best computer for school? - Earth Empires Forum

Red X

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Jun 25th 2012, 14:44:46

any comments im thinking about getting a apple as idc for windows and i run linux atm.

what is the difference between macbook pro vs macbook air. while i dont care for windows im still open to it as its more universal. need something more mainstream for essays and such

any thoughts anyone?

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Pontius Pirate

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Jun 25th 2012, 14:48:44

get something basic, you get macbook specs for half the price. and you get to choose whether you're installing windows or linux. nothing specific in mind except "NOT APPLE" because they're such ripoffs

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iNouda

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Jun 25th 2012, 14:53:06

More mainstream for essays...Why would you even need a Mac for that? They're overpriced pieces of crap.

qzjul

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Jun 25th 2012, 14:55:13

don't get an apple; they're overpriced crap

I'd look at System 76 to be honest https://www.system76.com/

They make good, affordable ubuntu laptops that all work beautifully with linux ;)

Finally did the signature thing.

Drow

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Jun 25th 2012, 15:01:39

macbook pro has a hard drive. a macbook air is all external, basically you get a nominal amount of space for the system, and any real storage has to be done externally.
In aus, high school students are currently getting macbook airs for free.
I'd reccomend getting a cheap PC, and get word or office (or equivalent, I am very pro openoffice.org). you can pick up a PC notebook of more than sufficient specs for school work etc, for around 500 bucks, maybe less.

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Angel1

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Jun 25th 2012, 15:13:51

I've had a Dell Inspiron for school and it worked great for 3 years before I upgraded to HP Pavilion DV7.

With the inspiron, I did have to replace the battery once and the power cord once. Depending on the exact specs you get, a very solid laptop. I got a basic laptop and it worked great for word processing and the like. It did well with internet gaming and surfing the web.

The HP Pavilion I have, I bought to get me through the end of school and to be good for entertainment and such after school. If I had to do more complicated work, the Pavilion could probably handle it. The Pavilion does have biometrics which is really nice. Mine is a core i7

For basic word processing and the like: Dell Inspiron, Pentium Dual Core, costs ~$400

For more complicated programs: HP Pavilion DV7, Core i5 or Core i7, costs ~$800

If you like the biometrics, and want something in between those two, the Pavilion DV6 is ~$600

-Angel1

Red X

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Jun 25th 2012, 15:18:04

ha great =] thanks all, and yea i figured apple was over priced but wanted to be open to it and you all just refreshed my thoughts on it

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iNouda

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Jun 25th 2012, 15:24:24

I'd get an Asus. They're far better than any HP crap, have better specs for a lower price...and they come with 2 years warranty by default. Not sure what the latest under $700 models are though.

martian

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Jun 25th 2012, 15:47:21

What is best for you for school really depends on what you are going to be using it for.
If you are just going to be writing essays and surfing the net, you may as well get a low end, inexpensive PC laptop which will give you the best bang for your buck. Mac laptops are way too expensive for what they are. I used to own one about 12 years ago and was pleased with it then but tbh mac's haven't kept up developmentally with PCs/windows and the price is out of line imo...
You can instal linux on just about anything these days.. or so I'm told:p
(I'm assuming you are looking for a laptop).

Usually I build my own desktops which with each iteration gets easier and cheaper as the technology improves over the years:P

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Red X

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Jun 25th 2012, 15:47:30

mhm

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Red X

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Jun 25th 2012, 15:48:17

i got to do some reascher

i have linux on one, i dont have microsofty word on it ill need that for school

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elvesrus

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Jun 25th 2012, 16:05:41

pretty sure word can open non word documents, so why do you need word?

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NukEvil

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Jun 25th 2012, 16:12:47

http://www.computerhistory.org/...welcome-babbageengine.jpg

Should handle pretty much all your computing needs...

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Marshal

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Jun 25th 2012, 16:23:36

libre/openoffice can open ms word docs and docxs, excel sheets and access databases open too but could get messed.

if you don't mind small screen you could buy some minilaptop.

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Requiem

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Jun 25th 2012, 17:06:10

iPad?

qzjul

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Jun 25th 2012, 17:27:36

iPad has no keyboard --> you can't do actual work on it

Finally did the signature thing.

Requiem

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Jun 25th 2012, 17:43:04

But qzjul Apple said it is the best tool for education...

Anonymous

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Jun 25th 2012, 18:24:18

No Apple.

