Opinion on 2 in 1 laptops?
Im going uni in September and need to buy a 2 in 1 laptop-pixel book or maybe microsoft surface pro? But I don't know if I should bother or if I should just get a normal laptop and an ipad separately?
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I don’t know much about them really but I have a Lenovo yoga 250 and it’s really good
Original post by FutureMissMRCS
Im going uni in September and need to buy a 2 in 1 laptop-pixel book or maybe microsoft surface pro? But I don't know if I should bother or if I should just get a normal laptop and an ipad separately?
Why do you need a 2-in-1? That will dictate the choice. Not all touchscreen/convertible laptops are suited to the same things.
Because I want to have the option to do notes on the tablet using one of those special pens.
I use my surface book 2 and it is extremely slick. I love using it for almost everything from gaming to video-editing to note-taking etc. It is slightly expensive but I would say it is the best choice.
I have a Mac and iPad myself, but if you're on a budget, a 2 in 1 laptop (my friends use an iPad pro with keyboard) is fine. I assume you're not doing something like engineering.
Original post by Aaryra
I have a Mac and iPad myself, but if you're on a budget, a 2 in 1 laptop (my friends use an iPad pro with keyboard) is fine. I assume you're not doing something like engineering.
Doing neuroscience. Trying to decide if to get an ipad and a laptop or if to just get the 2 in 1.
Original post by y.u.mad.bro?
I use my surface book 2 and it is extremely slick. I love using it for almost everything from gaming to video-editing to note-taking etc. It is slightly expensive but I would say it is the best choice.
How much RAM do you have? Are there any downsides to it?
Original post by FutureMissMRCS
Because I want to have the option to do notes on the tablet using one of those special pens.
While I'm personally of the opinion that handwriting notes is still vastly superior to writing on touchscreens when you're doing it daily in class and not just once a week at a work meeting, if you really want to do that then get a tablet with keyboard attachment. It sits far closer to the desk than a thicker folded laptop will, which makes it easier to write on when you reach the edge of the page rather than being raised high off the desk.
My course is quite content heavy and I know if I do paper notes I'll just lose and misplace them.
What do you think of this one : https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/microsoft-surface-book-2-13-5-intel-core-i7-256-gb-ssd-silver-10173021-pdt.html
Are there any better ones then the one above? Also thought about the pixelbook.
What do you think of this one : https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/microsoft-surface-book-2-13-5-intel-core-i7-256-gb-ssd-silver-10173021-pdt.html
Are there any better ones then the one above? Also thought about the pixelbook.
Original post by FutureMissMRCS
How much RAM do you have? Are there any downsides to it?
I have 8gb ram so the standard and it is great. The bootup time is a couple of seconds and I can use it with no lag. The memory can feel like its low so I have a google drive plus externao HDD to carry some of the heavier files. I guess the only downside is that the keyboard keys feel a bit weird (I used a gaming keyboard before so that might be it) but you get used to them soon. Oh and its hard to use while its on the lap because the screen is heavier than the bast so ure always looking out to make sure it doesnt topple but this is only when ure keeping the laptop on your lap and its at an angle - on a table it is fine. The best feature is that it doesnt overheat and u can barely feel it getting hog.
Original post by FutureMissMRCS
Im going uni in September and need to buy a 2 in 1 laptop-pixel book or maybe microsoft surface pro? But I don't know if I should bother or if I should just get a normal laptop and an ipad separately?
Well I finished first year of uni and I have a separate tablet and laptop.
My laptop is a pretty fast one with a core i7 processor and my tablet is a samsung one with an s pen so that I can take notes etc.
It's your choice really but I was also thinking of buying microsoft surface pro but they are too expensive so I didn't bother in the end.
Original post by Anonymouspsych
Well I finished first year of uni and I have a separate tablet and laptop.
My laptop is a pretty fast one with a core i7 processor and my tablet is a samsung one with an s pen so that I can take notes etc.
It's your choice really but I was also thinking of buying microsoft surface pro but they are too expensive so I didn't bother in the end.
