Good laptop for engineering student?

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ph4t3

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I'm thinking of getting a good, solid laptop for next year. Something that should be tough but light enough to cart around campus with. It's probably going to need to run some sort of CAD , IDE's and the likes. Any recommendations?

P.S. How's the Dell Studio range?
 
I have a Dell Studio 1537. It's great. LED backlit LCD makes for good battery life. Otherwise it's a standard notebook with a decent build.

It all depends what you need to do on the run, really.
 
DELL Precision

ph4t3 said:
I'm thinking of getting a good, solid laptop for next year. Something that should be tough but light enough to cart around campus with. It's probably going to need to run some sort of CAD , IDE's and the likes. Any recommendations?
P.S. How's the Dell Studio range?
Click to expand...

Have you had a look at the PRECISION range ???

Mobile Workstations that are designed for CAD etc etc

Only problem is the SA DELL support -- Like a PM woman -- some days good -- some days atrocious :D

Most of the other manufacturers have similar offerings. I am not sure if there is a place where you can go and test them all out ?

Lot of money to fork out without being able to test.

IF you want a cheap option and have access to eBay have a look here

eComputers UK

Sent them some email and got a reply within an hour or two ( and it was just a request for info )

See here also

FYI

I have a Latitude D series ( now discontinued ) -- you can upgrade this to handle pretty much anything ( NOT with any help from Dell SA though )

8 Gig RAM / 3Ghz CPU -- only problem is the GPU -- only 256 Mb Ram and not the fastest.


MW
 
My ex had an XPS 13" with the works and it was pretty tough and quite light. That said a friend of mine had one as well and he had endless problems with it. Granted his was an older model so it might have just been production teething problems.
 
Dell Precision is great, but it's a little out-of-budget, don't you think?
 
Well, none stated, but I don't think it makes a lot of sense for a STUDENT to get a Precision :p
 
WHY

sn3rd said:
Well, none stated, but I don't think it makes a lot of sense for a STUDENT to get a Precision :p
Click to expand...

Why not :confused:

If it is engineering -- you need the BEST :D

Did you look at those eBay prices ??? Most stuff in SA is a *Rip-Off*


MW
 
As much as I'd really like to have BEST:p...i've got budget constraints (8-12k) :( .What's your guys opinions on acer and toshiba?
 
Also, Precision is generally not what I call mobile... :p

Acer and Toshiba are both premium brands, but I generally find the build-quality to be lacking. I'd stick with HP and Dell, but then again, maybe I'm a fanboi ;)
 
Well, for 12k you can get yourself a very nice Sony! :) A friend of mine bought his (not sure what the model no. is) for 12k at IC about a month ago. Very good performing laptop.
 
sn3rd said:
I have a Dell Studio 1537. It's great. LED backlit LCD makes for good battery life. Otherwise it's a standard notebook with a decent build.

It all depends what you need to do on the run, really.
Click to expand...

@sn3rd: What are the speakers like in your experience? From reading reviews & forums online I heard the speakers are quite poor.

I ask because I'm considering buying the 1537 but would like speakers with decent volume (had a hp 6720s and the speakers were unacceptably soft, don't want that again!).
 
Dell's support is second to none (but on par with HP) ..lol

The Precision is what you might consider if you make it to 2nd year (I know I know.. we're all geniuses) because its very expensive but is purpose built to handle CAD and the high end rendering needed for engineering and other sciences. In first year there's more than enough capacity for an Inspiron to handle it.

Sony and Acer do not have next business day onsite repair capabilty - something you only appreciate when you get a lovely blue screen or something else happens. Lenovo is a carry in warranty. Check the stores ... Dell 36 month warranty... HP, Acer, Sony, etc... 12month warranty.

If you have R12k to spend talk to a reseller and get the upgrades you want. Otherwise goto Game buy one for R8k and then spoil yourself with a day at the spa! (lol)

Good luck for your studies dude.
 
Richard7 said:
@sn3rd: What are the speakers like in your experience? From reading reviews & forums online I heard the speakers are quite poor.

I ask because I'm considering buying the 1537 but would like speakers with decent volume (had a hp 6720s and the speakers were unacceptably soft, don't want that again!).
Click to expand...

I replied in your other thread. I've used a 6720s. The 1537 speakers are much better.
 
BelAl said:
Dell's support is second to none (but on par with HP) ..lol

The Precision is what you might consider if you make it to 2nd year (I know I know.. we're all geniuses) because its very expensive but is purpose built to handle CAD and the high end rendering needed for engineering and other sciences. In first year there's more than enough capacity for an Inspiron to handle it.

Sony and Acer do not have next business day onsite repair capabilty - something you only appreciate when you get a lovely blue screen or something else happens. Lenovo is a carry in warranty. Check the stores ... Dell 36 month warranty... HP, Acer, Sony, etc... 12month warranty.

If you have R12k to spend talk to a reseller and get the upgrades you want. Otherwise goto Game buy one for R8k and then spoil yourself with a day at the spa! (lol)

Good luck for your studies dude.
Click to expand...

Actually, that's a lie. All the big names offer a 3 year warranty as OPTIONAL. Even the Dells. Taking a 1 year warranty instead knocks a good chunk off the price, but I'd never recommend it.

When a configuration is chosen, the warranty is chosen at the same time. So places like Game, Dion-Wired, Incredible, etc, choose what warranty they think a notebook should have. It's really quite silly.

But some places give the standard warranty with the option to upgrade it. That's something worth looking at, if only for peace of mind.

Something people need to realise. Engineering STUDENTS don't render MASSIVE designs and systems. A mid-range Core 2 Duo will handle the projects just fine. If a bigger design comes along, then even the Precision won't be able to do it in a short time. In such cases, the university has facilities for the job; clusters etc.
 
sn3rd u hv to differentiate between shop warranty upgrades (like our beloved hifi corp)and oem warranty upgrades. Not all the retailers are offering genuine oem warranty upgrades.

1yr warranties are useless... kind of guarantees (70%) that you are going to have some problems later on that they are only going to help you with by starting the conversation with "budget or straight sir?"

And as for engineering students not rendering massive designs.. fair point ..
 
Well I know that HP and Acer definitely offer "extended" warranties on their notebooks - at a price, of course.

And you can even customise a notebook on the Dell website and see that you can drop the 3 year NBD in favour of a shorter warranty.
 
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