notebook recommendation for grad school

[gogurt]

Hi all,

I hate to start yet another of these notebook recommendation threads (sorry in advance), but the technology just changes so quickly that I am really behind on what the best options are out there. I've written out what I'm looking for below... any thoughts that you guys have would be really appreciated. I thank you all for your time!

Budget: Ideally, <=$1000. This the binding constraint...

The bottom line: This box will be running linux. I am starting a PhD program in statistics in the fall. I expect to be writing/running a lot of code somewhere down the line. Reliability, performance and battery life are priorities. Multimedia capabilities are not a concern at all.

More details: My main motivation for this new box, aside from the fact that my current one ('07 Macbook) is croaking, is that I expect to be coding/running some fairly resource-intensive simulations on the new computer. It doesn't need to be a total beast--I will be at a large research university where I can send jobs to high-performance clusters when I need real heavy lifting--but more speed will be better for testing.

I don't know if this makes a difference, but I mostly code in R, sometimes C and Haskell too. Right now I also do a lot of work in Stata, but that's because I currently work with a lot of economists and don't expect that to be the case in school. Anyway, there are probably a lot of models out there with good performance and low price, but another concern for me is reliability. Since I will be a poor grad student, this box would ideally last me 5 years, through the end of my program.

That's about it. I've heard a lot about the Lenovo Thinkpads, especially the X- and T-series, but am pretty ignorant about other options. Do any of you guys run setups similar to the one I am aiming for?

Many thanks!

 

[God Mode]

Size or weight a concern?

 

[gogurt]

That's a good question, sorry I forgot to address it! Size and weight are not too big of a concern for me. Lighter is definitely better, but reliability really trumps portability for me in this case. Thanks!

 

[rabbitz]

Are you in canada? Pick up one of those price error t520's. Only problems I've had so far are:

1) occasional high pitched whining sound. Supposedly it comes from some voltage regulator for some power saving thing but the sound isn't too bad so I haven't tried turning it off yet. You can only hear it in really quiet rooms.

2) 2nd hard drive in ultrabay slot does a soft eject (the drive itself doesn't pop out, but the computer disconnects it) every time I put my laptop to sleep. I have to either sleep again or restart to recognise the drive again. However, if you are running something off the drive at sleep time (have a folder open) when you wake up, you will only get a message that the drive cannot be ejected. Bit annoying, no solution yet but not really a deal breaker. Supposed to have something to do with some power manager setting but I haven't been able to figure it out.

Other than that, a 2860qm t520 for 800? Yes please.

 

[themillak]

when I was looking for a netbook I used this site to check for linux compatibilty http://www.linlap.com/wiki/ . as far as the coding, as long as you know your IDE of choice will work on linux there isn't really an issue. from the couple lenovos i've clicked through (the T series is very popular in Israel) they all have very high compatibility. sometimes you have to be a bit creative with the model number (x100e instead of x120e, T*10 instead of T*20, etc)

 

[dawza]

I just completed the grad (doctorate) school experience about a year ago in the biological sciences and understand the need for reliability + affordability. My CPU needs were by no means extreme, and I also worked almost exclusively in a Windows ecosystem, so keep these caveats in mind. Most of my computing requirements revolved around dataset processing (lots of spreadsheet work), light statistical work (Jmp), and the standard document reading and paper/grant/protocol writing.

My recommendation would be one of the premium business-class notebooks from HP (Elitebooks), Dell (Latitude 6XXX), or Lenovo (T or X-series). I have used products from all three over the years and the benefits of full-service overnight (both ways) default warranties are not to be underestimated. I've required some kind of service for my Elitebook, Latitude, and Thinkpad, and turnaround (including shipping) ranged from 3 - 10 days in the US.

For reliability, battery life, and performance, all three are comparable within their respective categorical offerings. I'm partial to Lenovo's Thinkpad line (the REAL Thinkpads, and not the Edge or L series) solely due to the trackpoint precision and keyboard tactility. The KB/trackpoint isn't a big deal when docked with external peripherals, but on the go, having to use a trackpad or a subpar trackpoint (Dell and HP's trackpoints are decent but nothing close to Lenovo's) for data-intensive work is excruciating. I also prefer the ThinkLight or HP's little flip-out version to Dell's illuminated KB for low-light work.

For durability, Elitebooks = Thinkpads > Latitudes, IMO. They're all very solid, though.

I strongly suggest deciding whether you want a larger or smaller form factor. I used an old T60 as my daily driver, but found the size/heft a bit unwieldy for meetings, presentations, and travel. The 1680x1050 screen resolution + SSD upgrade + $300 used price made these tradeoffs acceptable, and it did serve its purpose very well; a close colleague finishing his thesis work is currently using it (he's the third owner, and it isn't uncommon for Thinkpads to endure for far longer than 6 years). On the other hand, I am a huge screen resolution advocate, and the 12-12.5" offerings limit you to 1366x768; a dock + external monitor(s) can somewhat ease this constraint.

If I were making the purchase, I'd strongly consider the T420 with a 1600x900 display; funds permitting (perhaps down the line), moving to an SSD would be a wise decision for both performance and reliability. An X220 or Elitebook 2560P would be top contenders in the 12.5" range. The 15" models may be out of your price range, as I can't bring myself to recommend a 15" model without a pricey upgrade to an FHD (1920x1080) display. The smaller models should fit within your $1000 ceiling, particularly if you find a good outlet/refurb deal; keep in mind that Thinkpads generally come with 1-year warranties by default, while the higher-end Latitudes and all Elitebooks come with 3-year warranties (even the outlet refurbs). You can always extend warranties post-purchase, though.

 

[Darknite39]

My T61 w/1440x900 rez has served me well programming in SAS in a windows environment (I will be done with my dissertation soon). Just make sure your thinkpad (or whatever, but I would get a TP) has linux-compatible graphics, and you should be set.

 

[unokitty]

Have you spoken with any PhD students currently in your program regarding your choices?

If not, I'd be concerned that you might be expected to run some Windows packages on your computer.

For what its worth, I run several different Linux distributions under Windows 7 with VM ware on my Thinkpad X200. Everything seems to work fine.

Using a VM wouldn't be as elegant as running on the bare metal but it would give you more flexibility.

Then again, you could probably also use Linux as your host and something like Virtual Box to run Windows as a guest O/S. Though, I don't have any experience doing that...

Either way, best of luck with your studies!
Uno

 

[Knavish]

Does your current / future school have any purchasing plan with Lenovo, Dell, etc? Since you want to install linux, you might get some friendly advice about deals through the university from a department sysadmin. (Especially if they're linux admins!)