[Chad]

Buying A Computer For University

By CHAD FULLERTON, MACINSIDERS

Following my article on technology tips at McMaster, which gave an overview of the technology at McMaster with regards to Wireless internet, Printing, Computer Lab access, etc. I've seen a lot of people wondering about what type of computer to buy. Laptop or Desktop? PC or Mac? I'll try and run through the basics...

When September comes around you will want to have a computer of your own. Having your own personal computer (whether it be a laptop or desktop computer) will help you to type up notes for class, have a private space to type up essays or lab reports, and give you a machine to do research on without worrying about having to save your files on a USB stick or having to leave early because the place you're in is closing (ie. the library closing at Midnight or the computer labs closing in the evening). If you have a laptop or desktop, you can stay up to the wee hours of the morning typing up a report without any pressure.

That said... do you buy a LAPTOP or a DESKTOP? The question is what do you expect to do with your computer?

YOU WILL WANT A LAPTOP IF:

• You want to take notes in class
• You want something portable to take around, for example if you want to do group work outside of your room in the library or at an off-campus location
• If you want to study or do research in the library or in a quiet place that is outside of your residence or home
• If you want the ability to check your email quickly while on the go inbetween classes without using a public computer
• If you expect to be travelling between campus and home (ie. going home each weekend to see the parents... and having a laptop to take with you so you can work from home or from school)

YOU WILL WANT A PC IF:

• You want to have a larger screen to work on
• You only expect to use your computer mainly for surfing the Internet, watching movies/tv shows, listening to music, and typing up documents and do this mostly outside of class - you plan on writing up your notes by hand
• Expect to play games (while you can do this on a powerful laptop, the 'desktop replacement' laptops that are super powerful are usually very heavy and bulky.. not recommended to carry around each day!)
• You are in multimedia or a computer-related course and need a large workspace to do things such as graphic design, animation, or video editing
• You want to keep things on the cheaper side, as PC's are less expensive than laptops

YOU WILL WANT BOTH A LAPTOP AND A PC IF:

• You want to type up notes in class
• You want a large screen to work on from home or residence
• You want portability but also a powerful machine
• You have lots of money - or a birthday coming up
• If you choose this option you're best spending more money on a powerful PC or Apple desktop computer, and spending less money on the laptop because you only need the laptop for Internet and typing Word documents.

WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?

When buying a computer you have the choice between a PC or an APPLE/MAC computer. Both have advantages and disadvantages in both software, flexibility, and price.

If buying a PC, for desktops I recommend checking out systems at Dell, MDG, or Wintronic. If you're looking to buy a PC laptop, I recommend going to FutureShop (good laptops starting at $999) and browsing what they have in store or doing comparisons via their website, as well as checking out Dell's laptop selection, or even Staples (they have a decent laptop starting at under $500!). For PC laptop brands I recommend Sony (VAIO), Dell, and Toshiba.

What to look for in a PC: Pentium or Centrino (high performance), dual core, 2GB of RAM.

What to watch out for: Celeron Processors (slow performance).

If you're looking to buy a Mac/Apple, I highly suggest either the iMac (which is their desktop computer) or a MacBook (affordable, fully-loaded laptop). While Mac may be slightly more expensive, the operating system (Mac OSX) is very easy to learn and use for beginners, and it is a great system for staying organized at university (with their built in iLife suite of applications). Right now Apple has a promotion going on for CANADIAN buyers that will let you get a free iPod touch as well as free shipping, plus as a Mac student you get up to $200 discounted ontop of that. Read more here.


CHECK OUT THE LARGE MACINSIDERS FORUM DISCUSSION ABOUT LAPTOPS HERE.