What is the best laptop an engineering student can buy for university?
one with a good warranty
>>52089583
Which ones have those?
one with a good warranty
>>52089583
http://www.zdnet.com/article/pc-laptops-and-accidental-damage-best-and-worst-warranties-2015/
iPad Pro
>>52089617
microsoft shilling
>buying a laptop
For what reason? There's literally no justification for buying a laptop specifically for uni (but also in general).
>>52089647
I was thinking because you want a personal computer to check email, write papers etc... going to a computer lab for every paper you have to write seems like a pain. Is it really that weird to have a personal laptop for university?
>>52089530
/g/ is for the discussion of technology and related topics.
/g/ is NOT your personal tech support team or personal consumer review site.
/g/ suggests to shove this thread up your ass and leave this board forever.
Merry Christmas!
>>52089680
>he does it for free
thinkpad obviously!!! are you new to /g/
>>52089728
>paying $800 for
>14" 1366x768
>500gb hdd
>i5 ULV that scores 3500 on passmark
>4gb ram
what a joke. you can quite literally get a macbook air that weighs 2.3lbs with the same exact specs AND 128GB PCIe storage. lenovo is a joke now.
>>52089780
for $700 and 9 hour battery life, forgot to add.
>>52089605
best warranties I've found belong to business laptops
New Lenovo ThinkPads have their customer service performed by IBM, which is Snap-On tier. Unparalleled.
I hear Dell's is good for their Latitude and Precision lines.
I don't know anything about HP Elitebooks but I assume they're not ass
Made a thread yesterday about this
http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15-7559-laptop/pd
I decided I'm getting it
>>52089867
lol we concluded that thing was garbage like 1 month ago. an anon got it and explained why it sucked.
>>52089867
don't buy a dell
it'll fall apart inside of a year
>>52089859
but aren't new ThinkPads garbage for the price?
>>52089780
>>52089780
>>52089891
Do you remember why he said it sucked? Cuz I held one in my hands today, and it felt pretty good
>>52089674
Yes. Most universities offer PC Clusters to use precisely for that matter. If you wish a personal computer, than buy a normal one, not some gimped ``mobile'' version.
>>52089970
something about keyboard being shit, cheap plastic exterior, talked about thermals being garbage I think. it's inexpensive for a fucking reason, anon.Thinkpads cost what they cost because you're paying for the quality, knowing it will never break down.
>>52089674
No. I have attended some informal staff meetings in my university. The consensus is that every student has a laptop with them, and that out of each class, maybe up to three people will not have one.
Legally they are obliged to provide each student access to their lab materials (this means a computer, monitoring equipment such as oscilloscopes, and software licenses, but not embedded devices such as FPGAs), but even for an entire college, they thought "30 laptops should be good enough", after considering obvious things like the staggered nature of classes, and how many people bring their own personal laptops.
This is in reference to building a mixed-mode lab where they just have a room with a shitload of outlets and a few desktop PCs to the side.
>>52089984
have you literally ever gone to university?
>>52090013
Yes, I have a master's degree from a prestigious university and I am thinking about doing a PhD next year.
>>52090043
and you just didn't have a laptop with you?
What about a zenbook?
ITT /g/ doesn't know because half of /g/ isn't out of high school yet and the other half fell for the 'lol college is a waste i watched a TED talk on it once' meme
>>52090059
No? Why would I? Most of my colleagues either didn't have laptops or they didn't use them frequently. As I said in the first post, what's the purpose behind a laptop? What can it do that a normal PC, be it yours or not, cannot?
>>52090099
it weighs like 3lbs and is very small, easily allowing you to carry a full computer with you
>>52090125
But why would you carry a computer with you? What's the purpose?
>>52090134
What's the purpose of using a smart-phone?
2004 THINKPAD WITH CLIT-NIPPLE.
INSTALL GENTOO LINUX ON IT.
>>52090153
I wouldn't know, I don't use one.
>>52090180
What was your major in university?
>>52090201
Electrical and Electronic Engineering. My master's was Theoretical Physics.
>>52090216
What did you do when you needed a computer in university? What about group projects that required some sort of computing?
>>52090260
>personal need
Most of the time I used the PCs in the library or in the dedicated working spaces. Rest of the time I used my personal PC at home.
>group projects
We met several times a week (in the second year -- four time), usually in a laboratory as EE students need dedicated equipment. For the programming, we coordinated either with a source code control system (git) or we met in one of the libraries in order to discuss stuff and do some live programming.
For my master's, I spend the first two-three months working exclusively at school, as I used to meet with my supervisor daily and I used the library for my literature review. From then on, I wrote my dissertation at home, using GNU Emacs and LaTeX.
