<p>I will be entering Howard University in the fall as a computer science major and am looking for a laptop that will fit all the needs that i will have. Something that won't cause any problems for me working in class, that isn't slow at all, and preferably a webcam. My parents have promised me ever since I was a small child that they will provide my first laptop when I am going to college so i have been waiting patiently and just want my first one to be as good as possible and last me all four years. I believe I was able to talk them into getting me a macbook pro so I was thinking about waiting till the new one was released but I have heard that it wouldnt be best to get a mac for computer science. I dont know if this holds any truth, but I wouldnt know. I have about $1200 to work with, I dont know what specs I will need or anything I am hoping you guys will be able to help me as much as possible.</p>
<p>With that budget, just for programming, and something you want to last, I would lean toward the ThinkPad T420. Choose the best processor, best battery and the best screen they offer, and it’s still around $900. If you want more RAM, it’s like $120 cheaper to upgrade it yourself. Not sure it if has a cam, though.</p>
<p>I don’t own one (my budget doesn’t allow), but engineering students seem to love their supposed durability and build quality, and your needs computing needs are cheaper than your budget. </p>
<p>You also might want to think about waiting until they start putting the next chip architecture in them, though. It won’t be more expensive, it will have like 10% better performance, the built-in GPU will be like 30-60% better or something pretty big (which matters to you, since you don’t seem to need a dedicated GPU), and the best part is that they are more efficient and run cooler, so battery life gets a nice bump.</p>
<p>But there are a lot of good options out there. It just depends on what deals there are that day and how you want to rank priorities.</p>
<p>Wait for mid-late summer. The Lenovo outlet has sales of up to 50-60 percent off new in box thinkpads.</p>
<p>Would you recommend any other ones? I just want to shop around so I don’t just look at only one</p>
<p>Sent from my DROIDX using CC</p>
<p>Seems like the characteristics that you may want are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Ability to run the same or similar OS(es) that your university’s instructional computer systems run, so that you can develop and test your programming assignments on your laptop if not connected to the network or if the instructional computer systems are overloaded. Find out from your university’s CS department what OSes will be useful in this respect.</p></li>
<li><p>Wired and wireless networking capability.</p></li>
<li><p>Size and weight (and ruggedness if desired). Consider your own personal preferences in the trade-off between screen size and portability.</p></li>
<li><p>Battery life, depending on how much you will be using it in a place where it will not be plugged in.</p></li>
<li><p>Some form of writable removable media capability (maybe just USB thumb drives will work) so that you can back up your data, including your class assignments and projects.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Thinkpads. Mine has gone through tons of abuse, and I haven’t had a single problem.</p>
<p>Ew, Mac. Whatever you get, make sure you it has some version of UNIX/Linux on it, with a command line and GNU compiler, emacs, etc. It’ll make certain things easier, especially in any class you take that uses the UNIX environment so you can remotely access your projects and so forth. It’s just easier (and free!) to connect from one UNIX machine to another over the Internet than to use Windows, and that comes from my personal experience with multiple Windows/UNIX/terminal apps.</p>
<p>Yeah, Mac is now officially UNIX under the hood but…pffft, they’re the Starbucks of the computing world, IMO. It’s kind of like buying Monster brand A/V cables. It’s not that they’re bad cables, it’s that they’re overpriced and overmarketed. It really sticks in my craw that hipsters are now UNIX-users. How dare they infringe on our precious, sacred nerd territory!</p>
<p>Also some more practical advice, you don’t need anything super-powered for a CS degree. It’s unlikely that you’ll be writing any software in your classes that tax even a ten-year-old laptop, unless you take…I don’t know, a graphics course or cryptography course or something.</p>
<p>I know a lot of CS majors and hardcore computer nerds are not that particular about how powerful their system is. That didn’t used to be the case, but I think things have reached a point where more horsepower on a computer just means more pixels and shaders and eye candy when playing the latest games. I’m currently using a videocard that’s about four or five years old and it plays TF2 at a satisfactory frame rate at a satisfactory resolution and setting, that’s all I “need,” especially since I have zero time to play games anymore.</p>
<p>So, a lot of the people who are hardcore into hand-building the best system, etc., I don’t think I run into a lot of them. Most just buy affordable off-the-shelf laptops and desktops.</p>
<p>In that vein, I actually went the route of having a small, cheap, relatively-low powered Lenovo x120e as my on the go machine and I built my desktop at home for playing TF2 and other games (but really just TF2). The x120e cost $350 and my desktop cost $700, all told it still is cheaper than many other laptops (especially macbooks and thinkpads).</p>
