<p>I've asked many college friends whether or not it's more beneficial to have a desktop or laptop at college and there is no consensus. Basically, I would much rather have a desktop for performance, screen size, upgradability and because they are just better since they're about a year ahead of laptop processors. </p>
<p>Yet I would hate to join a study group or a class where everyone is taking notes on their laptop (and I wouldn't be able to). It would suck to be in a situation where I would actually need a laptop. Then again I've heard even when people have laptops in their dorms they either don't bring it to class because they are lazy or when they do bring it to class they surf the internet/play games and it becomes a distraction instead of a study tool.</p>
<p>So I present this question of Laptop vs. Desktop to you and I would love to hear from everyone, especially current Madison students. Did you benefit from a laptop? Or can I happily bring a new desktop that will be twice as good and cheaper?</p>
<p>Also- what are the laptop theft rates at Madison? Are they high, or a non-issue?</p>
<p>I've been using laptops for the last 15 years. I used a 486DX2 during my junior and senior years in Madison and more recently a Pentium M at grad school. I think College of Engineering now recommends a wireless-enabled laptop. I assume other schools/departments have similar recommendation. </p>
<p>To me, the laptop is most useful at libraries and occasionally lectures where I can type my notes directly or google or lookup Wikipedia. It is also very useful for Powerpoint presentation. Nowadays, I love to catch an episode of 24 or Lost whenever I find a break time and a free WiFi connection. :)</p>
<p>There used to be a significant price and performance premium for laptop over desktop. I think the gap now is virtually non-existence for most users (specifically non-gamers). For those who are getting a "school" laptop, I definitely recommend a laptop with 13"/14" wide screen, dual core processor, at least 1GB RAM and extended battery (to go the whole day w/o plugging in). Keep the total weight between 5-6 lbs. My top choices are MacBook, HP DV2000T/V3000T, Dell 1405 and Sony C series. </p>
<p>Since I used to work at DoIT, let me add: Please buy an external hard drive and ALWAYS BACK UP your homeworks, projects, MP3s, videos etc. The Murphy will always try to get you the night before that all important deadline!</p>
<p>My DS took both a desktop and a laptop to school for the reasons you noted. Also, as Dallas noted, if you're a gamer, you really need that PC. And excellent point on the external hard drive.</p>
<p>Son uses his desktop, has portable drives- no requests for a laptop from him. Physics and math type freshman, and gamer. </p>
<p>The university expresses no preference for computers, either- be sure to check the DoIT site this summer when they may have more specific info; I noticed last summer's info disappeared, hopefully current info will reappear, they listed requirements for various major types, such as graphics users and engineers. Recently they were warning about Windows Vista incompatiblities with specific software used on campus, be sure to check their site as the time gets closer to buying. I found that many things for college are best available in summer, not early spring- you have to be patient...</p>
<p>See the problem is, if I am going to get a laptop I'm def. getting a "desktop replacement laptop" meaning 17" screen, 2 GB ram and discrete graphics. I would def not take it to class but at least I could take it to another room if I had to or for a powerpoint presentation, which was a good point. And it just takes up less space. But I love desktops.. I don't know I'll be thinking this one out for a few months.</p>
<p>Yeah, I was caught up in the same dilemma. But I realized that taking a 17" would just not be feasible. If you are a gamer (which I am) then you should def. check out Asus A8JS. They come with everything a gamer should require, and is a 14' laptop. Comes with a Nvidia Geforce Go 7700 512mb video ram discrete memory.</p>
<p>Yeah I am a gamer and look forward to dorm LAN parties, if possible. Gaming on a 14 inch though? I dunno about that but I will look into that laptop. I'm thinking about majoring in political science with pre-med so I will ask around to see if I truly need a laptop for anything. Hopefully I won't. Though, my friend says that I will be jealous when I see people with their laptops in cafes and around campus.</p>
<p>Either way I am def. getting a TV tuner card for OTA HD, no need for a tv in the room and I can plug in gaming systems. Sexy Time.</p>
<p>I'm a gamer myself however I am leaving my desktop at home and bringing a Macbook to cut time off from gaming. I really want to focus on school as was not the cause during high school. However, I am still bringing my 360 so we'll see how that goes, lol.</p>
<p>YEAH!!! xbox360!! I have a question, my xbox is is NTSC-J because I brought it here in Asia. If I want to get it to run in the US, what exactly do I need to do?</p>
<p>Most people here have laptops- not for taking to class but for portability when they go to the library/do work outside on bascom hill/work in someone else's room. Also, you can move your laptop from your desk pretty easily so you have more space to do work. Desktops can be bulky since you have a separate keyboard, speakers, etc.</p>
<p>DDA, your NTSC-J 360 probably won't be able to play games here. That's the Japan/Asia regional coding... the US games are NTSC-US. Like somebody else said though, if you have a smart friend who can mod an xbox, you can have them chip it and make it region free. Voids the warranty, however.</p>
<p>Good luck with that ;)</p>
<p>I know I wouldn't want to be without my 360!</p>
<p>I'm not talking about buying games. I'll buy my own games from Hong Kong, but I heard that all you need is a step down/up converter and you're good to go!</p>