desktop vs. laptop

[laxplayer]

Im currently in my 4th year of metallurgical engineering at the U of A and I am looking into buying a computer. Ive looked around at dell and some other sites. I have a basic understanding of stuff like ram and processor speeds etc. Anyway im looking to spend around a $1000 on a machine. My main concerns are that thier is a DL DVD buner, ethernet card, and around 80 GB for the hard drive. I might play the odd game like NHL or madden, and use programs such as AutoCAD and MATLAB. How big of a differnce is thier between 512 MB ram compared to the 1 GB. I was also told that integrated video just runs off the ram the computer has inside. So if i got that and say 512 MB ram, XP needs 128 to run, and other stuff sucks up more of the ram, id assume that the computer would eventually seem like it was slow. The main reason i looked at dell is because we right now have three computers fro, them and tech support has been great ( i usually re format my hard drive every 4-6 months.) I have friends at school that say most dells can not be expanded and i good way to go about getting a new computer is to build it myself. This could be done since some friends from high school are pretty big into computers and have built thier own. The only problem with that is that thier is no tech support if i want to clean my computer. Any suggestions, thanks for your time and consideration.

[CARLiTO_]

Since u need tech support, I would go with a dell or get a custom built pc and ask your friends for tech support. Definitely go with 1 gig of ram, it's so cheap these days that it should be a no-brainer. If u need to take your laptop to class, then I would go with a laptop.

Whatever you do, don't go to MDG.

[Brandon]

With most Dells you can add more memory, PCI card devices (AGP is a maybe depending on the computer), and drives (5.25" and 3.5", although they might not include brackets ... it's still possible for an install though).

Most people I know who have laptops seldom bring them to class because they find they're too big and heavy. The average laptop is equal to two average text books, so it adds up, plus you'd generally use a padded bag, so it gets bulky too. I used to have a portable Dell laptop (12" monitor, 3.5lb) which I brought to class a lot because it was small and light. Now I bring my Apple Powerbook (12") to some classes, the ones where I can take computer notes in (although you probably can't use a Mac with the software you want to use). It's too hard to take notes in math or science classes because they generally require jotting down diagrams and or formulas which takes too long to input. Laptops are good for notetaking in more writing oriented courses though.

Laptops are going to be slower for the money compared to desktops and cost more for upgrades. Low cost laptops (generally $1000 or less) are heavy, thick (relatively) and have low battery life so keep that in mind too.

I'm in engineering, and for use with Autocad (unless you have BIG drawings) and Matlab, 1GB of memory is more than enough. I think 512MB or memory is a good starting point, and if you need to later you can add another 512MB after. A good graphics card probably won't add much benefit for those uses unless your CAD drawings are very involved. They would make games look/run faster/better.

I'm not sure about your school, but I think you can bring your computer into computer services or some faculty of science/engineering computer service place and get it serviced for cheap or free. So that might also be a possible source or help.

[laxplayer]

another concern of mine is with the video card, how does Integrated Intel® Extreme Graphics 2 compare to say an actual video card. will i notice a large slow down in my computer or not. I suppose i couldnt pull that vidoe card out either if i wanted to put something else in some day. dell has 25% off the 3000 model @ http://configure.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=ca&CS=CABSDT1&kc=6V511&l=en&oc=OCDIM3000_AFF_CBWPDMSA good deal if i put the ram up to 1 gb.

[Stabilo7]

i'd stick with an actual video card.
who knows when you will wanna use that extra speed... it's like running air conditioning in the car while trying to pass on the freeway...

[Brandon]

another concern of mine is with the video card, how does Integrated Intel® Extreme Graphics 2 compare to say an actual video card. will i notice a large slow down in my computer or not. I suppose i couldnt pull that vidoe card out either if i wanted to put something else in some day. dell has 25% off the 3000 model @ http://configure.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=ca&CS=CABSDT1&kc=6V511&l=en&oc=OCDIM3000_AFF_CBWPDMSA good deal if i put the ram up to 1 gb.

The 3000 and lower do not support AGP or PCIe graphics cards. You need to get the 4700 or higher to support standalone graphics cards (for Dell).

[haotj]

1GB, I used matlab at school(512M with P4 2.8 HT) and home(1G with AthlonXP 2000) to run the same script, it basically loads a huge amount of data, then process them. At school it took 7min, and only 2.5min at home, memory makes the difference!