text: Hardware - Best laptop for urban planning student/career | Cyburbia - Urban Planning and Placemaking Community
  Hardware Best laptop for urban planning student/career
  Thread starter fclamorjr
  fclamorjr
  My Macbook recently broke and I deciding on what laptop to get next. Since Macbook isn't really compatible with most Urban Planning software I am probably going to buy a PC. My first option was probably a Surface Book or a Surface Pro 4. Does anyone have any recommendation?
  Macbook Pro with Windows 7 in Parallels
  If you think you'll be doing some heavy GIS analysis then go for something with a solid CPU. If you think you'll be doing heavy graphical work (Adobe) then you'll want as much RAM as you can afford. A solid state hard drive is a nice thing to have.
  I was just at the APA Conference in Phoenix and took a GIS class with ESRI. They were running Dell Precision M4800s, for what it's worth.
  But - wouldn't your school or future employer have a computer for you? Are you sure it's worth the investment on your own?
  There is no "best" laptop. You are limited by price, size, battery life, warranty/quality etc... The best laptop may be a 12 pound desktop replacement, do you really want to spend $4,000 on that?
  Figure out your budget. Figure out how big a laptop do you want. It sounds like you want one that has a touch screen. Then try to figure out which one offers the best specifications at your price point.
  One of the best places for laptop guidance is a forum called notebookreview. They have people that follow technology trends, and sometimes will point out rebates/sales.