<p>As a current senior in high school, I'm just beginning to think about computers for college. Also, my current laptop is on the verge of breaking, so I need a new PC anyways. </p>
<p>I'm considering building a really awesome desktop right now and just not having a laptop at all. Would it be a disadvantage to not have a laptop for college? I have this set up in mind right now that would make it much better to work on, but I am losing the portability function which might be a huge loss.</p>
<p>My two cents - don’t build or buy anything until you find out the specific requirements for the university that you chose to attend. Many universities will require that you purchase a laptop. Son #1 knew he would need a laptop but chose to go with the awesome build + the minimal effective laptop. The laptop had to be powerful enough to meet the minimum specs at the university but he does all of his programming assignments on the desktop. The laptop goes to class and other mobile projects but it’s networked with the desktop. Great graphics card on the desktop that allows for a three monitor setup (he swears that he’s exponentially more productive).</p>
<p>Thanks, I’m thinking I’m going to go along a similar route as your son, but I’ll wait until I find out which school I’m going to. Luckily for me, I find out next Friday!</p>
<p>I’ve always preferred pen and paper for note taking in my CS classes so I’ve never had a need for a laptop. I program on my desktop at home.</p>
<p>I definitely like having a laptop. I like being able to carry my programming with me and work on it when I have a break. It also gives me flexibility in meeting up with partners for projects, and taking my code with me to office hours to get questions answered. I wouldn’t want to have NO laptop, especially if you are not living immediately next to all of your classes. On a campus of any reasonable size, you might not want to trek back and forth to do work on your desktop. And this isn’t just for CS classes - you will have other classes as well where it would be convenient to be able to take your laptop with you. I would at least get a minimum-spec laptop for on the go. I used a netbook for 3 years.</p>
<p>For CS classes, though, there are many professors who will not allow to have laptops in class. Seems counter-intuitive for a computer-based major, but they want people to pay attention and they know CS people will have plenty of ways to distract themselves on a computer during lectures.</p>