I'm another EE. I've had semesters that vary in courseload. This semester I had one class a day, M-F. I'd guess that you'll have plenty of time to play video games, especially if you have a few semesters of gen eds. You'll probably only be in class for 3-4 hours a day, max. Labs can take more time, but those are only once or twice a week.
I got along fine without a laptop for four years. I would say try to figure out how you're going to use it. If you want to take it to class every day, which some people do, then I'd go smaller than a 15.4 inch. But you probably won't be able to play games on it after a year or two. I just got a Z71V, but it was more to be able to have a tiny bit of mobility while not being a giant 17 incher, and still having crazy power. As an undergrad, you probably won't need too fast a computer. My old P4 1.5Ghz desktop runs PSPICE and Maxplus, but it would have fits with Protel. But I didn't have to use Protel til this year, and I can use the lab computers anways. I'd probably try to scrounge up an old computer for a year or two, and then buy a nice computer. Just get a XBOX360 or PS3 to hold you over.
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