College laptop.

[SuperStroopwafel]

Hello guys,

 

I'm going to college soon and I'm going to study Computer Science. Obviously I need a notebook/laptop. 

The things I'm going to learn are:

- Coding

- Editing

- 3D rendering

I requirements are the latest i7 CPU and 8GB of RAM.

But I want to get a little bit better, 16GB of RAM and an SSD are a must.

Budget is around 1500 euro. Can stretch a bit.

 

Thanks guys!

[ZetZet]

are you sure you need one, does your uni not have computers in classes? just make sure you don't buy something you won't use.  :lol:

[SuperStroopwafel]

are you sure you need one, does your uni not have computers in classes? just make sure you don't buy something you won't use.  :lol:

Its needed haha. Thanks for the reply tho.

[ReadyToGame]

Are you going to be staying at the college? Or travelling to it each day from your own house? Because if it's the latter then I'd suggest getting a desktop because I'm sure the school will have computer for you to use there, and then you can just grab a portable pocket drive and not have to worry about the laptop being stolen because you can just backup the drive daily onto the desktop at home.

[ReadyToGame]

Its needed haha. Thanks for the reply tho.

Oh, in that case... That reply was posted before mine and I had stopped typing because I had to go grab something, so ignore my post

[SuperStroopwafel]

Are you going to be staying at the college? Or travelling to it each day from your own house? Because if it's the latter then I'd suggest getting a desktop because I'm sure the school will have computer for you to use there, and then you can just grab a portable pocket drive and not have to worry about the laptop being stolen because you can just backup the drive daily onto the desktop at home.

Yea I understand haha. But it's necessary. You are even not allowed to be in class without one. 

[ForsakenLive]

'i need one' that's not the true, it's really handy, but not mandatory.

I'm almost through the Informatics Systems Engineering career and I started to use the notebook recently because I wanted, not that I needed it. I do understand it's more organized and practical this way.

 

For the case scenario something lightweight and that you don't need to charge while in the middle of the class, is the best choice. If you are going for a dedicated GPU which is not necessary as the career doesn't require video editing or heavy rendering, get one that allows that Nvidia feature that switches to the iGPU on the go when you don't need it (was it called Zero core?) .

[D2ultima]

Hello guys,

 

I'm going to college soon and I'm going to study Computer Science. Obviously I need a notebook/laptop. 

The things I'm going to learn are:

- Coding

- Editing

- 3D rendering

I requirements are the latest i7 CPU and 8GB of RAM.

But I want to get a little bit better, 16GB of RAM and an SSD are a must.

Budget is around 1500 euro. Can stretch a bit.

 

Thanks guys!

 

Paying in Euros, you'll be ripped off. $1500 isn't a whole lot for top of the line like you need. But you can check out these two models; 15" and 17" respectively.

http://www.mysn.de/detail.asp?bestellnr=XMG-U505&userid=223957118&KategorienOrder=010;020;017;026;010

http://www.mysn.de/detail.asp?bestellnr=XMG-U705&userid=223957118&KategorienOrder=010;020;017;027;010

 

Your money would have gone a whole lot farther if you were in the USA. I'm sorry.

 

Alternately however, you can get them from the UK website, which apparently is cheaper... but you'd need to ship it to your location.

http://mysn.co.uk/shop/xmg-u505-gaminglaptop.html

http://mysn.co.uk/shop/xmg-u705-gaminglaptop.html

[CakesCakesCakes]

I'm in the same boat .  I don't really know why you need an i7 and 16 gigs though, my brother majors in CS and doesn't really do anything that requires that kind of specs.  I would recommend getting a macbook.  As my brother put it, "when all the cs staff have a macbook pro, you know it has to be good."  Terminal and vim are also useful for programming.

[lak]

Get something that doesn't come with a TN panel then. I had a similar use case to what you have and I ended up getting a laptop with an i7. However, I later transitioned to an i5 and found that there really wasn't much of a difference. What would have I done differently the first time? Get an i5 and invest the money that I saved into 16GB of ram and a good quality screen. Mobile i7's have ridiculous pricing as you go up the SKU chart, it just doesn't become feasible when you consider the performance per $ amount.

[lak]

Adding on from my previous post, I would like to bring something to your attention regarding mobile i7s. If you do decide to go with an i7 (which I don't really advise), be sure to plugin the processor's model number into the Intel ARK knowledgebase. Some i7s are in fact dual core, while some are quad cores, so make sure you get the right one.

 

Even though I studied Information Systems and it is not identical to Computer Science, I will do my best to point you in the right direction. I agree with @CakesCakesCakes in regards to Computer Science majors not needing a super high-end system. At the university I studied at, the CS staff primarily used Macbooks and all the labs were decked out with Macs. Most of my CS mates also used Mac (Macbook Airs). But everyone has their preferences, so if you are more comfortable on a PC rather than a Mac, then all is good.

