What programming will you be doing? Most programming can be done on Windows so it would probably be easier with a Windows Laptop however you can install windows on a Mac but can be a tedious task in it's self. The UI is alone is no reason to go with a Mac over a Windows laptop. Also even a basic laptop with say a i3 and 4GB of RAM would be sufficient for programming as long as the programs you are coding aren't demanding in terms of power.

I'll eventually be doing everything but my first class is in Java and then we development and then some C++ and possibly Python. I just wanna get 16GB ram because compiling can eat a lot sometimes.

Anything with an i7 would be useful, the extra hyper threaded core's are really useful for programming. I would say 8gb would be fine, especially if your not planning to game on the laptop. I've not gone over 5GB while programming but I have 16GB as I game on my pc as well. If you have the money 16GB would be beneficial but it's not crucial.

If you want a specific laptop mac's are good but you will have to put windows on it, or you can get a surface pro which in my opinion is a better choice as you can use it for other things as well as programming (taking notes, tablet use etc...).

-Pig wrote Anything with an i7 would be useful, the extra hyper threaded core's are really useful for programming. I would say 8gb would be fine, especially if your not planning to game on the laptop. I've not gone over 5GB while programming but I have 16GB as I game on my pc as well. If you have the money 16GB would be beneficial but it's not crucial.

If you want a specific laptop mac's are good but you will have to put windows on it, or you can get a surface pro which in my opinion is a better choice as you can use it for other things as well as programming (taking notes, tablet use etc...).

I have the money I found a 16GB i7 macbook with like a 500GB drive for $1800. I don't mind booting windows on it.

Please don't spend $1800 on a macbook -_- if you are going to be programming in C++ you will want a Windows laptop as you would need to boot Windows onto a Mac to run the applications and as Dan said it is just a pain that you can avoid. You don't need much horsepower to program and compile programs, a decent laptop with an i3/i5 8GB of RAM and preferably an SSD would be perfectly sufficient.

What is your budget for the laptop?

_Skittle wrote Please don't spend $1800 on a macbook -_- if you are going to be programming in C++ you will want a Windows laptop as you would need to boot Windows onto a Mac to run the applications and as Dan said it is just a pain that you can avoid. You don't need much horsepower to program and compile programs, a decent laptop with an i3/i5 8GB of RAM and preferably an SSD would be perfectly sufficient.

What is your budget for the laptop?

I plan on going to a 4 year for computer programming not just C++ and well my budget is around 1800 since I was going to get a macbook, I do like how easy it is to use. Only reason I own an iPhone, i used a iMac here and there at my school for graphic design .

This isn't a bad buy, you can get the 1TB SSD version for $1400 so still under budget;
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_Skittle wrote This isn't a bad buy, you can get the 1TB SSD version for $1400 so still under budget;
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Thanks Skittle, I'm going to splurge a little and get the 16Gb, but I'm still saving $200