What laptop and hard drive should I get? (4 Viewers)

[anomalousdecay]

not much except for internet and Microsoft office, some random hobbies
I don't think I need a ssd so I'll get a hard drive. Haha those school sales

Hmm well the hobbies you use the machine for have a massive difference. For example, "gaming" is a completely different boat to "writing documents" or "CAD use" or "rendering", etc.

Fair enough. Most people opt for SSDs nowadays because OS wise they make a really big difference and do you great justice in speeding everything up.

What. LOL.

All these arguments ive heard against the mac OS have been as wafty as yours.
Please explain what you mean.

Depends on the use of the mac. However, external software wise more options are available and compatible with windows.

I have nothing against mac, but apple products do not suit my particular needs so I stay away from them. For other people though, apple products do indeed have the capability to suit their needs.

 

[snowflakeptical]

Hmm well the hobbies you use the machine for have a massive difference. For example, "gaming" is a completely different boat to "writing documents" or "CAD use" or "rendering", etc.

Fair enough. Most people opt for SSDs nowadays because OS wise they make a really big difference and do you great justice in speeding everything up.

Cool. Hopefully every laptop/ device would have the ability to do the basics 'cause I can't deal with too high-tech
Firstly I must magically make money appear in my bank account( aka getting a job) then I can get a $1000+ laptop and then a SSD
yay, here comes money problems...

 

[seremify007]

So what your saying is that I can get a discount from the apple store if I tell them I'm a uni student? Sounds pretty unheard of? How much of a discount can I get?

Yes. You need proof of being a student. The discounts are same as the prices you get from online Apple store educational price. I think discount can range from 3% to 8% and it depends on what you're buying. Some newly launched devices tend not to have discounts available though.

Like I said you're better off buying when they're on sale at other resellers and getting Apple to price match (so you can pay with AMEX).

 

[anomalousdecay]

Cool. Hopefully every laptop/ device would have the ability to do the basics 'cause I can't deal with too high-tech
Firstly I must magically make money appear in my bank account( aka getting a job) then I can get a $1000+ laptop and then a SSD
yay, here comes money problems...

Wait I just noticed that you might have misinterpreted what an SSD is.

SSDs are internal only. They aren't like external HDDs that you can use separately like how you intend to use one on the go.

Well you should give a big thought about this in the first place as to what you are going to use it for. Most can do the basics, but it depends on how efficient and fast you want the basics to be, how long you want to keep the laptop without it getting too slow for newer softwares, etc.

 

[OzKo]

I think for OP's planned usage, a SSD is overkill.

Better to put that money somewhere else.

 

[obliviousninja]

I think for OP's planned usage, a SSD is overkill.

Better to put that money somewhere else.

I disagree. The instant OS start up time is very useful at uni.

At home its fine to turn on the comp then come back a few minutes later.

 

[obliviousninja]

Also besides SSDs are actually incredibly cheap now. And are a common in most laptops nowadays

 

[anomalousdecay]

I disagree. The instant OS start up time is very useful at uni.

At home its fine to turn on the comp then come back a few minutes later.

It would be useful at uni to have quick boot up times.

However "a few minutes later" is kinda overkill. Usually an SSD boot would be like 20 or 30 seconds seconds shorter, not a few minutes.

Also besides SSDs are actually incredibly cheap now. And are a common in most laptops nowadays

I disagree. You can get a 2 TB HDD for the same price as a 120 GB SSD. That is not "incredibly cheap" in comparison at all.

 

[obliviousninja]

It would be useful at uni to have quick boot up times.

However "a few minutes later" is kinda overkill. Usually an SSD boot would be like 20 or 30 seconds seconds shorter, not a few minutes.



I disagree. You can get a 2 TB HDD for the same price as a 120 GB SSD. That is not "incredibly cheap" in comparison at all.

Okay yea maybe a few minutes is overkill, but my point is still clear.

I think its not fair to compare it in this light in terms of storage space, ofc with a face to face upfront comparison its going to be against the SSD because you haven't really factored speed into this. Also pretty much not all of this 2TB content needs to have fast read and write speeds; only the OS and some of the programs.

If you looked in the price history of SSDs they are becoming more and more affordable.

And besides you can always take the SSD + external path.

 

[seremify007]

I don't think SSD is overkill for a portable laptop at uni. Having to wait an extra 30-60 seconds just for the PC to boot up to check one thing (e.g. you forgot to download the lecture slides off Vista, you need to edit one thing in your notes, you need to check your email/calendar for where you need to be, you need to make one tweak to the presentation you're about to give, etc).... it can make all the difference whether it's being on time or late, or just leaving a good impression to show how ready you are for a presentation you're about to give, etc.

