CSE at top NITs is a far better option. Among the NITS, I would suggest you choose NIT Trichy. The CSE department of NIT Trichy is better than other NITs. The department is old and the curriculum is at par with the top IITs. The faculty is experienced and will guide you throughout the four years of your college. You will get hands-on learning because of the multiple practical projects that are given to the students. The campus of NIT Trichy is just as amazing. You will have hostel facilities as well. Each year the top companies visit our college to recruit the students. The CSE department is one of the departments that get the highest packages. Last year the average package in the CSE departments was 27.27 LPA.
I am the right person to answer this question as I have friends at both NITs as well as IIIT Hyderabad. If you are genuinely inclined towards CSE, then nothing can serve you better than IIIT Hyderabad. The institute offers the best environments in India to grow and gain expertise in the CS field.
IIIT Hyderabad has excellent placement opportunities and its rich coding culture is reflected in the increasing Gsoc selections every year. Additionally, its research culture helps you explore various research domains from Cognitive Science to Compilers, from Humanities to Robotics, and from eGovernance to VLSI. You will find the ambiance here to be quite competitive which aims to bring the best out of the students.
However, if you aren’t sure of your interests yet, and aren’t much inclined towards computer science, IIIT Hyderabad won’t be the right place for you. Also, the fees are high, so think about all these factors before joining.
So if money is not the issue and you are ready to work hard, then go for IIIT Hyderabad but if you want a laid-back college life with minimal expenses, NITs are for you.