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Geistbar t1_ivcjaam wrote

Reply to comment by MarranoPoltergeist in What laptops for college would you guys recommend. by Cold-Jackfruit6368

Macs aren't good recommendations for engineering. Engineers need specific software to run. If there's no Mac port of their software then they're stuck going to a computer lab.

For someone that knows what software they need through experience and being told, that's less of a problem. But OP is going to be starting school and will lack that experience and there's always a risk of the school missing a piece of software or a misunderstanding when looking things up.

For non-STEM this is less of a worry. Most other industries that need specific software for students are in the "creative" space which tends to be very well supported on Macs. Less software driven studies also don't have that issue for obvious reasons.

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Wooden_Bed377 t1_ivcpbh4 wrote

^this. Anything Math or Science related for a degree get a Windows computer OP. Makes life waaaaay easier

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stereolithography t1_ivcxj3k wrote

Ehhhhh, depends. A good chunk of my CS/SE homies and I used nothing but cheapo laptops (usually ThinkPads) running some flavor of Linux with no problems. Now, if you gotta run some bullshit like Matlab (sorry for your loss) or Excel then yeah, just run Windows.

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Wooden_Bed377 t1_ivczskv wrote

Linux as well, but taking some inferences I'm assuming the person asking isn't that technical, at least not yet :). But my biggest point, dual monitors is a necessity in my opinion.

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WhySuchALongName t1_ivg3q0k wrote

100% agree with the dual monitors.

Moved from a single 13" MacBook Pro screen -> a PC with a 27" monitor -> dual monitors -> triple monitors (43" + 32" +27").

I can't believe I ever did work on a single laptop screen as a student. Although likely overkill for a student, a triple monitor setup has increased my productivity at work tremendously.

I have considered a 4th monitor but I don't think it's necessary. Sometimes I have to alt-tab while working, but not enough to justify a 4th at the moment.

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