<p>I will be at Michigan this fall in LSA.</p>
<p>What laptop do you recommend I get? Any specifications that I should keep in mind?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>I'm using a Macbook Pro right now. Most of my friends bring Macbooks or Dell XPS to class. What do you plan to do with it?</p>
<p>Definitely buy your computer in the US. They have better prices than in Dubai...and the service/warranty works a lot better if you buy it there.</p>
<p>Good topic. Interested in the whole desktop vs. laptop issue. How critical is it to have a laptop at Michigan? Do the vast majority of students take notes on them in classes? Or do many professors follow the law school's lead and ban them?
I understand, of course, that dorm-room space is always an issue, but do a lot of students still have desktops?</p>
<p>Cvjn, I don't plan to do much with it other than the usual basic stuff.</p>
<p>Alex, I am definitely buying my laptop in the US.</p>
<p>How much to you care about looks? This is huge.</p>
<p>Sager computers. Buy from powernotebook.com. you can configure it all you want and the support there is personal and excellent. you dont get the generic support you get at hp, dell. They have actual technicians who speak english who pick up the phone within a minute and dont transfer your calls.
their build quality is awesome</p>
<p>I can't decide if I should get the XPS or the protege. The XPS has a video card that is supposedly better for games whereas the protege has a video card that is better for design software and stuff. Is there really a difference? I'm going into either aerospace or mechanical engineering, so I'll probably be doing a lot of CAD stuff.</p>
<p>Looks? Hmm...yes, big role!</p>
<p>Then I'd suggest a Macbook. A good % of the student body either has an Apple or a Dell/HP. If you look through the class of Psych 111 (which I did an hour ago), a good 40% of the back covers of the laptops had the little Apple symbol. They are pretty easy to use, and Macbooks aren't too expensive, though you do kind of have to pay a premium.</p>
<p>If you want to play games of sorts, an XPS or a Macbook Pro can be great choices.</p>
<p>So are you all suggesting that students forget desktops and go with laptops?</p>
<p>Thanks, Cvjn!</p>
<p>Not necessarily. But for most students, a laptop can be a better choice. There are two things that a desktop has over a laptop.</p>
<p>1) Price
2) Power</p>
<p>You can have both, without giving up too much of both. With a laptop, if you want a powerful one, you need to put in a lot of money. If you want a cheaper one, it's not gonna be that powerful.</p>
<p>powernotebooks has the SAGER 9262 with a desktop quad extreme CPU 2.9 GHZ on it with dual 8800GTX SLI. scoring a 18000 on 3Dmark06, that's the most powerful laptop in the universe and beats almost ANY, ANY DESKTOP you can find. I just bought one.</p>
<p>Do any of you know kids who use Apple laptops for Ross? Do they manage alright?</p>
<p>
[quote]
powernotebooks has the SAGER 9262 with a desktop quad extreme CPU 2.9 GHZ on it with dual 8800GTX SLI. scoring a 18000 on 3Dmark06, that's the most powerful laptop in the universe and beats almost ANY, ANY DESKTOP you can find. I just bought one.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It's also looks like around 3 grand. You give me 1/2 of that, and I'll get you a Desktop that can match it, easily. The fact is, you're getting a laptop for what reason? Because you can carry it around. Not cause you can play Crysis with 40 FPS on full resolution during Econ 401. And how long is that battery life?</p>
<p>I doubt too many students will be wanting one of those for the sake of school only.</p>
<p>ps. honestly, *** do you need dual 8800 gtx sli's for? unless you're running cod4, crysis, ut3 and wow at perfect fps on highest resolution, there's no need for dual video cards that cost $800+</p>
<p>
[quote]
Do any of you know kids who use Apple laptops for Ross? Do they manage alright?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I wouldn't see any reason why not. Apple computers have a few advantages/cons over the normal HP/Dell/ect.</p>
<p>1) They look cool. People pay a premium to look badass. If not, why are some clothing companies not already out of business?
2) Apple has pretty amazing customer service. I've had a friend who brings his Macbook back every 2 months to get it basically cleaned / fixed up for free. Granted, they hate him over at the Apple store now, but hey... he paid for it
3) OS X is really easy to use. No virus, ect. It looks nice, it's easy to set up and everything works out of the box. You don't need to install really anything after a reformat.</p>
<p>Cons:</p>
<p>1) They are expensive. Especially more expensive models and upgrades. The MBP? Almost a $400 premium over the next person, the Dell XPS 15.4" - RAM upgrades? Almost 2-3x above the base price of what you could get on newegg.com, and you can install it just by popping open the bottom of the laptop.
2) They can be fussy. A lot of programs don't work. Things that you're used to might not be able to run on the OS X. However, you can either try and find a similar program or install Windows on a new Apple machine. It runs perfectly, a bit of a hassle, but everything works.</p>
<p>Rambled a bit, but to answer your question, I don't know what most Ross students have. But I can't see any possible reasons why an Apple computer would have more trouble than a Windows based computer</p>
<p>"It's also looks like around 3 grand. You give me 1/2 of that, and I'll get you a Desktop that can match it, easily"</p>
<p>no you cant. Not even on newegg. I tried. Try to spec out QX9650, Motherboard, Dual 8800 GTX SLI, 4 gb ram and a 1900X1200 screen, case, cooling, harddrive, BLURAY on newegg.</p>
<p>It is the most future proof laptop out there.... instead of using whimpy laptop cpu that will be outdated within a year, and graphic cards that dont work, and the build quality is unmatched.</p>
<p>btw, I DO PLAY CRYSIS on 1900X1200 on all HIGH in my econ 401 honors..It's so easy....
btw they laptop idles at 30C.</p>
<p>Not Toshiba.</p>
<p>The Sager didn't I'm looking at is 17", has 8800M GTX (difference than 8800 GTX), a quad core up to 2.66, not the 2.99 or whatever you said...</p>
<p>and fully maxed out, I get...</p>
<p>$4984... without tax so far.</p>
<p>Thanks Cvjn.</p>