<p>Alright I know questions about laptops get killed to death around here and I have done my searching on this forum. My question is if I already very high end desktop that I made(roughly $3000 with monitor and cooling), it's very fast and very powerful. My question is since I already have this, do I need a laptop? I'm just curious because my sister is a comm major and a few her classes REQUIRED a laptop. So besides for the fact of convenience would an EE major, specifically computer engineering, need a laptop?</p>
<p>Hmmmm, I know some sections require a laptop that I have taken, but they have other sections with desktops for people to use, you may want to check with the school.</p>
<p>I agree - check with your school. Even if they do require a laptop, you might be able to get by with a cheap model or a tablet, and save the heavy lifting for your desktop. And if they do not, I would say you are fine.</p>
<p>“do I need a laptop?”</p>
<p>“Need” - you are asking us what you “need”? The school can tell you if they “require”, or which classes “require” them, in which case you will “need”.</p>
<p>Only you can decide what your “desire” for the portability is. Do you want to use it to take notes in class? Do you plan to study in the library, and will use it there? Having a cheap one (or more expensive because it is ultra light) will do for those purposes.</p>
<p>In EE? You probably almost never will actually need a laptop. Even if you take programming classes (which you probably will), it’d only be handy for group programming sessions and even then, not that big a deal. </p>
<p>Cheers :)</p>
<p>Check with the school. My DD is in engineering school now and her school provides student work spaces with PCs and overhead projectors. She has never had a class that has required her to bring a laptop to class. She has a desktop and a netbook. The netbook is rarely used. Her two roommates have laptops and they never leave their desks.</p>
<p>I got a laptop for my older son and he said he took it to school once in his undergrad days and realy didn’t need to. He ended up getting a separate keyboard for it as he liked the feel of a good keyboard better. He ended up getting a docking station and a large monitor to be able to see his CAD models better. In other words, he ended up with effectively a desktop machine but with the laptop as the system unit.</p>
<p>Others have different stories. Check with the school!</p>
<p>I’m in the same situation as most. They actually prefer you to do computing and the like in their computer labs because their system is less likely to crash. If your university requires you bring a computer to class (I don’t think any here do, but some might) you’d be best off with a netbook than another fully fledged computer. Even then, they don’t expect you to buy the programs needed for the class, so I can hardly see it as a requirement. You might find you want a portable computer so that you’re not glued to your dorm room for out-of-class computer usage, though. I’m not sure about other places, but many of the library computers here don’t have sound (even though there’s a headphone jack), so they’re difficult for casual use.</p>