My laptop is a pretty fast one with a core i7 processor and my tablet is a samsung one with an s pen so that I can take notes etc.
It's your choice really but I was also thinking of buying microsoft surface pro but they are too expensive so I didn't bother in the end.
What laptop do you have? Do you take all your notes on the tablet or only some? Do you think it's a, lot better taking notes on the tablet then laptop or paper?
Original post by FutureMissMRCS
How much RAM do you have? Are there any downsides to it?
What course are you doing btw?
Unless you need to utilise intensive software for your course like maybe engineering or something, you really don't need a laptop or equivalent device with more than 8gb ram.
I personally use iPad + Apple Pencil and have a MacBook Pro and I studied Computer Science for most of the course the iPad + Pencil was suffice and having used other people’s surface’s they are a great 2 in 1 and the i7 256gb model is a good choice as the i7 should provided more then enough power to do most tasks you’d use it for, the 256gb storage should also be enough but I’d suggest making sure that any notes/documents are backed up to OneDrive as it not only saves space but also if it got lost/broken then you won’t lose anything and if you want to save stuff locally but find it’s not enough storage than a cheap external drive would be a good addition
Original post by Fresher18
I personally use iPad + Apple Pencil and have a MacBook Pro and I studied Computer Science for most of the course the iPad + Pencil was suffice and having used other people’s surface’s they are a great 2 in 1 and the i7 256gb model is a good choice as the i7 should provided more then enough power to do most tasks you’d use it for, the 256gb storage should also be enough but I’d suggest making sure that any notes/documents are backed up to OneDrive as it not only saves space but also if it got lost/broken then you won’t lose anything and if you want to save stuff locally but find it’s not enough storage than a cheap external drive would be a good addition
Do you prefer the Microsoft surface pro or the ipad for taking notes?
Original post by Anonymouspsych
What course are you doing btw?
Unless you need to utilise intensive software for your course like maybe engineering or something, you really don't need a laptop or equivalent device with more than 8gb ram.
Unless you need to utilise intensive software for your course like maybe engineering or something, you really don't need a laptop or equivalent device with more than 8gb ram.
Doing neuroscience. No clue if I have to have special software for it or not,but I'm guessing not?
Original post by FutureMissMRCS
Do you prefer the Microsoft surface pro or the ipad for taking notes?
Having only used the surface for a short period as it wasn’t mine I didn’t fully test but I would see if you can contact the course provider to check if there’s any specific software you need to use at any point as this should be a consideration.
As for taking notes I use GoodNotes 5 which is iOS & macOS based so using the iPad I found it easier to access and it allowed me to annotate directly on the slides if I chose rather than rewriting everything and the added benefit of syncing to Laptop, Phone & Tablet meant I could always view and expand my notes anytime.
Original post by FutureMissMRCS
What laptop do you have? Do you take all your notes on the tablet or only some? Do you think it's a, lot better taking notes on the tablet then laptop or paper?
I have a hp pavillion laptop something similar to this: https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-15-cs1506sa-15-6-intel-core-i7-laptop-256-gb-ssd-silver-10188853-pdt.html
Only difference is I got 128gb ssd along with 1tb hard drive. In hindsight I wish I would've got 256gb ssd instead as the 1tb hard drive is considered external and it is far better to have more internal memory especially as a solid state drive (computer is much faster etc and you can always buy external hard drive later on if needed).
In terms of note taking, we got given handouts for all our lecture courses so I basically did it handwritten on those handouts as it was easier for me. Having said that, there were many people on my course who preferred taking notes electronically on a tablet as the exact same handouts were put online for our university. I mostly used the note taking function on my tablet to do practise questions as I could pretty do any question and save it on my tablet and it also saved paper.
To answer your final question, I think the answer is not definitive as it would depend on what course you are doing and personal preference. For me personally, I think handwritten notes is still superior to doing it electronically BUT doing it on a tablet is more superior to doing it on a laptop imo as well because I would find it easier to write notes faster in a lecture setting than typing it up (formatting etc would get tedious on a laptop with just a keyboard and touchpad).
P.s. I am not an apple fan hence none of my products are apple haha
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