<p>What kind of laptop would be ideal for one that is going to study Comp/Elec engineering?</p>
<p>What I really need to know is:</p>
<p>1)What are the ideal laptop specs for someone in this major.</p>
<p>2)Price</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>There really is no “ideal laptop,” it’s all a matter of preference. Are you a PC or Mac fan? I think many will say that PC is better for engineering, but imo it makes no difference. </p>
<p>When looking for a laptop I would suggest this as far as specs go:
-Get a laptop size that YOU are comfortable with. Not everyone likes 15" laptops, I prefer smaller 13" ones. If you don’t know, you could always go to best buy or some place, and they’ll usually have laptops on display. Be aware that the bigger the laptop, the heavier it is, usually.
-I’d say that if you want this laptop to last your entire college stay, get atleast 2 GB of ram.
-Definitely dual core processor, although that should be easy because it’s the standard right now.</p>
<p>And take this with a grain of salt but I would stay away from dell unless you’re on a tight budget. I’ve had some bad experiences with them (cheap parts leading to early failure, etc).</p>
<p>For price I’d say you could easily get away with spending less than $1000 if you wanted, stores like bestbuy, officedepot etc usually have good deals in their weekly ads. I spent a little more and got better specs though, just so I wouldn’t have to upgrade for a long while.</p>
<p>The MechE department has a recommended specs list here: [Computer</a> Required](<a href=“http://www.mae.ufl.edu/mae-undergrad/Computer_Required/computer_required.html]Computer”>http://www.mae.ufl.edu/mae-undergrad/Computer_Required/computer_required.html).</p>
<p>I’d imagine that you’d need similar for EE. I wouldn’t spend more than $1k, preferably around $800.</p>
<p>i doubt you need windows vista</p>
<p>^ it’s usually not optional with most new laptops. He’d have to downgrade.</p>
<p>^ this. i would wait until right before fall semester starts though. windows 7 is coming out and already reportedly runs better than vista. off the top of my head, i cant say when its being released, but i am under the impression that by then most manufactures will be offering free upgrades to windows 7 if you buy your vista machine somewhere around july/august, pending a late 2009/early 2010 release date.</p>
<p>either way, its a better idea to wait a few months just for a better machine. 4 months isn’t a world of difference in performance, but it could be a notable difference if you’re so inclined.</p>
<p>to directly address OP: any laptop ~ $600-800 should suffice for their minimum requirements, which aren’t very outdated. 13" is ideal for mobility, but for some people who plan on doing computer work in their dorms primarily, a larger laptop isn’t a bad idea. all apples carry a $100-400 apple tax (extra cost vs comparable hardware). if you’ve got the money and like looking stylish, there isn’t much of a reason not to go that way.</p>
<p>someone above said that weekly ads are a good place for deals. they are the best bar none.</p>