The rest it really depends on you. Do you wanna game on it? Looking for specific size/weight class? What's your minimum battery life requirements? Price range? Maximum price?

So for screens you have some options.
Resolution? (I would suggest not going below 1600x900 so 1600x900 or 1920x1080)
Matte or Glossy?
Twisted Nematic or IPS? (The answer is IPS but do you want to afford it or is it offered in your price range)
Willing to accept tradeoffs? (Have to deal with fluff red reproduction but it's a IPS panel that is otherwise flawless)
AMD vs Nvidia vs No Discrete GPU?

Most important of all you must put these in order of what's most important to you.

If in doubt or you want someone else to do the work for you, I always consult notebookreview.com and their what notebook should I buy forum. Even if I think I made up my mind. Collective conscious of the internet is a powerful tool. A link follows to the template for posting.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/...-read-before-posting.html

Marshal

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Jun 25th 2012, 19:25:57

unless he plans gaming then intel integrated graphics is good enuf.

glossy screen is teh suck.

Red X

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Jun 25th 2012, 21:38:24

All I plan to do is school work from it id like a8 hour battery life if that's even possible

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Marshal

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Jun 25th 2012, 21:58:00

8 hour battery? well...............

Asus U46SV claims to have 10 hrs battery life.

Newworld

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Jun 25th 2012, 22:51:26

Originally posted by qzjul:

iPad has no keyboard --> you can't do actual work on it

I'm sure apple will be along shortly with a cheap wireless bluetooth keyboard. Hmm maybe not: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC184

Edited By: Newworld on Jun 25th 2012, 22:53:38
See Original Post

pew pew pew

Anonymous

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Jun 26th 2012, 0:02:24

My Sony SE gets 10 hours pretty easy with it's slice battery.
Mine is the 15inch, but I hear told the smaller SE gets the same.

Also the Sony Z has a slice battery and can get around 10 hours mind you it's needlessly expensive for the Z.

I am not sure if any other laptop out there is getting that much runtime. Without slice batteries attached they all should pull 5 hours which is kind of common in the Ultrabook category.

LittleItaly

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Jun 26th 2012, 0:33:56

buy a pc with no OS installed, or a kit for you to put together

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Klown

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Jun 26th 2012, 0:49:33

I always get HP laptops... never had a problem with one whereas whenever I get a Dell they suck pretty bad.

KillerdragonMD

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Jun 26th 2012, 1:04:03

Toshiba or ASUS are pretty decent

sigma

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Jun 26th 2012, 6:02:19

openoffice has been replaced by libreoffice...

but yeah, you can easily save your documents as .doc or whatever format you choose. Ubuntu would still work for you.

LittleItaly

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Jun 26th 2012, 6:59:16

libre office may lose the formatting of docx, so if desperate, install playonlinux, which is a front end to wine, to easily install ms office or other windows programs. versions 2003 and 07 work just fine. Remember though, it may crash from time to time, and access does not work on wine.

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Bikerman

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Jun 26th 2012, 7:55:41

dont go to school, stay home and play earth!

Kid

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Jun 26th 2012, 12:50:16

my inspiron 6400 serve me for 5yr before it die

Marshal

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Jun 26th 2012, 16:47:57

Originally posted by Newworld:

I'm sure apple will be along shortly with a cheap wireless bluetooth keyboard. Hmm maybe not: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC184

69 bucks from keyboard isn't cheap.

Red X

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Jun 26th 2012, 18:28:08

Hehe thank you everyone

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Red X

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Jun 26th 2012, 18:31:20

ill, post what I get =)

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qzjul

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Jun 26th 2012, 18:33:34

Originally posted by Newworld:

Originally posted by qzjul:

iPad has no keyboard --> you can't do actual work on it

I'm sure apple will be along shortly with a cheap wireless bluetooth keyboard. Hmm maybe not: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC184

So essentially you're buying an overpriced ultrabook with the keyboard sold separately? thank you but no =/

Finally did the signature thing.

iNouda

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Jun 26th 2012, 19:12:31

Originally posted by Klown:

I always get HP laptops... never had a problem with one whereas whenever I get a Dell they suck pretty bad.

Funny I've had the exact opposite problem. Buggy as hell. Motherboard fubared on the only HP lappy I had and I only used it for school (no gaming/media)...and after they repaired it it just wasn't the same.

