<p>My plan is to have two computers - a compact netbook for taking notes, working in a coffee shop, etc. and a more powerful desktop with a large monitor in the dorm for the majority of my work. I've seen several posts about people buying laptops for Engineering - will it be necessary to have a portable computer that's fairly powerful, or is it OK to have a low-powered netbook and leave the more powerful PC in my dorm? I do a bit of PC gaming so it's kind of important for me to have a desktop computer.</p>
<p>You really don’t even need a laptop, so your portable computer can be anything.</p>
<p>i almost brought a desktop (or an Alienware laptop, which is roughly the same weight…) to college thinking i’d be doing some PC gaming as a freshman… for me, it turned out to be a good thing i didn’t, as i’ve done virtually no gaming during college, and i really get a LOT of use out of having a good lightweight laptop that i can just throw into a backpack and take to Ursa’s, the DUC, the hallway, a friend’s suite, etc. </p>
<p>That being said, you’ll be fine with a netbook - there are plenty of engineers who don’t use laptops. I don’t really know what the new engineering building will be like, but as of now there are nice computer labs in the engineering buildings that are probably what you’ll use when you’re out-and-about anyway.</p>
<p>I have an Alienware m17x laptop. I’m long past my PC gaming days (still play my 360 often), but I like the speed and power of the m17x. I don’t think I’ve ever brought a computer to class…although I have my iphone for internet/email/etc while on campus. I recently bought a HP Tablet Laptop which is a lot lighter (m17X weighs a good 12 pounds), but that’s mainly to do math homework on.</p>
<p>Edit: I highly recommend the m17x though if you’re gonna go with a laptop instead of a desktop.</p>
<p>Don’t forget to make use of student discounts. Wash U offers 8-10% off computers with Dell, HP, some others I believe but don’t know off hand.</p>
<p>you really only need one computer, and it should be a laptop so you can carry it with you to places. Your dorm often becomes not a good place to study…</p>
<p>and you may need to research in the library a lot too. Unless of course you’re planning to set up your desktop there, and subsequently live in the library…</p>
<p>for laptops, I’d go with Toshiba or Lenovo. Dell is good too, but often more expensive from the ones I’ve seen. I don’t recommend HP because (maybe it’s my bad luck) HP computers, while does have good specs, often freeze or crash randomly; in college that could literally mean life or death…unless you’re willing to blow off over $1600 for a mobile workstation</p>
<p>also, forget about gaming. Seriously, you’re not going to have time to play video games in college. Whatever time you do have to play is so little that it’s not worth getting a computer with expensive high-tech hardware. Unless of course you really do want to stay cooped up in your dorm playing Crysis all day, lol</p>
<p>You’re not even in college yet darkknight. People don’t spend all day in the library…most research can be done online through Wash U library’s website. Dorms are generally where you’ll spend the most time studying. You’ll also have a lot of free time that you can spend however you want. I play my 360 ten+ hours a week and got a 4.0 last semester.</p>
<p>not to say that there aren’t plenty of people who DO spend all their time in the library… i know a few, which is how I was informed of the handy fact that there are showers in the DUC! lol. personally I don’t study in my room if I can help it, but that does depend on the person. i couldn’t do without a laptop, but of course some people can. something you’ve gotta decide for yourself i guess.</p>
<p>i suspect a netbook would handle most of the things i use a laptop for, though, so i don’t foresee any problems with the OP’s original plan.</p>