<p>Does anyone know if there are special specifications needed for the college of engineering? I'm getting ready to purchase a laptop for my son and can't find anything on the Cal website about minimum specifications? Does anyone have any information on this???</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Major? Perhaps ironically, EECS majors can get by with cheaper hardware because they often don’t need to run heavy simulation programs that ChemE/MechE/CivilE students do.</p>
<p>I suggest setting aside a budget of $1000~2000 and then choosing how to spend it over four years. Maybe get a high-end machine to last for four years, or perhaps buy two consumer-level ones when the first one breaks or starts to feel old. Look for ~4+GB RAM, 4-8MB CPU cache, ~2.5GHz CPU clock speed, maybe 200GB disk space. Disk space doesn’t really matter since you can always pick up a 1TB external drive for $100. </p>
<p>As with a lot of things, having less than the baseline can be frustrating but having more than that provides marginal benefit. No need for a supercomputer but no one wants a weak computer to be the bottleneck in their work. And don’t let the salesman at bestbuy sell you a bunch of unnecessary extras :)</p>
<p>^^ Love the last line… I will be strong, I promise! He’s undeclared engineering right now but is leaning toward chemical engineering. Your specifications look to be the ones he is currently looking at. I like the idea of buying two computers over four years. I’ve got three in college next year, so cost is the major issue right now. Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>seriously, just get a $300-500 pc laptop. they will last for at least 2 years, and if it breaks, then buy another one. there’s no need to buy ur son a mac or anything expensive. i just bought a $300 acer laptop from walmart last week. but if u ignore my advice, i would go for an ultraportable lenovo thinkpad. they’re the best bang for ur buck</p>
<p>I’m definitely not buying my son a mac. If he wants a mac, he’s going to have to save and buy his own! I am looking at a pc for about $600. It’s got all the stuff my son wants and needs. He’s still researching it but we won’t be spending more than that… Thanks for the input. Wouldn’t it be great if money weren’t an issue? I love the Lenova Thinkpad too… Maybe someday. :-)</p>
<p>Honestly, a $600 laptop from a decent manufacturer would be fine (particularly if it’s a refurb). That may change, but probably not in the next two years (after which you’ll probably have a better idea of what you need - which may mandate getting a desktop, for the sim programs mentioned above).</p>
<p>I highly recommend Lenovo T410! The price is $829 before any discounts, but here are a couple of reasons I like it.
<p>Yes, it is expensive than most other laptops, but there are discounts almost all the time and it is certainly paying for itself. I have the T400 that I bought last year and I absolutely love it! Since your son is in Engineering like me, he will later have to install some big-boy programs like Mathlab or AutoCAD, so having a moderately high-performance computer should be important. Instead of buying a cheap computer every 2 years, why not buy a mid-high quality one and use it for 6 years like I did before buying my T400?</p>
<p>UpMagic’s suggestion is pretty good. I’d get it with a single 2GB RAM chip, and then spend ~$50 on another one from Fry’s and install it yourself. ChemE majors need to run simulations and that software isn’t lightweight, so a big CPU cache and lots of RAM is good to have.</p>
<p>ChemE interns can usually make $10K+ over the summer so don’t skimp out on cost too much (paying $100 more for a reliable and not-slow computer is worth it). It’s more important to make use of the computer wisely, don’t procrastinate too much with it!, and get a good job at P&G, genentech, johnson&johnson, etc</p>
<p>also, I don’t know if eng. undeclared has a free ride into chem E. chem E is in the college of chemistry, not college of engineering although it would make sense to have special agreements. for example, chem E majors can still join the general engineering honors society</p>
<p>^^^ Good advice. My son is aware of the need to change to the College of Chemistry for chemical engineering. He has met with this academic advisor and discussed the matter. As long as he maintains decent grades, the transfer will be honored. He still needs to see if chemical engineering is the thing for him. He’s got a couple of areas he is interested in pursuing. Thanks for the heads up though. :-)</p>
<p>Engineering Undeclared have to take a few extra steps to transfer to Chemical Engineering, but it’s on their options list.</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> ASUS U30JC-B1 13.3-Inch Laptop - Silver: Computer & Accessories](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-U30JC-B1-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Silver/dp/B003UNF1B2/]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-U30JC-B1-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Silver/dp/B003UNF1B2/)
Good processing power, 4GB RAM, switchable graphics, ~9 hours of battery life, and under $900? Good deal.
It’s not available yet, it is a minor update to the previous model:
[Amazon.com:</a> ASUS U30JC-A1 13.3-Inch Laptop (Silver): Computer & Accessories](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-U30JC-A1-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Silver/dp/B0036ZEANO/]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-U30JC-A1-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Silver/dp/B0036ZEANO/)
You can check notebookreview for the review of the older model from April. Pretty good budget laptop.</p>
<p>jonnosferatu, he knows. Thanks. :-)</p>
<p>Any recommendation on the size of the screen? Is 15.6" too big??</p>
<p>14.1" or 15.6" is pretty standard. Frankly, it is an awkward compromise between compact-ness and bigger screen, but unless you buy a netbook and a desktop separately, it is (kind of) the best of both worlds.</p>
<p>Were could I find a discount for Lenovo T410 or the best place to buy it? Also out of the PCs at Calstore (which have a discount for students) which do you recommend the most (that mimics most closely to Lenovo T410)? Also as light weight as possible without being a mini.</p>
<p>My son got a really great deal on Newegg. Not sure what brands they sell there but you might want to check it out.</p>
<p>just get a cheap asus off newegg</p>
<p>My son got a really nice Toshiba that should last him for quite a while. It was very reasonably priced.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, if he’s going to carry it to class…go for a lighter one. That bad decision is hurting my back.</p>
<p>Yeah, he checked that out. I reminded him of it too. He’s been carrying around a tennis bag with a minimum of six racquets in it for years… The laptop seems mighty light by comparison. Thanks for the tip though. Sorry about your back… :-(</p>