<p>im planning on majoring in a science, but im also going to be taking history, math, arts, foreign language and more. I want one that runs well, but it also cant look terrible. i hear different things about macs- some people say they are terrible for college and some say they are the best. opinions? thanks</p>
<p>The vast majority of colleges are OS indifferent; MACs and PCs are interchangeable. That said, in very rare cases there may be some applications in upper level engineering/science/mathematics classes that might not have a MAC equivalent. Realistically if you need those applications there’ll be access to computers on campus that can handle them.</p>
<p>Personally, given the overall costs of college, I recommend buying the cheapest option possible through the purchasing program at your school. Frankly they all look the same to me, but your mileage may vary.</p>
<p>Really doesn’t matter at all. A Mac will be more expensive than an equally powerful PC, but will probably last longer. My only advice is to get something smallish with good battery life.</p>
<p>My son chose a Mac. I was a little concerned that it would be a problem with an intensive STEM major at his very rigorous college. No problem at all.</p>
<p>The only issue that has come up is that the official GRE site has prep software that is PC only, so he’ll use a PC for that.</p>
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<p>Don’t do this if you value your time and peace of mind. My older relatives made this mistake when they got me a laptop for college. LCD screen failed right after the one year warranty expired at end of freshman year. After a second hardware failure with that notebook at the end of sophomore year, I decided enough was enough and decided to spend more money on a corporate Toshiba model at a discount from my summer employer. </p>
<p>That Toshiba is still running to this very day after 15+ years and is continuing useful service with a friend who needed a simple office/internet machine for job search/resumes. </p>
<p>Lesson: Look for the best cost/benefit-reliability ratio when it comes to computer purchases. NEVER BUY SOLELY ON THE CHEAPEST PRICE.</p>
<p>Buying solely on cheap price often leads to lost time/money due to multiple returns/visits to IT techs like myself.</p>
<p>Ditto cobrat. It’s a good idea to invest in a good computer now than to deal with the faultiness of cheap laptops. I chose Mac mainly due to its famously superior build quality. I could easily see my laptop lasting for 3-4 years (I’ve had my MacBook for just over 2 years now, and it still looks almost new).</p>
<p>Another quick note: while it’s easy for a Mac user to run Boot Camp and have access to PC-only applications, it’s significantly harder for a Windows user to gain access to a Mac-only application without running to a computer lab. To be fair, though, there are probably more PC-only apps than there are Mac-only ones.</p>
<p>Ditto. Macs do run Windows apps, but you must install (buy?) a copy of Windows to do so. You must hack a PC to run Mac apps (not easy for a newbie). A new Mac laptop should last four years. Consider a Mac Air for the ultimate in Mac lightness and portability.</p>
<p>Yeah, the real risk of having a cheaper laptop is all in the inconvenience incurred when your unexpectedly fails to function.</p>
<p>One of the largest mistakes college students make, in my opinion, is that they fail to value their own time enough. My personal guideline for most people is to use at least minimum wage to set the bar.</p>
<p>Yeah, by the time you flag down a geeky friend to help reinstall your OS or deal with your laptop not being available for a few days due to a failed component, you’ll start to break even with a Mac (which tends to be several times more reliable under normal use).</p>
<p>[Computer</a> Reliability Report 2012|Rescuecom Computer Reliability Report](<a href=“http://www.rescuecom.com/news-press-releases/computer-reliability-report-2012.aspx]Computer”>Computer Reliability Report 2012)
It’s not ideal but it should give a rough indication.
I think consumer reports also does a reliability survey.</p>
<p>I had both a Mac and a PCR in college, actually…had an HP through junior year and then the battery stopped holding a charge and the hard drive failed twice. Combine that with a Toshiba laptop that (literally) burned up, I decided to switch to a Mac. Once I went mac, I hate going back to PCs, but that’s a personal preference. I prefer the clean lines and organization of OS to Windows, the customer service is definitely better than any of the PC companies I purchased from as well. My macbook has had a reoccurring problem where the bottom rubber panel keeps coming unattached on the sides, and even though it’s out of warranty, Apple acknowledges that it’s a defect and replaces it for free. HP wouldn’t even replace my HD IN warranty.</p>
<p>In the end though, it’s really a matter of personal preference and budget. Obviously if you’re heavy into gaming, Windows is probably a better option. I find my mac gets way better battery life and is lighter than comparable PCs (not netbooks, obviously).</p>
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I bought a Toshiba in 2007 and it still runs strong to this day - nearly 5 years later, and I do use it almost on a daily basis. My wife and Mother bought the same Toshiba models in 2006. My wife’s didn’t die, but was really acting up by 2009, so I bought her a Dell Inspiron 13 and that has lasted well and is working great 3 years later. My Mother is still using the same Toshiba, though the HD has failed once.</p>
<p>Lesson: results may vary. Many factors can contribute to the demise of a machine, including the static (stationary sitting) environment and other usage. The overall reliability will be determined mostly by how the owner treats the machine as none of them are really meant to be thrown off a bridge, but if they are, some may fare better than others - much like how a car owner treats a car. With the proper maintenance and care it can last some ages. Not a knock on you, soccergurl, just in general.</p>
<p>I suppose the argument goes, like excelblue is hinting at, that the “maintenance and care” put into a PC over the years would have the equivalent cost of getting a Mac from the beginning. However, it is IMO that even a Mercedes can be junk after a few years, again based on how the owner cares for it.</p>
