Best products from r/VirginiaTech

I actually don't think those requirements are absurd.

Let's break it down:

> What do you wish you’d known when you were in my position?

No one looks at your computer and gives you shit about it; having said that, see my final point below. By the time you're a senior, a $3500 laptop bought when you were a freshman will probably not pass the incoming freshman's requirements. Know who cares? Not your professors.

> Do I need the horsepower they suggest?

No, but yes. What they're suggesting is a "reasonable" power level. An i5 is the "mainstream" processor; and they don't specify speed, so get a low-end one. Slower/older/worse/cheaper procs may do what you need, but you will feel the slow down.

> Purchase/rent through the bookstore?

God, never rent, and never buy anything from the bookstore (even books if you can help it). The bookstore is a total and complete rip off in every way. Buy yourself a good laptop.

> Mac with windows – worth the effort?

No. But everyone in the business world uses a Mac, so ... if you want to know Mac OSX for later, maybe? There's no reason to run Windows on a Mac unless you A.) are gaming, or B.) there's some random, esoteric piece of software that only works on windows.

But again, no one cares. No one is going to get penis envy looking at your super cool macbook pro. People are more worried about taking notes and passing tests and browsing dank memes posting that thing on that girl's facebook feed that you have a crush on, or whatever college kids do these days. :P

> Should I buy office on campus, or shop it online?

See below; most majors will allow you to get a free or cheap copy of Windows and Office.

Now, some comments on the actual specs:

If the SSD is breaking the bank, just buy a normal laptop, then buy an SSD and put it in. There's deals all the time on /r/buildapcsales - including right now a 250GB Samsung 850 EVO (good hard drive) for $79. It'll be blank, but whatever, see below for software. And by the way, no one upgrade makes a difference in the speed "feel" of a computer more than an SSD.

16G of memory is overkill, but memory is so cheap, I haven't built/bought a computer in ~4 years without 16G. If the place you're buying your laptop from is gouging you on the cost of memory, just get a laptop with 2GB or 4GB, and swap in 16G. Same thing, /r/buildapcsales had this flash newegg sale four days ago with 16G of laptop ram for $47.

There, there's two upgrades, for $130, that take a base-line laptop into serious-workstation territory.

You'll (probably?) get a copy of Windows and Office just for being a student at Virginia Tech. After you swap in a (blank) SSD, you can load Windows from a USB stick, after downloading the ISO from the computing center's website. If you have trouble with this, find the Engineering major on your dorm floor and offer to buy pizza in exchange for some help. If, for whatever reason, your major doesn't get Windows and Office for free, it's at least discounted. Or, again, find that Engineering major, ask them which one of their friends runs Linux and refers to Bill Gates as the devil and Microsoft as M$, and ask if you can have his copy of Windows and Office from the computing center in exchange for pizza.

I mean, you said it yourself:

> Thanks a lot…I do hope to use the machine for a good while,

So, don't buy a $400 laptop and expect it to last until 2021. Spend a good $1500 or so on the one thing that you will use more than anything else you own except maybe a bed for the next 4 years. Compared to the cost of education, it's next to nothing.

Seriously, your education is going to cost you $50,000 just for in-state tuition. A $1500 laptop that will last you for four years bumps the per-credit-hour of a 120 credit education from $417 per credit-hour to $428 per credit-hour.

TL;DR: there's not a lot that Engineering students won't do for pizza.

edit: I'm passionate about computer hard ware so as I think of things, I'm adding them. The one thing that you MUST get in a laptop, and I CANNOT believe that their specs didn't say this: do NOT get a 1366x768 pixel screen! Get at least 1920x1080 ("full HD"). You literally won't have enough screen real estate to see what you're working on, especially as you get into Visio and Project, not to mention just web browsing.

The other thing I'll mention, since I'm actually looking at laptops for you is how goddamn cheap they've become.

