Fr Robert Ballecer, SJ Shannon Morse :

[G+_Joel G. J]

Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ Shannon Morse :

Planning on majoring in Computer Science in College. What are the minimum specs for a laptop I should look for? Any benefit to go Quad instead of Dual Core? How high should the GHz of the CPU be? Minimum amount of memory? Thanks for the help!!!!

[G+_Nate Follmer]

Joel J? - Get the most you can afford. Not only will you get better performance, you'll future-proof yourself for a bit. I personally love my Macbook Pro and haven't touched my HP Laptop since I got it last year (it's turned into a Netflix screen for the kids). Do you need a quad core? No, but if you can afford one, get one. You'll be able to run more programs at once with more cores or add more power for games... If you're into that :)

 

For memory, I wouldn't go any lower than 8GB for RAM, 1TB for hard drive space, but you may be able to get away with a 500-750GB hard drive if you don't feel like you'll have a ton of stuff, but again, if you can afford more space, get it. Another option would be to get a rig with a solid state drive in it and work externally with a USB 3.0 external drive. That'll make your OS super fast and then you can save all your documents and files on the external drive... Again, it's all on what you want to spend.

[G+_Joel G. J]

Any preferred brand? Any essentials HARDWARE SPECIFIC for a CompSci Major? My minimum is ~$500, but scared to go over $700

[G+_Nate Follmer]

You'll get a bunch of brand advocates... I can honestly say my HP laptop has been beaten and it's still holding strong. They've seemed to clean up their act over the past few years. I've had family members have terrible luck with Acers and I try and avoid Dell. We used them at my old job and they seemed to be nothing but trouble. Can't go wrong with Apple, but you'll overpay ;) I've used a few Lenovo laptops that I was happy with, might take a look at those also. ?

[G+_Nate Follmer]

Oh another thing I just thought of... Backlit keyboard - you'll REALLY enjoy that feature.

[G+_Joel G. J]

I'm looking at Lenovo's. Studying from home, so Backlit Keyboard not a must, but here is my narrowed list; around $500+, but not exorbitantly high:

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/#facet-2=1&facet-4=3

[G+_Nate Follmer]

Any of those would be just fine. Plenty of power if you decide to follow a more programming heavy CS degree (if they let you pick a sub course set).

[G+_Stephen Hart]

Many of those laptops have a "glossy" display which means you will see your face reflected or lights on the ceiling. Go for an "Antiglare" display. Also some are 1300x768 and some are 1080p

 

Get an i3 or i5 chip instead of i7  to give you longer battery life and less heat, which means less annoying fan noise.

 

Get a 5400 or SSD drive instead of a 7200  rpm drive. for less heat and noise.

 

Lots of games will suck on an i3 with a 5400 rpm drive. That's a good thing when at university.

 

You don't need a permanent DVD drive - get an external one for $40. If a good laptop deal has one anyway, keep it.

Look for an HDMI plug in the laptop so you can have a 2nd screen and/or connect it to your TV or monitor..

 

This one looks good for $650

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/u-series/u430p/?sb=:000001C9:00012466:

mmmm 10 hours battery life

[G+_Joel G. J]

Stephen Hart : Would I need an NVidia GPU? Some people say it would offload the CPU. Check this comparison:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10ZtlcmKBItUGsn6jbeBJt83koernDtTKTpdxOgnLwAyR7ckkFgTYgf3QQQlm2c8dqS23mXkjfWcBkXYr/view?usp=sharing

[G+_Stephen Hart]

If you were doing photo or video editing or video encoding, it would speed things up a lot. It also helps Windows a bit by doing the math to handle transparent edges of windows and other similar things, but that is small. Also the higher end GPU will run hotter and have lower battery life.

 

To speed up programming you can

 - upgrade to SSD (and 240 GB should be enough)

 - add more RAM

 - have more cpu cores,

 - make sure it is a 64 bit processor

 

If you want to divert $100, get a 22 inch monitor for your room and set it up in portrait mode (hot glue a heavy object to the back) and set it up as a 2nd monitor using the HDMI cable. It helps to have one screen to walk through the code while watching it run in another monitor. Portrait mode is good for looking at code because you can see the whole function without needing to scroll.  You are often calling one function from another and it is nice to be able to have enough space to look at both at once.  Also, for long sessions, spend $30 for a wireless keyboard and mouse.

[G+_Joel G. J]

Stephen Hart : I can trackpad it very well. Also, what model do u recommend from the list i linked?

[G+_Joel G. J]

I'm Thinking about going for the Flex 15 inches, but do u have any objections? Stephen Hart 

[G+_Stephen Hart]

If you like trackpads,  that's ok, get a keyboard with trackpad built in. The main problem is leaning forward so that your hand is near a laptop screen that your head has to look at which makes you hunch over. You want to be able to sit with good ergonomics to look at the screen and use the keyboard for long periods.

