I’m planning on starting my own practice the beginning of next year. I am currently shopping for laptops/desktops. Does anyone have a recommendation on a laptop that has been reliable for them? I hear Lenovo is a good brand but I was wondering if any others are worth looking at. For those that have Lenovo’s, what model do you have?

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Definately do not buy any desktops. There is no reason for those any longer. For me MacBook Pro has been the most reliable. You can get a13” that is light and reasonably small so u can take it to client meetings, depos etc. if you are not tech savvy I would strongly recommend apple brand products since they nicely sync without you buying extra software or wires.

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I will defend the reliable desktop on the grounds that two monitors is way more efficient when drafting anything. I got a desktop and two monitors for $300 just to run Microsoft word and solitaire.

Thinkpad T480 and MacBook Pro have been reliable for me.

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Dell XPS. Nothing else close!

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I like the surface. Good build quality.

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MacBook Air. Don’t really need the Pro unless you’re planning to use iMovie to edit lengthy high resolution videos.

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I just got a Lenovo and am not in love with it. I had an Acer before and it was amazing until it stopped working after me lugging it to the office as my primary computer every day (it took significant beatings before it gave out).

Don’t forget to get a back-up external hard drive and to back it up every day. I recommend two external hard drives if you aren’t also storing everything through a secure cloud like Amazon’s system. At the firm I am getting ready to depart for my own firm, several years ago the back-up system and the second back-up system both went out at the same time because they were kept in the same room and the room over heated.

IT was able to recover some, but not all, of the files. The firm now has everything in a secure cloud interface and it is blissful. You can sign in from anywhere and know it is being backed up through Amazon’s system in four different locations throughout the Country just in case their own server goes down in one location.

Good luck on your new venture. I am excited and terrified starting out on my own. But, I can’t wait to be able to do things my own way.

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I use a Lenovo X1 carbon, a 6th gen that I've had for a few years now. It's a pretty nice laptop, super duper light, the screen is bonkers with QHD, and I prefer the thinkpad keyboards over basically any other laptop. Couldnt praise it enough but it's also in the 1k+ territory so it kinda should be good.

I buy my laptops with 3 main criteria - key board, inputs, weight. If it's going to be your primary then I would try out the keyboard before buying. Most laptops have thin membrane keys with very little tactile response or depth. If you've never had a problem with this then you're probably alright, but the difference to me in the long term for finger fatigue when drafting is huge.

I want all the inputs I will ever need - hdmi, USB, sd/micro sd, ethernet. I dont buy apple simply because they've made it practice to reduce functional ports. There are workarounds and dongles and hubs and all kinds of other solutions, but they're exactly that - workarounds. It's a pain in the ass if some piece of data you need is on a format you cant access because you forgot your hub or dongle.

Screen and storage is just gravy. Get something with a good amount of ram so you can run multiple things at one time more smoothly.

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I’ve been happy with Lenovo. Plus, there’s an ABA discount!

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We've had our Dell latitudes for two years now without issue. I do wish I had gotten one of the models though that you could dock by just setting on the docking station instead of having to plug in.

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Thank you for the suggestions on lap tops. I am looking for one. The suggestions in the comments have been helpful.

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Thank you everyone! I appreciate the suggestions.

I started my own shop last year. I have used nothing but Microsoft’s “Surface Book.”
My first one lasted 4 years. I’m so confident in their value I just dropped $4k on their newest latest and greatest Surface Book 3.
For those who have asked I’ve readily recommended the product and everyone who has heeded the advice has come back to me to voice their appreciation for the recommendation.

MacBook without a doubt. Most reliable and great trial tech as well

I only use Mac products. I have a Mac mini in the office and a MacBook at home.

You should check out this book. It will help you to effectively start your practice and grow it without financial burden. https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Growing-Practice-Without-Breaking/dp/1099523303

MacBook Pro only for my first few years, then added an iMac.

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