<p>Is a laptop absolutely necessary for ME/EE courses?</p>
<p>I'm thinking about buying a 18.4" laptop for in-dorm use only (who wants to carry a 18.4" laptop around, lol). But if some courses require that we have a laptop in hand during class, then I might have to look for laptops that are smaller.</p>
<p>I don’t think laptops are ever a must unless they are specifically required at your school or in certain classes. If you want a laptop, I would suggest a smaller one that you can plug into an external display. That way, it will be portable so you can carry it around, and then when you get back to your dorm, you will have all of the benefits of greater screen real estate. Many of the programs that you might encounter will be CPU intensive in which a laptop will not be entirely sufficient. In that case, you could always go to the school’s computer labs which are built to run those programs. </p>
<p>Overall, it is nice to have a small laptop to carry around. You can do your personal stuff on it as well as get your school work done.</p>
<p>Hmm… would a i7 740 (1.73ghz) be fast enough?</p>
<p>I generally don’t like to carry too much stuff around with me so I’ll probably avoid buying a smaller laptop, unless it’s required for a course.</p>
<p>Yes get a laptop. You are going to be using autocad and autodesk alot. I7’s are perfect but try getting a 2.0 ghz processor</p>
<p>Most of the laptops equipped with I7 are running at 1.7~ghz or so.</p>
<p>Do you think this laptop can handle the job?
[Newegg.com</a> - lenovo IdeaPad Z560 (0914-4GU) NoteBook Intel Core i5 480M(2.66GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW NVIDIA GeForce 310M](<a href=“Are you a human?”>Are you a human?)</p>
<p>Yea this one should be just fine. Just dont purchase a Mac</p>
<p>^ why not a Mac?</p>
<p>yes, Why not Mac? Not supporting some programs? Or too expensive? or not durable? Or file not interchangeable with PC?</p>
<p>Why not get a lighter, cheaper, longer-battery-lifed laptop and then, with the money you save, buy a 24" flat-panel for dorm use if you really want a bigger screen? There’s no sense spending a bunch of money for a “portable” computer that’s too big and heavy to carry around.</p>
<p>Or just get a desktop if you don’t want to carry it around anyway. That would be cheaper and more powerful.</p>
<p>I already have a desktop that I’m going to use for entertainment purpose.
So, I guess if there’s no real need for a laptop, I’ll just buy a cheap laptop for occasional use.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestion guys!</p>
<p>The advantage of a laptop is portability, so if you already have a workhorse desktop then there is no reason for a beefy laptop. If you need a laptop then just get a small one that can do the basics.</p>
<p>Having a laptop is a huge timesaver. Make sure you set up some sort of sync between the laptop and desktop so you always have access to important files wherever you go that way you don’t have to be fumbling around with usb flash drives. You don’t need too much processing power (I ran Autocad on my 10" netbook). An entry level laptop running a dual core processor will be sufficient. Battery life is more important than processing speed.</p>
<p>Because macs are more of a computer for ■■■■■■■, ask any engineer or any major dealing with computers. I mean they are good for art majors</p>
<p>Btw I’m saying that macs are more for entertainment and casual use not trying to offend anyone, and the battery life is really good which is a problem with some laptops</p>
<p>^ It’s not like engineers respect Windows either, it’s all about Linux. Also, what planet are you from? Macs better for casual use and entertainment? Why buy a $1500 laptop that doesn’t run most games when you can get a $400 Dell that will do everything you want? Don’t trash the reputation of a very solid, efficient brand of computers just because you don’t like them.</p>
<p>“Engineers” generally have less against Windows than Mac OS or Linux. Computer engineers would be more likely to go after Linux. For the average engineer, Linux and Mac OS are pretty useless.</p>
<p>All electrical engineers I know not only praise Mac Laptops, but dream of designing their products. Most engineers have a LOT against Windows and its susceptbility to viruses as well as low reliability and constant useless updating. As far as ME/EE specific programs go (such as Cadence PCB Editor, Design Entry HDL, PSpice, Autocad, Pro-Engineering, Source Insight, VHDL programs, and so on), you can always install a Windows 7 partition on your HD, while enjoying a non-problematic Mac OSX for the rest. If playing games is your thing, spare yourself the money and buy a console for $200-$300 aside from your laptop, which after a year is obsolete for gaming purposes.</p>
<p>Mac carry with them a high price tag, true. That is the only drawback I see. Building or not building your own PC will not do anything towards your aptitude in EE undergrad; trust me, you will a lot more concerned with developing the sub-circuits and the boards themselves.</p>
<p>What are the advantages of Linux? I agree that Windows gets way too many viruses and macs don’t have as many programs to download so I feel limited. Anyone here use linux?</p>
<p>Windows doesn’t “get” viruses, ignorant users get viruses because they click on stupid things, download programs they don’t know about and then run them. I have run a Windows machine for years and never had a virus simply by using common sense. Macs can get viruses too, there just aren’t many around because it isn’t cost or time effective for a programmer to write viruses for a platform that represents roughly 15% of the computer market. It is much more effective to go after the big fish with lots of gullible users, which is Windows.</p>
<p>Windows vs. Mac is largely a personal preference thing. I personally prefer Windows. Others prefer Macs. Dual booting can solve a lot of compatibility issues (which are admittedly dwindling but still there) but it can be a pain as well, so it is all a matter of what you feel like doing.</p>
<p>Just to (uselessly) opine on the gaming aspect, PC gaming >> console gaming.</p>
<p>The advantage of Linux is it is completely open-source, free, unbelievably customizable and very stable. It also has a small user base (relatively) that is very technically competent on average so nobody wastes time trying to write viruses for Linux. The support for it is generally going to come entirely from online message boards or other similar outlets, which isn’t necessarily bad. It also has a VERY low overhead as far as system resources are concerned and is very nice for working with coding due to the fact that it is built on UNIX.</p>
<p>The downside is that it has a fairly steep learning curve, has compatibility issues with a fair number of common programs and it can be a headache to work with people on other operating systems, particularly Windows. Similarly, a lot of hardware components don’t work well in Linux because of the lack of driver support, so you have to find 3rd party drivers.</p>
<p>Still, Linux has some major advantages, particularly if you are into CS or EE/CE.</p>