Last week I talked about desktop computer specs and promised to tell the Certified Legal Nurse Consultants the true Hollywood story of my new laptop purchase. As you can guess, I was picturing a sleek ultrabook. Something 1/8” thick, faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a Cray® XE6 and weighing less than a change of mind. Turns out I ended up with a 11”x19”x 1 ¾”, 7 lb. “desktop replacement.” I don’t have a problem with that because when I’m saving the free world on a daily basis, I need the computing power (You’re still here aren’t you?).
But, what sort of laptop do my CLNC® amigos require? First, let me give you the same advice I gave last week: Whether you buy a Mac® or a Windows® box isn’t important anymore. What’s important is that you have Microsoft® Office for Mac and a learning source to help train you to use your new computer.
Let’s get started with some specs for the mobile Certified Legal Nurse Consultant. First, any notebook from Dell, Fujitsu®, HP, Lenovo® or Asus® will do the trick.
- Intel® 2nd or 3rd Generation Core™ i-series processor, 3.2 GHz or faster.
- 8 GB or more of DDR3 RAM up to as much as you can afford.
- A 64 bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium is required to use more than 4 GB of RAM. You may have to buy Windows 8 with downgrade rights to get Win7 (go for it).
- 500 GB or larger hard drive running @ 7,200 RPM or faster.
- Fast rewritable DVD+R dual-layer drive (non-Blu-Ray) or DVD/CD-RW drive.
- 15″ or larger screen.
- Built-in 10/100-Mbps Ethernet adapter (for networking capability or a broadband connection).
- 802.11b/g/n wireless solution or card.
- Integrated sound card.
- Built-in web cam, microphone and speakers.
- Integrated 3D-capable graphics or ATI or nVidia card – 128 MB or more.
- Four or more USB ports.
- Additional battery.
- Optional docking station or port-replicator with additional monitor(s), mouse and keyboard.
- 2-3-year on-site service warranty.
Mac notebooks are more expensive but have that high “wow” factor. For you, since it’s form before price, you’ll want a minimum of a 15” MacBook Pro® and if you have any spare money, consider upgrading to the Retina display.
- 2.6GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB GDDR5 memory.
- 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM – 2x4GB RAM.
- 750GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm.
- SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW).
- Mac OS X Mountain Lion.
- iWork preinstalled.
- Microsoft® Office for Mac.
- Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet.
- 802.11n wireless solution or card (a/b/g compatible).
- AppleCare Protection Plan.
Again. We now live in a world where your computing preference doesn’t matter. Just be sure you learn how to use what you buy.
Keep on techin’,
Tom
P.S. Comment and share whether you prefer a desktop or laptop.
P.P.S. Disclaimer: These recommendations are guidelines only. LegalNurse.com does not specifically endorse or recommend any particular equipment or manufacturer. We do not guarantee any product or service offered by any vendor mentioned.
