Do I need to upgrade my laptop?
My laptop specs
i5 5300U
4 GB Ram (extendable to 8, I have an extra slot available)
BTW does it require webcam?
38 Replies
you'll probably wind up needing a webcam eventually for a presentation but u can make it thru with that build if u upgrade the ram
group presentations right ?
yep
That's fine, i thought it was solo 💀
btw is a crappy webcam fine? I have one from 2010 I think
if the teacher can see your silhouette, I think it's fine
The most worrying part is the RAM
you gotta have at minimum 8GB
but it is recommended one with 16GB, if you don't wanna suffer some slowdown with Visual Studio or any other resource hungry application (there are many like that that you'd have to use in this course)
oooh but my latop only supports till 8 gb
and should I buy a mouse?
or trackpad should be fine/
mouse/trackpad is up to preference. imo mouse is a bit faster, but its up to you. I think the 8gb is a must have. and thats the minimum, later you might upgrade just bc of convenience
I did it with touchpad but yeah
However, if you have the guts, you can try to keep the 8gb. Some courses are doable with a 1gb laptop. I had a crappy 1gb laptop from 2006 that had lubuntu installed (no way I was gonna keep using windows xp), and I did WEB244 up to a point, the entire OOP244 course (I could have done IPC144 on it, as well, if I had the laptop back then), and the other courses I would do it in my laptop with 8gb (DBS211, and the like)
It's only the professional programs that may require more powerful computers
I managed everything until 5th sem p well with 8gb
in 5th sem there's a javafx course and the intelliJ ide + android emulator is a bit much
yeah, that's when 8gb seems unusable
The moment you start working with either IDEs, mobile dev, or "modern" web frameworks and workflows, that's when 8gb might not be enough
javafx ugh I don't want to attend java GUI courses
possible?
yep true, when I tried android dev studio emulator
....
on 8 gb desktop btw
my pc crashed
you have to attend the Java course, since it is a required one (they changed it from JAC to APD)
typical android dev shenanigans
I have completed java but not its gui
was it JAC?
self *
oh
and I don't want to learn java gui
Unfortunately, it's one of the required courses for you to graduate
ugh only javax I suppose or does it include swing too?
i think only javafx
is that necessary in cpp?
nope
I have 256GB SSD
Do i need more storage?
I currently only have 100 GB left
rest are used
nah u should be good with that
guys do i need a battery?
my laptop battery not working
laptop works without batter so is there power outlet in the classroom?
some classrooms but not all
do we get access to that?
or I should just consider new battery?
yeah you should get a battery
can't guarantee you'll get a classroom with outlets at every table
My first three classes had barebone tables and no outlets save for the one at the back wall.
I have always wondered, what do you usually use laptops for in classes?
I mostly use it to either code along or finish work while half listening to the lecture
Oh so they not actually needed in any of the classes
oh! uh yeah sometimes there are in-person labs
like with submission by the end of class
sorry yeah I was just talking abt what I use the laptop for on average
I am assuming they have computers in those classrooms
Cause no outlets would suck in that case
you can pretty far with a Raspberry Pi 4 but if you're really hurting for a new computer, you can buy a used enterprise laptop with reasonable specs for like $500 if you go on Facebook Marketplace or whatever
there is a laptop rental available in school
I think its free?
nah i dont need a new one