 

I really wouldn't want to use any of the i7's on the list under $700.

 

Almost all of the i7 laptops under $700 have glossy screens which really bother most people, though some people like them. Also, some of them are 14 inch screens when you want a bigger screen to read text easily, like a 15.6 inch with 1080p.  There seems to be a better selection at this site with i5s and i3s.  Maybe try a different site or ask them if you can change to an anti-glare screen. 

 

look for : 15.6 inch screen, anti-glare, 1080p

How many lines of code can you see at once if the vertical resolution is 768?

 

I'm still not sure what requires an i7.  If you want a laptop that is also really good at the latest games then I think it is a mistake. Get an xbox for the living room and have fewer temptations in the computer room.

[G+_Stephen Hart]

Joel J

It is 6 hours battery instead of 10 but that may not matter to your situation.

It is multitouch, but I don't know if that means antiglare - maybe ask their support.

768 pixels vertically is not very good when you want this for reading text.

The hard drive looks quiet 5400 but not too slow because of the hybrid.

 

Will you be mostly using this at a traditional desk with an office-y chair or something else?

[G+_Joel G. J]

i go to school from home, so maybe my bedroom.... Look at the one with 1 TB Hybrid and 8 GB of SSD

[G+_Stephen Hart]

Don't picture yourself using the laptop while sitting on your bed or in a big comfortable chair. If you are working on a programming project, you need to be at a desk with paper notebooks and pens and textbooks and programming books on the desk in front of you. Try to put 1 or 2 really big whiteboards on the wall to diagram your program, etc. You can get posters that act like whiteboards that you can tack to your wall.

 

http://blog.codinghorror.com/computer-workstation-ergonomics/

http://blog.codinghorror.com/multiple-monitors-and-productivity/

[G+_Nate Follmer]

Yes 1,000 times what Stephen Hart? said. When I try and work on my bed for more than an hour it KILLS my neck and back. I'd say a good chair and desk are another place I'd spend some money.

[G+_Joel G. J]

You might yell at me for this, but I might get a Dell from Costco. It has the specs I need and I could get a 3 year warranty from Squaretrade for an additional ~$100. Is this wrong?

[G+_Nate Follmer]

Probably not... I haven't personally had good luck with Dell, but they can't all be bad, otherwise they wouldn't be around ;) I don't usually get the warranties because I could probably fix most of what would break for the cost of the warranty or cheaper (minus an LCD break), but if you don't feel comfortable working on computers then the warranty isn't a bad idea.

[G+_Joel G. J]

I can work on some of the stuff, just not all of it. Sooo,.. is it ok to get it from Costco? Most geeks would have yelled at me by now.

[G+_Nate Follmer]

I never shopped at Costco, but I can't imagine the retailer would matter ;) I've gotten computers at Best Buy before and they are always getting bad mouthed. The key to buying at places like BB and Costco is knowing what you want BEFORE you go in and don't let the sales people talk you into anything. If you're unsure, research, then go back. Yes they are there to help, but most also want to make an extra buck with bogus warranties or unneeded accessories (not saying your warranty is bogus, just a generalization).

[G+_Nate Follmer]

Case in point, when I was in high school I interviewed at a Radio Shack... The manager flat out told me, "if someone comes in looking for co-ax cable, you try and sell them a new TV".

[G+_Stephen Hart]

With Dell, they can be OK. The Inspiron brand is less reliable. The Latitude brand costs more but is sold to businesses who get a service contract, and it is more reliable. If you get the warranty the Inspiron should be OK.

 

Try to get one with an antiglare screen and lower power and 1920x1080 resolution. A fancy GPU and i7 will just make the fan run all the time and wear itself down so that it is off-center and makes an annoying noise.  Feel the underside of the laptop to see how hot it is while running. You will be better off with a quiet non-hot laptop.  An SSD drive helps this as well and it is worth getting a small hard drive like 240 GB to make the laptop run better at the same price as a 1 TB spinning drive.

 

Costco can be good, especially since they have a long return/exchange time (90 days the last time I checked, but confirm it for this for yourself for a particular item). Their sales staff aren't very high pressure.

 

One of the best stores for trying out lots of different types of laptops that are actually turned on and running is Staples. They also often have floor model laptops for sale at a discount. They sell Dells and lots of other brands.

 

Even some of the  people who buy a fancy macbook end up hating the heat and fan noise. This might happen after a year and then you will feel trapped.  The only way to be confident is to get a laptop that does not need much cooling in the first place.

http://www.marco.org/2011/09/20/heat-and-fan-issues-with-2011-15-inch-macbook-pro

[G+_Nate Follmer]

That's one thing I hate about my Macbook Stephen Hart?. I have a 17 inch, 8 core and that thing can burn you if you touch it after it's been exporting video for a long time ;)

[G+_Joel G. J]

+Nathan Follimer : maybe they should make a Macbook Pro C?