Laptop Choice for Computer Science at Queen Mary

5

Hi everyone,

Is anyone here studying Computer Science at Queen Mary? I’m in the market for a new laptop and could use some advice. I’m a Mac user and love the ecosystem, but I’m unsure if a MacBook will handle all the course requirements. Do I need to consider getting a Windows laptop instead? Any insights from current CS students at QMUL would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Reply 1

University of Salford Student Rep

Official Rep

13

Original post

by nbfasmnbf

Hi everyone,
Is anyone here studying Computer Science at Queen Mary? I’m in the market for a new laptop and could use some advice. I’m a Mac user and love the ecosystem, but I’m unsure if a MacBook will handle all the course requirements. Do I need to consider getting a Windows laptop instead? Any insights from current CS students at QMUL would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

Hi,

Congratulations on embarking on your computer science journey at university this September! It's an exciting time filled with new experiences and challenges.

Most laptops would work fine for your workload.

Generally, I advise people to purchase a laptop with an SSD (most laptops have this as default now), at least 8 GB of RAM, but preferably 16 GB so you can open as many tabs as possible that you need (you will have a lot of windows open) and finally a 6 core processor. This would keep you set for any additional workloads in the future. You can choose to go for a stronger GPU if you want to, but I feel this isn’t too necessary for the workload a CS student normally has.

If there are any taxing pieces of software, I am sure there will be computers and laptops that your University will be able to provide to help you along.

I don’t own a laptop, since I prefer to work on desktop computers. At the University of Salford, we can borrow laptops for up to a week. I make use of this whenever I require it if I am going away for a bit or doing a group project on campus. I would recommend asking Lecturers or classmates if there is a similar service available at your University.

If you have any more questions or require further assistance, feel free to reach out. Best of luck with your preparations for university.

Best Wishes,
Arslan – University of Salford Student Representative

Reply 2

Haribo22

13

Hi, I’m also wondering which laptop to get… for undergraduate computer science and AI? I use Linux (Ubuntu currently) as my main OS, and presume a dual-boot of that and windows would be best so I can access software needed for uni on windows without issue? A Thinkpad? But which one…

Thanks!

Reply 3

mesub

Volunteer Section Leader, Clearing and Applications Advisor

22

Original post

by Haribo22

Hi, I’m also wondering which laptop to get… for undergraduate computer science and AI? I use Linux (Ubuntu currently) as my main OS, and presume a dual-boot of that and windows would be best so I can access software needed for uni on windows without issue? A Thinkpad? But which one…

Thanks!

Hi, can you open a new thread here and we will get back to you. :smile:

Laptop Choice for Computer Science at Queen Mary

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