Macbook for University?

K1LLSW1TCH

K1LLSW1TCH

K1LLSW1TCH

Caporegime
Joined
12 Mar 2009
Posts
26,776
Well, I have a mid 2008 Whitebook which serves me very well. However I'm starting University in September and wondered if my Macbook is going to be suitable for the types of programs that I'll need, or wether it'll be worth buying a Windows laptop to supplement my Mac?

I'll be studying for a degree in computer science and some of the modules on my course are web design as well as graphic manipulation which require specific programs. I don't know how University works but in college they had purchased a license for each person on our course so at that time we were able to each have our own copy of a Macromedia suite. Is this the case in University? If so, presumably it would be a Windows version although I highly doubt that University's would spend that amount of money and it would be the student's responsibility to purchase a copy of said software for themselves?

Cheers in advance. :)
 
If you do need Windows for anything, surely it'd be cheaper and easier to just use something like Bootcamp? That way you've got everything you need on the one machine.
 
Actually, I can't believe I didn't even think of that. Windows 7 may be a decent investment then. The only thing that concerns me is that my Macbook only has a 120GB HDD. Are they easily replaceable on a Macbook?

Giant facepalm for not thinking of Bootcamp though. :(

EDIT: Don't worry I've found a guide on the Internets. Seems simple enough, now all I need to do is find a more accommodating HDD. :)
 
Last edited:
Yes, but it's a good idea to stay away from Western Digital ones. They have their own built in shock protection which conflicts with the sensor built into your MacBook.
 
Thanks for the advice Fillado. Looking at the prices I was going to go with a Samsung drive. Something like a 250GB. At the same time I was going to upgrade my RAM also as currently there's only 1GB in my machine.
 
And from a CompSci perspective, programming on a Mac is much better than on Windows. You'll learn to love Terminal.

I also recommend grabbing TextMate for use when programming, or Eclipse if you're going the Java route.
 
OCuk have the Scorpio Blue 500GB hard drives for 60 quid. Just whanged one into my ol' macbook. It is a delight.

You will need a specific torque driver to remove the screws of the old one and attach the little shield to the new one... but it is a doddle.

Buy an external caddy for the old one and you can carbon copy cloner / super duper onto the new one making the transition utterly painless.
 
As already said, Windows 7 will run great on your MacBook. However, the OSX should be fine for a computer science degree I would have thought.
 
Fillado said:
Yes, but it's a good idea to stay away from Western Digital ones. They have their own built in shock protection which conflicts with the sensor built into your MacBook.
Click to expand...

Western Digital has been offering their mobile hard drive range without the fall-free sensor for quite some time now. For example: WD Scorpio Black comes without it and I highly recommended buying this hard drive if you are after a high performance mobile hard drive.
 
Cybertronic said:
Western Digital has been offering their mobile hard drive range without the fall-free sensor for quite some time now. For example: WD Scorpio Black comes without it and I highly recommended buying this hard drive if you are after a high performance mobile hard drive.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

I have been using the the Scorpio Black for over a year and it's been very stable with no heat issues.

Very easy to change the RAM and drive - less than 5 minutes.
 
Cheers all. I think I'll be going with the 500GB Scorpio Blue and also getting an external caddy as mentioned above. I'm waiting for delivery of an extra 2GB of RAM as well so my MacBook should be fairly decent for the next year or 2. :)
 
K1LLSW1TCH said:
Cheers all. I think I'll be going with the 500GB Scorpio Blue and also getting an external caddy as mentioned above. I'm waiting for delivery of an extra 2GB of RAM as well so my MacBook should be fairly decent for the next year or 2. :)
Click to expand...

It seems the WD Scorpio Blue is not offered with the fall-free sensor unlike the WD Scorpio Black which is offered with or without the fall-free sensor. Good choice on the WD Scorpio Blue! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom