Engineering Student; Computer Help

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>I will be attending University of Pittsburgh in the fall to study Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. My sister took the easy way out and bought a Macbook. While this a viable fall back, I realize that I could get a very good PC for the money spent on a mac. Plus, it will probably be more convenient for me to run Windows. So for now, let us just assume I will buy a PC.</p>

<p>I know very little about computers, to be honest with you. My budget is somewhere in the 1100-1600 range. I am willing to shell out some decent money to get a computer I will absolutely love.
My only real parameters: 1. Not too, too bulky 2. Capable of some decent gaming; I don't want this to be a 'gaming computer' though.</p>

<p>Customizing one is surely an option. But again, I just don't know enough about computers to really know what I am getting myself into.</p>

<p>So if you guys could offer up some suggestions as to what I should look into (customized or not), that would be great! Thanks in advance for the help.</p>

2

<p>I have a Lenovo thinkpad w520, which fits basically everything you described. However, any thinkpad would do for what you want. I think the t420 is also good, someone correct me if that’s not it…?</p>

3

<p>As an example, if someone could walk me through what exactly I am getting myself into with each of the options I have put up here, and try to give me an idea of their importance, worth. I have ‘customized’ one of these computers and listed the options I have picked and the prices.</p>

<p>ThinkPad T430 Laptop with Fast Processing</p>

<p>System components</p>

<p>Processor- Intel Core i7-3520M Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.60 GHz) which was 245 extra dollars as compared to the base Intel Core i5-3210M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.10 GHz); there were other options for quite a bit less money, as well.</p>

<p>Operating System- Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)</p>

<p>Display Type- 14.0" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit AntiGlare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready</p>

<p>System Graphics- NVIDIA NVS 5400M Graphics with Optimus Technology, 1GB DDR3 Memory vs base of Intel HD Graphics 4000 for an extra 50 dollars.</p>

<p>Total Memory-8 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (2 DIMM) vs base of 4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (1 DIMM) for an extra 160 dollars</p>

<p>Hard Drive- 128GB Solid State Drive, SATA3 vs the base of 320 gb Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm at cost of 280 dollars
As an aside, solid state vs. hard drive. Any comments?</p>

<p>Battery- 6 Cell Li-Ion TWL 70+</p>

<p>-This did clock in on the high side of my price range, and this is before purchasing any anti virus, bag, warranty, etc, etc. Thanks again for all your help. I apologize for not knowing much about computers, haahaha.</p>

4

<p>

Are you looking for something genuinely light like a Macbook Air/Ultrabook, or just something that isn’t a lead block? If you don’t like carrying heavy things very often, a heavier laptop would be a poor choice, whereas a lighter laptop will likely not have great graphics in games if you’re a bit of a videophile.</p>

<p>

Generally speaking, the more performance you want out of your laptop, the heavier (and, generally, hotter) it will get. What are you looking to play? Games that don’t require much power at all like Farmville? Perhaps something requiring a little bit of juice like Valve’s Source offerings, or more recent, high-requirement games like Battlefield 3? What you play will have a big impact on how much you need in your laptop.</p>

<p>Just a few general tips to keep in mind for computer specs:</p>

<ol>
<li>Always check the specifications of the computer you’re looking at. Some retail stores (like Best Buy) won’t have the full specs of a computer on display; make sure to look them up by Googling the laptop model number before deciding to purchase.</li>
<li>Unless you use Photoshop or video editing programs on a daily basis, try to avoid an i7 processor. It costs a lot more and makes your laptop a lot hotter with no tangible benefit to performance. The i5 offers the exact same speed and performance, at a more reasonable cost and temperature.</li>
<li>15" is usually the threshold for a laptop being reasonably portable. Avoid 17" laptops like the plague. Try a few 13" and 15" laptops out in a store if you can, and see which size you like better.</li>
<li>Solid state drives are much faster than hard disk drives, but cost an enormous amount of money and hard drive space for that speed up. Two rules of thumb for SSDs: If it costs more than $1 per GB, or stores more than 128GB total, you’re paying too much for the luxury. HDD’s are still absolutely functional, especially at 7200RPM.</li>
<li>The RAM (Total Memory in your post above) makes no real difference to the computer after 4GB unless you do a lot of Photoshop/video editing.</li>
<li>Get Windows Home Premium if possible, Professional/Ultimate are almost exactly the same except with a few bells and whistles meant mainly for businesses or the tech crowd.</li>
</ol>

<p>As far as anti-virus goes, I’ve heard very good things about Kaspersky and AVG 2012. Really, though, anything that isn’t McAfee or Norton will do the job just fine these days.</p>

5

<p>Reviewing the T430 you posted:</p>

<p>Processor: i7 runs hot. That means it’ll drain more power, and consequently more battery. However, the flip side is that it’ll get things done faster. As a ChemE you probably don’t need all that processing power. Even as a CS/Economics double major I opted for i5. I care about battery a ton though.</p>

<p>OS: No comments. Standard.</p>

<p>Display: It’s better than normal. Regular laptops have that stupid 1366x768 screen, which is horrible. For reference, Macbooks all have 1440x900 except for the 13" MBP, which is 1200x800. Retina MBP is still 1440x900 if you were considering that, just that it has 4x more pixels so it’s a virtual 2880x1800. The more, the better. Just don’t shell out too much.</p>

<p>Graphics: They’ll make you pay more for an Intel chip? Don’t bother. Take what’s cheaper.</p>

<p>RAM: If you’re feeling technical, you can easily install the RAM yourself for much less than $160. It’s probably like $40 for a 4 GB stick. If you don’t want to do that, take the 8 GB option. It’s not worth it in my eyes, but maybe the hassle of doing so is worth the cost to you.</p>

