The Student Room Group

What laptop to get for computer science undergraduate

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Original post by IngrownToenail
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Definitley look for a Laptop with a good battery power (in terms of hours). Bc it's Uni season, places like Argos are having good deals for Laptops, so do check them out and also maybe Curry's? Apple also have a discount for students (idk how much, just check on google or something), but personally I don't see the point in spending 1k+ on a Laptop for Uni unless you'll need it for a really good software or something...?

Hope this helped and good luck w everything! :smile:
Reply 2
One with an SSD (IMO). Decent RAM and decent processor are the main factors after that. Don't buy one from Curry's or PC World go online.
At my uni most people do work on the university provided computers so you don't need anything fancy.
Reply 4
Original post by khodges51
One with an SSD (IMO). Decent RAM and decent processor are the main factors after that. Don't buy one from Curry's or PC World go online.


SSDs are a godsend. I definitely recommend good battery and light weight with a nice screen. Power is kinda irrelevant usually, you should have access to uni hardware in labs or remotely if you need to do something serious so I wouldn't worry TOO much about that. So I'd personally recommend something like a Zenbook UX305 from Asus which is what I have.

Another consideration is if you're going to be doing iOS dev then you must have a mac, so maybe buy a mac? They're Unix based which is nice and it seems like half the people in CS use macs so you should have plenty of support and you can always dual boot windows. They're (in my opinion) overpriced though and I dislike them personally.
Original post by TVIO
SSDs are a godsend. I definitely recommend good battery and light weight with a nice screen. Power is kinda irrelevant usually, you should have access to uni hardware in labs or remotely if you need to do something serious so I wouldn't worry TOO much about that. So I'd personally recommend something like a Zenbook UX305 from Asus which is what I have.

Another consideration is if you're going to be doing iOS dev then you must have a mac, so maybe buy a mac? They're Unix based which is nice and it seems like half the people in CS use macs so you should have plenty of support and you can always dual boot windows. They're (in my opinion) overpriced though and I dislike them personally.


Is the zenbook a really good laptop? I've been looking at the specs and they don't seem that great compared to other laptops in the same price range?

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Reply 6
MBP
If you can afford, get a MacBook Pro. If not get any Windows laptop you can afford and dual boot a Linux OS at the minimum. only noobs use Windows for development


Posted from TSR Mobile
You really shouldn't get a Macbook Pro now. Check the link below replacing the dot for advice on when to buy a mac. I'm personally not the biggest mac fan but as others have said it has its benefits especially in computer science. Your focus should be on a good processor (Intel I5 or better really), (4gb+ ram, preferably 8gb), an SSD will do you wonders (500gb is a good size, depends on what you need). A dedicated graphics card might be useful for certain more intensive programs although the more recent Intel processors seem to manage quite well with the integrated graphics chips. Also, go for a 1080p screen or you might regret it later.

As for the SSD you can actually buy and install one yourself really easily if the laptop you're looking at doesn't have one pre-installed.

http://buyersguide(dot)macrumors(dot)com/#Mac
Reply 9
Original post by samhelyes
Is the zenbook a really good laptop? I've been looking at the specs and they don't seem that great compared to other laptops in the same price range?

Posted from TSR Mobile


Processing power is low, yes. But I've found I don't need that and the SSD, 8 gigs RAM, 1080p display, weight and battery outweigh the downsides.
Reply 10
SSD, I7, dedicated graphics, dual boot, etc, etc...........All those things are nice to have for the computer geek and will make for a nicer experience but it isn't a necessity for the average comp sci course. Almost any modern laptop will do the job really, Uni labs will provide access to anything fancy you need.

By all means get the best if you can afford it but don't go blowing half your loan/grant on high end kit if you can't.

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