<p>We are looking into making that all important purchase for our freshman son’s laptop. Any recommendations? Much appreciated!</p>
<p>Our ChemE major DD’s main grad gift was her laptop. It’s a Toshiba Satellite with the faster i7 processor. She likes it a lot and I was told it should serve her well for all 4 years in her undergrad engineering studies.</p>
<p>Once you go Mac, you never go back… :)</p>
<p>I am buying my son a Lenovo Thinkpad (many models to choose from). He needed Window 7 so that limited our selection. Macs are a great option but they are quite expensive. Also some kids do not like the fact that they cannot just run any program on a Mac. Designers tend to like Macs, Engineers tend to like PCs.</p>
<p>First of all, ask the School of Engineering for the specs they want. Each school will tell you their minimum requirements. Most Engineering computers will need a good processor i5 or i7 and if possible a dedicated video card ( I Gig) or if not at least above 250 Mb. Also ask about the programs the school offers for free. most schools offer many free programs for students so you do not need to buy them. Also see if your school sells computers at a good price. Some do. If not be aware that ALL companies offer student discounts, for all models, but you have to ask.</p>
<p>There is an Apple store in the SUPE and the students going to Bama Bound will receive a discount for bundles in their packet for Macs. DD had been wanting a Mac and when we saw that DH and DD went and visited with them. According to DH it was not a bad deal at all. She had an issue setting up her MyBama on it when we got home. She called back to the SUPE and they had her going in no time.</p>
<p>My DS wanted a Mac, but after talking with several ME upperclassmen we decided PC was the way to go. UA Engineering did not provide much specific information at Bama Bound. They said they would make both Macs and PCs work. However, the students we talked with definitely recommended PC.</p>
<p>Bama doesn’t require much in the way of specs because they say all the software students will need to use is available in the labs, so they only recommend a system powerful enough to run basic office software (so anything you can buy).</p>
<p>That said, my S is running a student version of Autocad on the Lenovo laptop we purchased off their outlet site, that is now about a 3 year old model. Almost any new system wiill be able to run the software they wil want to use.</p>
<p>If your student is a gamer, they will be very concerned about performance, but then most gamers know EXACTLY what they want in a system.</p>
<p>If you do go PC, I’d try to get Windows 7, everyone - young and old - that I’ve talked to that has used Windows 8 has HATED it.</p>
<p>These are the only recommendations provided by the school of engineering:</p>
<p>(From: [Laptop</a> Recommendations - Undergraduate Students - The College of Engineering - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/laptop/]Laptop”>http://eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/laptop/))</p>
<p>Laptop Requirements</p>
<p>Ability to send and receive email, including attachments
Ability to browse the network and download files
Ability to read CD-ROM and DVD media
Ability to communicate to external devices over a USB 2.0 port
Ability to read and write documents in Microsoft Office format (version 2007 or higher)
Either PC or Mac platforms are acceptable</p>
<p>I agree completely w/ jrcsmom’s posts. S does his high-level computing on the school-provided machines which have everything loaded that they need.</p>
<p>Again, also noting as stated in many other threads & posts on this same subject: some professors will not allow laptops in classrooms…and also consider the portability when choosing a laptop (weight + size). There is probably not one machine that has it all: gaming reqs, big screen, low weight, easy portability, length of useful life, ease of use, inexpensive…so you need to either compromise or have 2 (or more!) pieces of equipment. (I love the comment that gamers will know exactly what they need - too right!)</p>
<p>We bought a Windows 8 last week. Still adapting, but I actually LIKE it. </p>
<p>We have a friend who does IT and can easily switch it out for us to Windows 7 if we find it difficult to maneuver by August.</p>
<p>We didn’t want to limit our buying to the pre-December machines. Everything later has Windows 8.</p>
<p>We were advised by numerous students, both at Bama and at other schools, to ONLY look at PCs. Seems across the board Engineering + MAC = Headache. Worked for me since PCs are cheaper.</p>