For instance, this one for $560, free prime shipping, from amazon, and has everything you need, except that the hard drive is slow as stale shit, and it only has 8GB of ram. Which, again, is fine, but you can upgrade by buying one additional 8GB stick of ram for $30 (assuming it has a free ram slot). And again, you can get a 250GB high quality SSD for $90 shipped even without looking for a sale. So, $560 + $30 + $90 = $680 will literally buy you a good laptop that meets their needs, minus MS Office. Damn, that's nice.

Or, I just went to Lenovo's site and configured this laptop, with a full HD screen, an i7 (more than you need), a graphics card (you don't need but if you play games, yay!), and an SSD, PLUS OFFICE, for under $1200. It still only has 8GB of ram, which, again, is fine, but if you need to upgrade, see above - $30.

I'm old, and I cling firmly to the age-old adage of "Never go cheap on anything that rests between you and the earth." That includes shoes, tires and mattresses.



If you buy "Bean Boots" get the flannel/chamois lined ones at a minimum. Saving $20 for the unlined ones is a bad move.
The Thinsulate-lined ones and shearling (fur) lined ones are almost too warm for Virginia, but if you are unaccustomed to cold weather, it might not be a terrible purchase.

DO buy 3 pair of tall, thick boot socks to go with your new pair of boots, and make sure you try the boots on with the socks.

Personally, I don't care for duck boots. (any boot with the leather upper attached to a rubber bottom)
I prefer an all-leather boot for cold-weather.

Some random products:

https://www.amazon.com/Rockport-Mens-Elkhart-Snow-Boot/dp/B00F4OAMO6

https://www.amazon.com/Timberland-Chillberg-Mid-Waterproof-Insulated/dp/B0199NCPF6

https://www.amazon.com/Vasque-Snowblime-Ultradry-Insulated-Brindle/dp/B00TYJ29XE

https://www.amazon.com/Columbia-Mens-SNOWCROSS-Snow-Black/dp/B07JH35HZQ/

I prefer dark leather, so it looks like a dress shoe at first glance.

Some key features:

1. You want to see the word(s) "Waterproof" or "Water proof".
   

• Slushy melted snow loves to sneak inside non-waterproof shoes and make you walk around with soggy socks. Wet feet get really cold really quickly.
  
• You don't have to see "Gore-Tex" for the boot to be waterproof.
  

2. You want to see a nice, chunky tread pattern on the boot. Something that can bite into packed snow and give you traction & stability.
   

• Pro-Tip: It is good manners to always stomp your boots clear just before you enter a building. Chunky treads sometimes fill with snow and carry it with you in the cleats.
  

3. You want something that at least goes up over your ankles. A 6 to 8" boot is plenty. 9-12" boots are really only intended for deep woods activities.
   
4. Resist the temptation to buy something with a zipper up the side, or velcro closure instead of big long laces. Laces are the way to go.
   
   If you apply a leather treatment to the boots at the end of every winter, before you throw them in the back of your closet, they will last 20 years or more.
   
   If you want to go old-school, and use something natural & traditional then:
   this or maybe this
   
   If you prefer to let science do the work for you then:
   
   this or maybe this could be the way to go.
   
   
   -----
   
   If money is tight, or if you are going to travel back home to Arizona after college and you'll likely never need cold-weather boots again in your life, anything $60 or so at Target or Walmart really can work just fine.
   
   Also, as I said before, good boots last a really long time. Weird as used shoes might be, Goodwill isn't as crazy an option as it might sound.
   
   -----
   
   Final comment on boot socks:
   
   Cotton and Acrylic socks are cheap and easy to find, and work adequately.
   But real wool is the warmest and toughest way to go, hands-down, and a super-soft merino wool is almost as soft as cotton.

Notes

• Most of these trails are quote rocky, and during the winter months can be quite icy/slick. Please be careful of your footing and if it's your first time on a particular hike, bring a buddy along for safety.
  
