college

get a lightweight laptop for labs and then a desktop computer for home

I made the mistake of buying a heavy laptop with more power and it's not worth the weight in my backpack

>>60279542
how much power are we talking about with regards to the laptop?
will the razer suffice?

>>60279601
anything will suffice. very few classes actually require you to have a laptop and none will require real computation. I'm ME/CS and I've pretty much only used it for coding and word processing. anything that takes real power is done in computer labs. having a lightweight and slim laptop is probably the most important thing.

>>60279843
ok thanks

are there any problems I should expect with keeping a desktop setup in my dorm room?

same question here, gonna do aeronautical eng in uni and really planning to ditch 4 year old macbook, any suggestions for a decent power and price laptop?

>>60279870
>dorm room

don't remind me. it'll be fine; don't expect a lot of desk space but it's all good. if you're at an engineering college you might even be able to lug it down to the common room for LAN parties every friday night.

>>60279542
I second this wholeheartedly

I had a hp dv7t laptop which is fucking HUGE. At least it came with a free xbox and a printer at the time. And I do love that laptop. But looking back, I wish I had just gone with an upgradable desktop and a smaller laptop.

If I were about to go to school and budget wasn't a huge issue I'd have an m3 or i5 surface pro 4 for transport and a desktop with at least what I have in my desktop currently (skylake i5 with a 1060 and 16 GB ram). If I were still at school I'd be able to remote in from anywhere on campus too

File: 1478567934546.jpg (361KB, 2400x2393px) Image search: [Google]

361KB, 2400x2393px

>>60279512
MBP of course.

>>60279980
really? i know i can bootcamp it and all but with my gaming habits a windows laptop would still be better, plus it would probably be less of a pain to get linux going on if ill need to

>>60279969
the remote desktop idea is actually pretty good, havent thought about that

also, how is the VPN/torrent situation on campuses? do people get caught and are there any traffic limitations?
im considering getting into private trackers.

im going to umich and i use mullvad btw.

>>60280051
linux runs fine. windows runs fine. you won't even need much linux since macOS is UNIX. as an added bonus, you'll get all the mac-only apps.

>>60280102
true i guess.
it definitely works within the combo setup

I have a few proposed options

A] build PC for hard workloads running UNIX based system (Linux or otherwise), bring a laptop w/ your choice of system around and ssh into work computer

B] pay monthly/yearly for a dedicated work server and connect via ssh to THAT with the laptop

If you want gaymen, you can fuck off back to /v/ and quit uni

>>60280081

I used to work for my uni's IT department, and in general it's not a good idea to torrent since we can see just about all the traffic going through, and VPN traffic is generally suspicious anyway.

If you really want to try, then give it a shot, but don't be surprised if your access is cut off without warning.

>>60280168
oh shit
how do I get access to my animus and h then?

>>60280156
[A] makes most sense.
ill probs go for it. mac plus dorm workstation makes a lot of sense

Is a thinkpad worth anything? anyone use one?

>>60279512
writing code isn't very demanding at all in terms of hardware. You honestly don't need a desktop. All you need is a comfy laptop

>>60280168
>VPN traffic is generally suspicious anyway

>>60280209

I had a friend who lived off campus who was usually pretty chill about letting me run torrents through a VPN on his network, that would be the most best method if you don't want to get caught. I don't know about UMich's IT department, maybe they don't monitor as closely, but if you're still paranoid just try to find non-campus public wifi for your torrents.

Then again, most college campus networks don't block porn sites/streaming things, so if all else fails you can fall back on those.

>>60280265
i make shitty music with lots of plugins and i tend load up quite a bit of my home 3770k, i feel like I really do need a strong desktop system

>>60280168
>VPN traffic is generally suspicious anyway

There's plenty of legitimate reasons to use a VPN, including just privacy. I did all through first 2 years of college in a dorm room because I didn't want IT monitoring my traffic.

I really doubt any legitimate school would make using a VPN against the contract.

