<p>Hi everyone,
I'm going to UC Berkeley next year for Physics Engineering or EECS. What laptop should I get?
Budget: ~1200
I care about portability and battery life.
I've heard that Asus and Lenovo are good.
Thanks!</p>
<p>Most laptops with decent specs will get the job done. If you are going with Lenovo, the Thinkpads (particularly T and W series) are known for their high build quality. I would recommend 8 GB of RAM (though in many cases you can do this most cost-effectively by getting a computer with 4 GB of RAM and upgrading it yourself). An i5 processor should be sufficient, as should most graphics. The most graphics-intensive things you will likely be doing will be CAD (and gaming, if you’re into that). Even the latest generation of built-in Intel graphics should be able to handle a lot of that. Also keep in mind that when they give battery specs, don’t expect to actually get as much time out of it as they say.</p>
<p>I want to get into UC Berkley’s EECS program badly, may you please give me an idea of your test scores, GPA, extra curricular activities, or any other credentials you may have had that got you admitted. It would be highly appreciated because I feel very discouraged about being good enough for the school, much more about getting into the EECS program.</p>
<p>I’ve had good luck so far with ASUS. I like that there is generally less bloatware pre-installed. </p>
<p>More RAM is always nice. For some models, you can get a 2nd swappable battery if you have battery life issues during your day. More battery = more weight, however.</p>
<p>I would a Lenovo. Much more portable and versatile.</p>
<p>It may be a bit late, but the Dell XPS series are good.</p>