If anything, having a 2TB hard drive is overkill for a portable laptop for uni- unless you need to carry around your entire collection of music, movies and photos everywhere? (I'm a huge fan of my 1TB OneDrive account now)

 

[snowflakeptical]

I have 15gb on my one drive but anything other than word documents takes ages to upload. PDFs will upload hours later but videos aren't even possible to.
Apparently I researched and there's a portable ssd, that's kind of confusing.....

--------------------
On another note, I have an old laptop (one that has a cd/DVD compartment lol) that now does not turn on because of its inactivity of a few years. So what options do I have for that? Sell or repair or chuck?

 

[seremify007]

I have 15gb on my one drive but anything other than word documents takes ages to upload. PDFs will upload hours later but videos aren't even possible to.
Apparently I researched and there's a portable ssd, that's kind of confusing.....

I use the automatic backup apps on my computers which links to folders and on my iPhone/iPad. It does depend on internet speed but realistically what will piss you off the most is losing work (assignments) or photos. Everything else (music/movies/etc) you can usually acquire again in the future. Typically internet speed at uni will be decent I believe.

Note if you have Office 365 you can get a lot more data- in my case I have 1TB for each of my 5 licences.

Another option is Dropbox which has proven itself over the years too to be a reliable place to back documents to.

 

[OzKo]

I don't think SSD is overkill for a portable laptop at uni. Having to wait an extra 30-60 seconds just for the PC to boot up to check one thing (e.g. you forgot to download the lecture slides off Vista, you need to edit one thing in your notes, you need to check your email/calendar for where you need to be, you need to make one tweak to the presentation you're about to give, etc).... it can make all the difference whether it's being on time or late, or just leaving a good impression to show how ready you are for a presentation you're about to give, etc.

If anything, having a 2TB hard drive is overkill for a portable laptop for uni- unless you need to carry around your entire collection of music, movies and photos everywhere? (I'm a huge fan of my 1TB OneDrive account now)

Does it really take that long though?

My PC takes about 20 seconds to boot up.

Anyway, obliv made a good point about how SSDs are becoming standard for laptops.

I have 15gb on my one drive but anything other than word documents takes ages to upload. PDFs will upload hours later but videos aren't even possible to.
Apparently I researched and there's a portable ssd, that's kind of confusing.....

--------------------
On another note, I have an old laptop (one that has a cd/DVD compartment lol) that now does not turn on because of its inactivity of a few years. So what options do I have for that? Sell or repair or chuck?

There is no reason to get a portable SSD as the main benefits come from the OS being installed on that drive. Not really practical to run it off a portable.

If your laptop doesn't turn on, it's could be down to a dead battery, even if it's plugged into the charger. You probably won't get much money by selling, but if you are brave, you could get it checked.

 

[snowflakeptical]

A

There is no reason to get a portable SSD as the main benefits come from the OS being installed on that drive. Not really practical to run it off a portable.

If your laptop doesn't turn on, it's could be down to a dead battery, even if it's plugged into the charger. You probably won't get much money by selling, but if you are brave, you could get it checked.

Ok.
I really should get rid of it, shouldn't I

 

[obliviousninja]

Another option is Dropbox which has proven itself over the years too to be a reliable place to back documents to.

Yes if you have constant internet, where you can solely store everything online.. Otherwise its doesn't offer a solution in terms of storage space if you have it synced to your computer which is the majority of people.

 

[obliviousninja]

Edit: Wrong context

 

[thedemonpk3r]

You guys reckon a tablet or ipad won't cut it as a not taker for uni

 

[seremify007]

Does it really take that long though?

My PC takes about 20 seconds to boot up.

I think it's more just the perception and when you're in a rush, every second counts. It's the fast SSD which is what makes my old 2011 Macbook Air 11" still feel relatively brisk despite it's age.

Yes if you have constant internet, where you can solely store everything online.. Otherwise its doesn't offer a solution in terms of storage space if you have it synced to your computer which is the majority of people.

Not sure which uni you're at but at least at UNSW, there was uniwide which was always available. It depends on what context though- for photos/media, you don't need it always there so you can do it when you have a permanent connection without such restrictive download/upload limits. For document editing, doing this over 3G/4G works as well.

I'm really glad I bought a 4G iPad Air 2. After my 3G iPad vs my wifi only ones, I realised what a huge difference it makes having that always available internet connection rather than either wifi hunting or hotspotting (and risking draining my battery).

 

[anomalousdecay]

A
Ok.
I really should get rid of it, shouldn't I

You could probably find a use for it otherwise maybe sell it.

 

[astroman]

i bought a seagate 2tb portable Slim as a drive for my 128gb ssd mac whihc is full. It's really good, very fast transfer speed and really small for a 2tb drive. would recommend.