>>60279512
P51

>>60280306

For private users yeah. Every major company worth its salt has VPN access, but the average college student isn't using a VPN for assignments or shit pertinent to being a student.

>>60280323

It was never explicit, but we would notice a shitload of bandwidth usage coming from people using VPNs, and pretty much every single time it would turn out they were downloading/seeding BDrips like the end times were coming.

>>60280313
>my home 3770k, i feel like I really do need a strong desktop system
fair enough, I basically just write code with vim and tmux and use the internet so i don't need a powerful system

>>60280345
just checked and the policy for umich just asks to not abuse bandwidth.

nothing explicit about VPNs, just a statement that "Devices that connect to the network may be periodically scanned to ensure the security and reliability of the network."

>>60280313
i think that if you have a desktop or not, you absolutely must have a laptop. I have a friend who didn't have a laptop in CS and it was very difficult for him. He got one recently a at the end of his second year and he said the difference is a game changer.

>>60280423
that definitely makes sense.
it's weird that he didn't have one, i assumed most people in CS have one

>>60280418

Then you should be fine assuming you're not pulling dozens of gigabytes per day. Be smart and space out your torrenting and you'll probably be fine.

>>60280487
it's all 720p anyways

>>60279542
This, I also originally went with the 'compromize' of a powerful laptop. It was big, heavy, mediocre battery life, and still unable to play games maxed out.

Ended up getting a small 13 inch laptop and a nice gaming pc my second year.

>>60280524
yeah definitely don't get a heavy duty laptop. No matter what they're a compromise - and not a good one. macbook pros are honestly great laptops for college beause of their comfiness and unix

>>60280587
and you definitely cannot be a CS student and use windows

File: noEroS8.png (62KB, 571x512px) Image search: [Google]

62KB, 571x512px

>>60279542
This op. Just finished my CS major and what I did was a nice desktop for muh gaymen and full workstation fix, along with a cheap <$200 Chromebook that I put Linux on for any work I wanted to do.

Trying to go "all in one" with a gaymen laptop won't work well unless you don't care about gaming and just want a dope laptop in which case I'd go MBP desu if you can afford it, otherwise an Ultrabook like XPS.

>>60279921

Do you care about it being able to play games during free time?

>>60280051
Added bonus, when I remote my surface, battery life extends considerably. Don't have to worry about storage. It's great really

>>60280602
you definitely can

my school actually requires that engineers (mech) have a computer that can run windows software, since plenty of academic/engineering software is windows only

I would say most CS students used windows as well

>>60280797
well again, bootcamping a MBP is a good option

>>60280846
MBP's are great

>>60279512
just a light laptop and a nice keyboard to plug into it. Nothing you do in programming classes will stress even a raspberry pi, and you can just ssh to the student cluster and run jobs there if you need to.

>>60280874
is there anything useful at all you can do in college with a raspberry pi?
i have one right now and i'm running a discord bot and host a vpn

>>60279843
You can also usually be able to plug it in most classrooms so battery is not very important in most cases.

Does anyone strongly recommend getting a chromebook?

>>60281067
im used to hauling a charger anyways

>>60280625
err yeah forgot to add that in, I play games around 4 hours a day on average so yeah it should be good with running games

but i'm not a ''ultra settings only graphic is my love'' fag, as long as the game runs smooth (desu i can cope with 45 fps) and is ok-looking (no need for anti-aliasing or fxaa etc) since entire life i never had a properly good gaming computer setup and got used to chunky graphics

tldr a laptop that can run games with a good processor & ram but graphic card not so much of a big issue

>>60279512
Instead of buying a laptop and desktop, just buy a desktop and usb drive. Your college will have computers for you to use and you will just need the usb drive to transfer files to class.

>>60280473
I'm in CS but I'm too poor to afford a decent laptop. Mines trash

>>60279512

I would honestly get a used thinkpad with the dock. Have the dock set up at the dorm with a mechanical keyboard I liked and one of the 4k 49 inch $450 ish monitors form korea off ebay. Install linux no windows no games and work hard cause I am in school and fuck distractions.

