I prefer macs or windows computers, but would a mac be more compatible with the programs I will be using? I noticed in the Thode engineering library there were a lot of macs so does that mean they are compatible? If I do get a mac should i get the normal MacBook or should i get the MacBook pro?

I will say this once, DO NOT GET A MACBOOK. There are many reasons not to, but in short, they are overpriced and have a lot of compatibility problems, the only reason a lot of people have them is because Apple is very good with advertising and has created a cult of it. But specifically for engineering you will find that a windows platform is much simpler when you start programming (1D04), 3d modeling (1C03), using excel for stats courses and basically anything worth doing will be easier with windows platform.

get macbook because it has a 3x better battery life , nuff said

mac loves mac, no pun intended

Depending on your program (It's be really helpful if you told us what you were going into) compatibility issues with Macs may or may not be an issue.

Anyway, if you're going with a Mac, ignore the plain macbooks, your choice should essentially be between a Macbook Air (For portability) and a 15" or smaller Macboo Pro (For power).

If you're going with a PC you have a few more choices, but the best advice is:
1) Don't go with the popular "budget" brands (HP, Dell, etc) brands like Asus, Fujitsu, Sony, and Lenovo are producing much better PCs less prone to breaking down than the budget PC brands.
2) Don't buy a gaming laptop, They're big, have horrible battery life, heat up like mad, and aren't upgradeable (A desktop + Netbook combo avoids every single one of those problems)
3) Netbooks make shitty main computers, your laptop is rather central to your life at university, you probably shouldn't bother with anything less than $400 to ensure you'll actually get a laptop that's not painfully slow.

Originally Posted by Tailsnake

1) Don't go with the popular "budget" brands (HP, Dell, etc) brands like Asus, Fujitsu, Sony, and Lenovo are producing much better PCs less prone to breaking down than the budget PC brands.

My sister completed her Engineering degree (she also did computer programming stuff/was into computers) and she used an HP, but I think it was one of the higher end ones. Granted, she uses a macbook pro now.

Acer TimelineX 13.3" - $840
8 hours battery life
2.1kg
i5-560m @ 2.66GHz
4GB ram
Intel HD Graphics

Apple MacBook Pro 13.3" - $1250
7 hours battery life
2.04kg
i5 @ 2.3GHz
4GB ram
Intel HD Graphics 3000


What am I missing here? From what I can tell, the Acer is superior in everyway except the graphics, which is not relevant since both are sufficient to handle 1080p video, flash and other gpu tasks. If you're looking for a gaming laptop then both of these are terrible choices. Here is a great budget gaming laptop though if you're interested. It's a good quad-core processor and the HD5650 will run starcraft 2 on medium with about 40fps.

Its called MACmaster for a reason ! GET A MAC book, plus its battery life will let u use it for the whole day ! I use it from 8:30 to 6:30 with no issues at all AND NO CHARGER REQUIRED !

Originally Posted by Tailsnake

Depending on your program (It's be really helpful if you told us what you were going into) compatibility issues with Macs may or may not be an issue.

Anyway, if you're going with a Mac, ignore the plain macbooks, your choice should essentially be between a Macbook Air (For portability) and a 15" or smaller Macboo Pro (For power).

If you're going with a PC you have a few more choices, but the best advice is:
1) Don't go with the popular "budget" brands (HP, Dell, etc) brands like Asus, Fujitsu, Sony, and Lenovo are producing much better PCs less prone to breaking down than the budget PC brands.
2) Don't buy a gaming laptop, They're big, have horrible battery life, heat up like mad, and aren't upgradeable (A desktop + Netbook combo avoids every single one of those problems)
3) Netbooks make shitty main computers, your laptop is rather central to your life at university, you probably shouldn't bother with anything less than $400 to ensure you'll actually get a laptop that's not painfully slow.

Good advice, although I still stand by that you can get the same and better performance from non apple laptops for cheaper if you just look for them.

1) Agreed
2) I wish someone told me that before first year, so sick of hauling around a 6lb laptop.
3) Alternatively you could get an 11.6" or 12.1" netbook and have a 24" monitor/keyboard/mouse setup for it at home, that way you still have a good laptop for travel. And if you hunt for long enough you will find very good laptops for very cheap. I have a new $500 laptop from bestbuy (now discontinued), Acer Aspire 5745PG, i3-350m/Intel HD, GT330, 3GB ram, Touch Screen, 6 hours on battery on Intel HD.

Get a mac if you want to be a sheep

Originally Posted by KN1991

My sister completed her Engineering degree (she also did computer programming stuff/was into computers) and she used an HP, but I think it was one of the higher end ones. Granted, she uses a macbook pro now.

I went through first year eng and recall the 1C03 professor having problems starting solid works on his macbook and everyone with a macbook had problems installing and running C# properly, I believe most people just used a virtual drive and a few used dual boot with XP, but of course I didn't have to worry about that. =D

If you want a laptop that can game with decent battery life(3.5hours) and nice cooling check out the Asus G53SW, you can get it for 1200 bucks from newegg.ca. It's the same price as the macbook pro 13 and its specs are better than the macbook pro 17.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...asus %20g53sw

When I bought my laptop I definitely opted for battery life, so I chose an asus that did give me about 8 hours. But after this year I've realized it wasn't necessary. I was in my res most of the time so I kept it plugged in. When I'm at the library, I see most people can find a plug somewhere since they are everywhere. What sucked most with my laptop was that it wasn't very powerful even though it could run on battery for so long (it's the main reason why), so when I'm doing research with TONS of tabs open you hit your performance limit quite quickly.

So basically what I'm trying to say is battery life isn't too big of a deal, carrying a charger around isn't that much of a hassle. The only place you probably won't find a plug is in class if you find that you will be taking notes on your computer. You might be thinking of doing it now, but when you're actually in class you realize typing notes might not be for you. This happened to me and I eventually just went to class with pen and paper. Go for something that will meet your needs and don't cheap out like Tailsnake said.

If anything, my friend was in eng with a pc, and no problems. If you do choose a Macbook for some reason... you can boot camp if you've got issues.

Final suggestion: Buy the Acer Timeline Henry proposed. Great size, price and performance.

Originally Posted by ShouldBeStudying

If you want a laptop that can game with decent battery life(3.5hours) and nice cooling check out the Asus G53SW, you can get it for 1200 bucks from newegg.ca. It's the same price as the macbook pro 13 and its specs are better than the macbook pro 17.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...asus %20g53sw

Yes, if you're going to spend $1200 on a laptop, this is the one to do it on!!

Get a 13" Macbook Pro, Bootcamp install Windows. I asked the same question last year. I ended up getting a Mac and it is the best computer I have ever owned. i would have been extremely disappointed had I not gotten it. Don't worry about compatibility issues. My Mac ran Windows programs better than most PCs I've encountered this year.

(Edit: I'm in Eng. Python, Maple and Maple SIM all work on Macs. the only program that needs windows is AutoDesk, but that works beautifully on bootcamp. Get a Mac.)