Best laptop for a computer science student?

[Barb D]

We want to get DS17 a laptop for either Christmas or high school graduation. He currently has a desktop, which he likes because he can muck with the insides. But he'll need a laptop for college. He's going to be majoring in computer science.

DD and I have MacBooks, and love them. But we're thinking for a computer science student to be compatible with the rest of the class he should go PC. Any thoughts?

Any suggestions on what to get, what features to look for, etc.?

 

[manning]

You can now buy a mac with both operating systems. Macs now are built with Intel processors.

 

[damo]

If he is going to be a CS major, he probably has very specific ideas about he would like. I wouldn't purchase one without his input.

 

[Barb D]

If he is going to be a CS major, he probably has very specific ideas about he would like. I wouldn't purchase one without his input.

He knows about this, and is following the thread.
This is not the kind of thing I would do as a surprise.

 

[clgwli]

Do you know where he will be going to college? That will make more of a difference IMO than anything else. I know for all of us in any type of computer sciences we all had PCs because that is what we used in lab and otherwise. But you should really check the college and see what they support as that matters more than any preference out there IMO.

 

[themarquis]

You'll probably want to go with a PC for a CS major, because he will likely be using various programming tools that are not available for a mac. However ... a lot of techies are starting to make the trek over to "the dark side" I think it's because Mac OS runs on top of a Linux core (ask him what that means ). So techies do really enjoy their Macs and find them quite servicable. But ... since as a student, he won't always get the choice of which programming tools to use, I don't totally recommend going that route. If he's a die hard mac fan, he could probably make it work for him, though, and use the dept. computers if he needs to.

Also .... as a CS major, he's a gamer, right??? (I think it's an entrance requirement for the programming). Most games will not run on Macs. But ... if he will do even light gaming, make sure you look into the graphics card the laptop will come with very very carefully. A lot of laptops come with "integrated" graphics which are a pile of poo and will not run most games. There are some available with decent non-integrated graphics, but he'll have to do his research.

 

[damo]

He knows about this, and is following the thread.
This is not the kind of thing I would do as a surprise.

DS is a software engineering major and he has a dell gaming computer and a pc laptop. He hasn't asked for anything different yet. He knows way more than we do and knows specifically what his school needs. Perhaps you should contact the school he intends to attend.

 

[JR6ooo4]

Get a copy of PC Gamer Magazine for low-mid-high end examples of hadware vs pricing.

Mikeeee

 

[schmitty]

Roommate is a CS major. He has a Sony Viao with Ubuntu installed on it. Is graduating next December and hasn't needed to use a Windows computer the entire time hes been in.
Computer Science =/= Gamer. He should know this, if he doesn''t he will be in a big surprise.

 

[monkey68]

If it helps any, my boyfriend is a computer person, he is teaching computer science at one of the best high schools in NYC, and uses a Toshiba laptop. He runs all sorts of fancy pants programs on it, and I think he likes it. He also has plans to install Linux on it, but apparently there's something that he has to do so he doesn't install it over Windows. I have no clue how computers work, but I do know he plans to install Linux over Thanksgiving.

 

[macman752]

Our son recently completed his CS degree. He used a Mac PowerBook then a MacBook Pro.

His assignments were not operating system dependent.

 

[Barb D]

Ah, you guys are great! I just looked at the requirements for his top 2 colleges (Drexel and VA Tech.) Drexel has specific system requirements (speed, disk space, etc.), but it can be either Mac or PC. VA Tech requires a PC, also with very specific system requirements. They won't release their requirements for next year until May.

I guess we need more information before we can make a decision! Guess what DS ISN'T getting for Christmas, and IS getting for graduation?