Good Laptop for First Year!

[Insane One]

Hey, I'm a first year Engineering student and I'm looking to get a laptop before school starts. I just wanted to gather some opinions on whether I should go for a Dell or HP laptop (pros/cons)? Also I was looking at the new Dell line, Studio and the Studio 15 caught my eye for $799 do you think this is a good laptop for the price or should I wait because there are usually way better deals towards the end of August? Thanks for any tips and responses! :)

Oh one last thing I cant seem to find the Studio 15 at any stores I guess because its new, do you think it will be available in-stores before school starts?

[B0000rt]

No notebook PC is a good choice. There are billions of lab PCs that are faster than what you will purchase.

A super fast USB Memory stick is all that you need. Don't waste money on a Notebook PC.

[dinb]

No notebook PC is a good choice. There are billions of lab PCs that are faster than what you will purchase.

A super fast USB Memory stick is all that you need. Don't waste money on a Notebook PC.

Um ok? Are you trying to sound stupid?

First of all, some lab computers are not that fast. He might want to be able to run his own software which school computers might not let him. He might not have another computer to use at home. Many laptops can in fact be more powerfull than desktop computers depending on price, age, etc.

As far as your question is concerned OP, you have to look at what you need the laptop for. If it is a secondary PC, you can probably just use school computers. If you want a secondary computer to do other stuff on while at school, I would go for something light and portable since you will feel the burden of dragging a bigger/heavier laptop. If you want a laptop which you will mainly use at home, but want to sometimes move it, you could get a bigger 17" one which has full keyboard and more room for expansion. But, if you never plan to move it, you could just save money and get a desktop.

[B0000rt]

Um ok? Are you trying to sound stupid?

First of all, some lab computers are not that fast. He might want to be able to run his own software which school computers might not let him. He might not have another computer to use at home. Many laptops can in fact be more powerfull than desktop computers depending on price, age, etc.

As far as your question is concerned OP, you have to look at what you need the laptop for. If it is a secondary PC, you can probably just use school computers. If you want a secondary computer to do other stuff on while at school, I would go for something light and portable since you will feel the burden of dragging a bigger/heavier laptop. If you want a laptop which you will mainly use at home, but want to sometimes move it, you could get a bigger 17" one which has full keyboard and more room for expansion. But, if you never plan to move it, you could just save money and get a desktop.
I agree, my mistake, assumptions are the mother of all .... ;)

I assumed his/her Notebook PC would be his secondary (afterall what is he/she using now)

Agree also, a DTR if you don't move it around a lot, or something sub 14" if you do plan to lug it everywhere. Just don't become one of those students who bring their Notebook PCs to class to take notes.

OP mentioned school, so I assumed it will be used for schoolwork. Students and parents these days think everyone needs a Notebook PC to be successful, and how brutally wrong that is. I graduated from an Engineering program a couple years ago, and we had plenty of Lab PCs at our disposal. Even ones with Solaris instances for development. Application wise, the Engineering Lab PCs had software that was harder to get, PCI Geomatica etc, I'm sure it'll be hard to find that type of software illegal, let alone paying for it legally would cost a fortune.

[aznangel]

+ 1...
engineer here as well....

PCs should be readily available for you on campus...
if you are really insistent on getting a laptop

first - set yourself a budget
second - consider whether you want a light or heavy laptop

the heavier it is, the more powerful it is...
i know everyone gets a 15" cause it is the most common and a good price for spec ratio

but after lugging it around campus for a while you will soon realize that it is the worst decision ever

so if u want portability, consider something under 13.3"

finally
think about what you really need a laptop for...

i've been in engineering for 2 yrs and a laptop in class has served as nothing but a distraction....

you dont need it for notes cause almost everything is either math or physics thus you will either need a tablet or just good old paper and pen

[B0000rt]

+ 1...
engineer here as well....

PCs should be readily available for you on campus...
if you are really insistent on getting a laptop

first - set yourself a budget
second - consider whether you want a light or heavy laptop

the heavier it is, the more powerful it is...
i know everyone gets a 15" cause it is the most common and a good price for spec ratio

but after lugging it around campus for a while you will soon realize that it is the worst decision ever

so if u want portability, consider something under 13.3"

finally
think about what you really need a laptop for...

i've been in engineering for 2 yrs and a laptop in class has served as nothing but a distraction....

you dont need it for notes cause almost everything is either math or physics thus you will either need a tablet or just good old paper and pen
This is exactly why I'm discouraging one who is buying a Notebook PC.

[ckyu15]

After many years of post-secondary education, I would suggest you to get something extremely light and small. Hauling a 2.5kg laptop on campus/bus isn't fun and the laptop ends up sitting on my desk most of the time.

That said... looks like Dell Vostro 1310 is a good choice at 2kg.. there were a few promotions a few weeks ago. Maybe you can catch another one soon.

[toalan]

labs are total ass, 50 people sharing the same air. A laptop is a good choice.

It all depends on the Engineering program you are in and how long you want the laptop to last.

In first year, all you need the computer for is writing labs and taking notes, if you are in Elec/Comp/Eng Sci you might need to run something like Matlab. Matlab can be pretty CPU intensive if you are do crazy stuff, but you probably won't do anything wild with Matlab in the first 2 years.

