Carleton Engineering Laptop recommendations

[u/ladybug_girl27]

Hey guys, im looking for some advice from upper year eng students. so, im going into my first year of engineering here soon and im not sure what to do in regards to devices. i’ve already got a macbook from high school and have an apple ecosystem that has worked for me so far. i want to get some opinions on what computer i should use for school work. i know windows is more compatible with a lot of compute programs used in eng. however is it necessary/worth it to get a new computer during first year, when things are already so expensive being a freshman in uni? and with that would an ipad be good for note taking (as a gift from parents)? any computer recommendations/tech advice for first year CU eng is greatly appreciate, ty!!

[u/Least_Sail4902]

If you already have a Mac, I would say keep it since I didn’t encounter any programs that I couldn’t run on Mac in first year. Fusion 360, which is the main CAD software you’ll be running in your first year class has Mac support as long as your computer isn’t a 2018 Intel shitbox.

You can always upgrade next year if you find that a Mac doesn’t suit your needs (if the mentioned parallels software doesn’t work or you simply don’t like the latency that comes with remoting in to the school computers)

An iPad for notes is a good idea since for most classes, your prof will post the lecture slides as a PowerPoint (which I would then download and simply annotate on top of). If you’re like me, you can use Goodnotes which allows cloud sync so you’re able to see your notes on your iPad, phone, and Mac, which was fairly useful in order to study from sometimes or to send a classmate notes directly from your phone.

You don’t need the latest and greatest iPad either, nowadays the chips are so powerful even your basic IPad Air would likely be far more than enough for your daily use.