<p>I will be entering a dual degree program this fall at Notre Dame, studying mechanical engineering and also Industrial Design. When I asked the university about whether I should get a MAC or a PC...long story short, they gave the pros and cons of each which were fairly balanced and said it was up to me. I was thinking about getting a cheap PC for the first two years or so and then investing in a MAC..any thoughts on this? I've heard MAC would be better for design but PC would be better for engineering..is this true? Thank you all!!</p>
<p>I think it comes down to what you want to spend, since in the end both systems generally have the same functions. MAC is actually cheaper in the long run, but PC has a MUCH larger variety of software/games that it can support. So as long as you're not a gamer and you're ONLY going to use it for standard functions (work, email, net browsing, IMing, etc.), a small MAC is good.</p>
<p>However, you can get PCs that're even cheaper if you buy the older models or used systems.</p>
<p>How tech savy are you?</p>
<p>The newest macs run on intel architecture and can dual boot windows and OS X. If setup correctly, you can boot up windows in a "window" for simple tasks, and actually switch to a full boot if you need to do something more intensive. Not to mention that OS X runs on a unix kernal, so if you know any linux you've got a lot of power at your fingertips. (linux can also be thrown on there separately if you wish.)</p>
<p>Another route is to check the osx86 project forums for a mac compatible windows laptop and go the opposite route.</p>
<p>*the legality of either is disputed, though the first less so.</p>