What computer do you guys use for school?

[SilkOrganic]

Hey guys,

 

I am in Pre IB right now (I just turned 16 so you guys can do that math what level I am at but it's basically the year before year 1) and I am just very curious about what computer(s) you guys use for daily schoolwork and such. In my school 75% of the kids have a MacBook of some sort and I use an extremely slow-ass Chromebook. My parents let me purchase a new laptop but I figured I should find out what other IB students outside my school use to do their work and i want suggestions on which computer I should buy as well. Thanks!

 

Enjoy your day!

[Shadvertiser]

I use a Mac (13" Retina) personally because I like the eco system, and I think that apple make better laptops, while if you're looking for a desktop then the windows route is probably the best to go,

 

Realistically I think it depends on how much money you have to spend, and I think that most people thing (what a knowledge claim, ahah) but certainly me, if you have the money then a Macbook is probably the go, because they are quality computers that have the ability to run windows and OXS, but they are very expensive.

 

- Shadvertiser

[King112]

MacBook pro retina 13". I think it's awesome because it lets me work on multiple tabs etc. my suggestion to you though is this, buy looking at your needs. I'm not a comp gamer, so I don't need like a Razer or Alienware, but my friends use that. My laptop is going through college with me, so I bought it accordingly. The retina was added because my glasses are a reay high power, and my parents figured a better display would help them just a bit

[sarahderuyter]

I've got the MacBook Pro13"  -NON retina-. I don't think you would need retina, its not essential especially if you're a bit tight on budget.

One thing I'll suggest is do get more memory, like mine has the hard drive capacity of 500GB, don't get the 256GB because that's what I had previously and it just couldn't handle all the school files (especially for visual art), plus personal files. It ends up lagging. But really you could also instead just use Google Drive for most things.

 

Macs are definitely the way to go, though! 

[King112]

I've got the MacBook Pro13"  -NON retina-. I don't think you would need retina, its not essential especially if you're a bit tight on budget.

One thing I'll suggest is do get more memory, like mine has the hard drive capacity of 500GB, don't get the 256GB because that's what I had previously and it just couldn't handle all the school files (especially for visual art), plus personal files. It ends up lagging. But really you could also instead just use Google Drive for most things.

 

Macs are definitely the way to go, though! 

Hey, I just want to point out that Macs may not be the best. Not having a go at you or saying your opinion isnt important, but the thing is Macs are not the best if you have other needs. I mean, if you want to game and work, I'd recommend Alienware and stuff, but I've already said that. However, i agree with what you say about memory, budget and retina.

[sarahderuyter]

 

I've got the MacBook Pro13"  -NON retina-. I don't think you would need retina, its not essential especially if you're a bit tight on budget.

One thing I'll suggest is do get more memory, like mine has the hard drive capacity of 500GB, don't get the 256GB because that's what I had previously and it just couldn't handle all the school files (especially for visual art), plus personal files. It ends up lagging. But really you could also instead just use Google Drive for most things.

 

Macs are definitely the way to go, though! 

Hey, I just want to point out that Macs may not be the best. Not having a go at you or saying your opinion isnt important, but the thing is Macs are not the best if you have other needs. I mean, if you want to game and work, I'd recommend Alienware and stuff, but I've already said that. However, i agree with what you say about memory, budget and retina.

 

That's true, but he said nothing about gaming and only about daily life and school work so I assumed that's all he meant.

 

But yeah man, if you want to also be able to game, don't get a macbook. I've got a lot of gamer friends who switched to Apple and ended up switching back.

[maturk]

I use a desktop PC. Spent approximately 600 euros on it and I have the newest Intell Haswell i5-4460 chip, a dedicated graphics card (Radeon HD7870), over a terabit of hard drive, and 8 gb RAM. Pretty much any component can be switched out and upgraded and it should last for quite some time. Sure it might not be as "aesthetically" pleasing as a MacBook and it isn't really portable, but it sure beats a Mac by price and actual computing power. If your'e on a tight budget, enjoy computers, want the best equipment for the money that you are spending, and don't actually need a laptop then building your own PC is a very good idea. But if you really want a laptop then probably an Apple computer will be just fine because they do look pretty awesome. It all depends on your actual needs and desires, but just remember, just because everyone else might have a nice 1-2k Apple computer, it doesn't mean that you need one too. Cheers!