<p>I don’t like laptops because I’ve never known anybody who had a laptop that lasted more than three years or so. One little thing breaks, you’re entirely without a system while it’s being repaired, and usually you’re told that it can’t be fixed. Monitors snap like donut glaze. A good desktop running Linux will last until the voltage tolerances on the integrated circuits are shot, and if the power supply breaks it’s a trivial at-home repair to fix it, you can swap out a monitor or keyboard, etc.</p>
<p>There are ample laps on campus for me to use when I’m on campus, and I live in a neighborhood where you have to be super-careful with any electronics out in public (my school abuts the ghetto). The only times when I ever think “a laptop would come in handy right now” is when I am doing homework in front of the boob tube and would like to use Mathematica, even if for a short time.</p>
<p>Almost any laptop should be fine. UNIX-like operating systems are popular in CS, and you can install Linux on anything. I disagree with TomServo though – Macbook Pros have solid hardware and exceptional build quality; I’ve owned a couple ASUS and MSI laptops with great hardware specs for the price, but the quality of construction is garbage by comparison.</p>
<p>[Who</a> makes the most reliable laptops? | Crave - CNET](<a href=“http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10400447-1.html]Who”>http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10400447-1.html)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I completely agree with this, but…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>What do you mean, Macs are “now officially UNIX under the hood”? MacOS has been based off of UNIX for more than a decade.</p>
<p>Overmarketed? Perhaps, but behind that marketing is a solid product. Macs are well-made computers and there are a ton of reasons why someone might want to buy one over another computer. Overpriced? Hardly. Luxury products carry a disproportionate price tag. Apple computers are more expensive than many competitors, but by the same token, they are also a lot better than many competitors in several areas (build quality, UX, etc).</p>
<p>As far as “nerd territory” goes, I’m sorry, but Macs are widely used by people all over the software industry. Sergey Brin uses one. At Amazon you can choose between a Mac and a Thinkpad for your company laptop. The majority of engineers at Facebook use Macs (this is directly from a friend who works at Facebook).</p>
<hr>
<p>Malikwal: I think you would be well-served by a Mac in CS. OS X is a solid, user-friendly OS, but at the same time has everything that a CS student would want (UNIX platform + command-line stuff). If you are comfortable with the idea of using OS X, then go ahead. I’d advise you to wait a month for the refresh though (the updated MacBook Pros will probably be released in June-ish). With your budget (taking into account the student discount + the summer promotion Apple usually has) a 13" MacBook Pro would probably be the best option.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I think you would also be well-served by a ThinkPad. These are also pretty popular in the CS community, and for good reason. They’re definitely well-built computers, and although I haven’t had personal experience with one for a few years, many of my friends are ardent supporters.</p>
<p>One thing you should know - for most purposes, it probably doesn’t matter what computer you get. As long as you have access to a command-line (and/or SSH), you can use whatever you want. So don’t be afraid to get a computer that you like over a computer you feel you “should” get.</p>
<p>That link you posted is a study that is based purely on customer reported data. ASUS tops the list because the customers can’t even get through to the support service! :D</p>
<p>To the OP, just go into a store and try them out in person.</p>
<p>Thats for all the input. I heard about the refresh so I’m gonna have to wait a little. </p>
<p>Sent from my DROIDX using CC</p>
<p>get an alienware m11x or m14x</p>
<p>I would contact the CS department head at Howard and ask what the university recommends for incoming students!</p>
<p>That’s really not necessary.</p>
<p>If I were you, rather than sink $1200 into a machine that will last until doomsday but will only be cutting edge for the next few months, I’d pay $400 for a reliable mid-low grade laptop, put the other $800 in the bank, and just plan on buying a new one every 3-4 years. I paid $300 for my Toshiba laptop 2.5 years ago and thus far I have never had a serious problem with it and it has been more than sufficient for all my needs.</p>
<p>Yondermountain “I paid $300 for my Toshiba laptop 2.5 years ago and thus far I have never had a serious problem with it and it has been more than sufficient for all my needs.”</p>
<p>A cheap #$% after my own heart. While what you say may be the most efficient option for the OP, you would be the first CS major to ever be satisfied with such a low-end approach.</p>
<p>Not at all, I know a number of similarly-minded CS majors. By developing on a low-end machine, I know that if my software will run on my machine, it will run on my user’s.</p>
<p>Besides, everybody knows that real software devs aren’t satisfied with their work until it will run on a TI calculator :P.</p>