  
• Take out what you carry in. Nothing's worse than a disgusting trail or a spoiled river or a ruined overlook. Clean up after yourself and leave only footsteps.
  
  
• Little cars can get you to all of these trailheads. I drove my old '95 Honda Accord (RIP) to all of them. So . . . it's not like you need a quad bike for them.
  
  
• DNR and Forestry cops are crawling around these areas. Please be careful and know that if you're doing anything weird, they will bust you (I've seen it happen once, they thought some dudes were smoking dope).
  
  
• If you fish in many of these areas, you are required to have a fishing license, and a Nat'l Forest Stamp. My roommates were once busted for this.
  
  
• A lot of these little towns are speed traps, so drive carefully.
  
  
• Most of these trips can be completed in as little as an afternoon. Most of the time I didn't bring anything, although a pack with some water and a snack/meal would be fine/is kinda recommended.
  
  
• For footwear, I recommend Merrell hiking shoes with Gore Tex. They're expensive yet, they were awesome and my feet were kept very dry, even when walking through mud.
  
  
• If you've done some of these hikes and want to know more, I strongly recommend the book by Leaonard M. Adkins 50 Hikes in Southern Virginia: From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. It was my hiker's bible during my time at Tech. When it comes to maps, these National Geographic maps are incredible. I used the Mount Rogers one quite a bit. As I recall the Blacksburg one was kind of meh. Also, if you'd like to know a bit more about the AT, a good start is David Miller's AWOL on the Appalachian Trail.
  
  
• AT thru hikers are . . . interesting people. Feel free to ask them questions. They'll probably ask you a few, also (how far to __? what day is it? etc).
  
  
• Stay safe and happy hiking!

I'm not sure how well known this is any more, but there used to be a half decent music scene in Blacksburg. After the accident at The Solar Haus the town put a lock down on house shows and pretty much strangled what momentum there was. Still, there are some cool things that have come from their recently like the Wild Nothing record.

Get Rocked Out used to be a good way to find out about shows and meet other musicians, and a quick look shows there's still some light activity on their boards. It's not totally homogeneous, but there is a strong slant toward DIY/punk/hardcore 'round those parts.

If you or anyone in that scene need a good engineer to make a record, PM me it would be a fun excuse to come back to the burg. Epiphenomena by The Science was recorded at VT's studio and the mixed with my rig.

Good luck in your search!

I'll be a sophomore this year and brought mine last year when I was on campus as a freshman. I didn't use it much because I was either studying or when I had free time I was out or hanging with friends but I'm still happy I brought it. When I wanted to play games or watch tv away from my roommate I could. A recommendation of mine would be to get one of those Vivo monitor stands on amazon and to get a compact keyboard like a poker or something along the lines. Both of these will save you lots of desk space.


(VIVO Single LCD Monitor Desk Mount Stand Fully Adjustable/Tilt/Articulating for 1 Screen up to 27" (STAND-V001) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B21TLQU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_JixmzbJ5QEEV3)

This. Listen to this guy. I hate my fujitsu. They are a waste of money. Having worked in VT Tech Support, I can tell you that the engineering department completely disregarded the findings on the inferior quality of hardware in the fujitsu tablets because they got a good partnership. A good buddy of mine who is also a MechE spent his money on a really nice laptop and got this to go with it and safe to say I am very jealous... I wish I had known before my freshman year.

Another thing, you will only use the tablet your freshman year of engineering. I have not had to use it in any other classes (and I'm a MechE).

Also, get a solid printer. Don't get a printer from the bookstore, especially not an Espon. Here is what I have and I love it. Just recently smashed my Epson with a golf club.

Congrats on getting in!

I am a sophomore cs student going into my 4th semester. Here's my experience with the calculator policies for tests in different classes:

• Math: No calculator allowed or only a 4-function allowed.
  
• Physics: Any calculator allowed except for those expensive TI Nspire CX ones with like LED screens. They never checked during exams. Also formula sheets were allowed for exams so you only ever needed the basic functions anyway.
  
