Heading off to boarding school...need a laptop

[alphaod]

Get a mid-range MBP 15"; it's all you need. Then buy the 24" LED display. That makes a great combination.

I would say the Air because you have an iMac at home you can use and I would try to take it with you. The pros are very good but for not much more power its a lot more weight. High end MacBook or Air.

I would go with the MacBook Air since you already have an iMac.

What part of he's going to boarding school don't you guys understand?

 

[brendanryder]

Hold on. You are willing to spend nearly $3000 on a notebook and you can't spend $100-200 something on a monitor? As said previously, it is up to you on what you want and we can't tell you what you need or want to buy.

a good monitor would cost around 300$ plus 30$ for the cable to hook it up, plus tax.

What part of he's going to boarding school don't you guys understand?

hahahaha

 

[brop52]

a good monitor would cost around 300$ plus 30$ for the cable to hook it up, plus tax.



hahahaha

Tax? Who pays tax or shipping? Sure, IPS is going to be much more expensive than TN panels but is this really needed? Does the OP need perfect color and a wide viewing angle? Hell why not get a LED backlit monitor and spend even more money. Seems to me the OP didn't even want a monitor, but I said 100-200 to make a point.

Newegg has a huge selection of monitors that are at good prices.

 

[brendanryder]

Tax? Who pays tax or shipping? Sure, IPS is going to be much more expensive than TN panels but is this really needed? Does the OP need perfect color and a wide viewing angle? Hell why not get a LED backlit monitor and spend even more money. Seems to me the OP didn't even want a monitor, but I said 100-200 to make a point.

Newegg has a huge selection of monitors that are at good prices.

ahh, sorry. i was thinking CAD prices whihc are much higher. Also i think he would want at east a 20" to go with the 17"mbp

 

[bluedoggiant]

Tax? Who pays tax or shipping? Sure, IPS is going to be much more expensive than TN panels but is this really needed? Does the OP need perfect color and a wide viewing angle? Hell why not get a LED backlit monitor and spend even more money. Seems to me the OP didn't even want a monitor, but I said 100-200 to make a point.

Newegg has a huge selection of monitors that are at good prices.

I don't care about view angle when it comes to a laptop... since I will be the only one using it.

 

[brop52]

I don't care about view angle when it comes to a laptop... since I will be the only one using it.

I know. I was talking about an external monitor. The panels on the MBP are actually quite good (especially for a notebook) Will you be buying an external monitor for when you are in your room and playing games?

 

[miggitymac]

Hey all


I am heading off to a new boarding high school... and well, taking my iMac isn't really possible.


For those who are really curious as to the high school, Mercersburg Academy

But thats an IF, if I do have to go to this high school, I need to know what to do. Number one, I will terribly miss my iMac, I am not sure if I will still keep it to use when I come home from school monthly, as I hate having two computers, too much responsibility.

Cost is not an issue
....
[*]Price is not a problem

I don't want to talk about "where" im getting this money from.

It's pretty obvious where you're getting the money from. Good ol' mommy and daddy...

Since when did high school kids start needing $2000-$3000 laptops in addition to the $1500-$2000 computer they have at home? Let's not kid ourselves here...it's more like the kids are spoiled and want such laptops to show off to their friends, play WoW and update their Facebook pages.

Multitasking = tabbing between Safari and iTunes; Video Editing/Rendering = converting movie files to ipod compatible format and watching YouTube; Photo Editing = XXX on lonely nights

 

[The SpinDoctor]

I have 1 500GB Western Digital Studio edition drive, and a 2x1TB Western Digital Studio edition drive for extra space and time machine, I'm not worrying about that.

I know this is offtopic, but is it possible to daisychain these specific drives so that I can can use them on one FW port, ideally the one in the new MBP?

 

[bluedoggiant]

I know. I was talking about an external monitor. The panels on the MBP are actually quite good (especially for a notebook) Will you be buying an external monitor for when you are in your room and playing games?

