The UCSB College of Engineering website suggests that any laptop is fine for CS majors. Any recommendations from current CS majors? Do you need a desktop in your college dorm (or not enough space?)? Anyone use a MacBook Air? Also, did you buy your laptop at UCSB? Are the prices cheaper there?
Those dorm rooms are tight for space, so I wouldn’t recommend a desktop. An all-in-one like an iMac might work. I use the MacBook Air (older model with the nice keyboard). I didn’t buy at the UCEN bookstore, but I’m guessing they have some type of discounts. I’d call the bookstore and ask.
Any recommendations for dorms for Comp Sci majors? Is it better to live on a Scholars Floor? Women in STEM? Doesn’t matter?
Anyone know where to buy UCSB Comp Sci sweatshirts?
Scholar floor is a good choice.
How many computer science majors are there at UCSB?
Roughly 400 undergraduates and 175 graduate students
According to the UCSB College of Engineering website:
WHAT COMPUTER OR SOFTWARE SHOULD YOU PURCHASE?
We are frequently asked what type of computer and software students should bring to campus. We have consolidated information for each major below. If you have further questions please contact the department directly.
Students often work in computing labs on campus to get access to major and course specific software. You can find more information about the Instructional Labs, managed by Engineering Computer Infrastructure (ECI), at: http://eci.ucsb.edu/eci/services/labs/. All students will receive a College of Engineering computer account upon enrollment.
Computer Science: No preference on brand or operating system. Any programming assignment can be done in the Computer Science Instructional Lab (CSIL). Most students use CSIL regardless of their computer set up because the software is the most up to date and formatted already. Students report they don’t have problems using a PC or Mac when working at home.
Chemical Engineering: No preference on brand or operating system. A laptop is recommended over a desktop.
Computer Engineering: No preference on brand or operating system.
Electrical Engineering: No preference on brand or operating system.
Mechanical Engineering: The best advice is to go with Solidworks’s system (link is external) requirements, as it is the most resource intensive program used by students. We suggest a minimum of 8GB+ of memory and 256GB+ hard drive. We recommend the new i-series processors from Intel, i5 and i7. Most students do not run much engineering software on their laptops. Full versions of all the engineering software you need are available on the computers in the ECI labs. A faster hard drive, more ram than the minimum, and a dedicated Nvidia (or AMD) card can help your computer run more smoothly. You can get access to Microsoft 64 bit Windows 7 through your engineering account as a student.