I am an incoming freshmen who is majoring in engineering. I am also looking to purchase a computer for school. Should I get a MacBook or a windows laptop? Price isn’t an issue so what are your recommendations. Thank you
If price truly isn’t an issue then get the Mac. You can run both OSX and Windows on it which you can’t do on the PC. Now if you want to run Linux, that’s another story.
I have engineering friends with both. I think it’s really just personal preference. Something to consider – Macbooks are a status symbol on campus. It’s weird NOT to have one. Not necessarily a reason to buy one, but something to think about regardless.
Also consider buying it and software through DoIT for student discounts.
I wonder if it wouldn’t be a good idea to wait until you got to school and actually had a chance to see what’s up there. That might include talking to some upperclassmen in your department. University bookstores often have the best pricing on computers and ancillary purchases, too.
I am an incoming freshmen who is majoring in engineering. I am also looking to purchase a computer for school. Should I get a MacBook or a windows laptop? Price isn’t an issue so what are your recommendations. Thank you
^^That’s sounds funny to me to wait until you are on campus…students need a computer from Day One. Freshmen don’t have classes with upperclassmen in their department. Picture this random conversation on campus “Hey, umm, are you an engineering student, what computer do you have?”
Also, the University Bookstore does not sell computers, so I don’t recommend you go there to try to buy one.
When you come to SOAR, you can visit DoIT to ask your computer questions and buy a laptop. You could even call DoIT now -I’m sure that’s a common question.
Computer choice implies operating system choice. Operating system choice implies different software. You should figure out which software you will need to run for your courses. That should most likely be the determining factor, not whether or not you own the same brand of computer as everyone else. These days, Windows is the de facto system software gets developed for when it’s advertised to the masses.
That being said, if you end up needing to run some software that doesn’t run natively on the OS your running, you could use a virtual machine as a workaround. But that approach doesn’t always work, and sometimes it won’t run fast enough or without other problems.
@Madison85 It doesn’t matter what you call the place where students can get computers. Organizational pricing on machines and software is often the best.
I see nothing wrong with asking upperclassmen what their experience with computing is.
It’s not going to hurt anyone not to have a machine as soon as you arrive. Let me point out that Freshmen often arrive early, giving them enough time to figure it out and get the right one.
Welcome week is a dismal two days for this upcoming academic year.
I second asking DoIT what they recommend, but I’d also suggest buying the computer elsewhere. DoIT only carries Apple and Dell products. I wouldn’t want to be limited in my selection like that.
Check the links on the UW dept of engineering website-FAQs- this includes the DoIT link and one for engineering needs. You likely want to get one of the deals that are usually available in summer. Tech Bargains is a great site. I can’t imagine today’s students NOT having computing ability from day one. There is so much info from professors online and no time to be searching for deals. Also so much else to do to be ready for classes such as getting materials and learning how to get to classes.
PS- sorry about no hyperlinks- never use them enough to remember how (OLD).
As a current student in UW-Madison, I can support to what adam is saying about macbooks being the “status symbol”
:))
That being said, either one is ok.
I might add though the new macbook seems to be… not as good as the previous version. It seems to lose lots of its functionality and speed for portability.
Anyways, at least in the CS/CE departments, I frequently see Macbook Pros and Macbook Airs. PCs I see are usually ultrabooks.
Basically, at least an i5 in general, 8 gb of RAM (you never know what happens in 4 years!), and a decently long battery life while being very portable.
But seriously, you can have either. There is no advantage of having one over the another. However, just note that Macbook Pros are like the “status” symbol in UW Madison. It truly is weird not to have one.
That being said… I have yet to use my laptop during class although I do use the frequently at the dorm for homework/projects.
And I know I shouldn’t be advertising but…
the new HP Spectre (PC only 256 GB)
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/HP-Spectre-x360-13-4003dx-Signature-Edition-2-in-1-PC/productID.316333400?tid=sRQ2zF53w_dc&cid=5250&pcrid=54087166973&pkw=_inurl:en_US&pmt=b&WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=pointitsem_Microsoft+US_google_5±+Microsoft+Store+DSA&WT.term=_inurl:en_US&WT.campaign=5±+Microsoft+Store+DSA&WT.content=oxEeJLEr&WT.source=google&WT.medium=cpc
seems really good for the price. But then again, this is pretty much a luxury hahahhaha.
Pretty much for engineering, any laptop is fine as long as you bought it within the last 4 years.
Just avoid getting the new Macbooks. I mean they look awesome but their specs aren’t really geared towards engineering students. I will claim (and is true) that the current top end Macbook Airs are better than all the Macbook series. So either get a 13 inch Macbook Air or a Macbook Pro
After all, Macbooks are the “status” symbol. Hahahha whatever that means!
I went to a College of Engineering Accepted Student Day last month. I saw a handful of students working in the mechanical engineering building, and probably half had MacBooks. Throughout the day I saw a few presentations and saw some MacBooks and some PCs from professors. One of the students on a panel said that your own personal computer really only needs the ability to get on the Internet, and word processing. There are specific engineering computer labs with every program you could need (I think he mentioned there are some programs you can access on your laptop through the computer labs? I’m not positive though). Anyway, I think it’s just a personal choice. Get whichever you’d like!