laptop for a PhD student

Hi,

I'm about to start a 4 year PhD in October and I would like to get a laptop that will make life as easy as possible. My department provides me with a desktop to do on-campus work, but I still reckon I will use my laptop fairly intensively.

Uses: Reading PDFs, word processing, running data analysis (R, SPSS), some light programming (creating computer-based experiments- I do cognitive psychology), general internet use. Also it goes without saying that I will be using it for procrastination Lots of netflix/iplayer/etc but not much gaming.

I reckon for compatibility reasons I'm best off sticking with Windows.

I will be doing a lot of reading and typing, so a good screen and a comfortable keyboard are pretty important. I would like it to be fairly portable (not too heavy).

I don't mind spending quite a bit of money (£600-£1000) as long as it will last. This laptop will be a huge part of my life!

Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks

what kind of data analysis? is it serious stuff which requires a bit of power?
How is it on your current specs?
any preferences such as battery life, etc?
whats considered light?
which games?

-Fairly small datasets, so I don't need anything that powerful. I can use the university computers for any serious data analysis.

-My current laptop (Sony Vaio) was perfectly fine for undergrad level work (didn't use it for any programming or running experiments), but the battery has died and the screen flickers.

-not sure if you are referring to 'light programming' or weight of laptop, so I will answer both. I'm not sure how often I will be carrying it around, but my current 15" Vaio is far too big and bulky for my liking. I would like a balance between weight and performance.As for my experiments, I want to practice developing and running experiments on programs like Matlab (Psychtoolbox) or Blitz3D. I measure reaction times (among other things) in my experiments, so speed is important, but I will be using standardised lab computers when I officially conduct my experiments.

-gaming is not an issue

Thanks

For stuff your doing, you may be interested in a Macbook.

http://www.johnlewis.com/samsung-350v5c-a06-laptop-intel-core-i7-2-4ghz-8gb-ram-1tb-15-6-silver/p231740124


http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Sony_VAIO_Fit_15_1400606.html

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Sony_VAIO_S_Series_13_1346156.html

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/MSI_CX61_Haswell_1389668.html

http://www.ebuyer.com/479761-lenovo-ideapad-z500t-touch-laptop-59367151

also check some of my other links on other threads

low end stuff mainly i5
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2430935&p=43986202#post43986202


http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2433228&p=44011098#post44011098


Other options include:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/laptop/all/

or pcspecialist as custom laptops
Have a look through the saveonlaptops and ebuyer website........

Thanks so much. I will have a look at your suggestions.

As for the Macbook, I would probably need/want to make a partition for Windows. Is that a good idea?

Thanks so much. I will have a look at your suggestions.

As for the Macbook, I would probably need/want to make a partition for Windows. Is that a good idea?

Thanks so much. I will have a look at your suggestions.

As for the Macbook, I would probably need/want to make a partition for Windows. Is that a good idea?

Do mind me asking where your closest PCWorld store is or the area that you live in? Many PCW stores are SIS (or Store-in-store) meaning they have an ASC (Apple Sales Consultant) employed by Apple there who could give you a demo and answer questions. Many other stores also have Apple experts and specialists trained on Apple products.