I dont care about weight shit got small enough for me a decade ago or more. The only down side is the battery is only going to be like 2-3 hours might look into modding one though you have to be careful not to blow the cuck fuse when changing the cells.

>>60281591
>49 inch

is there any deskspace in the dorm that would be suitable for something of this size

>>60280081

I would vpn everything. Got to be wierd knowing there are people not event hat far away watching you shit. Its bad enough with google facebook and the gov but at least you are mostly just a number to them.

Also seedbox.

>>60281591
And I should add I would do nas and plex and other shit on pis. I have a mini freenas server now that works well for low power all the time but I dont know if I would bother with that in your situation.

>>60281612

Meant 40 inch. But its great for when you need to look at two things while coding or looking at documentation and a command line and whatever editor.

File: 1493751662354s.jpg (10KB, 171x189px) Image search: [Google]

10KB, 171x189px

>consider budget as unlimited
>help me choose between one or both

>>60281645
i see.
are those korean monitors actually that good?
ive been to seoul and seen lots of them with amazing specs but i didnt wanna buy one since i dont know korean.
why are they so cheap anyways?

>>60281648
i meant to say i was ready to get both should i have seen a reason good enough to do so

>>60281664

They are cheap because they have generally 1-3 bad pizels. They are binned panels that couldnt be sold to name brand companies. Mine has a bad pixel I only see on a black screen.

Besides that they are 60hrz so you wont be doing some 144hrz counter strike on them but fuck it I love it and dont do shooters anyways.

If you look around some of them work with freesync.

MemePad X220 with Arch Linux along with an IPS mod and SSD. Or a Dell XPS 13.

>>60281960
I have a 144hz asus rn and I'm gonna miss it so bad.
I'm not sure I'd enjoy the dead pixels though, I am a perfectionist when it comes to display quality and I imagine I would be rather annoyed just knowing that the issue exists.

>>60281960

I should also add I dont see the pixel unless its a black screen and look for it. I have two of them on monitor arms and they are great. I dont know why the widescreen meme is a thing those are just larger panels cut.

>>60282021

What will you use that speed for when in college anyways. I wasnt kidding when I said I wouldnt use windows. Easier to keep your nose to the grind stone when steam is not on your computer.

Its still a thing on linux but takes more work and only some of the games work.

>>60282037
i dont really game all that much anyway, so i dont really care about steam.
im more worried about having DAW and plugin access, and for that linux alone is definitely not enough

Anything light, anything with great battery life. Computing power isn't important, unless you do games engineering or design with 3D shit. If you have money, I would unironically advise you to buy a MacBook. Coding doesn't require power and the macOS sphere is very comfy for managing your shit in uni. The xiaomi air 13 also looks pretty nice, it even has a dGPU.

Don't fall for that 5kg clevo workstation meme if you want to bring it with you to lectures and the library (the charger alone weighs as much as the xiaomi)

>>60282094
I came in thinking razer was decent but I am now swinging into Mac and it feels like a good option.

Are the MBPs as indestructable as the MBAs?

>>60279512
If budget unlimited you can get both but if limited and you want to game consider MSi stealth pro

>>60281286
Try the XPS line from Dell
Check the P series from Lelnovo with the beefy-ass quadros.
Razer Blade
Zbooks from HP

>>60280156
>>60280253
wouldn't you have to run the desktop all day for this to work? also wouldnt there be tons of lag? Just get a decent laptop and an even better desktop.

>>60282166
>17 inch

Too far?

>>60282222
It's 15, and that's the primary type too

>>60282206
Well, in case I will need to do some design that would work.

>>60282239
Yes it is, sorry.
Looked at the 70 line and not the 60.

I'm in a similar situation.

Any laptop I should look into or avoid? I haven't bought a laptop in years and custom built my desktop but I want to get a smaller 13 or 15 inch laptop for classes and to have when I'm on campus.

I get employee discounts at hp, dell and microsoft store so I was going to look at those first.

