What kind of Laptop do I need for a computer engineering major?

[agentchowdown]

I've been admitted for computer engineering in the fall, and was wondering about a need for a laptop for a computer engineering major student. I already have a full gaming desktop (i7 6700K, GTX 970, 240GB SSD + 2TB HDD), and wanted to know if I'll need a powerful laptop for using programs in class, or if I would even need a windows laptop rather than a Chrome book. I've been looking at the Newest Razer Blade, for all it's pros, but given my full desktop, do I need a powerful laptop?

 

[dudeman509]

You'll probably want something with at least a 4-core i5/i7. Avoid U-series CPUs (they are all 2-core currently).

 

[Solandri]

Unless you plan on gaming in another student's room or coding in the library, I'd just get a decent / comfortable laptop that gets really long battery life (which means dual core). Since you're taking your desktop with you, it can do the heavy lifting when you're in your room.

Since you'll want to be able to run the same programs on both the desktop and laptop, a Chromebook probably won't work (unless you plan to install Linux on both).

For bonus points, if your school gives you a static IP address, you can use Remote Desktop or VNC to connect to your desktop over the network from anywhere in school. If you don't get a static IP address, you'll need some sort of VPN and dynamic DNS (newer routers make this easy). This will let you do things like long compile jobs on the desktop, while seeing the UI and results on the laptop. This also avoidsheating up or running down the battery on the laptop. I've started doing this at home - run games on the desktop while playing them on the laptop via Steam In Home Streaming. Less heat and noise, and the battery lasts a lot longer.