The Best Laptops for Engineering Students and Engineers (2017)
Selecting the Best Laptop for Engineering Students
Laptops for engineering students and graduates should be fast, efficient, and versatile!
As if going into an engineering school is already not difficult enough, you have to hold up with the burning load of technological and creative requirements every day. I only had a desktop when I first joined the college to study mechanical engineering. I thought it would be enough — but, boy oh boy, it was not. I had to stay up late in college to finish the reports, do the drawings, then submit them the same day. I had to go through the phase of picking a computer that was portable, met all my requirements and also gave me some sense of entertainment. With my friends to guide me and a little help from Google, I managed to pick some good ones.
These days, so many laptops are overrated that it's easy to make mistakes on this expensive investment. Computers and gadgets are expensive. For engineering students, they're even more expensive. In this article, you'll get:
- My top picks for laptops
- The most important requirements you should be considering when purchasing your laptop
- A full description of my top choices and and longer list of other recommendations.
If I had purchased my laptop based strictly on price and not focused on any other features, I would have made a huge mistake in purchasing a gadget that was going to be with me for at least four years. Below, the article should help you avoid that kind of fate. Good luck!
Top 5 Best Laptops for Engineers/Students (Updated July 2017)
S.N.
| Laptop
| Comments
|
|---|---|---|
1
| HP Envy with 7th Generation Intel i7
| Available in 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch models
|
2
| Asus Vivobook Pro
| With extra discount for students @ Microsoft Store
|
3
| Lenovo Y700 (Touch/Non-Touch)
| 1TB storage, beautiful chassis, backlit keyboard, budget-friendly
|
4
| Acer Aspire VX15
| perfect for gamers
|
5
| Dell XPS 15
| 3K Ultra HD resolution
|
Continue to read about the above laptops, or choose your own laptop with some critical suggestions on what specs to look for in a laptop for engineering.
An Engineering Laptop Needs...
1. 6-8GB of RAM
2. At least 500GB of hard drive (SSD is better)
3. Screen resolution of no less than 1600 × 900 pixels
4. Intel i5 CPU or better
5. Dedicated Graphics card
Look for laptops with above specs, or see my personal choices. If you decide to purchase a computer, the above specs will be enough to make an informed decision.
Laptop Requirements for Engineering
Below, learn about all the crucial details to consider when purchasing your laptop. There are some requirements specific to those in the engineering field that other students or laptop users may not need as much. This section will cover:
- CPU processor speed
- Hard-disk drive memory
- RAM
- Connectivity
- Screen size
- Dedicated video cards
- Operating system
CPU Processor Speed
Your CPU is crucial if you're an engineering student. Whenever we run AutoCAD, it has to pile up its huge database and present us with a virtual workspace for our work. So, if your CPU speed is not adequate, you will have to wait for a long time for the software to just boot. Talk about the time for crafting your work alone. Sounds familiar? Don't let that happen in your new laptop and make sure that you have a fast enough CPU.
Some programs that are CPU exhaustive:
- Simulation software including ANSYS and Excel
- Games that are highly dependent on faster frame rates
- Matlab
Large Hard-Disk Drive Memory
You'll need adequate memory and storage for everything, including CAD software like AutoCAD, Catia, ANSYS, Solidworks, and your designs drawn on it — then saving those designs, a place for saving 500 of your favorite songs, all your games, and everything else. You need storage for it all. Also, before you ask, yes we are talking Olympic-sized! Try to go to 500GB or more for the best value.
RAM
Just how much RAM is required? You'll need enough to make sure that your laptop can actually store and run what the fast processor is trying to run. A large RAM is to go in sync with the fast processor speed. The most-recommended capacity is 8 GB, although 12 GB and 16 GB are also preferred. However, it is better to have a good graphics adapter than a huge amount of RAM.
Connectivity
You'll need Wi-Fi at the very least (there is no world without the Internet), and it would be best if there is a Bluetooth function as well. This will make sharing your design works easier and also save time and money for flash drives.
On the Ethernet, my rig has a Gigabit LAN, and I must add that my experience has been exhilarating but this is not necessary, just a nice perk. Just about any Ethernet port should work fine. A wireless LAN 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth v4.0 yields a decent connectivity, and you should find it with ease with almost any recently launched workstation.
Optical drives are a good addition, but these days they just tend to act more or less as a fashion accessory to flaunt rather than any real use. So, if you see a decent purchase meeting all your needs but notice that it lacks an optical drive, then you should definitely consider it. Losing the drive also makes your laptop lighter and more portable.