 

p.s. If you're interested in buying a desktop, I would not recommend buying an already built pc because they probably overcharge for the components in the computer. Building it yourself will save a lot of time and it is actually really fun because you learn a lot about electronics. 

[Guest]

Hey I would go for a mac as the simply are one of the best.

[IBProcrastinator]

I agree with people that say Mac is the best option for the IB, however if your parents are unsure about buying you a new laptop, it does not mean that you need the newest possible model of the Mac book.

 

The older versions (2010-2012) of the Mac book (air or pro), which are non retina, are still very good systems for school are are usually rather cheap. 

 

Windows systems are also good, but from my experience it is important to watch the battery life of your laptop, so you don't have to recharge it after every class. 

[ultimateone]

I use a Macbook Pro Retina 13", superb option!

[veregudmen]

I use an Alienware M14X and it is brilliant (once everyone in your class stops freaking out about the colours). Extremely powerful, nothing ever lags and though I found it heavy at first (it weighs roughly 3 kg) I got used to it (and more muscular) quickly. No software compatibility issues, everything is there when I need it, and most funnily of all, a Macbook with the same specs would cost roughly 140,000 rupees more at the time (my laptop cost 87,000). 

I wouldn't go for a Mac for well anything; then again I don't like Macs at all.

 

If money is no object I would recommend the Alienware 14 or the Dell XPS. If you want a cheaper option you could look at the Dell Vostro or Inspiron series, or one of its competitors. 

[Lynxarin]

Hey guys,

 

I am in Pre IB right now (I just turned 16 so you guys can do that math what level I am at but it's basically the year before year 1) and I am just very curious about what computer(s) you guys use for daily schoolwork and such. In my school 75% of the kids have a MacBook of some sort and I use an extremely slow-ass Chromebook. My parents let me purchase a new laptop but I figured I should find out what other IB students outside my school use to do their work and i want suggestions on which computer I should buy as well. Thanks!

 

Enjoy your day!

When I started IB I bought a Macbook pro 13" retina for several reasons.

 

- Build quality is much higher than any plastic equivalence 

- The trackpad is one of the best that money can buy (anyone who says otherwise, hasn't used a macbook) 

- The ecosystem, I already have an iPhone and they work really good together 

- It is very light which is good when you bring it to school every day 

- The battery lasts quite long, no problem going the whole school day - around 8 hours for me,

- you get apple's equivalence to the Microsoft Office package for free included, but I also bought Office for Mac because I was used to Office from before. 

- The keyboard is pretty comfortable to use as well, and backlighting is nice when you're working evenings/nights

 

Also, I don't have time for gaming so that was not a problem for me since macs are not built for that.

 

So If you want to play games, I don't recommend buying a macbook, but otherwise a really good laptop which also is worth a lot of money if you want to sell it after the IB

 

However, the Macs are not the cheapest out there and not the best when it comes to performance/dollar. So if price and gaming possibilities are important, buy a laptop with windows, I would recommend Dell XPS 13 as Dell make really good stuff.

 

Hope this helps

[kevG]

my personal opinion, but i believe that macbooks are overpriced pieces of junk

you literally cant go anywhere outside the scope of the os, unless you install a virtual machine

but they're mostly only for users who use technology 'leisurely' if i may put it that way, so i guess you can use it if you only use computers for simple tasks like writing stuff/taking notes etc... but if you're really tech-savvy like me then windows/linux is the way to go

and windows laptops are significantly cheaper than macs

 

i personally use dells inspiron 17, and it's pretty good... it doesnt have the greatest of specs but is still alright if you compare it with a mac and i can always increase the specs like change graphics cards/ add more ram/ additional battery/ new processor whenever i want

[oakendurin]

I just have one of the HP pavilion 15s, can't remember which one though. I think it's a great laptop at least for my needs. I've had it for over a year and it still works good as new. The battery lasts a whole day at school still and it's not at all laggy or anything. I don't know what you guys do with your laptops, but I'd say that as an IB student you don't need a ridiculously expensive computer because the average work just as well. 

