[FlamingCobra]

For State. North Carolina State. Engineering at State. And possibly gaming at State.

I want power.

I want performance.

I want reliability.


I've narrowed it down to two options.

This ASUS, or the Dell XPS 15 with whichever modifications HLP recommends.

What do you all think?

[General Battuta]

Are you absolutely, 100% committed to using a laptop? Because a desktop is going to last longer, break less often, and perform a lot better.

[LHN91]

Given those two options, the Asus; I simply do not trust anything Dell has had their hands on to last. However, I do agree with GB - generally it makes more sense to have a generic laptop you can beat up and not really care about, and then spend the money on a desktop. In general, a desktop will be more powerful, longer lasting, and more reliable than any price-comparable laptop.

[FlamingCobra]

North Carolina State University requires all students to have a laptop. In all other cases, I would prefer a workstation or a desktop.

EDIT: A laptop with Windows 7 Professional.

EDIT2: And it appears that my mother is committed to making sure I do not go to State with a desktop, and both of them are hell bent on preventing me from getting Alienware.

And three, the only problem I have with ASUS is that their technical support is in the ****hole in the event that something DOES go wrong.

[LHN91]

Still. 400-500 dollar throw-away laptop (there's some bottom end Thinkpads at the top of that range IIRC), then spend 1000 on a gaming desktop. At least that's my opinion. Also, do some investigation into whether or not NCSU has any kind of deal with Microsoft's MSDN AA. I get copies of Windows 7 Pro for free, alongside XP, Vista Business, and Server 2003 and 2008. (Not to mention copies of MS-DOS 6.22 for teh lulz.)

EDIT: Posted before the last couple edits. Guess I really don't understand that kind of parental meddling. My parents more or less let me make my own decisions, but then again they don't have the funds to help me out at all, so it's all kind of my problem anyways.

If you want reliability, I'd be looking at Thinkpads and related business grade laptops. Many of them have decent GPUs with the intent of them being used for modelling and such. Also, despite my usual complete and utter disdain for HP, their ProBook and Envy lines seems to be better than their generic fare.

[Polpolion]

North Carolina State University requires all students to have a laptop. In all other cases, I would prefer a workstation or a desktop.

EDIT: A laptop with Windows 7 Professional.

EDIT2: And it appears that my mother is committed to making sure I do not go to State with a desktop, and both of them are hell bent on preventing me from getting Alienware.

And three, the only problem I have with ASUS is that their technical support is in the ****hole in the event that something DOES go wrong.

how do they justify this requirement?

[FlamingCobra]

If I went with XP, I'd go with XP Black.

I'd love a desktop, but that's not going to happen.

Also, in the engineering department they use Linux 1/2 the time anyway, so I'll probably end up dual booting. And I'll probably use a Fedora distro, though not one that includes GNOME3.

EDIT: Excuse me, probably not all of state. Just the Collage of Engineering.

The College of Engineering expects all incoming students to own a laptop or tablet.

And I hate tablets.

[LHN91]

If I went with XP, I'd go with XP Black.

I'd love a desktop, but that's not going to happen.

Also, in the engineering department they use Linux 1/2 the time anyway, so I'll probably end up dual booting. And I'll probably use a Fedora distro, though not one that includes GNOME3.

EDIT: Excuse me, probably not all of state. Just the Collage of Engineering.

The College of Engineering expects all incoming students to own a laptop or tablet.

And I hate tablets.

Side note - the AMD catalyst drivers for linux are usually awful for any of their newer chipsets (i.e 6000 and 7000 series). Unless you can deal with no linux acceleration of -edit:(3d)- graphics (which I've never really cared about) you'll want to get an Nvidia card.

[FlamingCobra]

That Dell XPS comes with an Nvidia, and so does that Asus, so I don't guess that's a problem.

The only other option was the Macbook Air, but that's more of a status symbol than anything else, since all the 'preppy' kids are getting those. And who wants to be mainstream? 

[LHN91]

I mentioned above HP's Envy line..... Like I said, generally I won't touch HP with a ten foot pole, but that line seems to be much much better than their standard fare. That line has some pretty decent gaming laptops, but IIRC they generally run AMD 6800-6900 series or 7800 series GPUs.

Edit: and the Envy line looks a lot like a Macbook, but without the chains of Apple and the pretentious-ness of that giant apple on the case.

Edit 2: Okay, I was wrong - AMD 7690 XT GPU. Haven't looked up reviews of the GPU yet, but reviews of the laptop itself seem pretty positive for the most part, though many deride the case as a Macbook knockoff.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834158219

[StarSlayer]

I have an ASUS G74SX-A2 RoG laptop I picked it up last August, it's performed up to my expectations so far. 

[LordPomposity]

I've had an Asus G51VX for a few years now. Asus is a good brand.

and both of them are hell bent on preventing me from getting Alienware.

They are heroes.

[FlamingCobra]

Oh, I know a lot of laptops have cooling issues. That's another thing I'm worried about.

[MP-Ryan]

As an engineering student, you are going to spend most of your time writing **** down the old fashioned way and doing your calculations on a scientific calculator because serious engineering schools do not allow graphing calculators in exams.  I speak as someone who was the only biology student in a group of 8 friends, the other 7 of whom were engineers.

Buy a cheap tablet or laptop (you can buy an el-cheapo laptop with a 2-year warranty at Costco for $350 these days), and a solid desktop system.  You will thank yourself for this later.  Seriously.  Buy the smallest (lightest!), cheapest laptop you can find, and spend the remainder on building yourself one of the Tom's Hardware Guide Basic or Mid-range systems ($500-$1000).

