Best Computer For Master in CS?

[Aurora15]

I'm starting my Master in CS in the fall and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what computer is best. My program is one of those designed for non-CS undergrads. I know that I will be programming in Scala, Java, and Python. The lab at school is a Linux lab. My only portable computer is a Lenovo Ideapad S12 - a netbook - and I don't think it will have enough memory for what I'll be doing.

 

I guess the question is - should I buy a Mac, Windows, or Linux laptop? What do other CS grads use?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! 

[jeffster]

I'm not in CS, but I do spend the majority of my time programming these days, mainly in Python, so here's my take:

 

I use a Windows 7 laptop with a 15.6" screen and 4 gigs of ram.  This has the advantage of being cheap, and having enough memory to handle most of what I do.  If I'm dealing with a particularly huge dataset that requires more than 4 gigs of physical memory, I make a trip to the lab or use my schools virtual computing lab.  I find the screen size is a good balance - bigger makes the laptop more expensive, heavier, bulkier, and kills the battery life.  Smaller and I don't have enough desktop space to view multiple windows at a time while I work, which I almost always need to do.

 

Personally I recommend against buying Mac laptops, unless your budget is approaching unlimited.  No doubt they make great-looking, trendy products that work well, but you'll pay something approaching triple what you would for a Windows or Linux machine.  Macs are reliable and have good warranties... but again, if you have the misfortune of getting a dud of a Windows machine, you could still buy yourself two more brand-new ones for the price of one Mac. 

 

Both my wife and I have had good luck with Acer.  Mine is approaching 5 years old now and I use the hell out of it.  On the other side, I made the mistake of getting my wife a Compaq a few years ago and it felt cheaply-made and broke in a year and a half.  YMMV.

 

Edit: The other thing that's nice about the screen size I've got is that there's room for a full number pad on the keyboard, which is super useful.

Edited July 28, 2013 by jeffster

[33andathirdRPM]

Win7 Pro on one partition, your favorite variant of Linux on another?