<p>So everyone knows that you need a laptop for college. And here goes the classic dilemma: light-weight or powerful computation. I am thinking about getting one of those AMD Fusion netbooks, just for carrying it around with me. They have ok batteries (arround 5-6 hrs), sort of ok cpus (better than most netbooks, certainly better than my two years old Pentium T4200 which I am satisfied with) and definitely light weight. I am also thinking about going to the computer labs/clusters if I have to do any heavy computation for my homework, which I am afraid there would be a lot since I am an ECE major... Any comments? It would be great if someone knows what kind of computers it needs for ECE courses... Thankssssss!</p>
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<p>Not true. Especially nowadays since so many people have smartphones and you can check your e-mail anywhere.</p>
<p>random post somewhat related, but would u like to buy used concepts of math 21-127 book? all ece majors have to take it eventually, and fall sem is taught by prof mackey (highly recommended teacher)</p>
<p>@RacinReaver Well yeah but I think I probably need a more powerful laptop to do my homework… that’s why I am wondering if AMD Fusion has enough juice…</p>
<p>There’s clusters all over campus that are open 24 hours a day. The only way you’d need a laptop is if you want to be playing with Matlab in the black chairs at the UC. Otherwise you could get a much more powerful desktop for your dorm for about the price of a good netbook and then have all the powerful computers of the clusters if you don’t want to work in your room.</p>
<p>(Personally, I had a laptop in undergrad and the only times I used it were during winter/spring break. I know a lot of my roommates had laptops and I never saw it leave their desks.)</p>
<p>my only computer at school is my laptop, which i permanently leave on my desk in my room and only use to waste time on CC / chat / news at night. I can do 100% of my business/math/cs work in the clusters, and more efficiently (contingent on having good headphones). i’ve seen people latex class notes with their macbooks while they’re in class, and that’s pretty nifty. otherwise, i’m not sure you need it</p>
<p>Since we are just stating opinions here, I would spend money on a good, not great, desktop or all in one. Having a smartphone or pad really cuts down on the reasons for a laptop. Taking notes? Certainly paying a premium for laptop power is a luxury.</p>
<p>Is this true for design students as well? It seems like they would need laptops to run their software (Photoshop, 3-d Modeling, etc.). If someone is in design, I’d love to hear your comments. My daughter is going into Industrial Design in the fall. Thanks.</p>