<p>Anyone know what the current computer requirements are? I can't find an exact answer anywhere on FSU's sites.</p>
<p>It depends on your major, I know a lot of specific Art majors require certain specs and OS for their program.
Majority of majors at FSU it doesn’t matter you can get whatever you want.
You can always contact your Advisor if you’re really concerned, but if you’re not in some Art or Computer type major I wouldn’t bother.</p>
<p>Get a good fast wireless laptop windows product for school work with word and a small mac / i-pad for goofing off.</p>
<p>Why does one need two computer-type products, when you can “goof-off” on your laptop as well? Especially when majority already have smartphones. I mean if you can afford it, sure go for it, but honestly w/ how expensive college is, it’s a good idea to cut costs where you can.
Might as well just get one really great laptop that can be used for serious work and for fun.</p>
<p>Okay thanks guys… I’m majoring in meteorology, so I’ll ask around, but I’m guessing and hoping that getting an i5 2.4 GHZ (4GB RAM) should be fine.</p>
<p>A standard computer is fine, even a 3gb duo core computer will do just fine. Meteorology doesn’t require a super fast state of the art system to run forecasting or mathematic programs, if any. Just focus on getting a computer for your own personal needs, whether its for gaming, editing, etc.</p>
<p>I know quite a few of the Met majors, and I heavily advise AGAINST getting a Mac. Apparently a couple of the programs that some of the sophomores had to use this past semester took a bit of work to get running on the Mac OS, whereas on Windows they worked just fine.</p>
<p>Any half-decent computer released today will work fine. If you can afford it though, splurge a bit and spend about $600 or so at least on any laptop you purchase. That’s generally considered among windows laptops to be where the build quality and specs tend to be significantly better than the crappy $300 laptops. </p>
<p>[Something</a> like this laptop](<a href=“http://www.staples.com/Samsung-Series-3-NP350V5C-A01US-156-Laptop/product_985038]Something”>http://www.staples.com/Samsung-Series-3-NP350V5C-A01US-156-Laptop/product_985038) would be good. </p>
<p>But my advice really is to just not skimp on what you buy. The cheaper you go, the more likely that it is that you’ll be replacing that laptop well before you graduate. At the same time, if you spend a ridiculous amount on a laptop, you’re insane. My personal recommendation is somewhere around $600-750 on a Windows laptop if you can afford it. And then you never know, you might be able to find a great deal on a really good laptop below that $600 figure (such as the one I linked to above being only $530).</p>
<p>On the FSU website, this is minimum…
Catalog Number: 29 DKDWLY1
Alienware M18X R2 Alienware M18X R2 with Soft Touch
Operating System Windows® 7 Ultimate, 64bit
Processor 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3940XM (8MB Cache, up to 4.2GHz Overclocked)
Memory 32GB (4 X 8GB) Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
Display Panels 18.4 inch (467.36 mm) WLED WideFHD (1080p) display (1920 X 1080)
Video Card Dual 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 675M - SLI® Enabled
Hard Drive 1.5TB SSD RAID 0 (3x 512GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD)<br>
Adobe Reader Acrobat SW Adobe Acrobat X Reader
Optical Driver Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Audio Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software
Wireless Networking Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO for Gaming & Video and Bluetooth 4.0
Adapter Alienware M18x 330W A/C Adapter
Documentation Alienware Documentation
Office Productivity Software Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2010, English<br>
Security Software McAfee SecurityCenter, 36-Months
Additional Software Additional Software
Primary Battery 96WHr 12-Cell Primary Battery
Hardware Support Services 4 Year Essential Support
WirelessHD None
Standard Nameplate Trigger Standard Nameplate </p>
<p>Dell Part# A3975262<br>
Total Price<br>
Subtotal $7,115.97</p>
<p>Thanks again!</p>