Good laptop for grad school?

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ebolamonkey3

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Sep 2, 2008
Messages
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Hey guys, I'll be starting business school this fall. Looking for something that's mobile (14in or less), w/ good battery life, and durable. Won't be needing too much computing power I'd imagine, since I'll be mostly dealing w/ Office 2010 :p

Also plan on adding my own RAM and SSD, so easy access to components would be a plus as well.

Budget: $1000, but cheaper is better.
 
I highly recommend the 4820TG. Just purchased it last month and it has worked great for taking it to classes and playing games. I love how slim it is! I put a 120GB Intel SSD in it which was very easy to do. I purchased mine on Amazon for about $720 which is a great value for what you get.

Specs:
14" Screen
Core i5 480M
ATI 6550M

Battey Life: Claims 8 hours but I get about 6 hours with web browsing and and watching YouTube videos with 1/3 from full brightness.
 
A T-series Lenovo Thinkpad or a Dell Latitude E-series.
Why?
1. Really good build quality. These are designed for road warriors that beat their computers day in and day out.
2. Decent access. My Dell Latitude E6410 has a removable HDD tray and you can access most of the parts (CPU, RAM, wireless card, etc.) just by removing one screw and removing a large metal plate on the bottm. Thinkpads are a bit less accessible but they should still be upgradeable.

Also, they provide repair and disassembly manuals on their sites, unlike consumer laptops, since IT people need to know how to fix them.

3. Business class support.
 
Pylon said:
A T-series Lenovo Thinkpad or a Dell Latitude E-series.
Why?
1. Really good build quality. These are designed for road warriors that beat their computers day in and day out.
2. Decent access. My Dell Latitude E6410 has a removable HDD tray and you can access most of the parts (CPU, RAM, wireless card, etc.) just by removing one screw and removing a large metal plate on the bottm. Thinkpads are a bit less accessible but they should still be upgradeable.

Also, they provide repair and disassembly manuals on their sites, unlike consumer laptops, since IT people need to know how to fix them.

3. Business class support.
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For under $1000? :p
 
I am an undergrad and use the Lenovo X201 for school, couldn't be happier with it. Great keyboard and it is very light and easy to carry around in my backpack.
 
I am in the same boat, going to grad school this fall. However, my needs require a beefier CPU. I am waiting for Lenovo's X220t convertible. This will allow me to take notes in class with wacom, and enough power to run my programs. It is a bit out of your price range (starting $1200), but you get one of the best screens.
 
I think ThinkPads are overpriced in my opinion. I suggest getting the Acer, awesome hardware at a good price plus you will have money left over for the SSD which is a plus.
 
griffstert said:
I think ThinkPads are overpriced in my opinion. I suggest getting the Acer, awesome hardware at a good price plus you will have money left over for the SSD which is a plus.
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on the contrary, the price is worth it (same for the Elitebooks from HP, and Lattitude's from Dell), the build is quality is leaps and bounds above what you would get from Acer or even Hp/Dell consumer lines......your paying for a better built laptop, one that was designed to be used heavily, and daily...
 
griffstert said:
I think ThinkPads are overpriced in my opinion. I suggest getting the Acer, awesome hardware at a good price plus you will have money left over for the SSD which is a plus.
Click to expand...

I think that paying for good ergonomics and a decent and durable chassis that'll stand up to abuse is well worth it. I'd take a good Thinkpad over a better spec'd but poorer built Acer, especially considering Acer's keyboard design is junk. A comfortable keyboard that minimizes typos is a lot more important to me than a slightly faster CPU.
 
The new thinkpad x220s are coming this month. If I was going back to school I would get one hands down. My x201t was a lifesaver. Lasts all day with extended battery, light weight, built like a tank. I replaced the RAM and SSD too. Ram is one screw on the bottom, SSD just slides out the side. Doesn't even void the warranty.
 
Soban said:
The new thinkpad x220s are coming this month. If I was going back to school I would get one hands down. My x201t was a lifesaver. Lasts all day with extended battery, light weight, built like a tank. I replaced the RAM and SSD too. Ram is one screw on the bottom, SSD just slides out the side. Doesn't even void the warranty.
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I'm intrigued by the X220 as well, but not sure if they're too small to work on documents and spreadsheets?
 
ebolamonkey3 said:
I'm intrigued by the X220 as well, but not sure if they're too small to work on documents and spreadsheets?
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I have an x200 and i would say that the screen should be fine for documents and spreadsheets and long as only view one document at a time. Make sure to get the IPS screen if you get the x220.
 
ebolamonkey3 said:
I'm intrigued by the X220 as well, but not sure if they're too small to work on documents and spreadsheets?
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Its the perfect size for me. I have already worked on multiple documents in excel and programs in visual studio with ease.
 
SoMeAm said:
Hi Ebolamonkey3
Check out this link... HP Envy HP having a mega sale
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...pid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/notebooks/ENVY

SoMeAm
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Hey, thanks! Will check it out. But isn't the battery life on the Envy so-so?

bluejrag0n38 said:
I have an x200 and i would say that the screen should be fine for documents and spreadsheets and long as only view one document at a time. Make sure to get the IPS screen if you get the x220.
Click to expand...

Hmm.. don't you have 1440x900 on the X200 though?

darkhunter139 said:
Its the perfect size for me. I have already worked on multiple documents in excel and programs in visual studio with ease.
Click to expand...

I see, I will have to see if I can find a display model somewhere to try it out.
 
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