Is a laptop needed for uni?

MrKennedy

MrKennedy

MrKennedy

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As per the title is a laptop needed for uni? Basically I have a relatively powerfull desktop pc (2500k, gtx480, ssd ect) and was wondering if this will be sufficient enough or would a laptop be an advantage? Thanks
 
Depends on the course you're doing. Some courses will need it, some don't. I did use to use a laptop just to view past lecture notes with the current ones being lectured, as well as seeing other notes from the web on the subject, but that got downsized to a tablet instead.
 
My son has just finished his first year doing computer programming stuff (can't remember the name of the course :p)

He took his desktop and doesn't miss a laptop at all. As already said, all depends on the course really
 
It is a civil engineering course that I'm taking. Do you think it would be a good idea to wait an see if I need one instead of spending the money right now? Also the idea of a tablet sounds pretty good.
 
MrKennedy said:
It is a civil engineering course that I'm taking. Do you think it would be a good idea to wait an see if I need one instead of spending the money right now? Also the idea of a tablet sounds pretty good.
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Would be wise. I wasn't planning to buy one until 2 weeks into the course. My lecturers had exercises and extra notes which was placed on the university student portal which was required as part of the lecture, and printing them was not cheap :rolleyes:...
 
MrKennedy said:
As per the title is a laptop needed for uni? Basically I have a relatively powerfull desktop pc (2500k, gtx480, ssd ect) and was wondering if this will be sufficient enough or would a laptop be an advantage? Thanks
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As long as you have a desktop in your room then you are fine. It is really, really worth buying a voice recorder (dictataphone) though to record lectures, you will find it invaluable to listen to them back and add to your existing (handwritten is best) notes. Then type up the notes later and store on your desktop for later revision. Job done. :)
 
All depends how you plan on doing your work. If you are someone who'll go back to your room and sit and do work then you don't need one. On the other hand if you'll work when sitting in the student union, library or wherever - even in a nearby pub (we do that a lot, its quiet and the uni wireless reaches) then it can be really useful to have a laptop.

I've just finished my first year as a mature student and I'd say about 25-30% of our computing course brought their own laptop - a few used them in lectures (mainly for facebook and games) It was tutorials and outside of classes where we used them most.

Probably best to wait and see how things are setup at your uni :)
 
The main advantage my girlfriend finds with a laptop is when doing group work. She can take the laptop to the library/other peoples house/pub depending on where they are meeting up to work.
 
Had a desktop all through uni, had no problems. If I were to go back again I'd still be happy with a desktop (though I own a laptop for work now) but I'd probably look to set up a proper home network with dns etc, make getting at my home stuff from uni a bit easier.

That said, when you graduate from uni a laptop may be handy - you can take it to interviews to demonstrate your work. Showing is much better than telling!
(Alternately you can make sure your work is easily viewable online, assuming the interview location has some machine to access it - a lot depends on your field I guess! No idea what civil engineers would need to demo their awesomeness)
 
Just remember to back up religiously what ever you decide, im doing HND in college and use my laptop all the time the college (as are most public machine so I assume uni is the same) machines are slow, dirty and the screens are awfully dirty with smeers and god knows what, if you get a laptop you know that will do the job then you wont look back.
 
What do you imagine you will need a laptop for?


It might be useful on certain courses, or if you do a lot of group based learning, but you won't really know until you go.

I brought a laptop to uni with me, and sold it after the first year buying a desktop instead.
 
If not for gaming, then something cheap and cheerful (and light) like the Asus X401A (14.1" with no numpad and DVD-drive- weighting just 1.86kg) or X501A (15.6" with no DVD-drive- weighting just 2.07kg) with SandyBridge/IvyBridge based Pentium/i3 dual-core CPU and 4GB/8GB ram for £240-£300 ish are quite decent.

Shame about the Windows 8 that comes with it rather than Windows 7...but better than no OS included at all :p
 
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I'm going to wait and see but the idea of a tablet seems to make more sense than a laptop. With the money saved I think I will invest in some NAS so I don't lose any of my work and should be able to access my stuff anywhere.
 
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