collegeprep976

My d will be a freshman at ND in the fall. Looking for advice from current Notre Dame students regarding what kind of computer to purchase and where to purchase it. She will be a Physics/PreMed major. Is it best to purchase it from the ND Computer Center? Do students carry the computers with them to classes and throughout the day? I'm asking this question to determine if weight of computer and battery power is important.
Thanks!

BPKO43

Most of the time, you won't be carrying your computer to class with you or regularly throughout the day. In fact, lots of teacher refuse to allow/grudginly accept laptops to be out during their classes. The ND models offered are great, but you can get something sufficient for much cheaper.

kevdude

Search the forum for previous posts on this topic. I know I for one have been part of multiple in depth discussions of various computer issues here. Anyway, one bit of info I will reiterate is that even if you don't buy your computer through OIT (Office of Information Technologies - the ND IT service), they will still service it - that service is built into your tuition. They are registered service centers for all major brands, including Apple, which means for anything less than major logic board replacements, they are authorized to fix hardware problems without voiding your warrantee (a problem that Mac owners sometimes have when dealing with other schools' IT departments).

BPKO43

They will still service it, but unless it is through them or under warranty from Dell, you will be charged at minimum a $20 diagnostic fee

Irish45221

For a Physics / PreMed Major I would suggest you purchase a Macbook or a Macbook Pro. I did some physics research over the past few years in the department and my Mac was more than superb for my simulations and data analysis. Not only that, but you can add the Windows operating system to today's Macs. This means you can run both Mac OSX and Windows Vista on the same machine. The weight is minimal and they hold a strong charge.

I would suggest you purchase either a Mac or a PC from the manufacturers website using your education discount. You can save about a $100 on every Mac from the Apple Store and I believe you can save some money from Dell's site as well. I think they just need a student number or proof of admission. I would also get some sort of support package when you buy the computer. Mac's have Apple Care.

I have personally had nothing but bad luck with OIT. They are not the most helpful people and their service is not great. If you have a problem, I would send it back to the manufacturer and get it fixed through them. Good luck.

bus52

ND sends out something early in the summer with the minimum system requirements and a discounted price for the lenovo laptop. We looked at all options and checked out Dell at length. The ND deal was not the absolute cheapest...however, they offered a full four year on-site service warranty. About 15 month after we bought it, a key was sticking and my S took it in on campus. I will say that it took them 2 weeks to fix but they replaced several things and the mother board...cost=0. Several students were there to p/up their computers were complaining about the cost of the repairs (no ND warranty). Worth the extra few bucks for the convenience.

BobbyC

let me say that when i was lookin' around at computers last year before i headed off to ND, i was the most indecisive in terms of mac or pc.... in the end, i choose to get my 1st mac ever and havn't regretted it, but it certainly doesn't matter which one you pick.

i definitely recommended purchasing through ND just because it is made so easy.

computer weight isn't as important as size. you just want to be able to carry it to class and to other dorms pretty easily and battery power is always nice, but you are almost always close to an outlet so it doesn't matter too much

runner0890

If money is not a problem, definitely purchase through ND's computer store. I was a physics-in-medicine major and used a PC. Mac's are definitely faster at running particle simulations, but unless your daughter is going to be doing hardcore research in physics or engineering a PC will be fine. Recommendations for this fall can be found: Get the Right Computer - Office of Information Technologies - University of Notre Dame. In most classes a laptop is not required, but I found it to be extremely useful in instances were notetaking is a must (profs don't hand out notes). Typing is much faster than writing and it was easier for me to actually pay attention to the material the professor presented instead of just worrying if I wrote down everything.

kaydog

Any advice on Mac size. Is it worth the $200 to go to the 15"?

Irish45221

I just bought the new 15" Macbook Pro and am loving it. I get over eight hours of battery life on a single charge.

I saw some new stats that said that the 2.53 GHZ 13" Macbook Pro outperformed the 15" in battery performance by a few minutes. If you are on a long flight watching a movie this sort of thing may make a difference but for everyday use it is negligible.

I personally need the 15" for academic reasons. I look at a lot of atlases and require a bigger screen. I have used the 13" and am actually using an older 13" to type this out right now. It is fine but if you would like to be able to have multiple programs visible on the same screen then the 15" is the way to go. Things tend to get a bit crowded on 13" computers but they run the same (if not better than) as the 15" models. They are also easier to carry around.

The real question is whether or not you want to pay the extra $200 for a simple display size increase. I personally think it was worth it. But at the end of the day it is up to your finances to decide. Remember you will be stuck with whatever laptop you buy for four years so it is important that your are comfortable with whatever one you get. Whatever one you get you will probably be happy. Just take advantage of your student discount (show them proof of enrollment) and you will be fine.

hawkswim09

I also bought a 15" laptop from Apple and love it. I really suggest a 15".