Laptop suggestions

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi all

I need a new laptop, I want something smaller and lighter than what I have right now. I currently have a HP ENVY dv7 Notebook PC its about 17 inches and 7lbs. I want to stay away from MAC because the software/program my school uses for classes some files cannot be downloaded with a MAC (so please don't say go mac!:))

I love iPhones, in part because I'm incapable of figuring out the android operating system (seriously, I get so frustrated when I try out my friends' phones). I figured I'd love Macs too, but they just aren't anything special. Not bad at all, but I can't draw doodles on it. Sad day.

Lol this is true! I started out with an Android so it wasn't hard for me to figure out. But I have heard its hard to go from iPhone to Android.

But yes, macs are nothing special. They come out with the same product while PC is going above and beyond. Touch screens, 2 in 1 laptops...so many options to fit exactly what you want.

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I personally prefer a mac laptop and I used to be anti apple until my pc laptop crashed twice during my first year of nursing school. Mind you that I just used my computer for school work ,nothing heavy for it to crash. I bought a macbook pro and I'm much happier, so far I haven't had any problems opening any files.

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I personally prefer a mac laptop and I used to be anti apple until my pc laptop crashed twice during my first year of nursing school. Mind you that I just used my computer for school work ,nothing heavy for it to crash. I bought a macbook pro and I'm much happier, so far I haven't had any problems opening any files.

That's funny, I had the opposite experience.

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I have a nine year old MacBook Pro 15" laptop that has never crashed. Ever. I love it. It's been with me through Adobe's bloated CS 1-3 software, through 4 OS changes and multiple patches, and has always worked like a charm. I still use it to this day, even though I have a newer iMac.

That being said, I would get whatever is cheapest, easiest, and works the best with your school programs. If you want something that lasts more than two or three years, spend a little more money, otherwise you can get the WalMart special of the month and be fine.

I would recommend an Asus or a Lenovo.

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I have a nine year old MacBook Pro 15" laptop that has never crashed. Ever. I love it. It's been with me through Adobe's bloated CS 1-3 software, through 4 OS changes and multiple patches, and has always worked like a charm. I still use it to this day, even though I have a newer iMac.

That being said, I would get whatever is cheapest, easiest, and works the best with your school programs. If you want something that lasts more than two or three years, spend a little more money, otherwise you can get the WalMart special of the month and be fine.

I would recommend an Asus or a Lenovo.

I love Asus and Lenovo. I also like Acer. Stay away from Dell, HP, and Toshiba.

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I love Asus and Lenovo. I also like Acer. Stay away from Dell, HP, and Toshiba.

HP's suck. Never had one that worked right.

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Specializes in ICU.

My son has an Acer and I do not like it at all. Really laptops are personal preference. If you have a microsoft store near you I would suggest checking it out. I had Androids years ago and could not figure out the operating system to save my life. So I went to Apple, and it is so much better. You can get programs on a MAC that will allowed you to download Microsoft software. I have heard that Android Jellybean operating system is supposed to compare to the ios operating system but I'm not going to risk it and just stay with my Apple products. I do not use a laptop in the classroom though.

Actually, nobody in my cohort uses a laptop in the classroom. I personally don't see advantage to try and take notes on a computer when my handwriting is much faster. My instructors go fast so trying to type notes in and wait for the computer to do its thing while my instructor continues lecturing just doesn't make sense for me. I usually type up my notes later if I need to. The computer lab is right there so anything I have to print off I just go over there.

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My first laptop was awful. It was like a boulder with keys taped on it. The keys even started falling off after one year of use! (And I am not that hard on eletronics.) It crashed after two years. I believe it was an eMachine.

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Actually, nobody in my cohort uses a laptop in the classroom. I personally don't see advantage to try and take notes on a computer when my handwriting is much faster. My instructors go fast so trying to type notes in and wait for the computer to do its thing while my instructor continues lecturing just doesn't make sense for me. I usually type up my notes later if I need to. The computer lab is right there so anything I have to print off I just go over there.

I also think it's a good idea to handwrite notes in the classroom. I handwrite my notes and then type them up later that night. One of my classmates last semester had her computer crash in the middle of lecture, and she missed a whole page of notes waiting for it to start up again. I gave her my notes, but still, that would be annoying.

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Basically, everyone has their own preference. It will probably be more helpful to actually look a few computers up you had in mind and compare them.

If you do a PC, I do suggest nothing less than an i3 processor. Make sure the screen is at least 13 inches because its hard to run full windows on anything smaller. No need to get the laptops that turn into tablets because you won't use the tablet option much with it just running Windows. Unless you like that kind of thing, then by all means go for it. Don't get anything with AMD processor. That's just if you choose PC

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Specializes in ICU.
I also think it's a good idea to handwrite notes in the classroom. I handwrite my notes and then type them up later that night. One of my classmates last semester had her computer crash in the middle of lecture, and she missed a whole page of notes waiting for it to start up again. I gave her my notes, but still, that would be annoying.

I honestly remember the info better if I write it the first time. It clicks in my brain better that way. Then when I am home, I get out my ipad and type those notes into Quizlet so they are there for me to study. I do well with flashcards and with quizlet I don't have to write up flashcards. My hand is tired from all of that writing in class!!! :facepalm:

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I honestly remember the info better if I write it the first time. It clicks in my brain better that way. Then when I am home, I get out my ipad and type those notes into Quizlet so they are there for me to study. I do well with flashcards and with quizlet I don't have to write up flashcards. My hand is tired from all of that writing in class!!! :facepalm:

Quizlet is my best friend! I type my notes into quizlet and Evernote too sometimes. Then I can just pull all those flash cards and notes up on my iPhone or laptop and I have everything with me in one tiny device.

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