You will be looking at this thing for 6+ hours/day.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2037038/ ... boost.html

If you are somewhat of a techie (or a hands on guy, you dont need to be a techie), get a regular PC and swap the HDD. Its much cheaper. Get 256 GB minimum.

For those in India, planning to join a B-school in US - Buy laptops in US. They are much cheaper and you will get a warranty as well. Finally, look out on slickdeals for a good deal. Sometimes you can save as much as $400 over Best Buy.

-Rajat

Great Post, Any idea on when the next thinkpad series will be out using this chipset? Can we expect something this summer? (I'm not a fan of slickdeals, a few bad experiences)

I believe that every laptop manufacturer will have Haswell, especially in the ultrabooks. My estimate is summertime (June). These chips are already shipping to manufacturers.

-Rajat

Well, I know I was in this discussion earlier, but I'm going to be attending Yale, so it looks like I'm going to be provided with a "standard issue Dell" come orientation... Eeek!

I feel Acer and Asus have the best performance/price ratio

I got my x230 a few weeks back, got antsy...

Ended up with a refurb from outlet.lenovo.com
Build was
i5-3230M
128 SSD
(will be adding a mSATA SSD for extra storage)
8gb ram
Win7 pro
6cell battery

Pretty great so far, I spent under $600.

Make sure you check the KB and track pad out. I have found Lenovo and hp KB to be much better

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There are various factors to be considered while deciding to invest in something that you will use for next 3-4 years such as
1.Portability or weight
2.Battery life
3.Processing power
4.Availability of software etc.
Windows is the most widely used OS till date and there are plenty of softwares available. But Macbook Air is one of the most aesthetically pleasing thing you will find on the planet.As for the specifications,New Macbook Air just weighs 1.08 kg or 2.38 pounds(11 inch) / 1.35 kg or 2.96 pounds(13 inch).
There are many ultrabooks which weighs less but nothing beats the AIR when it comes to battery life(12 hrs for 13 inch model).
It has new fourth-generation Intel Core processors along with new Intel HD Graphics 5000 and faster flash storage which gives you enough juice to run this machine for 12 hrs straight(13 inch model) after full charge.
As far as the availability of software is concerned there are many opensource options available but if you are really into MS Office then just get a copy of windows and run it via bootcamp or VMs.
If you want a windows running machine then Sony Vaio pro 13 would be the best choice with all carbon fiber body but it costs about $ 1250(base model and can go upto $ 2250) which is much more than what you have to pay for base model of Macbook Air (approx. $ 1000).
Windows is sluggish and prone to virus attacks.
This review comes from a lifelong windows user and I just want to "upgrade my entire computer experience"(as Apple says).

Do you guys think there will be MacBook Pros with Haswell chips out soon? The MacBook Air is great but there's no retina display. There's only about 0.5 pounds of difference in weight between the MBA and rMBP.