NEW Macbook Pro 13 or 15 in for Freshman Engineering Student

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I'm trying to decide which one I want to get. They will be about as thin as the air so weight is not a problem. I want to know if the larger screen size and greater power is worth the loss in portability and whether people think this will be much of a problem with the thin Macbook pros.</p>

<p>I am a senior in high school. I'm going to major in materials engineering at cal poly and I don't know what sort of stuff I'd need a laptop for. In general, what do engineering students typically use laptops for? Are programs such as LaTex or R used frequently? What about Matlab?</p>

2

<p>I’ve attended 3 different universities and really found no need to bring your laptop everywhere. You will spend most of your time in the computer labs where they have the software you need anyway.</p>

<p>So just get a laptop that you are comfortable using at home. Big screen is the way to go imo.</p>

3

<p>Make sure you are aware that some engineering software tools may have compatibility issues with the Mac OS… otherwise get what you like. As the poster above said, the majority of your time will likely be spent in computer labs so a laptop is not really necessary in engineering.</p>

<p>Sent from my LG-P925 using CC</p>

4

<p>Most freshman spend thousands on expensive laptops. Ironically they are not needed because most universities have more than enough state of the art computer labs. Most of the time laptops are a distraction from the paper and pencil problem solving students really need to be practicing. Occasionally you may need to use Microsoft word or PowerPoint. If a program needs writing than the engineering computer lab is helpful. If you do decide to buy a computer get a PC, it is more versatile.</p>

5

<p>If you want a Mac, get one. You can always dual-boot with Windows or use a virtual machine if necessary.</p>

<p>I would say that the current 15-inch is still pretty portable, and the new thinner version will be even more so. As far as power goes, it’s hard to say; it depends on what kind of graphic card Apple includes in the newer 13-inch. If it’s not mediocre integrated Intel graphics, then I think the 13-inch will be fine (even fantastic!).</p>

<p>So yeah, come back and ask again once we know the actual specs.</p>

6

<p>I can’t speak for any other schools, but mine is exploring ways of eliminating labs via remote access to software, loaning embedded boards to students, etc. The Computer Science department has already eliminated all labs.</p>

<p>In the ECE department, we mostly use Matlab, LTSPice, and CodeWarrior. Quartus in some classes, as well. Undergrads almost exclusively use MS Office or LibreOffice rather than LaTeX. We also use laptops and phones to take online quizzes and such.</p>

<p>As for which one to get, I use a desktop PC for most work and carry a 10" netbook to class and I’ve lost count of how many people have told me they regret buying laptops with large screens, gaming laptops, etc. Small size (do you really want to carry a backpack <em>and</em> a separate laptop case? Even 13" is a bit large), long battery life, and low cost (theft and damage happen) are all important for a portable device.</p>

7

<p>My daughter (a mechanical engineering major) went the desktop PC and netbook way. Cost was less then an equivelent power laptop. She also has installed a TV tuner card in her desktop and, with the good size monitor, it becomes her DVR and TV. She uses the netbook primarily to go to friends places to study as she uses the school computers when on campus. She stores her files on her desktop with backups (and some works in progress as required) on the school servers. Several USB thumb drives are also quite usefull.</p>

<p>Most engineering software is written for the PC and, as previously stated, there can be some compatability issues even with the dual boot on the Mac (my work experience in engineering).</p>

8

<p>I have a Mac, and I am regretting for paying for it. This is trash ! Don’t buy a Mac. Get a PC.</p>

9

<p>there is no reason for anybody on this earth to buy a mac</p>

10

<p>If you know how to shop, you can find a PC that performs better in every way, is more compatible, etc. for ONE THIRD the price. </p>

<p>Unless you’re trying to make your laptop your fashion statement, I’d stay away.</p>

11

<p>To clarify on some of the above remarks, a Mac is fine for many people (if overpriced), but is a poor choice for most engineering students. Macs are designed as entertainment machines, and really only a good choice for personal entertainment or for those in the entertainment industry (I have a friend who is a professional cinematographer, and Macs are THE choice for him). For engineers, you run into all sorts of problems, and they are better than in the past but not good enough to meet the standards we as engineers expect.</p>

<p>As a note, this will continue in industry - I have never seen an Apple product in any of the companies where I have worked. One exception, we had a gung-ho group of Apple enthusiasts try to get the iPhone to replace the Blackberry, but it was fundamentally lacking in necessary security features. But no iMacs or Powerbooks anywhere. There is a reason for this.</p>

<p>So if you want a Mac, go ahead, but understand that you will be hitting the PC labs a LOT.</p>

12

<p>If you want a MacBook, get it. I currently have a MacBook Pro dual booting Ubuntu, but you can dual boot Windows, or even Triboot Linux, Mac, and Windows. </p>

<p>If you’re worried about security, Windows systems are much less secure. If you ever visit Google you’ll see that the only computers the engineers use are Linux or OS X boxes. I’m majoring in computer science, so I can’t really speak for physical engineering programs like LaTeX or R as you mentioned, but programming wise, a machine with OS X and Windows or Ubuntu will take the cake any day over a cheap Windows only laptop. From experience with many Macbooks and iMacs, you pay more upfront, but pay next to nothing afterwards because they’re built very well and won’t drastically decrease in performance like every Windows laptop I’ve ever used has. My girlfriend has a Thinkpad with similar stats from the same year as my MBP, and Eclipse runs many times faster on my MBP than on hers.</p>

