Hi, I’m planning to buy a laptop for Northwestern this fall. I’ve only owned a desktop before, and am used to its fast speed, no battery life, and large monitors. Now that I need a laptop, I don’t know where to start. My budget is $2000. As a CS major (or I might switch to another engineering major, I don’t know yet), I’ll need something substantial (so not a Mac Air). I’ve only used PCs, but am open to Macs. In fact, I’ve thought about getting a Mac Pro but some say it’s bad for computer science, is that true.? And even if I ran a parallel, would it slow down the laptop? And yet when I visited Northwestern, most people were using Macs (NU supports both though so school preference is not an issue). Also some say it’s overpriced for what I’m getting, so I dunno if it is worth it.
I’m looking at a screen size of 14-16", but weight is a big thing for me because I’m kind of small and wouldn’t be able to lug a heavy laptop everywhere. I will be using this laptop for everything–school, music, games maybe. It will have to last all four years of college.
I don’t like Thinkpads 
Thanks!
MacBook Pro isn’t bad if you can live without a CD drive. Othweise, I’d point you in the direction of a high-level Dell.
My students use 13" screens. They find the smaller, lighter units much more workable. Huge RAM and solid state drives make for very quick operation.
OS depends on the program and personal preference. In a lot of CS cases, Macs can be preferable to Windows, but nothing beats Linux 
Seriously, though. Ask Northwestern first.
While the Macbook Pro is a good machine, IMO the 15 inch model is way overpriced, and there are better bang for your buck (or just plain bang) alternatives, especially with products packing maxwell graphics being released. There are a bunch of good options at the 13-15 inch segment, and it depends on what NU recommends.
@Mandalorian what kind of Dell?
@JustOneDad that does sound tempting, I’ll seriously consider 13" now!
@hungryteenager I asked NU and they don’t care either way.
Would you recommend netbooks?
Samsung Series 9 seemed nice for me
no… netbooks are not prefered. if you gonna haul your laptop around, go for ultrabook or macbook air.
You don’t need a super high-powered computer for CS. Mostly the programs you’ll be writing will be small and lightweight, so you don’t need a powerhouse to handle it. I wouldn’t recommend a netbook at this point, though. I started college with one (5 years ago…) and it served me well then, but it couldn’t handle much. Since you have the budget, there are better options. (I’m a fan of Thinkpads.) If you’re looking for portability, you could opt for something with a smaller screen and also buy an external monitor to connect when you’re in your room. That’s my ideal setup right now for coding. (Also great for watching TV/movies/Netflix.) As for OS, there’s definitely personal preference at play, but I have seen very few people in upper level CS still using Windows - pretty much everyone uses *nix of some sort (either Linux or Mac). It’s way preferable for programming. Don’t be afraid of Linux, though, it’s really not that bad. There’s a learning curve like any new OS, but I could now that I’ve been using it for years, I could never go back to anything else.
Thanks everyone! I was thinking of buying Dell xps 13 (I actually meant ultrabooks not netbooks lol) but I guess I’ll give mac another thought.