<p>I'm going to attend the University of Illinois Next Fall. I was thinking of getting a macbook instead of pc over the summer. For those who already go to U of I, which laptop would you suggest?</p>
<p>I would go for Mac. =)</p>
<p>man everyone keeps telling me MACS are much better for college students</p>
<p>Unless you’re in graphic design, there’s really no big advantage to having a Mac at school. Most university labs and equipment are Windows or Linux. If you’re already experienced with Macs and like the interface, then there’s nothing wrong with buying a Mac, but spending the extra money when you have no real reason to get one is kind of silly.</p>
<p>What are you going to use it for? If its just writing papers and browsing the internet, then just buy a nice cheap laptop, which will almost certainly be a PC. A $2000 laptop which is just going to sit in your room and look shiny is going to be a waste of money.</p>
<p>After having used both for a long time, I think i can give some advice. However, I am not attending UIUC this year, but if the conversation points in any direction hopefully this will help.</p>
<p>With macs, you can have all 3 operating systems natively (Windows, OSX, and any form of Linux). However, you won’t get much variety between Windows and OSX but the two run very differently. If you have a copy of windows already, then the mac option is cheaper, but if you don’t, thats a lot more money if you do need windows. </p>
<p>OSX, the macintosh operating system, is designed specifically for each computer. This is different from PCs because PC manufacturers make different components that are designed to run in windows but windows wasn’t built around that manufacturers parts. this allows OSX to run as efficiently as possible with the components. PCs are much cheaper though, and you can get more power for cheaper. Mac laptops also come with about any accessory you’ll need in a laptop, and with a very high quality of manufacturing and form. </p>
<p>If you are getting a macbook, a comparable PC laptop will be around $700. You don’t get much gaming power or high end processing but unless you are going to be playing games that doesn’t matter…</p>
<p>Macbook Pros are a big step up but very expensive. they will be able to play games well and process a good amount.</p>
<p>when buying a mac you are paying a premium for the brand, and the high quality of the product. But, a PC laptop will function very well and for cheaper.If you decide on getting a PC shop around A LOT. there are so many brands and models that you can find the best one possible for a good price range.</p>
<p>You’re not going to want to take a big laptop to class…have you considered netbooks?</p>
<p>I’m only buying a Mac because I’m getting into DJing/I do a lot of recording and I like some of the software.</p>
<p>just get one for around $500-$600. sony vaio, hp’s, or toshibas are pretty safe bets, dells are ok. you should only get a 14-15" one, anything bigger will just be a pain to carry around. there is a chance that a)it could get stolen b)you’ll probably drop it c)you’ll spill a certain beverage on it so think about that before you splurge on a $1200 macbook(which i truly think are overpriced). you’ll probably buy another one laptop by your junior year or so anyways most likely.</p>