<p>It has the new sandy bridge processor, so it should be pretty quick. I am unsure about the 13 inch screen. I really want something small and lightweight, as I will have a desktop in the dorm to do most of my major work on. I have heard people say I should get a bigger screen. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>Also, if you have any recommendations, I am open. I was looking at the 13 inch macbook pro, but I am worried that the software we use will not be compatible or I will be the only one there with an apple laptop :/</p>
<p>Any older i3 will serve you well
Browse engineering forum for a few pages, you will find people asking for laptop opinion.
Just get the one that fit the best budget, durable, portable, flexible, great customer service, and comes with a good warranty (unless you use it every day, 24/7, then a 1-yr limited warranty may not be a good choice).</p>
<p>I personally think it isn’t worth the buck trying new CPU. You will get a new series next year.</p>
<p>13" inch can be quite small. I have 14" and I find it small too. But I don’t use it every day, so it’s good.</p>
<p>Yes, 3.2 lb is pretty light. My Edge 14" comes in around 3.8+ I think.
I don’t have good experience with it because it’s heat problem. </p>
<p>Save an extra $100 just for the older i5 isn’t a bad idea at all. CPU, RAM aren’t really the bottleneck. It’s usually your hard drive. But trust me 5400RPM is enough for everyone.</p>
<p>You better have a portable external hardrive with you, to keep a backup.
If you are not picky, I think AMD will be cheaper too. However, it uses more power, thus hotter.
i BET A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WILL HAVE MACBOOK. You will have to be comfortable with Mac.</p>
<p>You already have a desktop, and access to computer labs. The desktop should have enough power to do whatever you need it to, and the labs will have the software you need. Even if you need the laptop to run software, anything including Macs will run windows, so you don’t have to worry about that.</p>
<p>Your screen size need is covered by the desktop too, and that is totally preference. Some people can work fine on a 13" laptop and think anything larger is too bulky to carry around, while I can’t imagine working on anything smaller than 15.6" and I don’t have a problem carrying it around. Everyone is different.</p>
<p>Basically, it doesn’t matter. I’d recommend going for something even cheaper than that Toshiba. You don’t need that much power in class. A cheap Thinkpad would probably be best.</p>
<p>I’ll add that I was unsure about the screen size, but I remember being warned not to get anything over 15" (and my friends who have a laptop larger than that regret it). I first opted for a 14" IBM laptop and thought the screen was perfectly sized. Then I got the MacBook Pro and discovered that it actually has the perfect screen size. I think Apple chose the perfect physical specifications (in terms of thickness, screen size, etc.) for the MacBook Pro 13". It just makes you want to hug it. Why yes, I am a total computer geek. ;)</p>
<p>Here’s something else I posted about the supposed MacBook compatibility issues:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Like you, I had been agonizing over whether to buy the MacBook or not, and kept hearing the claim that there will be compatibility issues, etc. When I finally got a MacBook Pro, 1.5 years later, I regretted ever having listened to those people online. I have never encountered any program that wouldn’t work on the Mac (and I’m not worried that I will; if I do, I can just dual-boot with Windows). More importantly, OS X has never crashed on me, never froze for more than a few seconds (and even then rarely). Its interface is amazingly intuitive, both the trackpad and the GUI for the OS. I hated not right-clicking–now I prefer tapping two fingers once to get the right-click; I used to hate the dock at the bottom, but now I realize it’s one of the most useful awesome features. Spotlight is waaay better than the search function in Windows. The list goes on and on.</p>
<p>Seriously, I was a Windows user for 10 years (the entire time I’d been on computers), but can confidently say now that I will be using a Mac from now on. ;)</p>
<p>Oh I didn’t read he will have a desktop. That being said - a netbook would serve you just fine.
If not, one of the Lenovo laptop will just be fine.
1.6Ghz, 2.3GHz, all the same. People run MATLAB on 1.6. You are really better off saving the money and use it on other things. People MATLAB is a monster. I used to run MALTAB on 512MB PC. Not slow at all.</p>
<p>PS: For me, I get tired of carrying a laptop with me, even if it’s a netbook.</p>