Was gonna avoid Lenovo because of the whole thing it had a while back with the spying. But are they better now?

Also have discounts at newegg, officedepot/max, and staples but those seem to only be on daily deals

>>60279512
Honestly, the best thing to do is get a good desktop and a lightweight, cheap laptop. You keep your desktop at home, and bring your laptop to class. Do your assignments on the laptop, and when you need something stronger, you always have the option of transferring it to your desktop. It also helps to keep the laptop as something SPECIFICALLY for work and then have all your games on the desktop. That way, you won't be distracted by the ability to go about playing games when you should be doing work, everytime you are on your laptop you will be able to focus harder on doing work.

>>60279512
Get a <$300 Chromebook or used Thinkpad/Elitebook and spend the rest of your budget on a modest desktop build. The main factor in your laptop is portability and light classroom work. Anything more than that isn't worth it in a laptop form factor.

>>60280102
>windows runs fine. you won't even need much linux since macOS is UNIX. as an added bonus, you'll get all the mac-only apps
THIS OP. You get literally EVERYTHING by going Mac.

You can also save some money by buying a used Macbook Pro. I'm typing this on a mid 2012 13 inch that I upgraded with more RAM and an SSD. And it still blows a lot of "modern" laptops into orbit.

>inb4 homeOSex
Yeah, macOS is kind of cancer these days. But there is a lot of good software that is still Mac only (especially graphics tools - Pixelmator is the best $30 I've ever spent on software).

>>60280262
obviously depends on the thinkpad and what you want to use it for

Here's what you do, fuccboi

>Build a badassrig
>Buy a cheap Chromebook

And then you're good to go

>>60280909
you could run a plex server on it

>>60281167
I don't do STEM but I still find MS Office is easier to use and is more feature packed. If you want a notetaking machine and your university doesn't provide you with Office, it's great for notetaking

>>60282998
they are better now
in fact, they're really good because they're working their asses off to patch the Intel vulnerabilities in everything as old as the x220/t420

Desktop PCs are also much less likely to get stolen by Tryone/your shitty roommate than laptops

>>60282998
Just avoid Lenovo yeah except Thinkpads

Avoid thin convertible shit unless it's a surface device

File: Capture.png (26KB, 597x436px) Image search: [Google]

26KB, 597x436px

I'm going to be doing a lot of moving for work and study over the next 'm not going to be in one place for more than 4 months.

I want something that I can take notes on in a lecture, doesn't have the gaymer aesthetic, but get home and play games on and isn't going to get destroyed in checked baggage. If anyone has any any thoughts or recommendation, feel free to post them.

>>60283865
Sorry you'll just have to allow for a small amount of aesthetic

You can get the new Inspiron with the 1050ti and 7700hq

>>60280156
sounds like a bad idea desu, internet is not reliable

File: hmm.png (48KB, 991x521px) Image search: [Google]

48KB, 991x521px

What do y'all think of this?

>>60284660
Touchscreens are completely useless on laptops

Actually, looking at this one now which is slightly better in every way as far as i can tell and is about $30 after taxes.

I get about $60 back with either purchase so it doesn't really pay for itself but it does pay off some i need from the site

>>60284991
Touchscreens are always trash unless they're on a cell phone or tablet.

The touch screen is optional for that laptop and i took it off.

File: hmm2.png (44KB, 961x461px) Image search: [Google]

44KB, 961x461px

>>60285178
And I forgot the picture

File: 1491798134546.jpg (35KB, 578x527px) Image search: [Google]

35KB, 578x527px

>>60284660
>5400rpm drive
>588 US dollars

>>60285186
Seems oaky but what the fuck is with the RAM? One 2gb and one 4gb stick?

??

Are HP Pavilions alright? The specs seem reasonable for the price. I could do without the trials bullshit and the webcam but didn't have the option to take them off

>>60285215
It's weird right.

I was looking at the 8gb option but it was only a single 8gb stick for some reason. And it was like $30 more for it. I'm already pushing how much I want to spend so I probably won't go for it.

