Enrolled for Computer Systems and Business Analysis, AS

Question I have is what kind of laptop would be best to use for coursework? Im also on a budget... whats the least i need?
Oh any tips or suggestions on courses would be appreciated.



Program Core Requirements (39 Credits Required)
CGS 1100 - Computer Applications for Business
CTS 1102 - Survey of Operating Systems Technologies
COP 1000 - Introduction to Programming
COP 1170 - Programming in Visual Basic
CTS 1441 - Database Fundamentals
CTS 2442 - Database Applications
CTS 2433 - Programming SQL
CIS 2321 - Systems Analysis and Design
CEN 2071 - Information System Testing and Quality Assurance
CTS 2450 - Business Intelligence and Data Mining
ENC 2210 - Introduction to Technical and Professional Writing
GEB 1011 - Introduction to Business
ACG 2072 - Accounting for Professionals

good display, nice amount ram (8 gb atleast), nice processor, comfy keyboard, big hdd.

what's your budget? it helps narrowing down candidates.

this http://www.newegg.com/...aspx?Item=N82E16834315167 ain't bad.

Looking at 1k USD max

I would definately take rhat sql starter course. Sql data management is in high demand for employers. Get a tool like toad, navicat, or you can buy mysql server. Also visual basic while beneficial to know is little outdated. Gl gatororaus.

this http://www.newegg.com/...aspx?Item=N82E16834298725 is quite new and meets reqs very well.

tandy 1000

Ibm pc

Look at the black Friday and cyber monday deals. There will be some good ones out there.

OK, since you're going to be studying computer course as you have listed, you might want to look into a system powerful enough to host virtual machines that you can use to install and operate the operating systems you are going to have to study. I'm going to assume that you will not only be studying Windows, OSX, or Linux/Unix/Xenix, but you will also have to host SQL. So, with a 1K budget, your best bet is to shop wisely, or if you're a little more adventurous and entrepreneurial, you can go to pricewatch.com and find all the components to build the serious kind of system to do the job and perhaps a bit more.

A little research into your own capabilities would be in order.

1. Can you work a screwdriver?
2. Can you read a technical manual and understand it?
3. Can you successfully determine if a cable connector is keyed?
4. As long as you can do all of the above successfully, you should be able to build a high-powered system pretty cheaply.

This

commodore 16

Cerb thx for advice, I am a certified HVAC technician and hold ASE certifications as well, so yes I can turn a screwdriver and read tech manuals, just a bit outdated on the latest hardware and such with computers. Tis why I am taking such courses.



Don't have funds until student loan comes through. Like January I think.

Thx Marshall, I knew you would come through for me.


Thanks Hordo, unfortunately I believe the visual basic is a requirement. I appreciate the advice and encouragement!

Ok I expected answers like this, I'm sad to say I had to wiki what "Tandy 1000" was. ......not impressed.
❤ y'all

what u wants is a IBM compatable
3/86 46mhz
8meg ram (seems alot but will help later
20 meg HDD (seem alot of space but im the end will save alot of problems)
4x speed CD rom
has to be running 3.11 for works windows thats the bomb beats the hell out of windows 10

thats the best machine for you

Honestly, go to newegg or amazon and build your own system. It's definitely the cheapest way to go. Newegg is great for helping filter your search, and then you can check the reviews from there. I don't think you'd need anything in particular for what you are looking for, as long as you get a quad core, a decent(not top of the line) vid card and plenty of ram.

If you want a cheap place that'll do it for you, ibuypower or cyberpowerpc are dirt cheap.

Get that degree and learn Japanese and I'll get you a job here in Japan :P

Ok Digi....

Hmm.... A lot off sexiness in Japan.. Probably be easier to find employment in Japan, than here in Florida.

We just had a LinkedIn rep come in and pimp their premium services. For every 100 jobseekers in Japan in IT, there are 130 jobs at the moment.....

