<p>I've been looking at laptops lately for school and I'm not entirely sure what to get. I've been looking at the Lenovo Y580 and the MSI GE60 since I plan to use this for both schoolwork and gaming. I'm also considering the 15" Macbook Pro since it gives me access to Mac software, but it's a little more than I'd like to spend (Looking around $1300) and doesn't provide as much GPU performance as I'd like (Although it's not THAT bad). Any CS Majors have any suggestions?</p>
<p>Do you plan on playing many games? If not, you won’t really need the GPU power.</p>
<p>Although computers are constantly evolving, the principles have remained fairly constant. This means that a CS major needs very little computing power. In fact, I found word processing (for the humanities I had to take) to be the most processor-intensive parts of my CS major computing needs, save for things that can only be reasonably done via clusters/cloud.</p>
<p>I’d optimize for:
1.) Large screen and good keyboard. You’re going to be doing a lot of typing with a high amount of weird symbols that usually aren’t seen outside programming.
2.) Portability. You’re going to need access to your laptop more often than that of other majors.
3.) Reliability. Most of the tasks you do are going to be hard; you really don’t want random computer problems to be getting in your way.</p>
<p>Notice I made little mention about processing power. For all that matters, I wouldn’t mind programming with a docked netbook. Truth is, it’s only about 10% less enjoyable than coding on my desktop (quad core, 16GB RAM) since it takes a few seconds longer to boot.</p>
<p>I’m a big fan of Lenovo. I recommend the Thinkpad T430 or T430s as a great mix of portability, durability, and performance. [Professional-grade</a> Laptops | ThinkPad T Series | Portable Powerhouse | Lenovo | United States (US)](<a href=“Lenovo Official US Site | Laptops, PCs, Tablets & Data Center | Lenovo US”>Lenovo Official US Site | Laptops, PCs, Tablets & Data Center | Lenovo US)</p>
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<p>How about the T420 and T420s ??</p>
<p>
I don’t think the T series is set up as well for gaming like the Y580 would be.</p>