u/MoonInspiration1011

Hi! I’m an incoming international freshman at Lehigh University majoring in Computer Science in the P.C. Rossin College (Class of 2030).

I’m currently deciding between getting a MacBook or a Windows laptop for college.

A few things I’m wondering:

• Are Macs fully fine for Lehigh CS courses/workflows?
• Are there any classes/software that are Windows-only or significantly easier on Windows?
• Do CS students ever realistically need a dedicated GPU (RTX/CUDA) for AI/ML, data, rendering, etc.?
• Would a MacBook be enough for most workloads, or is a Windows laptop with dedicated graphics safer long-term?
• For RAM, is 16GB enough for CS at Lehigh, or would you recommend 24GB on Mac / 32GB on Windows for future-proofing?
• Is 512GB storage enough for most CS students, or is 1TB worth it for projects/datasets over 4 years?

For context:

• I don’t game
• I care a lot about battery life and portability
• I’ll probably keep this laptop for 4–6 years

Would really appreciate advice from you guys. 🙏