Computer Engineering Major

samz_manu

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Aug 19, 2014
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Ok, so I have racked my brains about what computer to buy and I came up with zilch. I'm an incoming computer engineering major in college and I need to buy a computer that'll do the best for my needs. My budget is $800. Suggest away.
Right now the laptops in my consideration have the following specs:
i5 processor
4 to 5 pounds
1.7 Ghz and over
8 GB Ram
At least 500 GB Hard drive
Mulitple USB ports
Great battery life.

NEED HELP ASAP!
 

turkey3_scratch

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Jul 15, 2014
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5,210
Also look at the graphics cards the laptops have. I'm not sure what you do as an engineer, but if you do 3D modeling you should look into that. If you are getting a laptop with integrated graphics (which most have), I recommend Intel HD 4600 graphics.
 

Pinhedd

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Computer Engineering graduate here.

$800 is a bit on the low side. If you can scrounge up another $400 or so you'll be able to get yourself something that will last 4 years. If you can't, you'll be hard pressed to find a device that is comfortable, durable, and suitable.

The Lenovo Thinkpad W530 was the crowd favourite among my fellow students. I've always been more of an Alienware guy myself.

Do not skimp out on a good laptop with a sizeable screen and a comfortable keyboard. You will spend an awful lot of time in front of it, so utility is far, far more important than price. This is not going to be an $800 facebook/reddit machine, you will be using it for an awful of lot of professional programs and you will definitely spend a lot of time on it.
 

samz_manu

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Aug 19, 2014
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Would you advise a Mac then? If I am to go over $1000, should I just bite the bullet and get a Mac? I know I'll have to load a VM to do some programming and I've heard Mac's heat up really quickly.
 

Pinhedd

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I wouldn't advise against getting a mac, as there are certainly some very good reasons to use them but they may not be the best tool for the job.

Most of the work that you will do and most of the software packages that you will use are either Windows based, Linux based, or both. Most of the EDA programs used in the industry simply aren't available for OSX so keep that in mind. I found the best of both worlds to be a Windows host and a RedHat Enterprise Linux (or CentOS) guest running on VMWare Workstation. The optimal arrangement of software packages will changes slightly depending on what your courses require but I assure that having access to both environments at the same time is invaluable. You will spend far less time mucking around with dual boot arrangements and trying to jerry rig linux programs to run on Windows.

You will do a lot of C programming. Tons of it. Don't try and do this in Cygwin, it's a pain in the rear. Get used to doing as much programming as possible in a Linux environment as possible because that's where most embedded systems work is done.

In any case, don't cheap out on your laptop. Whatever you buy will be your constant companion for the entirety of your undergrad. Invest in it and make it your primary tool for school work. If you like to play games, use a desktop for that. If you can scrounge up $1500 or more to get a nice 17 inch laptop with gobs of RAM and a gorgeous display, do it. It may seem like a lot to fork out at once but amortize that over 4 or more years and you will not regret it. Comfort is everything.
 

samz_manu

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Aug 19, 2014
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Honestly, I'm planning to go with a customized desktop after 2 years or so. I need an ultrabook or of the sort that will get me through the first 2 years of all my programming classes. And I'm no gamer at all so I'm just looking for a functional, easy to carry around, good battery life laptop that gives me a speedy processor and a display that doesn't hurt my eyes. I bought a Lenovo u530 because the specs were top notch but the display is giving me headaches. So now I'm looking for a laptop of the same ilk. Asus laptops are in consideration.
 

Pinhedd

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Ultrabooks are fine for screwing around on facebook/reddit/whatever, they are terrible for everything else. Trying to program on an ultrabook is just asking for a severe case of carpel tunnel and/or severe wrist strain. Don't do it.
 

samz_manu

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Aug 19, 2014
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So any suggestions? I'm still bogged down by the budget and I don't like it either. But unfortunately that's the way it is. School's starting in a few days and I'm pretty desperate at this point.
 

Pinhedd

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Option #1: Use the Sager NP7378 as a starting point and customize it from there. It may be a bit heavier than you like, but it has a 17.3 inch screen and is quite affordable, starting at $1100. The beautiful part about Sager notebooks is that they use interchangeable Clevo parts which makes it trivial to repair and upgrade. I'm not sure what the lead time is right now but you may be able to get it in time.

Option #2: HP Pavilion Touchsmart 17-f078ca. This is more in line with your budget, but it's an HP consumer product which means that it's crap. The resolution is a bit lower (HD 900 vs HD 1080 on the Sager) and the build quality will probably degrade quickly due to the cheap plastic that HP uses but it will last a few years. It's about the same weight as Option #1

Option #3: MSI GP70 Leopard-010. This is available on Newegg for around $900. It's a step down from Option #1 but is more in line with your budget and doesn't sacrifice the elements that you will need most (comfortable keyboard and decent display)

Option #4: Dell Inspiron i5748-8571sLV. Rather comparable to the MSI laptop in #3. The keyboard seems to be rather compressed, so it may not be very comfortable to use
 

samz_manu

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Aug 19, 2014
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Thanks a bunch man. I'll look at all of them. The MSI laptop looks the best value for now. Though I have never heard of that brand. Have you ever personally used it?
 

Pinhedd

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MSI is enormous. They've been around for about 30 years. Historically they've focused on the business and OEM markets, only recently have they ventured into consumer products but they've been doing a pretty decent job so far.
 

samz_manu

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Aug 19, 2014
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They sound like they make proper beasts of a machine. And the price is really fair. I'm really starting to consider it now. It does weigh a lot more than what I'd like but it's not too much of an issue if the laptop itself is top notch. I'm not a gamer and I won't even run one game on it but the specs should be good for whatever programs I need to run as a computer engineering major right? Because apart from this, the only things available will be ultrabooks.
 

samz_manu

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Aug 19, 2014
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You keep convincing me! Is the battery life piss poor or manageable for a student that will take this to class? And what of warranties? Is the company reliable when it comes to warranties and replacements and what not?

 

Pinhedd

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The battery life should be comparable to other laptops that use similar hardware. If you're careful, it should get about 4-5 hours out of a full charge.

Warranty appears to be 2 years of parts and labour, but you may be able to purchase an extended manufacturer warranty or even a vendor warranty.

I have no first hand knowledge of MSI's service record but I imagine that it's on par with the rest of the major manufacturers.