Ideally, you should have multiple years of an on-site or overnight replacement warranty program covering your computer to allow rapid repair. In later years, you may feel that you're at a disadvantage because classmates can recompile and debug code faster on newer machines. You may wind up having to replace the computer in a later year of school, or worse, feel that you have to do it in the middle of a semester. Be prepared for the expense as well as the time for moving software from an old to a new machine at that point in your study. Be particularly careful if you plan to use a laptop computer that does not meet the minimum configuration .
Laptops are often difficult to upgrade.
Laptops use proprietary hard disks, and you may be unable to purchase a larger capacity hard disk later on. Older laptops have severe limits on the amount of RAM that may be added, and they may seem painfully slow. If you decide to use a computer which does not meet the minimum configuration and it does not work when you try it for some assignment, you will be responsible for finding another way to complete your assignment. Certain assignments or software in some classes may require the use of Windows which is available in the Computer Science undergraduate labs. If you do not run Windows on your computer, you will miss an educational opportunity to learn Windows administration, which is a marketable skill.