I'm going into first year, and I was wondering if I really needed a laptop.

I have a decent desktop I have right now, but I could see where a laptop could come in handy. If I were to get one, I would probably do notes electronically, because I type much faster than I write. Also, I game a little, so I would be looking to spend about a grand atleast, which is why I'm debating whether or not to get one.


So my question is: is a laptop really necessary first year, or can I do without it?

Yeah, you'll be fine with your desktop.

You're in science, you won't need it to take notes.

I also think that it's not that necessary! You will be fine without it at school. There are computers everywhere in case you really need to use one while you are on campus!

I think I brought my laptop to school about 4 times last year. So no, definitely not necessary.

Heres my take on it... a lot of times you'll discover that you actually do work IN the library as opposed to getting distracted at home.. and obviously you don't wanna use the disgusting shared macs (which are decent... but just gross sometimes since EVERYONE uses it during break). This means that yes, if you feel the need to work in a empty, quiet area (which you will as the year goes on) then a lap top is very much needed. If you feel like you're not going to get distracted at home, then a desktop will suffice.

Its good for group projects and such, but not required for physically bringing to class.

They are a very big distraction. I think i pretty much only used mine to play games...

Originally Posted by fall3n

I'm going into first year, and I was wondering if I really needed a laptop.

I have a decent desktop I have right now, but I could see where a laptop could come in handy. If I were to get one, I would probably do notes electronically, because I type much faster than I write. Also, I game a little, so I would be looking to spend about a grand atleast, which is why I'm debating whether or not to get one.


So my question is: is a laptop really necessary first year, or can I do without it?

1) You can do without a laptop, but it is pretty damn useful, it makes taking and going over notes considerably easier. I personally used a laptop for all my first year science classes (except math and chem).

2) Do not spend $1000+ on a gaming laptop, you'll end up with something that's not a very good laptop (i.e. big, heavy, hot, and horrible battery life) and not exactly a great gaming PC (upgrading your desktop will almost certainly get you better gaming performance than damn near any gaming laptop).
You should be looking to spend either ~$300 on a solid netbook (if you can deal with a compressed keyboard) or ~$600 on a Laptop (preferably a ULV if you want really insane battery life)

I have a laptop and only bring it to campus once in a blue moon... it is handy when you want to study in the library, but for me I can usually study just as well at my house.
Another thing to consider is that you can always rent a laptop from the library when you want to find a quieter place than the computer areas to study.
If I were you i would maybe stick with my desktop for now, and if it really is an inconvenience for you or not giving you what you need in a comuter, you could buy a laptop sometime during the school year.

I actually use my laptop a lot. I don't use it at all for writing notes in class but I use it whenever I have breaks (which I have a lot since all my courses only have one core so I end up with 3 or ' hour long breaks). So I've become accostumed to bringing it with me so that I can get work done in between classes, since going home to do work doesn't work for me. Since you already have a desktop though I would say try it out for a bit, see if you can handle everything without the laptop and if you can't then get a laptop.

What about a printer? Do we need to bring our own printers to school? Is it more convenient?

Where are you going to store that printer? If your in res, yes bring it. If not, you can get a library card and print when required.

I game a lot (been into mmos for the past 7 years) and I've had 4 laptops and 1 desktop. Anyways, from my experience, most laptops are not for games. Your desktop is probably considerably better for gaming than a laptop of the same price. So save your money for textbooks.

Used it solely for watching videos online haha. Having a laptop is definitely not needed in first year. Plenty of computers available on campus and if you do need a laptop for whatever reason you can rent them out at the library free of charge. It will more than likely serve more as a distraction imo. If you think your going to do work in between classes for that 1 or 2 hour break forget it lol. I find it impossible to do work at school prefer to do it at home but thats just me.

Okay.. I will go out here and say you *NEED* at least *A* computer. Desktop, laptop, doesn't matter. But with all the online quizzes, assignments, and lectures (all Psych lectures are online only for first semester), a computer is a must. Almost anytime I went to a library all the public computers were taken. Just have some self control, and don't watch endless hours of TV shows on it