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Thread ID: 138141	2014-10-11 19:45:00	Where to study?	Filthygamer (16897)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1386070	2014-10-11 19:45:00	I'm torn between studying at Victoria University or Massey University next year. I definitely want to study software engineering, with the eventual goal of developing games. At Vic the course falls under a Bachelor of Engineering, which I've heard is more creditable than at Massey where it comes under a Bachelor of Information Science. However, I've talked to a guy who works at Google and he said the degree is not as important as the skills you learn, so I shouldn't choose just based on that. However, there's also the matter of cost. Being from Palmerston North, Massey is a much cheaper option for someone of my finances (I would live at home) and I like how small and nice Palmy is juxtaposed with the roar of Wellington. I've been offered a place at the Te Puni hall of residence, which is mere minutes away from the engineering building at Vic. And then there's squash. I'm a squash player, and a half decent one as well and I love the squash in Palmy. I still have one year left of Juniors to go before I'm too old and I think I'll have a good shot next year if I stay here. And yet I'm not sure if I want to stay at home, because well... it's home... Has someone studied at either university that can help me decide? What is the course like? Also, is now a good time to build a desktop (my first ever!)? I've been trying to convince mum to let me build before next year but she thinks I should "wait and see what the course requirements are for computer specs" (she knows next to nothing about computers). Thanks in advance for your help!	Filthygamer (16897)
1386071	2014-10-12 01:30:00	Vic I've heard is more creditable than at Massey Massey is a much cheaper option and I like how small and nice Palmy I love the squash in Palmy. Seems like Palmerston has more Pluses in your list than Victoria. Therefore Palmerston.... If you want to build a PC then build it. The only thing you would need to worry about as far as hardware requirements go is if it is a gaming PC or not. If not, then it really doesn't matter - your course won't have any bearing on the hardware. Gaming - well, as the GPU is the single most important component in one, then that should be the starting point, and you should always buy the best GPU you can afford. If you can'ty afford a decent high end card, then buy last years, don't skimp and get something lame. Make sure there isn't a bottleneck - ie, low end CPU, underpowered PSU etc...and that's all you need to worry about really. Apart from looks as far as cases go. And using quality components, not cheap nasty one.s	pctek (84)
1386072	2014-10-12 01:46:00	I'm torn between studying at Victoria University or Massey University next year. I definitely want to study software engineering, with the eventual goal of developing games. Also, is now a good time to build a desktop (my first ever!)? I've been trying to convince mum to let me build before next year but she thinks I should "wait and see what the course requirements are for computer specs" (she knows next to nothing about computers). Thanks in advance for your help! If you want to study software engineering with the goal of building games I would suggest looking into Bachelor of Software Engineering Game Programming Build the comprehensive technical knowledge needed to become a game developer, software engineer or network programmer. Length3 years full time Indicative Fees$9,870 NZD per year $23,690 NZD per year (International) QualificationDegree NZQF Level 7 (420 credits) 1.2 EFTS per year www.mediadesignschool.com It's a fairly pricy course and well worth it. The tutors are excellent and very helpfully. The course itself is pretty full on. Media Design School have a lot of industry connections with game developers in Auckland as well.	Webdevguy (17166)
1386073	2014-10-12 01:56:00	Thanks for your replies. pctek do you know anything about the courses at either uni and how they compare? I'm researching parts for my first PC build at the moment and have a couple of questions. Firstly, is RAM just RAM no matter the brand? I'm seeing really expensive 'gaming' RAM and some cheaper RAM both DDR3 1600, so what's the difference? Also, how do I compare motherboards? I've found my ideal CPU, the AMD FX-6300, and for GPU I'm thinking AMD R9 270 (or 280 if I can find it cheap) - does the GPU brand matter? i.e. I've seen a Sapphire AMD R9 270 and a Powercolor AMD R9 270, aren't they essentially the same thing? Thanks in advance for any help. Webdevguy, I drooled over the ad for that course ages ago, but the only problem is that it's in Auckland! I don't like Auckland, far too big! If only they had something similar in Palmy.... And yeah, Palmy does have more positives IMO, but the only problem is living at home with mum -_- :P Thanks!	Filthygamer (16897)