Screen Size
The display size is actually not a major requirement when it comes to laptops for engineering students. A 14 or 15-inch laptop is perfectly adequate — these sizes are good to go for designs and drawing-related works. However, that doesn't mean that a larger screen size is a bad thing. Just keep in mind your portability needs. A 17.3-inch screen is also not as portable as a 15-inch, but it might have more options and a bigger area for displaying your works.
While display sizes are not as crucial, the screen resolution is important. A higher screen resolution will allow more area for multiple windows. 1920x1080 pixels is the most recommended because it is the 1080p true HD quality. Laptops, videos, and movies these days are coming in 3k, 4k quality. So, 2k is the bare minimum.
Dedicated Video Cards
Work environments like CAD, MATLAB, and Solid Works are used for 3D environment applications and video-rendering. These applications and other similar ones require a dedicated video card, because the in-built adapters are unable to meet the video processing needs. Going with a 2GB DDR3 Graphics card will be enough for almost all environments. However, if you consider high-end gaming a priority, then I would look into a DDR5 graphics card like the NVidia GTX series.
Operating System
Finally the operating system, or OS. Now, it comes down to whether you have a Mac or a Windows laptop. Of course, Mac devices are stunningly well-crafted, and their build quality is superb along with their displays. However, when it comes to the workstation for your actual work, all the environments are mostly only native to Windows.
You can still use a Mac, but using parallels can be taxing and sometimes downright bothersome. You'll need to put the extra effort in finding your way around one, for starters. Even high-end games run better in the Windows. So, these are all things to keep in mind if you're looking for a laptop for mainstream engineering purposes. I would suggest going for a Windows laptop for all its advantages, alongside the lower price tag.
The Best Laptops for Engineering Students: My Top Choices
Thanks to my college experience, I have had my fair share of laptops and I would recommend these if you are hard pressed on deciding.
1. HP Envy 17t (UHD Display)
- Introduction: This model of the HP Envy 17 was released the first week of February, and comes with a responsive touchscreen display monitor and is coupled with a 2k screen. Its 7th-Gen Intel i7 processor is coupled with at least 16 GB of RAM — which is a super sweet deal.
- Configurations: There are eight configurations available, with a minimum RAM of 8GB RAM and a maximum of 16GB. Hard disk sizes can be custom-configured from 120 GB to 1000 GB. The best recommended configuration is 500GB SSD + 8GB RAM. If the hard disk capacity seems low, go for 1000 GB, but do not opt for 16 GB of RAM. 8GB is perfectly adequate and more than enough for your needs. Even if your budget is high, the extra money can be used to buy a portable hard drive later.
- Graphics and display: The graphics card this laptop comes with is the NVIDIA 950M, which is equipped with 4GB Maxwell graphics that provides smooth graphics, rendering truly HD quality. Also, bonus: the 4k display quality complements the subwoofer speakers that it has, making it a perfect dorm room companion for watching movies and playing other games during your free time.
- Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit
Update: It seems the 500GB SSD models have gone out of stock recently. In that case, I would recommend the 256GB SSD version coupled with a portable hard drive. If that seems like a lot of hassle, the 1TB HDD drive is also a good configuration.
2. Asus Vivobook Pro
The new 2017 version of Vivobook is packed with a powerful 6th Generation HQ Intel i5 Processor and a 256 GB of SSD drive. What's more? It's also coupled with an extra 1 TB of hard drive. The Asus Vivobook is a Signature Edition laptop with 8GB of RAM and graphics processor from NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M.
Some key elements of this Asus Vivobook Pro are:
- Powerful i5-6300HQ Processor
- 4k-ready Ultra High Definition Display Monitor
- 1TB + 256GB SSD Drive
- Power efficient and faster Nvidia graphics card
- also includes USB Type-C port in addition to USB 3.0 ports
- Backlit Keyboard
- Look and feel of a Macbook!
- Signature Edition from Microsoft: no junk, adware or 3rd-party programs. Only Microsoft-verified and installed programs.
3. Lenovo Y700
- Introduction: The Y700 Touch is a powerful yet lightweight laptop that has become so popular worldwide that Lenovo has released different versions even in Asia and India. Otherwise, the manufacturers normally don’t provide the same US and Asian model name for a similar configuration. This is one of the reasons why one of my colleagues was able to bag one for a very good deal.
- Includes: The dedicated 2GB graphics card powered by NVIDIA GeForce 960M and a hybrid SSD drive form a powerful combination for a gaming laptop for engineering students. As such, the laptop is reasonably priced for a gaming laptop.
- Has 6th Gen Intel i7 processor: The Lenovo Y700 ($930 for the recommended model) is a fairly well-rounded in gaming laptops range.