<p>To try and settle down the PC fanatics here, I’m not saying Windows is a bad OS- I’m on it right now on my desktop, but as far as lots of the technical stuff I’ve done, mostly programming, the UNIX OS of OS X and Linux distros is far superior. I could get into defragmentation, indexing, security holes, ports and all that mumbo jumbo, but again, take Google’s word for it- UNIX is the way to go for programming-related uses. And, if OS X isn’t your cup of tea or doesn’t have all the functionality you want, just slip in a Windows 7 install disk, open up Boot Camp, and get a Windows partition running smoothly before you know it.</p>

<p>PS: Don’t get the Air if you’re doing engineering.</p>

13

<p>If it was the current model I’d suggest getting the 13. For the new model which is expected to have ditched the optical drive, I’d say you’d get along fine with a 15. The new 15 is probably lighter than the current 13. You’ll benefit from the extra screen size and power.</p>

<p>The mac won’t be a huge issue in engineering like a lot of people say. The reason I love my mac and I’ll continue to buy macs is because of the security. I can go on any site and download anything and my computer will be fine. Sure a PC can work fine for someone who knows what they’re doing but I don’t want to keep up to date on virus software and browse the internet like I’m walking on eggshells. I just want a low maintenance computer that does what I tell it to do. A mac will do that, and for me that’s worth a few extra hundred dollars.</p>

14

<p>Real engineers get Lenovo Thinkpads or HP Elitebooks.</p>

<p>Of course, real engineers also get their work to pay for them.</p>

<p>I personally went the inexpensive notebook/desktop route; I have a Lenovo x120e for on-the-go computing (they go for $350-$400 now), and a self-built desktop with dual monitors for heavy-hitting work at home.</p>

<p>All told, the combination is still cheaper than any Apple computer and many times more powerful.</p>

15

<p>Apple is a marketing company. Get a machine from a serious computer manufacturer and don’t buy into the hipster-garbage marketing ploys used companies that want you to “Think Different” but provide nothing but closed proprietary systems.</p>

16

<p>I would recommend a Fujitsu T901 over a Macbook Pro for engineering students.</p>

<p>Convertible tablets are a nice way to keep notes organized and at the same time they are powerful enough for multitasking and simulations.</p>

17

<p>"If you want a MacBook, get it. I currently have a MacBook Pro dual booting Ubuntu, but you can dual boot Windows, or even Triboot Linux, Mac, and Windows.</p>

<p>If you’re worried about security, Windows systems are much less secure. If you ever visit Google you’ll see that the only computers the engineers use are Linux or OS X boxes. I’m majoring in computer science, so I can’t really speak for physical engineering programs like LaTeX or R as you mentioned, but programming wise, a machine with OS X and Windows or Ubuntu will take the cake any day over a cheap Windows only laptop. From experience with many Macbooks and iMacs, you pay more upfront, but pay next to nothing afterwards because they’re built very well and won’t drastically decrease in performance like every Windows laptop I’ve ever used has. My girlfriend has a Thinkpad with similar stats from the same year as my MBP, and Eclipse runs many times faster on my MBP than on hers.</p>

<p>To try and settle down the PC fanatics here, I’m not saying Windows is a bad OS- I’m on it right now on my desktop, but as far as lots of the technical stuff I’ve done, mostly programming, the UNIX OS of OS X and Linux distros is far superior. I could get into defragmentation, indexing, security holes, ports and all that mumbo jumbo, but again, take Google’s word for it- UNIX is the way to go for programming-related uses. And, if OS X isn’t your cup of tea or doesn’t have all the functionality you want, just slip in a Windows 7 install disk, open up Boot Camp, and get a Windows partition running smoothly before you know it.</p>

<p>PS: Don’t get the Air if you’re doing engineering. "</p>

<p>I think you mean to say that Mac OSX is more “computer noob” friendly than Windows 7.</p>

<p>My Fujitsu T5010 with a Core 2 Duo T9950 CPU , 8GB DDR3 , and a 128 GB Crucial M4 SSD is faster than all the Macbook Pros my friends have. Fragmentation is not an actual issue for SSDs.</p>

<p>The build quality on a Macbook Pro is good ( similar to business laptops) but I would expect an IPS panel LCD display instead of a TN panel since the Macbook pro is marketed as being “high end.”</p>

<p>It’s not fair to compare cheap consumer class laptops to a Macbook Pro. The fairest comparison to a Macbook Pro would be a real business class machine. A Dell Latitude or an HP Elitebook is more of a fair comparison.</p>

<p>One of the things I hated about Mac OSX was the lack of driver support. Linux distros normally have better driver support than Max OSX but Windows 7 takes the crown for the amount of drivers for various hardware ( including many video cards and capture devices).</p>

<p>Also you should mention that the bootcamp program is essentially an emulation layer. Running demanding simulations or games in an additional emulation layer is generally a bad idea unless you have a high end CPU like one of Intel’s 6 core offerings and even then there are some problems that could occur.</p>

18

<p>If you could wait at least a month or two , Intel will have a new refresh of chipsets and CPUs. The new Intel CPUs are being built on a 22 nm fabrication process.</p>

19

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20

<p>I’ve decided that if I get a mac it will be the 15" macbook pro when it is released, but i’m not sure if I want a mac instead of a windows computer. I think it might depend on what new windows computers are released over the summer. I found out that I will be using solidworks and if I want to free myself from the computer labs I would have to bootcamp the mac.</p>