I've gotta dilemma here guys, I have a $400 dollar spending limit and I don't know whether to get a laptop, tablet, or laptop tablet hybrid. I'm plan to start going to college for mechanical engineering at my local community college this summer and I need a computer that caters to the programs I'm going to have to run on my pc in the next two years such as CAD. But I like the portability of the tablet, I would also like to play minecraft aswell ( not pocket edition). I've been eyeing the ASUS transformer t100 for 350, it runs minecraft at its lowest quality, its portable, but I don't know if it will be able to support CAD or any other programs that I would need in the near future. I really don't want an android tablet, because their just really bigger phones minus the phone. So what do you guys suggest?
Should I get a tablet or tabletPC or laptop?
For such programs like CAD (and I guess you'll need some more), the laptop is the best choice. Better battery life, usual functionality (compared to androids etc), mechanical keyboard. With such a budget you'll be able to allow a more or less powerful model. I wouldn't recommend Windows 8 tablets and dualboots (it's a cool idea, but still too raw).
Tablets are good for consuming but a laptop is better for producing. Hope that makes sense. I would go with a laptop for CAD applications.
Well knowing that Quantum Computers are coming out in a few years which do ten times or even more than the classical computer. I would save your money for that and get a tablet.
The Transformer is a good choice, although the 2GB of RAM limitation on Atom CPUs is unforgivable. They perform ok, my only complaint of my Dell V8Pro tablet is that some software takes a while to launch, and touch screen in Windows is a pain.
For engineering apps, maybe a faster CPU might help. A good choice is the older, 1st gen Surface Pro which is sometimes sold for $500, and has a digitizer pen. Its mobile i5 is powerful.
You will need a good keyboard for your main computer.