 

Now let's talk specs. Core i5 for sure - you're doing programming, it's not that taxing on the system! When you're at college/university most of the stuff you do won't load up a system, unless you are doing things such as virtualisation and need the capacity to run multiple VMs - if you fit that use-case then you may as well be on a desktop or be using a workstation grade laptop. If your budget is restrictive, I would definitely stick with 8GB of RAM - I used a laptop with 8GB of memory throughout my university degree and I don't think I utilised more than 60% on average. You can always get a single DIMM of 8GB and add in another 8GB down the track (permitted that your laptop has two DIMM slots). Third point is an SSD. You mentioned this in your OP - I would go aftermarket, vendors always put some ridiculous pricing on laptops specced with SSDs (i.e. Apple). I also ended up replacing my CD-Drive and swapped it out for a mass-storage drive. Now one thing I want mention is an IPS screen. Programming means you will be spending a lot of time staring at those pixels and a TN panel probably isn't the best option. So try and get something with an IPS display (1600x900 res, or whatever takes your fancy). A lightweight option is probably also preferred if you need to travel around campus a lot. That and battery life should be taken into consideration if you are spending long ours at uni - but then again, most modern system are pretty good in terms of battery life. Another thing I would take into consideration is connectivity. If you need to hook your machine upto a projector (for a presentation, etc.), make sure you have the right IO.

 

Now if you think about the things I pointed out above, you can see why so many people use Macs for CS - they're just a super easy off the shelf option, with no hastle. They fit the use-case pretty well and particularly excel in the lightweight and battery life category. But you pay for it, that's for sure!

 

Find a chassis you like, then prioritise your hardware needs and try and select a SKU that meets your requirements (and fits your budget) - taking into account what everyone has said in this thread.

[D2ultima]

Anything anyone wants to know about mobile i7 CPUs can check the i7 CPU guide in my signature. It covers most of the basics, and you can comment on it if you need to know anything else.

 

Next: ALL mobile i5 chips are DUAL CORE.

DUAL. CORE. It's not like a desktop i5. Please remember this.

[Aniallation]

Next: ALL mobile i5 chips are DUAL CORE.

DUAL. CORE. It's not like a desktop i5. Please remember this.

Well that DUAL CORE mobile i5 can keep up with my desktop Phenom X6, I'm not complaining. 

[D2ultima]

Well that DUAL CORE mobile i5 can keep up with my desktop Phenom X6, I'm not complaining. 

If it's haswell, I don't see why not. Especially in single/dual threaded apps. Find something that devours all 6 cores and your Phenom II X6 might pull ahead though.

[Aniallation]

If it's haswell, I don't see why not. Especially in single/dual threaded apps. Find something that devours all 6 cores and your Phenom II X6 might pull ahead though.

Actually it whoops my Phenom II X6 in single/dual threaded apps. When using all threads available though, a 4200M is still only about 15% slower while using 70% less power.

[D2ultima]

Actually it whoops my Phenom II X6 in single/dual threaded apps. When using all threads available though, a 4200M is still only about 15% slower while using 70% less power.

Yeah. The reason it's "only" 15% slower is likely because hyperthreading is helping it. As for power... yeah. Haswell is frugal enough at stock I suppose. Under load however? Hahahahhaha. Haven't had such a power-hungry CPU line from intel in a LONG time. Especially the quadcores. Don't let 47W TDP fool you for mobile i7s. They can pull FAR more if you let them.

[Aniallation]

Yeah. The reason it's "only" 15% slower is likely because hyperthreading is helping it. As for power... yeah. Haswell is frugal enough at stock I suppose. Under load however? Hahahahhaha. Haven't had such a power-hungry CPU line from intel in a LONG time. Especially the quadcores. Don't let 47W TDP fool you for mobile i7s. They can pull FAR more if you let them.

My mobile i5 only has a TDP of 15W, but I've done the mod on my particular laptop to allow turbo boost to stay on even when on batteries, and it definitely does make a difference, so it's likely pulling more then 15W at times

[D2ultima]

My mobile i5 only has a TDP of 15W, but I've done the mod on my particular laptop to allow turbo boost to stay on even when on batteries, and it definitely does make a difference, so it's likely pulling more then 15W at times

Ah yeah those ULV chips can putter along fairly well for moderate workloads.

[vembutech]

Hi,

 

Quadro or ATI Fire is a must for you to do 3D Rendering and editing purpose..

 

Lenovo also gives you a better specs in this pricing.. 

[Aniallation]

Quadro or ATI Fire is a must for you to do 3D Rendering and editing purpose..

 

Lenovo also gives you a better specs in this pricing.. 

To find a workstation-class laptop with Quadro or FirePro graphics will be very expensive compared to just getting a decent CPU and having that do the job, as well as CUDA in supported programs through standard GeForce graphics cards.

 

A workstation-grade GPU is NOT a must for mobile 3D rendering and video editing. It would be a pure waste of money.