<p>Hello. I am not sure which area of computer science I’ll persue… but I also will study GIS. I think the ESRI program will run on windows 7?</p>
<p>most likely, I’ll just need word procesing and internet (I asked the school and they alsao said powerpoint, excel)</p>
<p>I am thining of a Sony vaio Y?</p>
<p>I suggest you could either purchase a 15.6 inch laptop and a external monitor, or you can purchase a 17 inch laptop if you prefer mobility. Any laptop these days that are over $700 will have enough power for either GIS or CS.</p>
<p>Desktop + netbook combination has been working extremely well for me. Although, I sometimes wish I had a larger screen to work with when I’m on-the-go.</p>
<p>A modern SFF desktop doesn’t take up that much space these days, but the power you can get for the cost is amazing. My $600 desktop easily outperforms several $3000 laptops in all aspects except size, weight, and portability. Just put it on the ground and it takes up only a trivial amount of space. :)</p>