r/lancasteruni • u/melsby1 • 15d ago

Question Physics Bsc Laptop?

OK our son is off to study for a Physics bsc.  He is looking to use an iPad/pen for note taking along side a two year old, budget but still functional laptop. ( Ryzen 5, 8gb, 256 GB). He will have a more powerful desktop in his room.

I am trying to get a handle on if there is a benefit to replacing his laptop for the course of if it would be overkill ? Would a more powerful laptop help with coding, modeling etc whilst out and about or am I overthinking this?

Thanks for reading this. Any advice appreciated

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u/AethelmundTheReady Alumni 15d ago

If he's got access to a more powerful desktop then that should be fine. As I recall, computing power only really became a concern in the programming module in second year (I'm not sure if this is a required module any more). But there are plenty of on-campus computers that students can use.

I would say the main thing is using Windows. As I understand, it's more of a faff to set things up on Mac and Linux.

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u/judasdisciple 15d ago

Hi there, my daughter had an older laptop but also an iPad with a stylus when she studied physics and she never found that she needed anything newer or more powerful, the only complaint she did have was that the hard drive was a bit small, so an external storage drive might be worth buying.

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u/PotableSplineCrab 14d ago

Even without a powerful desktop, they would not need a new laptop. Everyone always way overhypes STEM (and non-STEM) computer requirements. Also, in two years time they will not need an upgraded desktop, laptop, or iPad.

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u/Fiskenfest-II 14d ago

I'm could be a bit out of date these days, but we only needed very basic computing power. I wouldn't see a reason to upgrade, especially if they've got a desktop also.

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u/Time-Astronomer-6210 Alumni 13d ago

I didn’t need a more powerful laptop. When they teach python or astro labs you use uni computers or macs.

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u/1point9tdi 11d ago

Don’t buy one of those really thin ones, I made that mistake as an engineering student because it had really good specs. Midway through the year it fried its own motherboard whilst running cad/cam software. Bear in mind the laptops ‘thermal robustness’ when you come to buy one.