Otherwise you're going to spend a stupid amount on a laptop that will still either break or be obsolete within 2 years, that won't play any games worth a ****, and which will weigh you down even more than the textbooks you're going to be lugging around.

If you absolutely must buy a top-notch laptop, no desktop, and have the cash, spend the money and get a MacBook Pro.  I'm not an Apple fan, but the MacBook Pro and the business-class ThinkPads are really the only reliable laptops on the market with decent customer support if things go sideways.

[redsniper]

As an engineering student, I used my desktop extensively for work and games, used computer lab computers extensively for work and mibbit, and used my laptop mainly for playing DOOM while watching TV.

[bobbtmann]

Another consideration is the size of the laptop. Too big a laptop and you can't really carry it around in a backpack. Some of those Asus computers are huge, with big fan things out the back.

[Polpolion]

serious engineering schools do not allow graphing calculators in exams.

[LordMelvin]

As an engineering student, you are going to spend most of your time writing **** down the old fashioned way and doing your calculations on a scientific calculator because serious engineering schools do not allow graphing calculators in exams.  I speak as someone who was the only biology student in a group of 8 friends, the other 7 of whom were engineers.

Buy a cheap tablet or laptop (you can buy an el-cheapo laptop with a 2-year warranty at Costco for $350 these days), and a solid desktop system.  You will thank yourself for this later.  Seriously.  Buy the smallest (lightest!), cheapest laptop you can find, and spend the remainder on building yourself one of the Tom's Hardware Guide Basic or Mid-range systems ($500-$1000).

Otherwise you're going to spend a stupid amount on a laptop that will still either break or be obsolete within 2 years, that won't play any games worth a ****, and which will weigh you down even more than the textbooks you're going to be lugging around.

If you absolutely must buy a top-notch laptop, no desktop, and have the cash, spend the money and get a MacBook Pro.  I'm not an Apple fan, but the MacBook Pro and the business-class ThinkPads are really the only reliable laptops on the market with decent customer support if things go sideways.

Listen well, for verily, this man knoweth whereof he speaketh.

QFT.

[Thaeris]

The only other option was the Macbook Air, but that's more of a status symbol than anything else, since all the 'preppy' kids are getting those. And who wants to be mainstream? 

I grew up using Macs and as such have no issue with them. However, the Air is garbage. I'm certain you already knew this, but if you're actually going to do work with your computer, you're going to need ports and jacks, something that the Air sorely lacks.

I personally like my laptop, even though it's pretty wimpy in many regards. The only real advantage to having a very large screen is having a number pad, which I think is most invaluable to anyone doing anything with gaming or, what I should be doing instead, science and engineering. It also makes Excel a lot cooler than it should be.

I personally sport an HP from '07, and if the guts were capable of being improved, I think it might be the ideal computer. That said, you've probably narrowed your choices sufficiently well, but I'd recommend the following if you can only get by with one computer:

- Number pad. All the cool kids use them around here.
- Make sure your processor can crank out at least 2GHz. 1.6 is passing (which is what I've got), but you will want better. 2GHz.
- Make sure your video card is presentable; your chances of running bloated AutoDesk CAD software is high, so a good CPU and GPU are musts.

Most computers come with and function with 4GB of RAM. This gives Microsoft the incentive to write even less efficient OS's than before. However, make sure you know about what you can do to the guts of your computer. For instance, it appears mine can only handle 2GB of RAM. I might be mistaken, but every time I've looked into the issue, it seems that this is in fact the case. The moral of the story is that you should avoid buying from a retailer unless it's in your best interests to do so. But then, you know this...

[Klaustrophobia]

serious engineering schools do not allow graphing calculators in exams.

this is not generally true.  unless the class is specifically to teach things the graphing calculator does automatically. 

<< NC State engineering department alumnus
i understand that there are other contributing factors, but don't let state's "requirement" to have a laptop force you into it.  the only class that ever required a laptop i had was a graphic design elective, and at that time (4 years ago) there was also a non-laptop section for the class.  as you said, the computer-oriented classes pretty much all take place in the linux computer labs.  you can remote into them, so you don't need a dual-boot.  they have no way to enforce the laptop requirement that i know of, and i highly doubt you'll run across a professor who would throw a fit if you don't have one.

if i were to do it again, i would want a powerful desktop in my dorm/apartment as my primary work/gaming PC, and a relatively cheap laptop to carry around for use in class and the library and whatnot.  you will use your laptop in class FAR less than you are thinking you will now.  funnily enough, they are most useful in liberal arts classes where you can actually type your notes.  unless you're rediculously skilled at LATEX or have a tablet, you're going to want to hand write your engineering and math notes.  i should note that my laptop did need to have discrete graphics for that one required class to run solidworks in any kind of meaningful way.  i wouldn't want to see how that performed on integrated.  let me just say, no matter how careful you are with it, if you carry a laptop around regularly, it WILL get worn and abused, no matter how tough the manufacture claims it to be. 

as for support, State has a tech help center.  i THINK it is open to all students, but you should check on that.  you might consider buying from the bookstore and you don't have to worry about crappy support.  you won't be able to get a very cheap one from there, but from what i remember their accidental damage coverage is WAY cheaper than a retail store, and worth it.  if you never end up needing it, you can always "accidentally" drop it off the 4th floor or throw up on it.

edit:  one final note.  just to re-iterate what others have already said, no matter how powerful of a laptop you get, it won't last.  mine was relatively top-end upon entering school.  by junior year it was getting annoying, and by graduation i wanted to destroy the ****er.  i actually shot it (with an airsoft gun) right before the coverage expired to blow some steam.  all it is used for now is watching movies while laying back in bed, and as my sacrificial porn browsing computer.