Why is Lenovo Y700 an "all-rounder"? It includes:
- A backlit keyboard with a stylish red/black combo design. Have late night assignments? Need to finish up the report by tomorrow morning? Check.
- It comes with 1TB of storage: Have hundreds of movie and music backups? Like to play games that span giga bytes? Check.
- A 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution: Need to run two or more programs side by side? With such large screen resolution and an impressive 15.6” display size, you can run four programs stacked top and bottom, side-by-side in a single desktop mode.
- Watch HD movies and TV shows? Check.
"But Lenovo laptops overheat, don't they?"
You might ask. Yes, Lenovo models up from Y50 - Y700 had heating problems earlier. This was due to an incompatible graphics driver for Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. When users turned off the NVIDIA graphics card and used the in-house Intel HD Graphics, the problem would go away.
However, the software have already been updated and this problem has already been taken care of. It is also important to note that the laptop won't overheat all the time. It is only when you are playing graphics-intensive games and software for a long time that ANY laptop will heat (not just Lenovo). That's why, a cooling pad, is recommended all the time when gaming or using software that require a lot of CPU resources.
Battery Life of Lenovo Y700 Touch
- Furthermore, in the CNET test, the laptop ran for a full 4 hours and 16 minutes with full brightness and 1080p playback, while being connected to the Internet. However, the minimalist display may not satisfy your viewing needs when looked at from an off-angle. The specs are highly compatible for running engineering and simulation software like SolidWorks and SolidEdge with excellent graphics rendering. The Y700 has a balanced profile if you are looking for an engineering laptop that provides a good equilibrium between price, display, graphics, and gaming needs.
- In addition, the reviewers noticed little to no overheating problems. (And let's face it, what laptop does not heat when running hardcore games?)
4. Acer Aspire VX 15 Gaming Laptop
- Introduction: Acer Aspire VX15 ($999) is a mid-priced engineering applications oriented laptop, also capable of gaming needs.
- RAM capacities: With a 16GB DDR4 RAM, you can rest assured that any game or program you are running won't lag. Furthermore, NVIDIA's GTX 1050 Ti graphics processor is there to complement the RAM.
Acer Aspire VX15:
- is the most budget-friendly full HD screen laptop in its class.
- Has the most advanced battery life (6 hours playtime), motherboard, and graphics specifications in this price range
- Comes with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card
- Runs Windows 10 Full version
5. Dell XPS15
Introduction: Dell XPS 15 is an 9550 model high-performance, gaming, and multimedia laptop. It is the latest in terms of display quality and display guarantee. It is hard to let a 3840 X 2160 pixel density, true 4k HD monitor go when it comes in a light body measuring just around 4 lbs at its heaviest.
Specs:
- Windows 10 x64 (64-bit Architecture)
- 4K UHD Resolution
- 8GB DDR4 RAM
- 4th Generation Intel i7 CPU with speed up to 3 GHz
- 512 GB of SSD Drive
Pros:
- The SSD drive is huge at 512 GB. It has faster boot times, faster graphics rendering times, and is just a smooth user experience overall.
- The 15.6" screen with 4k resolution fits one AutoCAD window with another Ms-Excel window side-by-side in full dimensions. No more going back and forth.
- There are 8 hours of battery life, even with dedicated graphics from NVIDIA GeForce GT 960M display adapter on top of the integrated Intel HD Graphics.
- Bluetooth 4.1 with dual-band Wifi support and Miracast
- 6-in-1 Multi card reader, security lock hatch and a sleek backlit keyboard
- Comes with Signature Edition by Microsoft
Other Laptop Recommendations
Here are a couple more solid recommendations that are known to be reliable and specs-compliant for those in the engineering field.
More Engineering Laptop Choices
Lenovo Thinkpad T440p
| Asus N55-DS71
| Toshiba Satellite P50/P52 Gaming
| Dell XPS15
| HP Envy 15-k020us
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Screen Size (inches)
| 14
| 15.6
| 15.6 LED
| 15.6
| 15.6
|
Touchscreen?
