Future Engineering Student?

Which Mac is best for a future engineering student?  I'm looking in to chemical engineering at Purdue, and I don't want to be underpowered (cheap) but I don't want to be overpowered either (expensive).  I'm also not sure if chemical engineering would use a lot of Windows-native programs.  I know that mechanical engineers and civil engineers really need fast computers--but I'm not sure about chemical engineering.  I have three questions:
1.  Is the Intel HD 4000 graphics chip enough?  Or should I opt for a 1GB chip (only in 15" models)?
2.  Is it worth the extra $ to have a quad-core processor and a 15" display?  I'm worried about glare specifically--if I got a 15" I'd definitely get an anti-glare.  A 13" doesn't have that feature, however; and I think the glare is really bad without it.  I'm concerned if the hyperthreading dual-core i7 (2.9Ghz) would be enough too.
3.  Retina display.  How useful is it in an engineering environment?  Considering both portability and useability here.  Not to mention glare.  Does the screen reallly reduce glare like Apple says it does compared to the stock models?
I'd really like to know what anyone thinks, either from opinion or experience.  Right now I have a 2009 white unibody MacBook (2.26Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB 1067Mhz, 256GB SSD).  I upgraded both the RAM (2GB to 4GB) and the HDD to SSD (250GB HDD to 256GB SSD) myself I've ran some CAD programs on it and they've been pretty slow, so I'd be nice to have a fast ENOUGH processor when it's time to get a new one.  I'll also for sure get an SDD in ANY computer--I'm willing to pay for that upgrade directly from Apple so there's no chance of problems if I do it myself.  I don't want to wait for the warranty to run out two years in to college before I upgrade the parts, like I did for my current Mac.
I hope all of this makes sense, thanks for anything that you can provide .

Since you will be going into engineering i believe you will be using design apps like AutoCAD and other such utilities. All such apps require a lot of raw processing power. which means a lot of graphic intensive prosesses as well.my suggestion to you would be to go for the 15" MBP and go for the base model. Retina or non-retina display is completely up to you. That is all a matter of what appeals to your eyes but go for the base model in whichever lineup you go for. I believe they start with the 2.3 GHZ quad core config and also has 1 GB of discrete graphics in that, which in my opinion should be powerful enough for your work and also future proofs the notebook for at least 4-5 years. Hope this helps.

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    Last edited by Jessehk (2008-07-15 18:26:23)

    Jessehk wrote:Thanks for all the responses!
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  • W530 - Engineering Student

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    Does someone’s post help you? Give them kudos as a reward, as they will do better to improve | Mark it as solved if the solution works for you, so it could be reference for others in the future | Please do not email me regarding technical problems, you could post it in the forum
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  • Engineering student wanting a macbook pro! HELP!!!

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  • HT5634 What do I do now and how do I do it? (BootCamp & Engineering student probs)

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  • Will macbook air suit civil engineering student

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