• CS: Never needed a calculator for any cs classes.
  
  I always use a TI-84 cause that's just what I own, but I really only use it for the screen size. Any calculations can be done on a 4-function or scientific calculator like you have. When I don't have a calculator with me, I'm able to use my phone calculator app or try to always keep wolfram alpha or symbolab open in a tab on my computer which is helpful for explaining stuff and a larger range of calculations. In other words, you should be fine with the scientific calculator for 1035 that you have, but a more expensive one will make calculations easier, faster, and possibly more accurate (in my experience the keys on the scientific calculators don't register sometimes and are less sensitive than the nicer calculators, which can mess up a calculation - pain in the ass when you don't realize a button didn't register at the beginning of a multi step calculation until after the fact). There are a lot of ti-83's and ti-84's on eBay that are pretty cheap. I just looked and the first couple results were all under/around $40. Hope this helps!

Yea it looks like there are other responses, but I'll mirror. A Docsis 3.0 modem if you buy one (link below) helps amazingly. I get consistent 25Mbps down and 4 Mbps up. When I had the modem they gave me it was very sporadic. Sometimes there are latency issues, but the speed is always spot on. Also if you are on wireless in Blacksburg, it sucks, radio interference and all from everyones wireless devices in apartment buildings, it kind of goes the way of cell phone signals on game day. Try plugging a ethernet cord straight into your router when its slow and see if that isn't the issue. If it is, there are ways to deal with that, but its always good to figure out if it truly is Comcast or not.

(http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-SB6121-SURFboard-DOCSIS-Cable/dp/B004XC6GJ0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1347941339&sr=8-3&keywords=surfboard+6120)

Recently graduated so my advice might be out of date.
It can be kind of risky to get books early in case there is some kind of switch or if the professor prefers another text. This being said, the standard nature of certain class curricula makes it a pretty sure bet on what book they will use.

For as along as I know Statics and Dynamics use the latest edition of Meriam and Kraige. I dont know how frequently those editions are renewed but the material itself doesnt really change.

I don't know what text deforms uses but try to find what last springs classes used (likely they all used the same book) and look for the most recent edition in case it was updated recently.

ENGE 1216 I don't remember having a text.

Never used a book for E Theory and that will depend on your instructor.

Wasn't an ME so I can't help with thermo-fluids

Materials Engineering will almost without a doubt use Callister. http://www.amazon.com/Materials-Science-Engineering-William-Callister/dp/1118324579/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404986941&sr=1-1&keywords=Callister+materials

Hope that helps!

Yes, the lab is mandatory. If you are currently enrolled in lecture but not lab, you will need to try to force/add a lab section (and will probably not have any choice on times--you'll probably be placed where ever they can find a space). However, contrary to advice here, you should not wait for the first day of class to request a force/add from the instructor. In CS, all force/adds for undergraduate courses are handled centrally through an online form and you cannot force/add into a class just by going on the first day of class. The force/add policy description and link to the online form are on the CS website here: https://cs.vt.edu/Undergraduate/ForceAdd.html.

Regarding your computer, a MacBook or MacBook Pro is fine. Pretty much any decent notebook computer (whether Win/Mac/Linux) will work. No touch screen is required. All software is provided for free and is available for download from Canvas once you're in the course. The software is cross-platform and runs on about any OS. There is a required course textbook. I'm not sure if it is listed at the bookstore or not, but it is usually this one: https://www.amazon.com/Objects-First-Java-Practical-Introduction/dp/0134477367. An older 5th edition will probably also work, but you can find out on the first day of class when the instructor goes over the syllabus requirements. If you wait until the first week of classes to get the textbook, you'll still be fine.

Spoke lights are a nice touch. You can install waterproof battery operated models with a couple of zip ties in under an hour. https://www.amazon.com/BRIONAC-Bike-Wheel-Lights-Accessories/dp/B01M6WC0CU?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_8