New Computer

[e j s i m]

Alright, I have no idea if this is the appropriate subforum in which to be asking this but: I need to get a new computer for college. 

 

I already have a laptop that works fine (Lenovo ThinkPad T500) but it struggles to do a lot of the things I'd like to do with it (mainly music production/recording). 

 

What I'm torn between is getting a new gaming laptop or doing a custom desktop build. 

 

With a new laptop, I have more portability with my main system which will be really useful in a campus life (my top picks are the MSI GS70 and the Asus G750JX).

 

However, with the desktop, although there is no portability, I still have the ThinkPad. I was thinking of upgrading the RAM and stripping it of Windows and running it with Ubuntu for basic productivity and web surfing on the go, and then I can do more intensive tasks on the desktop (my planned build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/37Gxx).

 

A desktop is great for home, but I'm afraid it will be limiting, always having to do some of my work in the room. I'm going in as a Chemical Engineering major, so I'll be using CAD a bit and surely other software. I'd like to do a minor involving music, so I'd do all of the composing/whatever necessary in the room, although I wouldn't really be doing that in the library or elsewhere anyway.

 

Price isn't too much of an issue, but both options cost about the same; the desktop might be a bit cheaper.

 

So what do you all think? Apologies if this isn't the best place to post this. Thanks for reading!

[Adnanklink]

It sounds like a laptop may be the  better option if don't spend a lot of time at home. Also if you aren't planning on gaming, then  a graphics card wont help you at all.

[e j s i m]

It sounds like a laptop may be the  better option if don't spend a lot of time at home. Also if you aren't planning on gaming, then  a graphics card wont help you at all.

I'll probably be doing a bit of gaming, but not too much. I wouldn't not want a graphics card though. And yes, I'll be living on-campus, about 4 hours from home.

 

One thing that i don't think you took into consideration is, are you going to be living in residence? Odds are there will be little to no room for a desktop computer to sit. (Based on my experience at all the residences at Western University in Ontario)

 

For chemical engineering, you will likely only use CAD/SolidWorks/Solid Edge in your first year in a design oriented class, and wont touch it later on. From what i hear of my friends in chem eng, they dont use any software that isnt basics like word/excel/powerpoint.

In electrical, i had a lot of random programs i had to use, but they were not very demanding. The only one that was, was SolidWorks, which is a 3D modelling program. (It's excellent btw, and id reccoment getting a student trial and playing around with it as experience with it is invaluable).

 

So if i was in your shoes, what would I do?

I think i would get a nice laptop, as it will serve you well for the next 4+ years in school. If you join any gaming clubs, you can bring it there easily with a mouse, and you will possibly need it in class depending on the University you go to.

Just make sure that if you do get a laptop, that you have an SSD in it. it will make boot times, and resumes from sleep/hibernation WAAAY faster. trust me. *A bonus would be to find a laptop that has 2x 2" bays in it, so you can have an SSD and a HDD.

 

If you do decide to go the Desktop route, id change the 4770k for a 4670k and your GPU from a 760 to 760 Ti. you will get better gaming performance out of that, as gamers dont need the power of a 4770k, and with the 4670k, its cheaper and you still have the option to overclock if need be.

 

****EDIT*****  -- This question should probably be in the "New Builds and Planning" Thread - http://linustechtips.com/main/forum/18-new-builds-and-planning/

Do you think a computer with a Core 2 Duo P8600, integrated graphics, and 4 (or maybe 8)GB ram could handle those programs? It looks like the school I'm going to discourages using laptops in class; I don't know how that differs for engineering students. The two laptops that I'm looking at fit all those credentials, they're great. And as gaming is far from a top priority, I think spending more on the CPU than the GPU will be beneficial for stuff like music production and programming. Thanks for the correct subforum; I'll post there if I need to in the future. 

[e j s i m]

You will struggle running SolidWorks with those specs....but if you absolutely HAD to use it, you could. IT will be very choppy/laggy. Programming that you do in engineering barely scratches the surface of your CPU's capabilities, even for your Core 2 Duo, unless you delve into software engineering. As for music production, ive only worked on Scores using Sibelius 6/7, so im no expert on it. Video editing requires the most CPU usage, so i dont see how music will use all that much TBH. This is down to personal preference, and if you wont be gaming as often, id go with the better CPU.

 

**Would still choose laptop though.

Alright, maybe the MSI GS70 is my best bet. i7 4700HQ, GTX 765M, 16GB ram, 120GB SSD + 750GB HDD. Plus, it's less than an inch thick. Certainly easy to carry around.