No I will not. Its simply not needed. I may use some old monitor around the house, I have a 21" in the basement.

I know this is offtopic, but is it possible to daisychain these specific drives so that I can can use them on one FW port, ideally the one in the new MBP?

No clue.

It's pretty obvious where you're getting the money from. Good ol' mommy and daddy...

Since when did high school kids start needing $2000-$3000 laptops in addition to the $1500-$2000 computer they have at home? Let's not kid ourselves here...it's more like the kids are spoiled and want such laptops to show off to their friends, play WoW and update their Facebook pages.

Multitasking = tabbing between Safari and iTunes; Video Editing/Rendering = converting movie files to ipod compatible format and watching YouTube; Photo Editing = XXX on lonely nights

Besides the witty comments. Yeah sure I'm getting this money from my parents. And before you go off at me, this is a boarding school, and actually, they implement a lot of technology on their 100(+?) campus. Yeah its needed. I will problem sell the iMac at home so I can save some money for the MBP (yeah, i just said that), because I will be home so little of the time. And I do not play WoW. Mac is pretty much STANDARD at this specific school (very rarely did i see a PC), and my goal is to take my power, and processor intensive tasks over to my "new home".

Yeah I will "update my facebook pages", but I think my phone is good enough for that.

 

[neiltc13]

If the school requires you to use a computer then they should supply it.

When I went to high school (it was only a couple of years ago) absolutely no one brought their own laptop in. There simply was no need - we took notes by hand (which I still believe to be a far superior way of doing things) and in the computing classes, we often wrote programs on paper and then ran them in our minds.

At home I was lucky enough to have a 750MHz Athlon rig, with a Geforce 3 ti and 512MB RAM. Once I got my own part time job I was able to afford a new computer, which had an Athlon 2600+ and a Radeon 9800XT.

I only wonder what it would have been like to get handouts from parents like the ones you are.

And on another note, if you're serious about gaming on PC then you need a desktop. Playing using a keyboard that gets hot to touch and on a machine which has no user-serviceable GPU is just not on.

 

[miggitymac]

Yeah its needed.

Boarding school or not, the day a high school student needs a $2000-$3000 computer is the day the educational system has failed.

 

[gamer2502]

i would go for the 17'' personally because of the matte screen option because i really am not a fan of glossy even though my macbook is glossy

 

[oxox-cocoa-oxox]

Wow, boarding school...

I would go for a 15" MBP since you are going to take it around classes all day. =)

 

[Doju]

For the love of God, stop ranting on about the educational system, something you can't change, nor is a negative. It has nothing to do with the topic, and if the OP wants an expensive laptop, or needs one even, your half-witted remarks are doing nothing.

Honestly people, do you think people care?

 

[bluedoggiant]

For the love of God, stop ranting on about the educational system, something you can't change, nor is a negative. It has nothing to do with the topic, and if the OP wants an expensive laptop, or needs one even, your half-witted remarks are doing nothing.

Honestly people, do you think people care?

Thank you.

I don't necessarily need a $3000 laptop, i need a laptop to take to classes. its not required, but recommended. almost all students that go there have a laptop. and the reason i am looking to buy a high end one is so that i can replace my iMac which I will never use in the future.

 

[PCRanger]

I don't suppose the MBP in your sig would suffice?

 

[leighonigar]

I don't suppose the MBP in your sig would suffice?

Perhaps it is not his rather 'in the house'?

 

[teflon]

If you're taking it from class to class, get the 15''. The 15'' would not only be easier to carry around, but it won't occupy your whole desk and part of your neighbour's. When you carry it around all day, every pound makes a difference. The 17'' does not provide a lot of concrete real world advantages in terms of performance.

And the whole "he doesn't need it", "handout parents", "education failures" etc drama is pretty pointless IMO. As if students don't waste time in school without computers. Yes, the OP will probably go on facebook during boring lectures as opposed to doodling on his notebook, passing notes, daydreaming, sleeping, planning afternoon activities, flirting and a million other things that one can do when bored in a classroom. Seriously, students did not focus more in class when there weren't laptops. They were just distracted by other things. And if you haven't been, I can assure you, most people have and turned out all right. So give kids a break. God forbid a 15 year old act like one.

