I got into my dream school, San Jose State University, as a computer engineering major. I was wondering what kind of laptop i would need to help handle both my basic requirements for college subjects, as well as handle the programming side of the major. I currently use linux mint as my main computer software as well as windows 10(technical preview) so I do not want to go with a mac or anything like that. I see that some computer engineers use macs as their computer for college, but i just feel like i am not getting my bang for my buck so i want to stick with a windows laptop. My budget is $1250 which will hopefully includes getting a 3 year accident forgiveness and mechanical failure warranty. Any tips or suggestions?
BTW:
Is this a nice laptop for computer engineering? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152741&turntoflow=answer&turntoflowid=1108837&turntoxauthtoken=MzQ5MjM5NjoxNDYyMjE2NTQ2MzIyOmZiYjczYWZmYzU2Yjc3MGI4ZTc4YjExNjIwMmY5OWVi&newReg=y&turntoflowConfDupe=y#turntodone
Thank you in advance.
My daughter is a computer engineering major - most engineering majors are using windows machines. Some of the engineering software that they need isn’t available on a mac. She also dual boots with Linux, so it sounds like your setup would work just fine.
It’s like buying any laptop - get the most memory and the best processor you can afford. But you don’t need a gaming laptop and there aren’t really many specific requirements.
That’s a pretty cool machine. It’s probably more than what you need, but if you’ve got a grand to spend, it would certainly fit the bill. Whatever you end up with, make sure you get a routine backup going.
Before you pull the trigger, you should check with the department to make sure they don’t require you to have a specific machine. Most don’t. Some set minimum requirements. A very few have goofy requirements, like touch screens.
Good luck.
@eyemgh
Im going to San Jose State state university and they do not have any requirements from what i read, but this Iowa State had some recommendations for any computer engineer at any school. What do you think about it?
https://it.engineering.iastate.edu/computer-recommendations/#OperatingSystem
@CompEngftw, I don’t think it matters much honestly. Any i5 or i7 machine will work fine for nearly everything. If you want to do 3D rendering in something like Solidworks, they’ll all pale unless you spend WAY more than your budget and you’ll have a heavy machine, with poor battery life and a small screen. It’ll be a BA laptop, but overkill for your needs really and beyond the budget.
@eyemgh
Thank you for the input. It was very helpfjl