What kind of computer should I get for College?

<p>I'm going to be a computer science major this fall and I was wondering what kind of computer most cs majors use. As of now i'm using a 13-inch Macbook Pro from 2009, but will definitely be getting a new laptop before the school year starts. Does anyone know what the recommended laptop for cs majors is? </p>

<p>I suggest anything that is not apple (Break REALLY easy and your screwed if you drop it with your assignment on it) that said a Windows laptop with a 15 inch screen and high battery life will serve you well as most programs are coded for windows.</p>

<p>Linux gives you good knowledge of programming, but can be terrible if you have to reprogram it.</p>

<p>Apple is what a lot of software companies use, but i don’t really like Apple myself and have never used it (I hate the company).</p>

<p>At the end of the day choose what YOU like though, keep in mind that windows PC are way easier to service than apple (Linux has the advantage of not really having any viruses programmed for it) if it gets a virus.</p>

<p>Find out your individual school preferences. I know some schools laugh at Windows, some hate Mac. The above is very biased, Mac is a top option for many schools in CS. Linux is certainly the safe road though regardless of college.</p>

<p>Having dealt with both a lot, I prefer Mac though the prices are crazy and windows is a much better value. I haven’t had the experience at all that Apple’s break easy, though Windows can be slightly more durable in comparison.</p>

<p>For CS, you are best off with a Unix system. This means either Linux or Mac. Windows is not a great for programming, unless it’s something Windows-specific (which your stuff for CS classes won’t be).</p>

<p>Whichever system you choose, it’s a lot about what you’re comfortable with. Linux has its quirks, but I’ve used it since high school so I find it a lot more straightforward than Windows or Mac.</p>

<p>For college level classes, any laptop is fine, really. You’ll probably want to dual-boot it with a Linux distro like Ubuntu. Most development at the college level isn’t that resource intensive.</p>

<p>Once you start working with Virtual Machines, you might want to make sure you’re running 8+GB of RAM and a SSD hard drive for fast boot times.</p>

<p>My personal opinion is that Macs are far too expensive for what they deliver. I had two Lenovo T series laptops and they served me well. I also liked the SmartCard reader on them because I use them a lot.</p>

<p>Well, I have a professor who has an M.S. in Computer Science and he doesn’t really know how to work with Mac. I would assumed then that Mac is not the standard platform in Computer Science. Go for anything that uses Windows or Linux OS because that’s what all the programming languages used. If you used Mac, you will not be able to ask questions on how to do this and that because all the other students, even the professors, are lugging around notebook PC in their bags. You will be at a disadvantage unless you are already proficient or a pro in Mac OS, or Objective-C is your primary language.</p>

<p>My kids both started their respective college careers with big, heavy pc laptops. S was in EE, D in cinema. Both had their laptops break within the free extended warranty period given by the credit card company. Both kids replaced with netbook and desktop with multiple monitors, which worked best for each of them and nd was cheaper than the laptops!</p>

<p>For awhile, D had to use a MacBook lent by a friend because her laptop was broken but she still opted to replace with PC, because she, S, H, and I are all more comfortable and adept with pc’s. So much is guided by personal preference!</p>

<p>I’d check with your U before purchasing, to be sure you consider what they recommend and if they have any amazing specials. Good luck!</p>

<p>Both my kids have MacBook Pro, one is studying CS and it’s not a problem.</p>

<p>Get what you like, but I don’t recommend Apple, if only because they advertise too well.</p>