<p>I’m a Parent of income freshman. Do most students that have a laptop bring them to class for notes?</p>
<p>I’m looking to surprise my daughter w/ a laptop for Graduation, was thinking on going for 15.4, but if students take them to class, should I get a smaller 14.1?</p>
<p>Thinking Pc vs. Mac because she has never used a Mac, and is use to a PC.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>My son got a Mac, and has had absolutely no problem getting used to it-- it's pretty intuitive. It seems like many of the students at U of A are Mac fans (he had noticed that on a visit) and the bookstore sells them and services them. I know he does use it in class fairly often, and I think he has the 13" screen.</p>
<p>Get a PC because the world is PC....even more so in a university setting. Period. It is so irritating to hear the one rouge mac user constantly asking "does this work on my computer" or "how do I do this on a mac".</p>
<p>Next, don't waste your money getting a screen that is less than 14.1". 13"/12" are worthless because stuff will be too small to read/you won't be able to have enough windows open (multi-task). 15.4" is the sweet spot because it gives enough desktop real estate without being too heavy compared to a 17". 15.4" hardly weighs anything in the first place and you should have some sort of carrying case/backpack for it to make it even more manageable. If weight, however, is that much of an issue, get a 14.1" screen.</p>
<p>Most students do not bring laptops to class simply because it is easier and faster to take notes with pen and paper (especially math/engineering courses). Most of the kids that do bring laptops use them to look up sports scores during lectures.</p>
<p>Don't buy a tablet PC because they have more problems than their worth....scratched screen, broken swivel, etc. And the writing on the screen rarely works like you want it to</p>
<p>I personally recommend HP laptops because 1) They are fairly cheap on sales and 2) They are powerful and offer many options. Acers are built poorly (thus the cheap price), Toshibas have keyboard and heat issues, Sony's are overpriced and nothing special, Compaq isn't powerful enough but budget based (owned by HP), Gateway is just a sucky wannabe computer seller, Alienware is waaaayyyy too much. Macs are way overpriced and overhyped.</p>
<p>The specs a student legitimately needs (engineering software and light gaming):</p>
<p>1.8 ghz dual-core CPU (AMD prefered since it is cheaper than Intel).
2 GB ram (1 GB is the absolute minimum but 2 GB does offer a touch of future-proofing esp. with Vista)
160 GB hard drive
Nvidia/ATI graphics processor (shared or dedicated), no Intel Integrated graphics.
15.4" screen
DVD Reader, Writer drive
6 cell Li-ion battery
Windows XP (Vista is horrible but unfortunately it requires a lot of technical know-how to downgrade)</p>
<p>You should only pay around $700 for all of these specs. If you have a little more money, go with Nvidia dedicated graphics and a bigger battery + hard drive.</p>
<p>I await the mac fanboys to trash my post and call me a noob even though I have more than a decade of computer experience.</p>
<p>I am an 18 year-old girl and I have a Macbook and I absolutely love it. I have never had a problem with software and the size is fine. It's much lighter than a laptop with a 15.4 in. screen. I have windows installed into it and now you can use Microsoft Word, Excel, etc. with it. IDK... maybe it's just my personal preference, but I love it. Oh, and on top of things, it's really cute and fashionable.</p>
<p>Im also stuck between PC and Mac. I've always used PC and know tons about them, yet people I know who use Mac tell me they like them more. I've fooled around a little with mac's and they seem easy to use and all, its just that Im so used to a PC that im afraid to change. The people at the business school told me that I should get a PC since everything will work with those. Is there that big of a difference between compatability? Now with a mac, cant you open up windows also?</p>
<p>I heard PC's are more compatible and better for word documents, while Mac is good for entertainment type of programs. If that is the case, why wouldn’t a PC be a no-brainer?</p>