>>60285194
Yeah, I hadn't noticed that until I saw >>60285186 with the 7200 rpm

vaio z flip

What happens if people see I have an anime folder in my laptop?

>>60285874
Set the laptop and yourself on fire.

>>60279512
Get a thinkpad

>>60279542
This.
A ryzen build for a desktop will give you 8 hyperthreaded cores to play with virtual machines
Add in a decent video card and you can game in your spare time also.

The laptop should be light and no matter what you buy the performance won't touch a good desktop.

>>60279512
Get a 13-15" Macbook Pro and a nice big monitor for home with an external keyboard/mouse

>>60279512
Thin and light laptop on campus. Only one or two autism-engaging games allowed, everything else is programming.

Desktop at home, powerful if you like.

If you can discipline yourself, take a tablet to campus for internet and video usage to preserve the capacity/lifetime of your laptop battery.

I personally ran a Macbook Pro during college and a gaming desktop at home, worked great for keeping me on task and the only game I played was Dominions 4. Now I'm probably gonna ditch for an X1 Carbon and Arch, especially since I discovered aluminum builds are garbage and Sierra is entirely the wrong direction for macOS (battery, background services, etc.)

File: 1494033868339.jpg (135KB, 800x580px) Image search: [Google]

135KB, 800x580px

>>60279542
This, desu.

I bought a gaymen laptop my freshman year, but realized I messed up a couple of years in. The laptop had horrible battery life and was bulky. Eventually, I got a used t440s thinkpad on eBay with an extended battery and a thinner backup battery and built a desktop for workstation and gaymen. Turned it into an server and SSH'ed into it for programming.

Wish I did that at the beginning.

Get a Razer Stealth. If you need power for Engineering classes, spin up some AWS VMs. Literally the most useless skill in the computer profession these days is dinking around with desktop hardware. Nobody wants a greasy nerd who wastes time snapping in RAM chips. Get used to doing real workloads on remote hosts. That's the skill every top pay employer wants.

File: 1480088327442.png (71KB, 300x300px) Image search: [Google]

71KB, 300x300px

>>60280625
Not him but also soon-to-be aeroengi student
Not playing any games really, just drawfagging with PS/CSP sometimes and some programming

>>60279512
OP just get what you posted it's the best of both worlds don't waste your money on two computers

>>60289098
/thread

If you absolutely need a GPU for either games, 3D work, or whatever, get a cheapo external TB3 GPU enclosure.

Trying to have two main computers is the absolute worst thing you can do and a nightmare in file management.

>>60289629
your right about file management, not to mention software. having to install everything twice is a pain.

>>60279542
Yeah I went laptop route thinking I could also use it for video games, and it just wasn't worth the carry weight. Besides the type of shit you'll do in class you don't even need that much hardware power, it'll be a teaspoon of butter compared to the 10 gallon tub that career-level shit will toss your way.

>>60280081
They will actually crack down on your ass unless it's some community college that doesn't give a fuck if students are leeching off the free WiFi to download anime. One of my peers actually lost his right to live in the dorms because they found him downloading music. A VPN won't save you either because they can see it being used.

>>60279934
>2017
>LAN parties

Pick one

>>60279980
The MBP is a good school computer because it has the best track pad you can get in a laptop. And OS X is really stable so it won't crash on you. Got some decent specs, too. Sucks about the ports, though. And the new ones are way too fucking expensive. If I was still in school I'd get the new one, though.

>>60279512
For programmimg you don't need a workstation laptop. Just get a desktop for that.
But, a laptop is quite handy, and if you plan to program away from your desktop (often necessary in education), I would absolutely recommend getting one with a good, high res and somewhat large screen. 15" and thereabouts is optimal.
I made the mistake of getting a small 12" laptop with 1366x768 screen because I already have a nice desktop, but that thing is unusable for programming, and am thus stuck doing my university work on my pc. Sometimes that can be a major bitch. My productivity would've been much higher if I could just take my laptop and work at the university.