Best Screenwriting Laptop

[Britt]

I'm in need of a new laptop - One that has a long battery life, that I can easily transport and use in cafes, and that's compatible with Final Draft 8.0.

Right now I have a Dell Inspiron, and Final Draft works fine on it, but it's old, and way too big and clunky to carry around with me.

Any suggestions on laptops for screenwriters?

Thanks!

 

[spike87]

Macbook pro. I was the biggest PC guy out there but I'm never going back. I have the 15 inch, but the 13 might be more what you're looking for. Battery life lasts 8 hours if you're just using Final Draft.

I plan on using mine for the next two years at AFI...

Good luck!

 

[Britt]

Thanks Spike.
I've been getting a lot of Macbook Pro suggestions, and it's definitely on the top of my list quality-wise.

But the Macbook Pro is pretty expensive. Does anyone have any less expensive suggestions?

 

[Jayimess]

Unless you're editing on it a lot, there is no reason to get a Macbook Pro. I write on a six year old Powerbook G4, 12 inch. For wordprocessing programs such as Final Draft or Movie Magic, MSWord, Power Point, and Excel, a Macbook is fine. A Dell is fine.

I'm a Mac convert myself, but you don't need a Mac as a writer. Not at all.

I have an iMac I edit with, and a HP PC I do a lot of other stuff on, choosing to put my editing money onto a machine that won't be dropped or constantly transported, or easily stolen from my car. I write on all of them, but my Powerbook's my fave writing computer.

Hope that helps.

Either way, make sure you wait til you get student status so you can save some cheese.

 

[notroberttowne]

I've been using an eee pc for a year now and it's totally badass. It cost a little over 300 and it has nine hours of battery life and it weighs like two pounds and it's the size of a hardback book.

The screen's small and takes some getting used to, but the keyboard is full sized, the speakers are *****in', and it's super portable. I run final draft on it and have probably written four or five hundred pages since I got it. It's great.

It won't edit a thing, but if writing, battery life, and portability are your priorities (not to mention cheapness), I say eee pc is the way to go.

 

[Britt]

Jayimess - Thanks for the advice. I'll look into those. I'm enrolled to start school in the fall; does that mean I have student status now?

notroberttowne - Thanks so much for sharing! That definitely sounds like the kind of laptop I need. I'm definitely looking into it. Thanks again.

 

[notroberttowne]

Depending on where you buy it does. I think if you have a university email address you can get your discount from most places.

Also, if you haven't already acquired final draft, the student discount for that sucker is not insignificant, either.

 

[Britt]

I got Final Draft back in January, when I didn't think I'd be accepted at all. Sucks for me!

Definitely going to milk the student status for all that it's worth now.

Thanks!

 

[BKFishmaster]

So I was a fall 2010 reject after spending a lot of time on these forums and now I'm going to make the move out to LA very soon to try to break in the non-MFA way. I was looking at possibly getting a new laptop before making the move, and a Google search for "Macbook Pro screenwriters" brought me back to this familiar territory.

After working with Macs for several years for editing, I'm definitely hooked and I'm not even considering a move back to PC even for just writing. My question is about whether to go for the Macbook or the entry-level Macbook Pro. I know that the specs on the regular Macbook would be more than adequate for my writing needs, but I'm wondering if the aluminum body of the Pro would be more durable for life on the go.

The other question is kind of superficial but I thought it might matter. Especially if I'm not going to be in school, is there an "image" factor to having the Pro model over the regular one? Would the Pro one flag you as someone who is truly invested in the career professionally versus just a general consumer or hobbyist. I know that probably seems like a silly question but I figured I should at least ask before pulling the trigger on one or the other.

Glad to be posting here again, and good luck to everyone starting programs this fall!

 

[Jayimess]

Nobody gives a rat's patootie what kind of computer you have. My professors wrote on everything from Powerbooks older than my own g4 to shiny new iPads, and plenty even have PCs, including our own department chair at USC, Jack Epps. If you don't edit or do anything else that requires the specs provided by a Pro, why drop the cash? It just makes you look like you have cash to spend.

That said, I drop my powerbook at least once a month and while it's dying, it's dying really, really slowly, and I'm grateful for that durability.

If you're not a klutz like me, though, take good care of it, etc, you should be fine either way.

Welcome to LA.

 

[BKFishmaster]

Great, thanks as always for the insight, Jayimess. It's reassuring to know that people out there don't care about that sort of thing.

 

[Chris W]

I love my Chromebook - for $199 or $249 it makes a perfect device for writing. It can't run final draft but it can run Google Docs or any web app. Contrary to pop belief Chromebooks can do a lot offline. The battery lasts forever and everything gets backup up as you type. I love it. Plus no maintenance whatsoever and no viruses or malware.

It won't edit video - but for writing it's perfect.

http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/

 

[ColumbiaNYC]

If it's mainly for Final Draft you can almost use a calculator. No reason to buy a Macbook Pro.

 

[Chris W]

If it's mainly for Final Draft you can almost use a calculator. No reason to buy a Macbook Pro.

A calculator? There's a calculator version of Final Draft?

 

[Mike_V]

When was Final Draft able to do math.. let alone graphs?
on a more serious note:
Any laptop will allow you to do screenwriting. Pick whichever laptop that has an OS that you are most comfortable with, be it OSX, Windows, (insert Linux Distro here), or Chrome.