<p>For the OP, from the sounds of it it looks like you won’t need any Windows specific programs for your studies (no engineering or business ties mentioned), so a Mac should suffice for you if you’re so willing to pay for it up front (as opposed to the cheaper PC with routine “maintenance and care” route).</p>
<p>Over the years I’ve owned both Apple and PC laptops (the first ‘portable’ computer I owned weighed in at 35 pounds - you could carry it around but having a team of Sherpas certainly helped). I’m not advocating that the OP get an abacus or a laptop made out of cardboard. The simple truth is that MACs cost more, typically around 10% more than an equivalently configured PC. Furthermore, due to Apple’s control over peripheral providers, accessories are also more expensive. There’s even a name for the phenomenon, it’s called the Apple Tax.</p>
<p>As for reliability, Intel makes Apples chips, so reliability should be equivalent to Intel configured PCs. I’ve had good and bad PCs and MACs. The low point with Apple for me came when a so-called ‘genius’ told me that my MACBook was over-heating to the point of shutting down because I was running applications that were using nearly all of the RAM. His solution was to tell me not to run such ‘heavy’ programs even though the tech specs of my MAC said they could handle it. So your MAC will work as long as you don’t use it too hard. Huh?</p>
<p>As for Boot Camp, be my guest. My experience is that Boot Camp runs slowly, very slowly. Just know that no matter how ‘compatible’ you try to make your MAC you’re still likely to get the compatibility warning message when shipping a MS Office file from a MAC to a PC. I get those messages weekly, usually they’re nothing, but when they do come to pass it’s a pain in the neck to fix.</p>
<p>All those complaints are irrelevant. If you want a MAC get one, the hassles will be few and far between. Personally, I’d suggest an inexpensive ultra-book with a docking station, but spend your cash how you see fit.</p>
<p>P.S. My son has a MacAir that he uses to take notes with in class. After one year the 128GB hard drive is full though he concedes it’s with music and movies that have nothing to do with college.</p>
<p>you could just get a macbook and partition it to run windows and the apple os. it’s easy to do</p>
<p>yea i think im gonna go with a macbook… hopefully whatever school i end up going to will have an option to purchase through the school. thanks to everyone</p>
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<p>There are other critical notebook components that aren’t manufactured by intel or have anything to do with what CPU it is running…like LCD screens.</p>
<p>Also…intel doesn’t always make video controllers and certainly doesn’t manufacture SATA/IDE controllers, RAM, hard drives, CPU fans, all motherboards, etc…or put them together and run QC on each finished notebook.</p>
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<p>Really?? I’ve never had that problem running Windows under bootcamp. Only time that happened was when I ran Windows under Parallels virtualization software…but that was to be expected as it was running within OSX. </p>
<p>Regarding compatibility issues…what versions of Office were you running on MAC and PC??? Never ran into that issue in the office, school, or home.</p>
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<p>Intel makes the onboard GPU for all Sandy bridge and Ivy bridge CPUs so it will be there even if you have a dedicated video card. As LCD screens , I think Samsung makes most of the LCD screens for Apple.</p>
<p>From my personal observations, the areas of failure are actually centered around the physical components rather than the chips: fans fail, keys fall off, connectors become loose due to poor soldering, hard drive crash, moisture inside screen, etc.</p>
<p>A lot of these issues can be greatly lessened if the laptop has solid build quality to begin with. That’s what prevents connectors from wobbling to the point where the connectors are stressed, or absorbs the force in routine usage to lower the risk of a hard drive head crash. As with anything mechanical, moving components wear out, and how fast they wear out is critical.</p>
<p>For example, if your fan fails, your system can overheat and become unstable. These days, the chips have circuits to automatically clock themselves down as to avoid any permanent damage, but the fact is, those components still have to be replaced.</p>
<p>Sometimes, replacement is not as simple as bringing it into a store or just sending it to a service center. Perhaps the parts necessary are no longer made, or the manufacturer decides to spend a month with your laptop.</p>
<p>It’s really the final product that matters at the end. Regardless of what component in the laptop fails, if it’s unusable, it’s unusable. I’m glad that the chips are rock solid, but they’re useless without the other components.</p>
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Sorry, but, I don’t think you know much about how computers work at all. Like others have pointed out, there’s a LOT more to a computer than the processor that Intel makes. Just a quick example of a MacBook’s durability is the aluminum body. There are almost no removable parts on a MacBook; the base of the computer is carved out of aluminum (“unibody,” as Apple calls it). And while others might sneer at the unremovable battery and lack of customization potential, a unibody means that, unlike a Dell or HP which has hundreds of small parts that can come loose and fall off, MacBooks will almost never break externally. </p>
<p>When you say that Windows runs slowly on a Mac, I think you’re confusing a virtual machine software with Boot Camp. These are not the same thing, although they’re both used to run Windows apps on a Mac. Boot Camp allows you to essentially turn your MacBook into a Windows PC. The Windows OS runs natively on your laptop, fully utilizing 100% of your laptop’s resources, provided you have the proper drivers installed (which Apple provides for you on their website). A Mac running Windows with Boot Camp will run literally as fast as a Dell or HP with equivalent specs.</p>
<p>Finally a Mac worth buying…</p>
<p>[Apple</a> announces next-generation 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display, ships today for $2,199 | The Verge](<a href=“The Verge”>Apple announces next-generation 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, ships today for $2,199 - The Verge)</p>
<p>^It costs $2200 base. No.</p>