Which laptop for engineering major?

Dont be talking shit michael!!! I don't like either one of those responses!! Mac is the only way to go! j.k I have the same thing as you i believe and run the same stuff on the other side! haha

 

haha either way is fine... the problem is the $400 PCs. If you buy a PC, spend as much as you would on a Mac. Maybe not, but spend at least $900-1000 on a new PC. part of the reason mac keeps up the appearance of being so special is that they DONT MAKE a low end Mac. Either way you'll be fine, but if you plan to run Engineering software on your computer.... make sure you can get Windows on your Mac or get a PC. honestly though you won't need to run much, if any, software outside the lab.

 

Yup. Macs might be nice, but currently they have no place in companies. Focus on learning AutoCAD, and not the OS. You'll need to learn MS Excel really well, and some sort of scheduling software like MS Project.

Get a PC w/ Win7 and at least 3-4 gigs of RAM, and at least a 512mb video card. AutoCAD is very memory intensive.

Don't listen to the Mac fanboys, they're stuck in their own little world. hahaha.

 

Here's the specs for 2010 AutoCAD Civil 3D:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=8915326

Personally, I'm not an Engineer BUT I buy computers for them. ...and, my wife is one.

I'm sure money is tight, so check this website out: http://www.dell.com/outlet

 

As everyone says, you'll have computer labs on campus you can use, but if your like me, its nice to work on things at home as well. Of all the people I study with who have macs, they've had to dual boot windows so they can do their school work. So why not save a ton of money and just get a pc for now.

 

again though, if you go pc I'd spend at least $1000. you're gonna be an engineer, i think you can use a nice pc. and don't say you can get a "nice" one for $400. you can get one that "works" for 400. don't get a $400-$600 laptop and expect to run AutoCAD or anything like that. I've run ProE on my Mac running Windows 7 and it is slower than the PC's I use in the lab, and I know for a fact that my Mac has more RAM and processing power. Maybe XP just runs the software better, maybe its because it's Windows on a Mac.

 

I just sold my old pc laptop. 2gb ddr 800mhz ram, 2.0 dual core...blah blah. Paid a grand for it 3 years. I tell you this because i saw nothing in my classes that it was unable to do and most entry level computer are better than it. Unless your trying to beast through some FEA work, typical cad modeling for classes is not too demanding. Only thing i would spring for is discrete graphics (dedicated graphics card).

 

the thing is, technology changes so quickly and becomes outdated. don't buy a new computer with less than 3-4gb ram, it won't last you any time. ram is the most important thing in seeing a computers performance increase. a decent graphics card will be fine.
realistically though, all your real work will be in the lab, the only reason i use cad on my laptop is for playing around with it a little. I just like having a laptop thats got plenty of performance just in case I need it. In college, pc vs mac won't make much of a difference, it's once you get in the real world engineering that it's all pc. macs make good college laptops in general i think, just because of things like battery life and portability. if you're really serious about doing engineering work on your own computer use a desktop pc.
basically i'm saying just get whatever you like the best for what you'll be doing in college, which is going to be writing papers, carrying it around, and general classwork. I dont think you need an engineering laptop, per se, just something to get you through. honestly once i start doing real engineering work, I will have either another laptop (pc) or a desktop for engineering stuff, and my macbook for personal stuff.
you're just giong to have to make the decision on what you'll actually use the laptop for.