Don't get me started on Acer, that has got to be the flufftiest brand. Everyone I know who bought one (due to its relatively cheap price) have had major problems within the first few months.

My latest Asus is pretty solid. No major problems (well there is that strange waking up from hibernate that doesn't work sometimes. It lights up but the OS doesn't boot until the second time I press the power button) that require me having to send it to the shop.

Red X

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Jun 26th 2012, 22:47:51

My sister has Acer I like them just wanted options lol gateway makes them

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Devestation

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Jun 27th 2012, 0:00:07

I have an Acer with SSD HD, i7 core, etc. I use it to play assassins creed. ^_^

LittleItaly

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Jun 27th 2012, 0:06:36

acer's are nice, and cheaper spec wise... authed my poppop to get himself one.

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Anonymous

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Jun 27th 2012, 0:07:47

Originally posted by qzjul:

Originally posted by Newworld:

Originally posted by qzjul:

iPad has no keyboard --> you can't do actual work on it

I'm sure apple will be along shortly with a cheap wireless bluetooth keyboard. Hmm maybe not: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC184

So essentially you're buying an overpriced ultrabook with the keyboard sold separately? thank you but no =/

Denotes that the iPad has enough hardware to support Windows 7 by Intel's standard... The iPad doesn't have that and costs $800.

gobbly

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Jun 27th 2012, 0:55:56

I got a cheap dell notebook and it was just fine

Pang

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Jun 27th 2012, 1:20:46

i agree with qz -- unless you're one of the following:
a) graphic designer
b) computer illiterate/virus downloader
c) you're rich

there's no point in considering apple products for school. I got a very nice MacBook Pro for my research, but it was paid for with my grant money. Best laptop I ever owned, by far, but that came at a very steep price.

A mid-range Dell is likely up your alley, but you can configure Ubuntu to do many things that Macs do and both run on a Unix-based OS, so I'd give Ubuntu a try :)

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Anonymous

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Jun 27th 2012, 1:50:28

Ubuntu = Linux
MacOS X = NextStep bastardization of BSD = BSD = Unix

Unix != Linux

Very different systems.

anoniem

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Jun 27th 2012, 1:53:51

funny how most people labelling macbook's as overpriced pieces of crap - have never even owned a macbook.

many of my friends have macbooks and they really do last. several of them have had their's for years and they are just as good as the day they bought them.

a mac is an investment. if you have the money then buy one.

the main difference (apart from the weight) between a pro and an air - is the fact that you cant upgrade a macbook air.

HOWEVER, if you are only going to be writing essays then you can literally buy the cheapest laptop out there. it all depends on what you want.

good luc

re(ally)tired

TheMatrix

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Jun 27th 2012, 2:12:30

If you go for ubuntu, go with kubuntu. Unity sucks, kde4 is much nicer.

Pang

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Jun 27th 2012, 2:12:38

they still behave nearly identically from the command line and that's all I really care about at this stage, symac.

osx is very, very nice for any number of things, but it's not as nice for developing as ubuntu is or even my typical windows setup (assuming I'm working on a remote server :p).

regardless, steering ppl who don't need apple products away from apple = win. i've seen lots of folks waste money on mac______ or i_____ products when they don't have the money or need the hardware.
If you want to write essays, compile spreadsheets, make a few presentations and browse the web, why pay so much extra for a fruit logo? :)

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bertz

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Jun 27th 2012, 2:13:06

Acer. Cheap. The moment it stops working, the specs is also obsolete. So it's pretty nice
You don't need to buy expensive PC.

Anonymous

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Jun 27th 2012, 2:30:41

True enough I suppose.

I would have to go against acer too, had issues with their tablet.

miniii

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Jun 27th 2012, 6:19:26

air's have SSD and no discrete graphics card i think. But the space on the SSDs are tiny unless you pay a fortune to upgrade it.

as a fellow mac owner, i can say they look nice (not just the exterior/OS but the fonts as well) for one and does all the stuff i want. but was it worth it.. well i bought a fully upgraded one off ebay for cheaper than the standard model so it wasn't all that bad but i think something cheaper is better unless you do anything along the design path or music.

LittleItaly

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Jun 27th 2012, 13:02:06

dont book with a mac.

http://finance.yahoo.com/...ed-pricier-040100900.html

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dLpLow

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Jun 27th 2012, 13:23:53

macbook pro 15 inch

all dy baby :D

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