Note-taking machine for school

[dZt NA]

Need note-taking machine for long school days that replaces my iPad 2, so i7 not necessity, SSD storage is great, 8GB minimum, top-tier keyboard, and great battery life.  Preferably thin and light because I'm going to be doing lots of walking.

My preferences so far, feel free to recommend more:

 

Razer Blade Stealth: 1199.99 USD (woah Razer actually has something good that is the cheapest option on the list)

- 12.5" QHD touch

- 256GB SSD

- i7-6500U

- 8GB

 

Dell XPS 12 2-in-1: 1299.99 USD

- 6th Gen. Intel m5 6Y54

- 8GB

- 256GB SSD

- 12.5" 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) touch

 

Dell XPS 13: 1499.99 USD

- 6th Gen Intel i5-6200U

- 256GB SSD

- 8GB

- 13.3” QHD+ (3200 x 1800) InfinityEdge touch display

 

Microsoft Surface Book: 1699.99 USD

- 13.5” 3000 x 2000 touch

- 256GB SSD

- Intel i5

- 8GB

 

Microsoft Surface Pro 4: 1299.99 USD (least prefered because I'm not a fan of tablets)

- 12.3" 2736 x 1824

- 256GB SSD

- Intel i5

- 8GB

[TheKDub]

Imo go for the XPS 13.

[Mug]

I have a Surface Pro 3. Used it in Uni for note-taking and loved it. It really improves your workflow. You can take notes in lectures then read them back on your desktop because OneNote syncs your notes. The pen is a godsend.

 

I would recommend getting the core m3 version though as it's fanless. I feel it'll last longer and work better. In fact, I'd love to swap my i5 for an m3 one. Then, have a gaming PC at home to store all of your stuff (or a Surface Dock and an external HDD, monitor, keyboard and mouse. This thing really isn't designed for gaming so what's the point in buying a mid/top spec one?

[Guest]

XPS 12/13 hands down.

Warning, they are EXTREMELY small so be prepared, you'll be like Holy Sh*t

[rmac52]

I just got the surface pro 4 for school.  The semester hasn't started yet so I can't really say how well its going to work.

But based off using it for the last 3 weeks I have very high hopes.  

 

I greatly prefer taking notes with pen and paper so a laptop would be non optimal for me.  I love the surface pen, It works great for me.

 

Also the type cover is surprisingly good.  I was expecting it to be utter shit but its actually not bad.

[dZt NA]

XPS 12/13 hands down.

Warning, they are EXTREMELY small so be prepared, you'll be like Holy Sh*t

Do you know what the keyboard is like on the XPS 12?  And is the keyboard flex on the XPS 13 as bad as some review say?

[Guest]

Do you know what the keyboard is like on the XPS 12?  And is the keyboard flex on the XPS 13 as bad as some review say?

The keyboard was pleasant to type on, nice and quiet, I didn't notice any flex when i was demoing the laptop

[dZt NA]

I have a Surface Pro 3. Used it in Uni for note-taking and loved it. It really improves your workflow. You can take notes in lectures then read them back on your desktop because OneNote syncs your notes. The pen is a godsend.

 

I would recommend getting the core m3 version though as it's fanless. I feel it'll last longer and work better. In fact, I'd love to swap my i5 for an m3 one. Then, have a gaming PC at home to store all of your stuff (or a Surface Dock and an external HDD, monitor, keyboard and mouse. This thing really isn't designed for gaming so what's the point in buying a mid/top spec one?

How much does OneNote and the pen remove the need for paper notebooks?  If it is insanely better than I will consider the XPS 12 and Surface 4 over the Blade Stealth which is my top option right now.

[Mug]

How much does OneNote and the pen remove the need for paper notebooks?  If it is insanely better than I will consider the XPS 12 and Surface 4 over the Blade Stealth which is my top option right now.

If you can get your hands on PDF versions of your textbooks then you can literally just walk into your lecture room with your Surface and you're fine.

There are a couple of apps that I'd recommend getting to give you the best experience, such as Drawboard PDF, where you can annotate your textbooks and a good sound recording app so you can attach your recordings to your notes (if lectures aren't recorded anyway).

 

I found the only restriction of OneNote was that you can't insert (for example) Cornell paper to take notes on but that is I'm sure a feature to be added in the future.