Best products from r/nyu

Howdy!

I am a sophomore in the game design major, specifically David (also to some chortle!). First of all, welcome to the BFA! I had a similar predicament when I was approaching my freshman year last year and so hopefully I can help you out.

Second of all, I just want to let you know a few things as a person who worries about money and making the best purchases!!!

NOTICE: If you are not taking programming for games first semester, you can get away with not having a laptop for a semester. Ultimately, would not recommend, but it gives you a unique look on the world and your personal use of technology! I spent many a nights late at Bobst because of this!

You probably want a laptop that weights 5 pounds or less, but also one that is relatively thin.

My first purchase with my financial aid money was a chunky little sager that was a beast of a machine. There's a certain luxury to being able to carry around your laptop with one hand. I think that is the plus of all the people using Macs, but I certainly cannot afford that. It was too chunky and too small for my tastes and leads me to my next tip.

You probably do not want a gaming laptop. Well... a ~super powerful gaming laptop~.

Depending on your habits, you might be spending a lot of your time freshman year not playing games (you will find out this is a good thing!) or just playing games for games 101 (history of games basically). There is also a game library in both Manhattan and Brooklyn which both have gaming PCs as well as a bunch of consoles. If you do fancy yourself a lot of games and think you'll be playing a lot in your room, I'd totally recommend just building a desktop along with getting a laptop. I'm still using a $600 build I made in middle school which plays games fine on a 1440x900 screen.

Lastly, you should get what you're most comfortable using OS wise and you probably want to get it before the year starts.

I grew up using PCs because my parents couldn't afford macs and just being comfortable using your computer is probably the most important part. A lot of the professors use macs, but a large percentage of the BFA student body has PCs because a lot of games are made for Windows and I guess they wanted super gaming laptops?

This is what I bought.

I can firmly say that you do not need anything more powerful than this graphically or processor wise. Feel free to get something beefier or more expensive. That's up to you, but this runs everything fine for me (as well as my buddy Simon, ayy shout out to Simon!). Only thing I miss is having 16GB of RAM, but I am soon upgrading the 8GB to 12GB which should be a bit better (8GB was completely fine). You know yourself much better than I do so if you need more storage space, look for something with more!

Don't worry about your computer not lasting either? As long as you get a good warranty you should be fine. A lot of the development that you will be doing computer wise will not be as graphically intensive as the games that come out!

Good luck and feel free to PM me! (please do !!! us first years are itching to meet the new crop :^)

Here's the best quality copy you can get, and getting this means you're more likely to see more awesome stuff!

Back in my day, we used this for Gen Chem and this for Principles of Bio. Don't buy textbooks until you make it to campus because they will most likely be using an updated version. Although which edition you get won't matter for the content, it will matter for the end of chapter questions.

Good luck!

Would you be interested in a dual monitor stand? I was planning on selling mine soon. It would help a lot with desk space on those small dorm desks. This is the one I have.

Just in case anyone's interested, The Design of Everyday Things is a great book to explore problems such as the one posted here.

Underbed storage, yes. You can also buy risers (eg) to give yourself more underbed storage.

The views from the north tower (or anywhere, really) depend on how high up you are and which direction you're facing. I've only seen south-facing on the 14th floor and it was a pretty solid view (Williamsburg Bridge, among other things) but I can't speak for anywhere else in 3N.

Haven't lived in a 3-bedroom suite.

Designer Sploof: https://www.amazon.com/Smoke-Buddy-0159-BLU-Personal-Filter/dp/B00478UIB2/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1522128853&sr=1-1&keywords=smoke+buddy

https://www.amazon.com/Robe-Depot-Unisex-Graduation-Adjustable/dp/B071RD27PN/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1525989641&sr=8-4&keywords=black+graduation+hat&dpID=41d1y9cmPgL&preST=_SX342_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

open the window+open the door

Or you can buy one of these to remove the window stopper. But do it at your own risk.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HIUGGQQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_R.cvDbVWYX2XS