1386074	2014-10-12 02:28:00	Has someone studied at either university that can help me decide? What is the course like? Doing CompSci as part of a Bachelor of Information Science at Massey in Palmerston North. Enjoyable course, all BInfSc majors are structured identically from memory. Anything specific you want to know?	icow (15313)
1386075	2014-10-12 02:35:00	Doing CompSci as part of a Bachelor of Information Science at Massey in Palmerston North. Enjoyable course, all BInfSc majors are structured identically from memory. Anything specific you want to know? Haha you're my ideal talk-to then. What's the difference between software engineering and computer science? Are the lecturers nice? I was at the Discover Computing workshop (open day type thing) and found the foreign lecturer (can't remember his name, Hans Guesgen or something?) quite hard to understand. Also, why did you choose Massey in the first place? Thanks!	Filthygamer (16897)
1386076	2014-10-12 03:18:00	As for CompSci vs Software Engineering have a read here: www.davidbudden.com (The conclusion is the TL;DR version) Picked Massey because Palmerston North is a very cheap city to live in. The Campus is also very nice. Figured it didn't matter where I got my degree (portfolio matters most if you're looking to be employed). Something I didn't know before I can here is that most IT related lectures are recorded, this appears to be something which is more common practice at Massey than any other university. I find this very useful for study and extra note taking purposes. Course as mentioned before has been pretty enjoyable. First year you do 159.171 and 159.172 as the first year computing papers. 50% of the lecturers I've had so far have been foreign. Most papers will have at least two lecturers so if you come across someone you don't like chances are you only have to put up with them for so long. Hans can be a little hard to understand but I got used to it pretty quickly. Most of the lecturers are pretty good (only had one for a compsci paper who I really didn't like). As a side note I think there is a first year game design paper which you can do via distance study from Massey Albany.	icow (15313)
1386077	2014-10-12 04:56:00	Thanks for your replies. pctek do you know anything about the courses at either uni and how they compare? I'm researching parts for my first PC build at the moment and have a couple of questions. Firstly, is RAM just RAM no matter the brand? I'm seeing really expensive 'gaming' RAM and some cheaper RAM both DDR3 1600, so what's the difference? Also, how do I compare motherboards? I've found my ideal CPU, the AMD FX-6300, and for GPU I'm thinking AMD R9 270 (or 280 if I can find it cheap) - does the GPU brand matter? i.e. I've seen a Sapphire AMD R9 270 and a Powercolor AMD R9 270, aren't they essentially the same thing? Thanks in advance for any help. Webdevguy, I drooled over the ad for that course ages ago, but the only problem is that it's in Auckland! I don't like Auckland, far too big! If only they had something similar in Palmy.... And yeah, Palmy does have more positives IMO, but the only problem is living at home with mum -_- :P Thanks! Yup, it is in Auckland along with all the game dev studios. The only one that isn't is pik pok who are in Wellington. If you can get over your aversion to Auckland then I would recommend studying up here. We have a very diverse population and there are at least 100, 000 students living in Auckland.	Webdevguy (17166)
1386078	2014-10-12 06:34:00	I want to do Electronics Engineering/Computer Systems Engineering next year at Auckland/Waikato/Canterbury. Auckland is rather expensive but it is quite highly ranked and offer more courses than Waikato. I'm pretty sure for most Engineering courses, you'll be fine with an i5 processor. Doesn't really matter because the you'll be able to use the computers in the labs at Uni. I built a desktop a year ago, (i5, 8gb ram, GTX 660...) and will definitely be more than enough for Engineering. The only problem is that the desktop will have to stay in my room at the halls, and I'd have to get a Chromebook or something to use in other places if need-be.	sahilcc7 (15483)
1386079	2014-10-12 06:52:00	Webdevguy, I drooled over the ad for that course ages ago, but the only problem is that it's in Auckland! I don't like Auckland, far too big! If only they had something similar in Palmy.... I would be weary of places like that. They are charging you 2x what you'd pay in Uni, at the end of the day a university is a university.	Cato (6936)
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