Damn.... How's the benefits and pay in Japan, compared to the states? Honestly the courses look pretty difficult. I was going to take as many courses as possible, thinking I'll stagger them... No reason to bog myself down and grow to despise the field.

i cant imagine any of that stuff being too demanding

your not testing some sort of production environment where you want to use multi million entry databases to stress test stuff

just go for a screen which isnt TN

*va or ips tend to be easier on the eyes

look for decent resolution, ie not a 1366x768 screen

hard drive capacity shouldnt be an issue, a slot where you can put in one of the little SSD's is good, mSATA, so you dont have to use a bigger slot (2.5inch) for an ssd and can leave in the mechanical drive for some larger cheap storage

they look like this: http://www.newegg.com/...aspx?Item=N82E16820147398

if you really find yourself with not enough storage though just look for a relatively fast usb stick or an external hard drive

keyboards are a personal preference but at least at home you can just plug in a real keyboard and mouse for better ergonomics, try to avoid 12 inch or smaller laptops if your going to be stuck only using their keyboard, 14-15 tends to be normal keyboards for laptops, 17 might be better but tends to make for a heavy laptop

as to processor probably avoid anything super underpowered like atom, but you dont need something expensive fast

compiling code taking a while? make a coffee

$1k? that buys an overkill laptop lol.

Maybe I should cap aft @ $500, seeing how I can get what is necessary, and a lil extra to spare.

i would get anything i5, 8-16 gig ram, 200+ gig SSD(or big regular hd if going with lots of virtual machines), 15.6 ".



Toad alone (atleast the dba suite) cost over 5k usd so doubt he can afford that...just get sql developer instead or mysql workbench that is free.

I have bought three lenovo laptops in the last 15 months, all under 1k (one under $400), and I've been super happy with them. These days $1k buys a lot of laptop.

If you need a laptop to carry back and forth to class I'd buy a brand name machine. You could build a lsptop - but its tricky and not cost effective. If you can get by with a desktop, the go the newegg route and roll your own.

http://www.newegg.com/...aspx?Item=N82E16834315167

or

http://www.newegg.com/...aspx?Item=N82E16834231796

I have 4 lenovo's, they always run perfect and are really nice quality

P.S. I hate laptops, the company keeps stuffing them down my throat!

be glad that its not tablets. :P

My laptop is about 5 years old and I run most of the stuff you're showing there without any issues. The only things that seemed to slow it down a bit was running NEAT and Peachtree (accounting software). I have three VMs on here, two servers and one linux dev machine, and it doesn't slow down noticeably even when running all three. I run SQL manager, python apps (with some massive queries, too). Most of my work is done in python and JS/Node but I have run Visual Studio and done some work in C, TypeScript and VB as well. I usually use Sublime Text, even for SQL queries, as I can run new builds right in the program and check my output for bugs without having to switch to a separate command line program. I also have a WAMP setup on here for a sanbox but I don't use it too much. All is handled just fine.

Point being, you won't need a $1k laptop for what you're going to be doing. Way overkill. $200-400 would be reasonable and you can pick it up from Best Buy during the holiday sales. You'd even do well to get one a generation back and really save yourself some extra money that way.

I've had good luck with Asus and lenovo. Terrible luck with anything HP or Toshiba (lots of HD failures and hardware issues). If you are hell bent on spending big dollars, Apple does make good dev machines (linux kernel) that will perform very well for you and come with most of the tools you need built in. Windows takes a lot more setup time as a dev machine. Just some food for thought.

Anyway system specs for my setup:

Intel i5 2.5Ghz, 6GB RAM, 64-bit architecture, 500GB HD 17" monitor ( big laptop. :-), Windows 7, Home Premium Edition ).

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Dell Inspiron 15 i5558-2858

I personally believe all you need is an i3:
http://www.staples.com/...ABZi8idgWSjx94aAqNE8P8HAQ

But if you insist on an i5 processor: (Dell Inspiron 15 5000-Series Intel Core i5 Processor, 1TB hard drive, 8GB RAM, Laptop)
http://www.staples.com/...52480?externalize=certona