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What would you get

A

AsDubsRaiders

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 22, 2013
10
0
...if you weren't buying a Mac?

Looking for something for a grad student. Some requirements

Under $1000
Portable, will be carrying from home, school, lab, coffee house, etc
Decent battery, but would probably be able to keep plugged in
Decent graphic card for light gaming

A refurbished Mac Air is a candidate, but wondering what else I can suggest.

Thanks for the advice!
 
AsDubsRaiders said:
...if you weren't buying a Mac?

Looking for something for a grad student. Some requirements

Under $1000
Portable, will be carrying from home, school, lab, coffee house, etc
Decent battery, but would probably be able to keep plugged in
Decent graphic card for light gaming

A refurbished Mac Air is a candidate, but wondering what else I can suggest.

Thanks for the advice!
Click to expand...

I thought the point was non-Mac? :)

I would go with something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=03VVTSAP03046454B7WG

More than enough for grad school, portable, and nice.
 
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I'd buy an MB Air then, to be honest.

I've done grad school. I don't think an iPad would be suitable outside the classroom. Major research projects and cataloging all sources for my thesis are tasks that simply feel like they'd be better suited for a laptop.
 
AsDubsRaiders said:
A refurbished Mac Air is a candidate, but wondering what else I can suggest.
Click to expand...
A new MacBook Air. (Forget about your stupid $1000 limit and enjoy 12hrs battery life and a fast PCIe SSD.)
A used MacBook Air. (Forget about new and refurb and be happy with great price-quality ratio of older hardware.)

Do not suggest something else.
AsDubsRaiders said:
so best non-Mac macbook air would be...?
Click to expand...
A piece of junk.
 
AsDubsRaiders said:
so best non-Mac macbook air would be...?
Click to expand...

You have a ton of options.. I would stray away from HP as my personal experience with them is terrible.

I would choose a Lenovo

Gudi said:
A new MacBook Air. (Forget about your stupid $1000 limit and enjoy 12hrs battery life and a fast PCIe SSD.)
A used MacBook Air. (Forget about new and refurb and be happy with great price-quality ratio of older hardware.)


Do not suggest something else.

A piece of junk.
Click to expand...

lol'd hard
 
JeffiJers said:
You have a ton of options.. I would stray away from HP as my personal experience with them is terrible.

I would choose a Lenovo
Click to expand...

I used Lenovos for years and it's about the only Windows laptop I would consider. Horrible trackpad but I always disabled it and used the track point or a mouse.
 
JeffiJers said:
lol'd hard
Click to expand...
It's funny cause it's true. :D
AsDubsRaiders said:
Looking for something for a grad student.
Click to expand...
Wait. Isn't he/she than eligible for education pricing?

Apple Store for Education – 13-inch MacBook Air ($1049)

If you do a little research, you will even find a reseller eager to give an additional $50 discount to meet the magic price point of $999 for students. And the essential iWork apps are free with purchase of new hardware.

Pages, Numbers and Keynote

So go with new-edu, not refurb.
 
Last edited:
Thanks everyone. I'll see if I can convince him to get a Mac.

I switched to :apple: years ago and never looked back. If he switches, great. If not, his lost (lol) but I was just curious what else one should consider.
 
Define "light gaming", when I was at University my laptop was my main entertainment when not out partying or playing sport (take me back, PLLEEEAAASE!). A tiny MacBook Air, though may possibly be useful as a babe magnet might not do so well in other departments. I can not think of anything worse than having to write heavy articles on such a tiny screen and squashed keyboard. If I had an air when I was at uni I would have needed an external monitor and full size keyboard to plug in to make writing on it possible. In addition, my earlier note about entertainment, watching TV or movies on a small screen is okay but not if you have company and if you want to watch a DVD you'll need an external drive or completely separate TV/DVD setup which may be an additional cost. Gaming would also be poor on an Air.

Other options to consider would be to look at some 15" windows machines, I used Dell throughout university with no issues, as did many of my peers. Their customer service was excellent. A quick browse of their website will give you an idea of what you can get for your money and I can assure you the specs will be superior to the Airs. With only 4GB of ram and 1.3ghz processors the Airs may not offer a long term enough solution for a student.

Second option I see as worth looking in to would be to get a Mac mini to run alongside the iPad. The ipad would be more than enough for note taking in the lecture hall and the workstations available at the library/lab will be current and ideal for work when on campus, then once home he would have the Mini to deal with all other requirements. He could even get some form of Remote Desktop software to access the mini from the ipad when on campus and a bluetooth keyboard to use for typing in lectures.
 
AsDubsRaiders said:
...if you weren't buying a Mac?

Looking for something for a grad student. Some requirements

Under $1000
Portable, will be carrying from home, school, lab, coffee house, etc
Decent battery, but would probably be able to keep plugged in
Decent graphic card for light gaming

A refurbished Mac Air is a candidate, but wondering what else I can suggest.

Thanks for the advice!
Click to expand...
Mac Air, no doubt.
 
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