I am looking to get a new laptop for my freshman year in college next year and am currently thinking about either the MacBook Pro 15” or the HP Spectre 15”.
I will be going into some type of engineering, and don’t know if I should get a Mac or a PC. I know most programs are compatible with Mac and PC, except for Solidworks (according to my college website). I do like the build quality and OS of the MacBook Pro. But on the windows side I like the HP Spectre not only because of the design, but also because it does perform well.
With that, I have a couple questions.
How often would I absolutely need to run Windows?
Is it worth going with a Mac over a PC?
What do most engineering majors use?
Any input or opinion would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
I have an HP Spectre x360 (13") and I love it. I’ve had it for 2.5 years, and I plan to replace it with another HP Spectre x360 (but the 15" one) when it hits 3 years. I did have a Mac in grad school, though, and I liked it well enough.
I’m sure that you can actually ask your college what they recommend for incoming freshmen particularly in your area. Some colleges have recommended systems and features for specific majors, and some colleges have partnerships and discounts for certain brands (although Apple offers a universal education discount for all students). You may want to wait a little bit, until at least the summer before you begin, to narrow down what laptop to get. See what back to school deals are offered and give yourself the chance to contact your new department and ask some questions.
My sense (not being an engineer) is that most engineers use Windows BUT which OS they prefer really depends on what they’re building and their own workflow. Obviously if you’re developing for Mac you would prefer having a Mac. Apple does also offer you the advantage of being able to boot in Windows - and use virtual machine software to run Windows in parallel. As someone who used to use VMware pretty regularly on a Mac to run resource-heavy software (statistical programming with very large datasets) in a Windows only program, in my opinion it was absolutely not worth the extra hassle. But at the time, Windows 8 was the Windows operating system and that was pretty bad. Windows 10 is better.
Also the other products you have in your ecosystem will count. If you have an iPhone and an iPad, having a Mac will make life easier with Continuity and such. I’ve found that my Android phone plays better with Windows machines than Apple machines, however.
Personally I think that Apple machines are overpriced for what they offer you, and they haven’t kept up with new developments in the laptop segment. For a major example, none of the MacBooks offer a touch screen, whereas that’s now standard on mid-level and above laptops (and on the HP Spectre). I use my touch screen ALL the time. And the new HP Spectres come with an active stylus that you can use with Windows Ink, which I like to use to take notes and sign documents. You can also use Windows Ink to do things like write math equations in OneNote and annotate/edit Office documents. (Edit: But I also just found out that the MacBook’s pressure-sensitive trackpad allows you to mark up and sign documents as well.)
I’m also obligated to tell you that I work at Microsoft. (I don’t work in Windows. But I do think Windows Ink is awesome, mostly because I like taking my notes the old-fashioned way and this allows me to do it but save them electronically.)
My kid has the HP, she loves the pen and being able to takes notes directly on the professor’s slides. Mac students have to purchase Ipad in addition to their Mac Book to do this.