<p>Hard drive: Can’t tell which one you’re paying more for, the 320 or the 128? If the former, definitely don’t. If the latter… still don’t. The speed is noticeable, but not worth $280. Buy an external hard drive if space is a constraint. Or, you can put in an SSD yourself. Samsung 830 256GB SSDs (one of the best on the market) can be had for $200 when on sale, currently.</p>

<p>The difference between solid state vs traditional hard drive is that solid state has no moving parts, and is built like a flash drive (like an internal memory chip), whereas a traditional hard drive has a spinning disk that data is written on. SSD’s typically have shorter lifespans, but your computer will probably fall apart first.</p>

<p>Battery is standard for a Thinkpad.</p>

<p>For reference, I’m using a 2012 Macbook air with i5/8 GB/256 SSD and a custom built desktop. Macbook air when on the go for interviews/technical work and studying econ, desktop for serious programming projects.</p>

<p>If you have any other questions/need clarification, post away.</p>

6

<p>An updated customization.</p>

<p>Intel Core i5-3360M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.50 GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)- I will stick with the i5 processor then, I guess.</p>

<p>14.0" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit AntiGlare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready- I just paid an extra 50 bucks for the extra resolution.</p>

<p>NVIDIA NVS 5400M Graphics with Optimus Technology, 1GB DDR3 Memory (50 dollars). versus the standard which was the intel HD graphics. Sorry for the confusion.</p>

<p>4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (1 DIMM)- So I think I’ll just stick with the given amount of ram, upon recommendation, then?</p>

<p>320GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm- I am leaning toward purchasing and installing my own SSD. This is a perfectly viable option, I assume? I don’t lose out on anything by doing it this away? Because I would prefer to see how the computer functions without one first and then I can search around for the best brand, etc, etc versus investing right here on the spot.</p>

<p>Also, I don’t think I will be doing hardcore gaming. But I wan to be able to play some games like Diablo, etc, etc. I would definitely say that portability is more important. This is 14’’ which seems like a pretty good size upon inspection. Would you guys say that this would probably not be the best performance wise for games of Diablos ‘calibar?’</p>

<p>And in general, would you think I am getting a decent deal on this computer/is the brand fairly reliable for college students? I just really wanted to avoid getting a mac. Too much of an investment. The total as it stands now (before investing in an SSD is at 1064.00 before any warranty/antivirus. Also, is a warranty past a year full warranty really suggested? They run up to like 200 dollars. 1 year is like 75.</p>

7

<p>The 5400 is better than the Intel, but not by much. It’ll make a bigger difference when it comes to Diablo 3. The 5400 should be able to run low and medium, but past that it starts to get iffy.</p>

<p>Upgrading RAM is pretty much pushing it into the slot. The whole process probably takes ten minutes, including time to unscrew and rescrew the bottom cover.</p>

<p>Upgrading the hard drive yourself is perfectly viable. The Samsung 830 series that I mentioned earlier is definitely worth looking into.</p>

<p>A 14" (for me) hits the sweet spot for portability and screen size, but I use my notebook for on the go computing. I have a desktop in my room for gaming and more serious productivity. Laptops aren’t the best for gaming, and Macbooks are even less so.</p>

<p>Thinkpads in general are reliable, though whether it’s a deal or not is subjective, since I think the pricing is just average. For me, PC laptops tend to die very quickly, but my friends all have Macbooks that have emerged relatively unscathed from 3 years of college. Maybe you’ll take better care of it, hard to say.</p>

<p>Warranties are usually not worth it unless you’re buying a Macbook, since those computers run considerably more expensive than a PC with similar specs.</p>

8

<p>Okay, and someone sent me a PM suggesting the W530 which is 15.6’’. I just think that is going to be far too big. The computer itself had similar specs to the one I just customized, so I don’t think it’d make too big a difference performance wise.</p>

<p>What I am saying is, for the average joe of a student like myself who isn’t going to be doing anything too too crazy on his computer, will the one I customized here treat me pretty well?</p>

<p>And I hope it can last me all 4 years. That is the obvious goal in mind.</p>

9

<p>The NVIDIA NVS 5400M is professionial graphics card, great for CAD software but a little better for gaming compared to the HD Graphics 4000.</p>

<p>And yes you can buy your own SSD which is a lot cheaper (some 128GB SSDs cost less than $128) and as long as you have a tiny screwdriver it takes less than 15 minutes to install it.</p>

10

<p>The biggest killer of computer components is heat. The more you stress it, the more you’ll potentially shorten its life span. There’s no real way around it. Lasting four years is subjective… my HP that I got before my freshman year is quite literally dying. The battery doesn’t charge at all, the touchpad buttons are both broken, the keyboard is worn in, etc…</p>

<p>Ideally what you might do is just bring a desktop (if space allows) and use a netbook or tablet.</p>

11

<p>I did some more searching and found this one.</p>

<p>Computer # 2 (1050): Don’t know as much about this guy. I have the link to the specs. I will not be needing to customize this one too much. Aesthetics aren’t important to me, that much. Though if the computer appears to be on par with the other, I could lean toward it.</p>

<p><a href=“http://store.vizio.com/cn15a1.html#techspecs[/url]”>http://store.vizio.com/cn15a1.html#techspecs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>So, any opinions, other recommendations, etc as compared to my former choice?</p>

12

<p>lenovo’s pretty well established in the market, whereas Vizio’s just breaking in. The only issue would be reliability and/or support, since lenovo has a good track record, but Vizio is unknown in the PC sector.</p>