<p>CPU- for compE a faster processor will obviously result in quicker/better performance. If you get any of the i5 or i7 intel chips you’re good togo</p>
<p>RAM- minimum of at least 4gb, more is better but 4gb is fine </p>
<p>HD- you could go for a SSD, which will be faster and quieter than a HDD, but they cost a lot more. There are 2 common speeds for HDDs (5400RPM and 7200RPM) 7200RPM is faster, hence better performance but it can be more louder than the 5400</p>
<p>GPU- just for compE you probably can get by with anything in nVidia’s 300 series, if you game, get a better GPU</p>
<p>As for portability, I would recommend a 15in laptop, because 17in is way too big to carry around and 13in’s screen is noticeably smaller and less useful than a 15in. 15in = sweet spot for laptops. Also, most laptops usually have enough juice to last you atleast 2-2.5 hours which is more than enough.</p>
<p>For compE, no doubt a Windows computer , Macs are very poor to use for a major as compE</p>