Which Laptop Should I Buy For Engineering?

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>Ok, so my college has posted its "recommended" laptops for next year. The advantage of getting one is that if it breaks, I can get it fixed at their IT department and get a loaner in the mean time.</p>

<p>Here are the specifications. Which one should I get?</p>

<p>Windows Laptops</p>

<p>Dell Latitude E6400, Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26 GHz, RAM: 2 GB DDR2, Hard Drive: 160 GB SATA 5400 rpm, Ethernet: GB Ethernet, Wireless: Intel 5100 a/g/n, Screen: 14.1" WXGA+, Optical Drive: 8x DVD+/- RW, Video Card: nVidia Quadro NVS 160M 256MB DDR2, Battery: 6 cell, OS: Vista, Others: Microsoft Office, Clemson Software
"Popular, light weight"
PRICE: $1,094</p>

<p>Toshiba Tablet M750-S7212, Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.40 GHz, RAM: 2 GB DDR2, Hard Drive: 120 GB SATA 5400 rpm, Ethernet: GB Ethernet, Wireless: Intel 5100 a/g/n, Screen: 12.1" WXGA touchscreen, Optical Drive: 8x DVD+/- RW DL, Video Card: Intel integrated 4500 MHD, Battery: 6 cell, OS: Vista, Others: Microsoft Office, Clemson Software
"Full performance, convertible tablet"
PRICE: $1,692</p>

<p>*All windows laptops include a four year warranty + four year accidental damage coverage.
* Warranty only covers the battery for 1 year, and accidental damage coverage DOES NOT cover theft, fire or loss.</p>

<p>Apple Laptops</p>

<p>Apple Macbook, Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz, RAM: 2 GB DDR3, Hard Drive: 160 GB, Screen: 13.3" WXGA, Optical Drive: 8x SuperDrive DL, Video: nVidia
"Full performance, convertible tablet"
PRICE: $ 1,249 + $183 AppleCare = $1432</p>

<p>Apple Macbook Pro, Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz, RAM: 2 GB DDR3, Hard Drive: 250 GB, Screen: 15.4" WXGA+, Optical Drive: 8x SuperDrive DL, Video: nVidia 256 MB
PRICE: $ 1,899 + $239 AppleCare = $2138</p>

<h1>Includes three years of AppleCare warranty (does not include accidental damage coverage)</h1>

<h1>Clemson highly recommends the purchase of Safeware (accidental damage & theft coverage) which is approximately $111 on the Macbook and $166 on the Macbook Pro per year of coverage.</h1>

<h1>Software is not preloaded -software available during workshops or on the CCIT software webpage.</h1>

<h1>Windows dual boot optional</h1>

2

<p>I’d go with the Mac, which one depends on how much money you have to spend.</p>

<p>Don’t get hung up on the technical specs. All of these computers can do what you need them to do. However, I do note that your listing of the specs for the Macs is incomplete. For example, you didn’t mention the following: Macs include built-in ethernet, wireless, etc., which you had listed for the PCs; Macs include MAC OS X, which you did not list, though you mentioned the Windows Vista OS for the PCs; and, Macs also include iLife software (iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, etc.) You also didn’t mention battery life for the Macs.</p>

<p>Macs are more reliable, have a lower total cost of ownership, have a better OS, are more secure, etc. The Windows Vista OS is a dog and Clemson IT is doing you no favor by including it. XP is a much better option. Do some more research and check out the reviews of the Mac OS X (Leopard version) vs. Windows Vista.</p>

<p>You can run Windows applications on Macs. For that you’ll need dual boot software such Bootcamp or Parallels and a copy of Windows. As an engineering student, you might want to run some Unix-based applications which might not be available in Windows versions. You can run it on a Mac since the Mac OS is Unix-based.</p>

<p>The Clemson price for the Macbook is slightly higher than the street price. You probably can get one for a little less getting mail order at a vendor like MacZone or MacConnection. They have include some extras such as the Parallels software depending on what deals they have currently, and you’ll save on sales tax.</p>

3

<p>Thanks, I included the specifications listed on the Clemson website, obviously some from the Apple laptops were missing…</p>

<p>So if I have a software program that only works with Windows, I can still run that program on the Mac by using dual boot software?</p>

4

<br>

<br>

<p>Well… yes and no. While OS X is primarily descended from FreeBSD, that really just means that POSIX-compliant software should compile. Macports and a pkgsrc branch for OS X try to simplify the process, but manually compiling all your *nix apps is a bit of a pain.</p>

<br>

<br>

<p>This has been argued into the ground, and we don’t need to rehash it here. Suffice it to say that all of these “advantages” are subjective: they may be true for you, but not someone else. Security is up to the user and costs depend on the software desired.</p>

<p>@OP: Do not underestimate the number of engineering applications that are Windows-only. Virtualization is a fine option, but performance can be terrible. Boot Camp is just a fancy dual-boot setup, so performance should be just fine. </p>

<p>In short, I would suggest one of the following options:</p>

<p>1) Dell Latitude E6400: Reasonably solid laptop, overpriced but the cheapest from Clemson. I am not a fan of Vista, but it should run okay on there. You could consider a Linux dual-boot.</p>

<p>2) Apple Macbook + Windows XP (BootCamp): I won’t conceal that I don’t much like OS X, but it does have some advantages and XP should run decently in Boot Camp.</p>

<p>3) Buy your own: shop around for good deals. I highly recommend Lenovo ThinkPads.</p>

5

<p>You might have to run demanding software like Maya or Auto CAD, so I’d recommend the Mac and put boot camp on it.</p>

6

<p>Dixons voucher code get 10% off all Laptops, Desktops & Netbooks over £299 by clicking here and entering code XPC10 at the checkout. </p>

<p>[Dixons](<a href=“everyvouchercode.com - everyvouchercode Resources and Information.”>everyvouchercode.com - everyvouchercode Resources and Information.)-Dixons</a> voucher code</p>