Old thinkpad and install linux. Use school computers for CAD programs and shit you need windows for. You are not going to be gaming anyway (and if you consider gaming now and then, then you are going to fail if you study engineering. Trust me, I am a engineer)
>>52090010
Me again.
>>52090260
The university is legally obligated to provide students access to computers and software licenses.
Strictly speaking, the only thing in the way of classroom materials a student is required to buy is textbooks and textbook-like materials, which for some reason includes FPGAs and other embedded devices.
This doesn't extend to senior design classes. If your university offers a senior design class, they will pay for materials related to the class (this is called Instructionally Related Activities funds), as it can get quite expensive, even for individual groups. The school takes ownership of the project when the class is over, since they paid for it.
>>52090351
Did you ever have to live in the dorms?
I found that college was a joke other then learning a few things but not much. I have been around tech my whole life and could have taught most the classes myself. I studied Information Technology with an emphases in network security. I did bring my own laptop just so I didn't have to pay attention in class and to do other things.
>>52090216
>>52090351
>>52090406
>>52090406
w-what advice would you give to a freshman going into EE? :s
>>52090408
>living in dorms
Literally shit tier accommodation for spoiled teenbros.
I rented private accommodation which ended up costing at least half the amount I would have given for private halls. Also, more important, it was much more pleasant and I didn't have to deal with all the crazy idiots.
>>52090431
Find your passion for the subject. No other way to be good at it.
>>52090431
If you go to a bad school, there's a good chance you will amount to nothing even though you're skilled. There are various reasons for this, but all of them relate to people.
>>52090476
my university ranks like #40 in electrical engineering but overall is well known for it's engineering programs. I hope that's high enough. :C
>>52090499
fuck I meant #28-#30
>>52090523
I think it may be worth your while to look into undergrad research programs in your university.
Just stroll into your department chair's office and ask.
The earlier the better, because then you get to decide whether or not you prefer the workforce or academia.
>>52090431
Do as much exercises on www.khanacademy.com before you start. Ideally you should be finished with calculus before you start and let it be a piece of cake for you. Because you are going to need the math.
>>52090461
well, having a desktop in a dorm room is fucking hell and that's why laptops are popular
>>52090835
The best combo imo is a shitty laptop for on the go and a good desktop back in the room for gaymen and other stuff. That's what I've been running and it seems to work out well.
>>52091085
>gaymen
just kill yourself you fucking loser
>>52091085
games and porn are literally the only reason you have a desktop in your room you fucking faggot we all know.
>>52089530
Any cheap laptop. Don't buy expensive shit.
Maybe get a used laptop, I got a ThinkPad after reading these threads, works great in combination with the school comps.
>>52091584
>thinkpad
not everyone wants to smell like shit, pajeet
>>52089530
Get a decent desktop with good peripherals. Don't skimp on the monitors/headphones/keyboard. Also get a good tablet with a high resolution screen. Don't bother with a laptop.
>>52091686
but computer labs exist
>>52089970
I'm telling you man, it might last like 3 years, but there's a 50% chance it'll break within the first.
There's a really obvious reason why an Inspiron costs way less than a Lattitude with the same specs.
>>52091686
>tablet
>>52091686
>desktop
ooor you just go to the computer labs with all fo the software already installed
>tablet
oooor you just buy a small laptop so that you can actually use the thing for more than....literally whatever people even use tablets for... play stupid games? grow up
>>52092899
>>52093273
Sure. Let's spend half an hour walking to campus in the middle of the night to finish my assignment on their shitty TN screens and rubber dome keyboards, sitting in a piece of shit chair, with a bunch of other faggots around making noises and being distracting.
>>52093692
you go to a shit school. computer labs at good unis are for only your major and everyone is helping each other.
An Asus laptop or a Surface Pro / Surface Book.
Fuck Lenovo.
>>52093728
I thought snsv was garbage.
>>52093754
I got a doa one first, but the replacement is still kicking well over 2 years later.
>>52093715
>my school doesn't waste money on building computer labs that no one actually wants to use
>that means it's shit
I bought an Alienware 13 (cheaper than msi) for muh games and have arch installed on a 16 GB USB 3.0 FDD for java n shit.
>>52093820
>tfw the reason my school has computers is to have a legal loophole for not having to buy everyone licenses
Assuming you already have a desktop, don't want an old laptop and you don't have 1500 bucks for the pretty things
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B013KKANTE/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?qid=1451271872&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70&keywords=zenbook+ux305fa&dpPl=1&dpID=51C1sNaz87L&ref=plSrch
Best you can do
