I am going to be attending Oregon State University in fall of 2010, and I will need to purchase a laptop before doing so.

I was looking at the Mac Book Pro 17inch, but the OSU website says that I need to have Windows for my Engineering program.

Can someone recommend me a windows equivalent of the MB Pro for less than $2300?

I really like the high resolution that the MB Pro offers, as well as the very minimalistic looks of the laptop. I also would like the laptop to stay quiet, and it does not need to play games.

Thank you for your help!

P.S. This is the website that says what the laptop needs to have for my program:
http://engr.oregonstate.edu/students/wireless/recommend.html

If you can live without the minimalist looks...you could almost get two windoze machines with those specs for 2300 and still have money leftover for beer.

What are the academic deals like in the link below the specs url you posted for the dells/hp compared to the mac discounts?

You could buy HP's elitebook (the macbook clone).

If you're into high resolutions, dell probably has some interesting options for you.

You can also install windows on the mac.

I'm going to University now, and I'm frustrated enough carrying around a 15" laptop. I'd collapse of exhaustion after a full day carrying around a 17" system. I'm so much into a 13" or less and a primary workstation (desktop) at home right now.

But yeah, Windows runs great using bootcamp on Apple machinery. So don't let your school deter you if you think Apple systems are right for you. The other option is a virtual machine (such as VMWare Fusion) so you don't have to reboot into Windows; just run it inside OSX.

These are the minimum specs that I care to have

120gb or larger hard drive, 7200rpm or Solid State, will have a 500gb external HDD to put files on
2.1ghz C2D or equivalent/faster
DVD drive, doesn't need to be built in, won't use it often

The reason I would like a high resolution, not necessarily a large screen, is because I will be getting rid of my desktop computer and using a laptop as my primary computer. I don't want to lose the real estate that my 1680x1050 monitor gave me, but I want to sell the monitor for money or give it to my parents.

QUOTE FROM [H]ard|Forum:
[QUOTE=ToMMyGuN;1034945968]Are you looking for a large screen? or just a high resolution? Any brands you really despise? Do you want it to be portable or are you gonna leave it on your desk?

Do you already have a desktop? Are you just going to use the laptop for engineering hw and class notes, or are you going to game at all, watch videos, etc?[/QUOTE]
I don't necessarily need a large screen.
I want a high resolution.
No brand preference.
This will be replacing my desktop.
I will be using the laptop for hw and notes in class.
No games.
Probably will use for movies if I go on a trip or a plane.

I won't need the desktop for gaming because I won't be gaming anymore. Fact is I haven't bought a new game since christmas last year, and I haven't played a game since early this last summer. So I won't be missing anything by not having the ability to game.

I was looking back at laptops again, and I think that by using boot camp to boot windows, the base model of the 15 inch Mac Book Pro with the 2.53ghz processor will be ideal for my needs.

I will upgrade the laptop on the Apple Website to have a 500gb 7200rpm HDD, that way I can have plenty of room for any applications that I need to install for college and still have room for music on the OS X install.

Does this seem like a good idea, or are there still better options for a laptop computer less than $1800? I am intrigued by the Mac because my windows computer, while running great for the first 8 months or so I owned it, has given me nothing but problems in the last year and a half...

Buy a Macbook Pro and dual boot with windows through parallels.

problem solved.

or buy a high end Sony Vaio. Where I work we have an 18" Sony Vaio with a 2.2ghz Core 2 duo, 500gb HDD, blu-ray drive, integrated webcam, and dedicated number pad next to the keyboard. bright LCD, and great features, includes a webcam as well.

when it comes to macbook pro clone or better, I think that Sony Vaio is in a league of its own as Apple doesn't offer blu-ray yet.