Laptops for finance
Hey guys,
What are some decent laptops in the range of $600-$1200 with about 14 inch in size? This laptop will be for everyday use in school and summer internship (boutique PE). I have a mechanical keyboard for job, but may still use the laptop for modelling here and there so the layout of the keyboard can't be shit (for some laptops, you have to press extra buttons in excel. For example, to scroll to another tab in excel, you would use CTRL + PGUP/DN. Some laptops would require CTRL + FN + PGUP/DN, which is annoying.)
Please give me some suggestions and thanks!
Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon for business use.
How many Ghz do you think I would need for excel to run smoothly with several lines (also likes to open up a lot of tabs...)? Saving excel becomes a bitch when I do the entire company financials and complimentary valuation in one tab.
Sorry about these noob q's. Figured I could get an answer much faster from finance professionals
Whatever you do, don't forget to check that it has a normal sized "Enter" button. I bought one online and sure as shit, it's a narrow enter for no reason other than to look cool, I guess.
eh - I am not really a fan of the X1 Carbon... I have one for work. I can't necessarily recommend anything better, I have a 7 year old macbook and I can't stand it.
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t440s/
Buy this and add RAM to 8 GB.
I got a Lenovo G500s for $500, I think, post-rebate: 8GB RAM, 1TB memory, i5 processor, good battery life. awesome value. I can have absolutely everything running at once with no lag at all: 20 Chrome tabs, big excel files, Spotify, downloads. I just hook it up at a big boy screen, a mouse, and a keyboard when I get home and put it on a turned off cooling pad. And if I want to, I can use it as an extended screen. I had an HP Envy before, but I forgot it at a bar...
$500?
When did you buy this, and what were the specs?
Curious to know how the HP Envy was working out for you. I bought it sometime back but haven't used it even a bit.
MS Finance - Notetaking methods and Laptop? (Originally Posted: 03/07/2013)
Hello everyone,
I'm planning to apply for a Master of Science in Finance within the next two semesters (I'm not from a finance background though), and also I'm in the course of looking for a new laptop at the moment. I plan to ask the schools what their minimum specifications for laptops are, but from your experience, what will be needed in terms of processor, ram, screen size, etc.? The courses will include the implementation of financial models, using spreadsheet modeling and basic programming, via Microsoft Excel, VBA and Matlab. Should I expect to regularly bring along my laptop, or do people also use the iPad for notetaking? What would be recommended notetaking methods? Good old pen and paper?
Many thanks in advance!
Just remember:
//www.youtube.com/embed/qpMvS1Q1sos
Pad and Paper. For homework you need a normal computer that can run a spreadsheet. Nothing fancy.
You were seriously considering taking notes on an iPad for an MSF?
Don't get a Mac if you're getting your own computer to use Excel.
Yes, I have read that a Mac would be problematic. Some people suggested using Parallels or Bootcamp to run Windows on a Mac, but it still seems there may be glitches to be expected with that.
Thanks for the input so far!
@bengigi I was considering the option of annotating/marking downloaded slides with handwritten notes (stylus) on the iPad (with an app like Noterizer, NotesPlus, or the like). I have read about an MBA student who liked the method, but I personally have no experience with it.
Comes down to personal choice but I can't learn from an iPad, even with making notes. For me at least, nothing beats pen and paper. Definitely print out the slides and bring them along to annotate though.
Any laptop will run Excel and VBA for your modelling / spreadsheets, don't go crazy on specs or price.
Op I love my lenovo thinkpad. The keyboard layout is great (for a laptop) and it's aesthetically simple and sharp.
@ Asatar and Ron Paul
Cool, thanks! I had a feeling that pen and paper would still beat it :) Also, I'm relieved that I won't need anything too fancy or powerful for a laptop, as I was hoping to get a relatively light ultrabook. Actually, I've looked at the Lenovo Thinkpad online before. Good to know that it's recommended!
You come from a non-finance background? Then I expect you will be writing down almost everything (always a good idea). If you are like me, you will also draw every graph w/arrows notes & loops etc. In my experience, nothing is faster than paper and pencil/pen.
As far as laptop, whatever is the nicest thing you are comfortable w/ spending. And I don't mean $1k+ either. Excel & programming will be fine w/ any i3/i5 & 4gigs of ram (which is standard now, but overkill for what you need.) Try not to get something that weighs a ton is my best advice.
@ Alekz Thanks for your advice, and yes, I'll probably be writing down a lot too :) My academic background is liberal arts and business (i like math of course). Hopefully my lack of a more technical background won't be an issue when applying. And I'm glad to know that an i3/i5 processor and 4GB of Ram will suffice.
If you ever spend time in Excel on and Windows computer and then go to Mac, it sucks. Not only is layout completely problematic (IMO), but the short cut keys control keys on a Mac are all messed up or don't work the same. E.g, no alt tab on a Mac, which really comes in handy in Excel. (Well there is an option/alt key, but it doesn't work the same for me).
Re: screen size for the laptop. Do you think a 13.3 inch screen will do (considering the use of Matlab,VBA,etc.), or is it better to go for the 14 or 15 inch screen size? Thanks again to all for your help.
I have a 13 inch screen laptop, which was fine when I was an undergrad on facebook during non-business classes. Honestly, a 15 inch would be my recommendation. Try to avoid ones that have that extra set of number pad keys to the right, they just take up space.
13 inches is doable but I prefer to use larger screens while working on spreadsheets.
Thanks!
You don't want to carry around a brick. Get the smallest ultra book you can afford. You won't be making load of fancy spreadsheet during your one year MSF.
Yes, I'd prefer the 13 inch for its lighter weight, but am a bit concerned that it won't be ideal to work with outside of home (I plan to connect an external monitor at home). It sounds like you studied for an MSF yourself? Thanks for your advice.
I am in MBA and even though I am taking a good number of finance/accounting classes, I don't run 5 different 40 tab spreadsheets (cases/homeworks aren't that complicated). I did that back in consulting and I wish I had smaller laptop rather than carry my 8 pounder or whatever around the country every week. If you are really gung ho about using a bigger screen, you can plug it in the monitor that most team rooms should have in whatever you school are going to. You can also use zoom.
Really interested in this as well. Looking for a 13-14" sleek travel laptop with strong excel / pp functionality.
New Lenovo X1 Carbon sucks for business use. Crazy keyboard design and replacing the function keys is just stupid.
Still I have no better suggestion. I currently use a MBP 15" with both Windows 7 & OS. Pretty happy with it...
Look for these specs:
A SSD makes your computer so much faster, and you'll go from shut down to desktop faster than a phone turns on.
DO NOT BUY WINDOWS 8.
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I like Acer personally
I have an ASUS Ultrabook UXV32D with 10GB ram, runs everything smoothly. Anything with i7, 8GB ram and swap HDD for SSD it will make the laptop a lot quicker, the difference is between day and light.
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