 

Aside from HP computers, I recommend Lenovo as well. I think they even have a reputation of being good laptops for students and they're not expensive either if I remember right. This is just my personal opinion, but I think macbooks are way overrated and not to mention overpriced. You can get better laptops for less than the price of a mac.

 

EDIT: Whoops, I thought this was more of a current topic and didn't check the dates until I posted.

Edited August 9, 2015 by oakendurin

[viclzhu]

our school prescribed laptops are toshibas..... DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GET A TOSHIBA... most change to macs during their first year of IB but asus is also good because macs work REALLY slowly if you install windows onto it (and I think windows is vital for IB like word/excel etc. and its generally easier to use than the mac programs)

[Lynxarin]

I just have one of the HP pavilion 15s, can't remember which one though. I think it's a great laptop at least for my needs. I've had it for over a year and it still works good as new. The battery lasts a whole day at school still and it's not at all laggy or anything. I don't know what you guys do with your laptops, but I'd say that as an IB student you don't need a ridiculously expensive computer because the average work just as well. 

 

Aside from HP computers, I recommend Lenovo as well. I think they even have a reputation of being good laptops for students and they're not expensive either if I remember right. This is just my personal opinion, but I think macbooks are way overrated and not to mention overpriced. You can get better laptops for less than the price of a mac.

 

EDIT: Whoops, I thought this was more of a current topic and didn't check the dates until I posted.

Please show me where you find a laptop cheaper than a macbook that would be better, I am curious!

[a_djoko]

I use a windows based program, dell inspiron 15R ONLY FOR THE SAKE OF QUESTIONBANK and Word document. I know other Mac users who get frustrated whenever their windows 7 (to access Questionbank) on their Mac lags or when the whole program does not open.  For word document, with a Mac it changes the format of the document. Therefore,it is only handy if you're sending work from a Mac to Mac. Other than that structure of your work is all over the place.In the crucial times of final IB you need Questionbank and since the Internals are sent electronically, for a Mac user many of my classmates submit their assignments as PDFs but due to the file being to larger their only hope is a word document, crossing their fingers that the format does not change.  

[Yugalarex]

I currently use a late-2013 Macbook Pro with retina display and I find that it has all the features I really need for the diploma: word processing, note taking, reading etc. It's easy to stay organized with an Apple system, the great thing is that in my school everyone has an apple computer so you don't really need to worry about bringing a charger to school.

 

I'm thinking of switching to a Samsung computer soon though just for a change.

 

Just out of curiosity, does anyone have any complaints about Windows 8.1 in terms of the things you need for IB? (Note taking, layouts on word etc.)

[Lynxarin]

I currently use a late-2013 Macbook Pro with retina display and I find that it has all the features I really need for the diploma: word processing, note taking, reading etc. It's easy to stay organized with an Apple system, the great thing is that in my school everyone has an apple computer so you don't really need to worry about bringing a charger to school.

 

I'm thinking of switching to a Samsung computer soon though just for a change.

 

Just out of curiosity, does anyone have any complaints about Windows 8.1 in terms of the things you need for IB? (Note taking, layouts on word etc.)

I have only briefly used Windows 8.1 and it seemed to be better overall compared to Windows 7. What I did not like about Windows 8.1 was the layout, but if you buy a computer with Windows 8.1, you can upgrade to Windows 10 for free. 

[Lynxarin]

I use a windows based program, dell inspiron 15R ONLY FOR THE SAKE OF QUESTIONBANK and Word document. I know other Mac users who get frustrated whenever their windows 7 (to access Questionbank) on their Mac lags or when the whole program does not open.  For word document, with a Mac it changes the format of the document. Therefore,it is only handy if you're sending work from a Mac to Mac. Other than that structure of your work is all over the place.In the crucial times of final IB you need Questionbank and since the Internals are sent electronically, for a Mac user many of my classmates submit their assignments as PDFs but due to the file being to larger their only hope is a word document, crossing their fingers that the format does not change.  

If you have Office or just Word on your mac, format is, and will not be a problem when the file is later opened in Windows 7 because the file format is the same. Used Office for mac for 8 months, never had any problems when emailing IAs or so to teachers using Windows computers. If your classmates still have those problems, they either need to install Office first of all, or have Office 365 or Office for Mac 2011 or later.