<p>What would you recommend for a computer science major?</p>
<p>Brand?
Hard Drive?
Processor?
Memory?</p>
<p>If possible... go to bestbuy.com and pick one out that you think would be a good fit.</p>
<p>Also, it seems as if every laptop comes with Works, and only a trial of Word. The only option that is see is to customize a laptop on Dell.com to include word... or go buy the software. Is Word worth the extra money, for college?</p>
<p>** Must be under $1000</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>I would strongly suggest not buying a computer from Best Buy, as they have a horrible customer service reputation and greatly overpriced products, not to mention that you can’t customize the computer before buying it. I would recommend buying the computer directly from the OEM’s website.</p>
<p>As for the brand, I’d suggest a [Lenovo</a> ThinkPad](<a href=“http://shop.lenovo.com/us/notebooks/thinkpad/]Lenovo”>http://shop.lenovo.com/us/notebooks/thinkpad/). They’re very sturdy and will last you for all 4 years. You should look at the T400 or T500 models if you’d like the best balance of portability and performance, while a R400/500 would be good if you’re looking to save money. All of them have a base price under $1000, IIRC. You can also find massive discounts (upwards of 25%) if you look at the right time. Currently available coupon codes can be found [url=<a href=“TechnologyGuide - TechTarget”>TechnologyGuide - TechTarget]here[/url</a>].</p>
<p>The hard drive doesn’t really matter, as you’ll probably never manage to fill it up. The base hard drive size (80 GB) is more than enough. As long as the processor is a Core 2 Duo, you should be fine, and I’m pretty sure all the laptops in the T and R series are using Core 2 Duo’s.</p>
<p>As for RAM, you’ll want to have as much as you can unless you’re going to install XP on the laptop, because Vista wastes a ton of RAM. I would suggest buying the laptop with 1 GB and adding 1 GB on your own, which you should get from [url=<a href=“http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=381&name=Laptop-Memory]Newegg[/url”>http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=381&name=Laptop-Memory]Newegg[/url</a>]. This is because OEMs greatly overcharge on upgrades.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>I was thinking of money issues by going with Best Buy, but I see your point.</p>
<p>I never even thought of Lenovo… after looking at all the ThinkPads, I think that it is a good choice for me. I used to stick to Dell, Gateway, Sony, HP…</p>
<p>You don’t need anything late or great. Just a basic computer. Most of the time you will be doing your computer work on your CS departments servers.</p>
<p>Yea. Doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>I assumed I would need something powerful enough for programming.</p>
<p>to be honest unless you are doing graduate level work with very large data sets(which undergrads don’t do), a computer from 1997 will do you just fine. Undergrads and graduate students alike all most use the CS departments servers to compile on. So the compiling is the most computation you will ever really do and you wont even do that on your own pc, though you can. </p>
<p>All you are really doing in undergrad in learning the fundamentals, so you learn how to do something in class and then try and reproduce it in a project. The things undergraduate CS students learn are quite elementary and really go no deeper than the wikipedia article on each subject. </p>
<p>So get a nice computer that is fast enough for the other things you like to do like web browing and games and then everything else will be fine. But in the end the big powerful computer will be a waste of money,</p>
<p>I would definitely suggest getting Microsoft Office.</p>
<p>see if the college you’re going to has it for free or a greatly reduced price before buying it from anywhere else first though.</p>
<p>You can also get [url=<a href=“http://www.openoffice.org/]OpenOffice.org[/url”>http://www.openoffice.org/]OpenOffice.org[/url</a>] for free, and it will do pretty much everything you need.</p>
<p>Most big universities either give it for free or for like $5 or $10.</p>
<p>I am thinking of buying this:</p>
<p>Dell - Inspiron 15
Intel Core 2 Duo
Windows Vista Home Premium
Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007
3GB Memory
250 GB Hard Drive
6-Cell Battery</p>
<p>Customized at Dell.com for $715.49 (thats including shipping and tax)</p>
<p>I would serve your needs, but it might be worth spending a little more in a thinkpad or the dell business line. they have better support and should last you longer.</p>
<p>Microsoft has a deal where students can buy word/excel/powerpoint for something like $70. See if it is available through your school.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx[/url]”>http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx</a></p>
<p>If your school doesn’t have office for cheap I would get it there.</p>