| No
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|
Screen Resolution
| 1366 x 768
| 1920 x 1080
| 1920 x 1080
| 3200 x 1800
| 1920 x 1080
|
RAM
| 8 GB
| 8 GB
| 8GB
| 16GB
| 8 GB
|
Hard Disk Drive
| 1 TB
| 1 TB
| 750 GB
| 512 GB SSD
| 1 TB
|
CPU (Processor) Speed
| 4th Gen i7
| 4th Gen i7
| 4th Gen i7
| 4th Gen i7
| 4th Gen i7
|
Graphics Card
| Intel HD Graphics 4600
| NVIDIA GTX850M
| 2GB GDDR5 VRAM AMD RadeonTM R9 M265X
| NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2GB
| Intel HD graphics 4600
|
Base Price
| $970
| $1,069
| $1,250
| $2,149
| $791
|
Maximum Weight
| 4.7 lbs
| 6 lbs
| Not Provided
| 4 lbs
| 6 lbs
|
Special Features/Pros
| Aluminium design, backlit keyboard,
| Backlit keyboard, does not heat up easily, 70% buyers have given 4+ stars rating
| Backlit keyboard, H-K Audio, Bluray Writer
| 3k display, extremely lightweight, backlit keyboard
| Beats Audio, smart trackpad, fingerprint sensor
|
Battery
| 6 cell
| 5 hours
| 4 cell
| 6 cell battery - 8 hours
| 6.25 hours
|
Remarks
| Runs Windows 7
| No optical drive
|
- The MSI GP70. This laptop comes with a 1TB hard drive, and delivers all your engineering software needs. The graphics card is powered by Nvidia and is a 2GB 940M GeForce capable of a vivid and smooth graphics-rendering experience.
- HP Pavilion P073TX. This one is more budget friendly. So, if you are tight-pressed on your budget, then you might want to check out the Pavilion P073TX. For a decent price, this workstation has got all the right grooves and specs needed for a lag-free and snappy performance. The 4th gen i7 processor with turbo boost adds icing to the cake along with the NVIDIA GT 840M graphics.
Which Engineering division is your laptop search for?
What Engineering Field Do You Belong To?
New: Frequently Asked Questions
Because I keep getting a lot of similar questions in the comments, I thought of adding this new FAQ section that will probably answer any question you may have after reading this article
FAQ: Engineering Laptop
Q 1. I am studying Civil/Mechanical/Software/(insert any engineering branch here) Engineering. Please advise a suitable laptop for me.
A: No laptops come branded as a tool for a certain branch of engineering. All the laptops recommended above are good examples of an engineering laptop, no matter your engineering degree. The main requirements are:
- An operating system you are comfortable with (Windows or Mac - whatever suits you)
- At least 6-8 GB of RAM
- A discrete graphics card
- Hard Drive size that suits your needs (typically 500 GB is enough)
Q 2. Is Lenovo Y50 good? Don't Lenovo laptops have heating problems?
A: As already explained in a section above, Lenovo laptops had heating issues. But those have already been resolved with the introduction of new drivers for Windows 8 and Windows 10.
Q 3. How much does (insert a laptop brand) laptop heat?
A: All laptops do fairly heat up whenever they are worked on extensively. For a laptop for engineers that uses processor and graphics card extensively, expect a fair warmth. Laptop cooling pads are always recommended while gaming or using applications that drain a lot of memory.
All comments related to the above questions will be ignored as these issues have already been discussed. If you have a new question, please go ahead and post it in the comments section.
I hope you liked the article. If you did, please share it with your friends on Facebook, Twiiter and Pinterest who are planning to buy a laptop for their engineering courses.
What is your brand preference?
© 2012 Roberto Eldrum
Do you have any questions about any laptop?
Is 940MX 2 GB DDR5 good enough for mechanical engineering? The laptop has i7-7500u , 16 GB RAM as well
hi, what is the best laptop
Which type of laptop is best for MENG?
Hello,
May I know your opinion about Lenovo ThinkPad P51? Thank you.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
I am going to join Computer Science and Engineering this year and I am looking for a laptop that could be the perfect one in all the aspects like battery life and performance...Could u suggest me a laptop?
With regards to the windows
Which windows laptop will you prefer for a chemical engineering student?
Thanks for the usfeul post. I really don't like HP (i had a pavillion years ago), but you made me doubt about the effectiveness of this kind of computer. I'm comparing the HP with the DELL you recommended, and i see the only difference is the RAM (and the price!!). Between these two which one would you recommend? I'm an electrical engineer so i really don't need a lot of graphics performance, but some of the processes i simulate with my laptop means a working process of hours, depending on the effectiveness of the computer. I would also like you to comment something about the DELL Latitude as i was thinking of buying one.
I really appreciate the info man, thanks again.
Thats a brilliant idea for ud
Currently I'm pursuing a BE in civil engineer. I'm in my 3rd year. I'm planning to buy MacBook air 256gb ssd. Can u pls tell me is that good for 3-4 different softwares.!
Which laptop is best for autocad
I am going into architectural engineering. Which computer would you recommend?
Am going to join electronics and communication engg.please recommented me to enough lap top? Which is the best laptop for electronics and communication enginering?