 

[BlueRevolution]

Well said. For my part, I am no 15-year-old, but my college has near-100% wireless coverage and I am usually on Facebook in class. I don't find that it distracts from my ability to take effective notes and follow the lecture. Everyone is different, and part of growing up is learning how one learns and being able to do what is necessary (and omit what is unnecessary) to ensure solid results.

Put me down as another vote for the 15". Speaking as someone who used a 15" MacBook Pro as a primary computer for over a year, it will do you just fine.

 

[Patriks7]

Boarding school or not, the day a high school student needs a $2000-$3000 computer is the day the educational system has failed.

Just look at his sig. Definitely spoiled (no offense). Who else has 3 iMacs, a MBP and a MB? And TBH I bet you don't even use the full power of the iMac, therefore a MacBook would be good enough for you. If you are serious about gaming, get a console. This combination is working really well for me and my friends.

 

[miggitymac]

And the whole "he doesn't need it", "handout parents", "education failures" etc drama is pretty pointless IMO. As if students don't waste time in school without computers. Yes, the OP will probably go on facebook during boring lectures as opposed to doodling on his notebook, passing notes, daydreaming, sleeping, planning afternoon activities, flirting and a million other things that one can do when bored in a classroom. Seriously, students did not focus more in class when there weren't laptops. They were just distracted by other things. And if you haven't been, I can assure you, most people have and turned out all right. So give kids a break. God forbid a 15 year old act like one.

The reason I was giving the OP such a hard time about it was that he was trying to give the impression that he needed the power of a PRO laptop/desktop for high school.

I was just calling him on his bs. It's not like a 2.0 MB wouldn't suffice. Or a netbook for that matter...

Yes, he's probably spoiled, but I can't say that if I were in his position, I wouldn't be wanting the same things as him. God willing, my kids will be asking me for such things...

But the moment they say they NEED such things for high school, is the moment I pull out my Commodore 64 story...

 

[brendanryder]

The reason I was giving the OP such a hard time about it was that he was trying to give the impression that he needed the power of a PRO laptop/desktop for high school.

I was just calling him on his bs. It's not like a 2.0 MB wouldn't suffice. Or a netbook for that matter...

Yes, he's probably spoiled, but I can't say that if I were in his position, I wouldn't be wanting the same things as him. God willing, my kids will be asking me for such things...

But the moment they say they NEED such things for high school, is the moment I pull out my Commodore 64 story...

Im not sure, about bluedoggiant situation but at my school we have tons of multimedia options(video editing, photoshop, dreamweaver, flash etc.) and yes all of the Pentium 4 computers with intel graphics cards and 512mb of ram will run these programs, they dont run them very well. Im currently in my multimedia class and while using photoshop CS3 on the computer they provide with the specs i gave i am always having probelems. When using a lasso tool in CS3 my tool bars and side bars will dissapear after 5 seconds of lasso'ing and then my picture will turn blank until i click, thus for runing my selection. And when it comes to putting together a grad video over the next 4 months which i am a part of they expect us to use the same computers and Adobe primere which gives us tons of problems on these computers. So im not sure about you, but when i have something due and i cant get it done on time because of all the crashes and limitations im having with the computers provided its a problem.

So, a macbook will work for anyone who just needs a computer for notes and safari, only an midget would use a netbook for notes because the size of the keys are to small for accuracy. A MACBOOK PRO is a perfect computer for someone in my situation because i will use it everyday for Photoshop and Flash and taking notes and on fridays and saturdays when our grad video group meets to work on it for 5 hours i will use FCS for video editing.

 

[macjay]

I would go for a 15" MBP since you are going to take it around classes all day. =)

Yeah, it's not that complicated. Unless you must have the matte screen of the 17", go for the 15".