You’ll need a computer of your own for university. While universities and colleges have computer labs which have computers and printers, you will want a computer and almost certainly a printer in your dorm room. Just before midterms and the end of term projects, the Computer Labs are often full to bursting. You don’t need to deal with that when you’re trying to get a project finished that’s due tomorrow morning. Having a computer and a printer at home will make your life vastly easier.
What Type of Computer?
Personal computers are sometimes divided into laptop, netbook, and desktop computers. There are advantages and disadvantages to each in the university setting.
Netbooks and Ultraportable Laptops for University Students
These are the easiest type of computers to transport. They are light and extremely portable, which is excellent if you want to use your computer to take notes during class. Even a laptop will seem to weigh a lot more after you had it in your bag for three or four hours. Many of the cheapest computers are netbooks. These advantages make Netbooks popular at university.
However, they have some disadvantages. They are less powerful than other types of computers. This may not be important if you use them only to surf the net, type notes, and type reports for class, but it may be very important if you want to use more complex software. If you need to use statistical analysis programs that require a lot of RAM, many computer games, voice dictation software, or some other memory-intensive programs you may prefer a laptop or desktop computer.
The screens of notebook computers are uncomfortable to look at for long periods of time because they are in the wrong position for your neck. Laptops have similar issues, but the situation is most severe with netbooks. You can get around this by using an external monitor, but this will negate the low price of the notebook computer. Many netbooks also have small keyboards that people with large hands may find difficult.
It should be mentioned that there are some larger netbook computers and small laptops that are quite powerful and may be good for some of the more memory intensive software. These models tend to be more expensive than low-end netbooks and laptops.
Laptops, Desktop Replacements and Luggable Computers for University Students
Laptops are larger than netbooks, although the boundary between them seems to be kept becoming ever harder to define. They are heavier and more expensive than a low end netbook, with a larger screen and more power available for using complex software. Many of them are still very portable, although you may not want to take a larger laptop to class every day. I dislike taking my laptop places unless I absolutely have to, but at least it is possible to do so when I need to. It’s still really easy to take the laptop with you when moving house or going to or from university.
Laptops come in a great range of sizes from perhaps 11 inch screens to 18 inches or even more. The really large laptops are generally known as desktop replacements. These usually aren’t taken to class to take notes, but are still easily movable compared to desktop computers and the large bright screens on them are wonderful to look at.
An external monitor is still extremely useful for laptop computers if you going to be spending a lot of time at them because it positions your neck in a more comfortable position while still allowing you to have the keyboard at the correct height. An alternative approach would be to use an external keyboard with the laptop.
Desktops for University Students
These are usually the most powerful home computers. They are not easily portable, and are a complete pain to move to and from university. Some models are smaller than others, and will be easier to transport. If you do really heavy computing that requires enormous amount of memory and high speed, then you may well want a desktop. The screens are usually the most comfortable to look at of any computer so they are good if you’re spending a lot of time at the computer and don’t have to move your computer with you.
The easiest type of computer to transport to and from university is a laptop or netbook computer. Netbooks are usually cheapest, but they are considerably less powerful than laptop or desktop computers, and may have trouble running certain programs.
Information on different sizes of laptops can be found here: Understanding Laptop Size/Weight