If you are in Comp/Elec you will do FPGA stuff in 2/3rd year, running FPGA synthesis stuff is very very CPU/memory intensive, but I would not buy a high powered notebook just for a sake of 1 or 2 courses.

I would get the Acer Aspire One, or the like, preferably one with a HD or large SSD to install windows XP. I think the Atom processor with 2GB of ram will be able to get you through 4 years of engineering school.

I have an Atom based desktop and I can do everything except game and play HD content. I only use the desktop for download/media server/print server/voip server, because I have other more powerful computers to play/work on, but if all I had was the atom desktop I could live with that.

[Insane One]

Thanks for the tips guys, very helpful. I just wanted to get a Laptop for me and my brother who is in 3rd year. Even though they have many desktops readily available on campus I just wanted something that I could use at anytime.

[tjthemanto]

Check this one for $ 399.99 from Best Buy .

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10109077&catid=20354

[Pyro]

No notebook PC is a good choice. There are billions of lab PCs that are faster than what you will purchase.

A super fast USB Memory stick is all that you need. Don't waste money on a Notebook PC.

actually in waterloo many of the lab pcs are absolute garbage

[aznangel]

+1

i saw someone playing WoW in the WHEEL lab before lol

anyways best to find something light

if you really ARE gonna take notes with a laptop
then tablet is the way to go since math and physics are impossible via typing

[B0000rt]

+1

i saw someone playing WoW in the WHEEL lab before lol

anyways best to find something light

if you really ARE gonna take notes with a laptop
then tablet is the way to go since math and physics are impossible via typing

Not really, have you ever used MS Equation Editor?
-Insert menu
-Object
-Create New tab.
-Microsoft Equation 3.0.

[xla4life]

Ertw!!!!

[hardcoredummy]

No notebook PC is a good choice. There are billions of lab PCs that are faster than what you will purchase.

A super fast USB Memory stick is all that you need. Don't waste money on a Notebook PC.

That's just BS. No school keeps up with upgrades every year, so even the cheapest laptop he gets today would probably be faster than what's in the labs.

And it's not like he'll be rendering or compiling anything huge that would require a server farm or anything.

Anyways, almost any machine is fine. Depending on what's important to you. Personally, i would go for something really light and small, definitely nothing more than 5lbs if you'll be carrying it to class often, but i would probably go for the Macbook Air or a netbook like the Eee.

OSX has a lot of good software for students time-management, so you may want to go with that. I like their software such as MentalCase and other similar stuff, but if you don't need that, then go for a netbook or the regular Macbook.

[KevC]

I value portability so if I could do it all over again I'd either get an X-series (Lenovo EPP) or Asus EEE...

[aznangel]

Not really, have you ever used MS Equation Editor?
-Insert menu
-Object
-Create New tab.
-Microsoft Equation 3.0.


sry i should re-phrase

nearly impossible WHILE in class

i'm pretty sure you can't type out an equation as fast as the prof is writing it..

if you can...then congrats on your ability to find 10+ greek symbols in a few seconds =P

i have been using both mathtype and MS Equation for my reports though

[KevC]

I know everyone in my program uses LaTEX..

[factum7000]

MY perspective:

It's slow to take notes on a laptop, esp since you'll be taking mostly math, etc in first year. Simple paper and pencil will suffice.

If you already have a PC at home, I'd prob wait until 2nd/3rd year before getting a laptop. If you really want one, and have the money, then go for it but don't cheap out on the model (buy something that will be good for the rest of university).

I just used the computer labs until 3rd year then got a good laptop (I already have a PC at home). The way I see it, a laptop is a convenience.

Though it really depends on what eng you're in; My elec eng friend sitting beside me says that he needed his laptop for first year to do problem sets in class. Me, I just printed out my problem sets on my PC and brought them to class.

[factum7000]

oh..if you have $1000 sitting around get a tablet...they look cool.

but if you also have just paper sitting around, that'll do the same job as well.

[rustysilvia]

Third year engineering student here, and I agree that laptops are just a distraction in school. I bought a macbook during september 1st year thinking that it would be great for notetaking and whatnot, and I stopped taking it to class within a month.

You'll see lots of new students using their laptops in class, but that number steadily decreases as they move on to more advanced classes where they actually have to pay attention, and start to realize that a computer in class is just a distraction.

It's just one more things to worry about carrying around and caring for and worrying about, and 99% of the time you'll just end up using it for facebook or flash games instead of paying attention to your lecture.

Just get a fast USB stick and a couple of good comfortable pens and you're pretty much set. You should have lots of pcs available for use at your school. Notes are much better taken with pen and paper, imo.

[Evil Baby]

Not really, have you ever used MS Equation Editor?
-Insert menu
-Object
-Create New tab.
-Microsoft Equation 3.0.

You'd have to be damn fast to keep up with the profs making those equations without a tablet.

If you are looking for a tablet which you very well might want to consider the HP tx2500 series.

Future Shop (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10107609&catid=25317) This machine was $899 yesterday, so I bet you'll see it at $50 off next flyer. Staples, Bestbuy and costco all have a version of this machine. The screen is small but a tablet in your position I think is the way to go, especially if you are planning on taking notes during classes. Unfortunately from what I have read the battery life is not that great.

If you are considering a tablet, I suggest you check out this site

http://www.tabletpcreview.com/ , in particular this thread (http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showthread.php?t=18554).