Best Laptop for MFE Students

[MRoss]

I am considering a MacBook Pro Retina due to its better processor. Is a ULV processor sufficient?

I have a friend in Baruch MFE who bought a Mac Air 3 years ago and it served him just fine; unless you are going to be doing some freakishly heavy code it should be just fine. Keep in mind his graphical performance was probably less than half the current ULVs.

Personally recommending TP X series.
I bought my X201i 4 years ago when I started my college. It still looks so good in shape and performance. And the shape of a small black box is great representations of geek culture~~:D
Also, the reason I recommend X series is that last time I send my laptop to upgrade, the person there told me X series have the lowest repairing rates in their internal record.

Not to mention how they do repairs. Lenovo forwards their repairs to IBM who do it the old fashion way - they send a repair guy down to your place to fix the unit!

I just had a $200 tablet screen replaced. The guy drove a hour each way, paid tolls both ways, and spent an hour replacing the screen. My guess is the whole job costed IBM close to $500. Interesting story.

Anyhow,

How much excel is needed?

Well, in each class you will have a different requirement but the fact is "where there is finance, there is Excel". That is and will always (in the foreseeable future) be the case. Keep in mind in any job in finance you will need to use Excel as well.

I paid $1,300 (including SSD upgrade) for HP envy 15 touch-smart:

I know people will argue that HP quality does't compare with Apple or Lenovo and I agree. But no Apple or even lenovo with similar configs. as mine would cost that little.

I kind of agree with you. But I HATE HP. I have owned over 10 HP laptops in my life and 8 of them went in for repairs within the first year. Quite often the laptop would come back not fixed of occasionally fixed but damaged in a new area. I kid you not; I avoid HP like a plague.

 

[Quant4Life]

I kind of agree with you. But I HATE HP. I have owned over 10 HP laptops in my life and 8 of them went in for repairs within the first year. Quite often the laptop would come back not fixed of occasionally fixed but damaged in a new area. I kid you not; I avoid HP like a plague.

HP used to make horrible laptops, especially had problems with motherboard (dies too quickly). But, nowadays most companies pretty much figured out how to make decent durability laptops, and HP improved a lot. That is my first HP though, so we'll see how it goes...

 

[pamartia]

The new Surface 3 Pro, looks really good.
Although 12 inches screen could be a little small

 

[Quant4Life]

The new Surface 3 Pro, looks really good.
Although 12 inches screen could be a little small

Yeah, great product. If money isn't an issue, Surface Pro 3 and a powerfull desktop at home is a great set up...

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I had a Thinkpad T60 when I started MFE in 2006. It is extremely durable. I got a 15" Macbook Pro 2 years ago.
If I ever do it again, I would get a 13" Macbook pro or Air for portability.
Laptop processing power is more than enough for much of the school work you will ever encounter. If I need access to supercomputer, I would just rent Amazon AWS server by the hour.

 

[MRoss]

The new Surface 3 Pro, looks really good.
Although 12 inches screen could be a little small

Yeah, great product. If money isn't an issue, Surface Pro 3 and a powerfull desktop at home is a great set up...

You know, I was slightly excited about the SP3 but I have some major gripes:

• N-Trig??? Why Microsoft? Why? Wacom is so much better; I cannot fathom why MS would take a step down on their strongest selling point; pen-input.
• Intel 4th gen processor: This has been out for what, a year now? Many of the SP3 are on preorder some are shipping now in months from now, only some are going out today. Regardless, by the time most of these reach the front door a gen 5 processor will have been released; or at the very least, announced. I do not get this move...
• 12" makes for a very bulky tablet; 10.6" was already borderline bulky. Trust me, I used the 12" Motion tablet for 3 years. IMO, at 12" the thing should attach Yoga-like to the keyboard. At this size it will be primarily used as a laptop; so why not make it feel like one? I would advise on a 9" tablet or a 12" Yoga-like model

Honestly, at this point I think I am just going to wait a few months for the Vaio Pro 11.6" next gen. As it is this generation is under 2 pounds, sports a core i processor, and an SSD. I can only imagine the next gen will weigh in the vicinity of 1.6 pounds, have the new Intel processor making it game-ready and blazing fast. Amazing.

If you are looking for a super light MBA alternative but need a 13" screen; hold off a bit and get the next gen Vaio Pro 13. As with the 11 the Pro 13 is an amazing piece of machinery being the lightest 13" laptop on the market while still sporting a core i processor.

 

[DanielChow]

The vaio does indeed seem like a light good and laptop. But with Sony exiting the laptop market, wont warranty support and repairs become limited?

 

[MRoss]

The vaio does indeed seem like a light good and laptop. But with Sony exiting the laptop market, wont warranty support and repairs become limited?

They will certainly cover their full warranties. After that you're best off purchasing a Squaretrade anyhow if you want extended.

http://time.com/5412/sony-quits-the-pc-business-good/

"
Sony’s PC business isn’t some tiny operation. The company sold 7.5 million units last year, and its products are available all around the world. That won’t be the case for much longer. Sony still plans to launch its spring product lineup and support existing customers, but after that the company will stop manufacturing new PCs, discontinue sales and cut off new product design and development.

"

 

[kwlmy]

Has anyone got any experience with Lenovo X1 Carbon (the 2nd generation 2014 model)? Any opinions?

 

[ExSan]

@MRoss
in a previous post you mentioned ASUS ?

 

[MRoss]

@MRoss
in a previous post you mentioned ASUS ?

A stunning laptop but expensive as hell. And if you buy the European model with dedicated graphics; well, expect to pay a hefty premium.

 

[ExSan]

A stunning laptop but expensive as hell. And if you buy the European model with dedicated graphics; well, expect to pay a hefty premium.

which model is this ?

 

[MRoss]

which model is this ?

http://www.ultrabookreview.com/3578-asus-zenbook-ux301-ux302/

 

[ExSan]

http://www.ultrabookreview.com/3578-asus-zenbook-ux301-ux302/

great ultrabooks, keep us updated when available in the metro area, and if new models arrive. Asus Awesome AA+

 

[ExSan]

The 5 Most Exciting Laptops Arriving in 2022​

check out the new Lenovo

 

[MRoss]

Holy Necro! And it's us two again, seven years later. How have you been @ExSan ?

@Andy Nguyen look at you keeping friends together for decades!

 

[ExSan]

Holy Necro! And it's us two again, seven years later. How have you been @ExSan ?

@Andy Nguyen look at you keeping friends together for decades!

HI MRoss!
Covid is chasing me, but I am hiding behind the bushes, don't tell her.
You have been absent for a while as well, I have missed your posts.
Cheers