Which laptop is needed for ece branch
I am gonna study Robotics so I will be working on various simulations software's, platforms, programming all stuffs. So i want to know which laptop is best in apple Mac collections?
I am a computer science engineering student and I need to get a laptop of my own...
I'm confused whether to go for Windows or Mac.. will these laptops decide the future of me?
Say like if I get a Mac will my programming just confine with Apple or I can write program for Windows too..
First preference is Mac ..Since I'm a big fan of Apple.
MacBook pro _2015
I work in robotics and will need to set up a dual-boot Linux machine or run a fast virtual machine. Would some of these recommendations be better than others with that thought in mind?
I want to ask that is surface pro 3 is better than laptop because i am bit confuse . I am going to an engineering college to do mechanical ; electrical engineering and computer science so plzz plzz tell me which will be the best laptop or surface pro 3 .please respond as you see this .
Hey man! Being the most likely broke asses that we are, it would be nice to suggest more affordable laptops!
Which laptops would you advise for aeronautical engineering?
I am looking for a laptop that does well under software simulation. I'm an electrical engineering student.
Hi
Nice work a bit outdated though. I was wondering if lenovo thinkpad x1 yoga 2017 will be useful for the computer engineering graduate program . I require a long time battery with excellent keyboard.
I'm an engineering student that uses design software and I make considering buying a dell xps or precision 5520 . I need to be able to game and not worry about laptop speed. Can anyone help me decide and tell me the pros and cons of both?
Hello, I am a Mechanical Engineering student.
I was looking at the Lenovo yoga 910 with 16 gb ram and 1 tb hard disk drive. It has a graphics card as well. You think it will be a good option or would one of the ones you listed be better?
I am concerned about the weight. I have back problems that's why I currently own a Mackbook Air which is amazing for Matlab/Autocad/OpenSees. But now I am starting graduate school and I need something that supports other programs for windows. My question is, what's the lightest laptop you can find for Engineer Students?
hai, i'm a communication engineering student, which the best laptop for cst studio suite software. i currently use the acer aspire.. it took 4 hours to run a simple design.
The image you used for Dell XPS 15 is wrong.
sir,I have just started my engineering 1 year ago.I want a best laptop for engineering purposes and honestly my range is just between 350$ to 500$. Are you prefer 2nd hand laptop because new laptop with particular specs will be expensive as compare to 2nd hand with some modification.
what about this one:
Prosess Core i7 - 2.5 uo tp 3.5 GHz 6700qh
Ram : 16 Gb
Graphic : 4 GB
FULL HD
screen: 15.5"
thanks..
My son is in his second year of engineering at Lehigh and just informed me that the iBook he bought for school runs the windows based engineering applications too slowly and he would like a windows based unit. Let me say that I'm generally computer illiterate. I noticed your top 5 picks for computers for engineers have a GTX video card. This tends to be more for the gaming computers. I have been reading from some other sites that for engineering it may be better to have the Nvidia Quadro, such as offered on the Lenovo P50s or P50 computers,for video rendering for engineers. Are there drawbacks to this train of thoughts? He needs a well rounded computer and I don't want him to have a one dimensional computer. Will that be the case with a business based computer such as the p50?
I appreciate your blog. It was so helpful for me.
Is the lenovo thinkpad 13 as good?
Hello!
I bought the HP - HP Envy x360 2-in-1 15.6" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 1TB Hard Drive - Silver. When I started to it it was extremely noisy and the brightness was at 100% but looked low. I also read that the battery life isn't that well, so I was disappointed. I got it at $700 (Black Friday Deal) and it has good specs, but I was wondering if it was a good computer for engineering. I also found the Asus - 2-in-1 15.6" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 1TB Hard Drive + 128GB Solid State Drive - Silver at $900 and was wondering if that was a good computer for engineering regarding its price, its specs are alike the Envy, but I am not sure if it is truly better. Thank you.
Hey hi, Im currently doing my chemical engineering, i want to buy a laptop that would support these softwares : Autocad, Cadworx P&ID, matlab, ASPEN, Raspberry PI, COMSOL, ANSYS, microsoft visio. can you suggest a good laptop between 35k to 40k available in India?
Thanks for the help.
I am currently searching for the best laptop that will run AutoCAD Civil 3D smoothly, what is the best one you'd recommend?
- Author
@Shanto
Both look good, however, the Insipiron i7 version is better.
Hello there!
I have just started my computer engineering anf hvae looking for a laptop for programming stuff. Can you please help in choosing one.My budget is about 35k bucks
I am a Civil Engineer and i want to buy a computer which generation would you recommend for me please?
- Author
@Larry
Good Tip!
If you are on a tight budget, look for a two year old refurbished Lenovo or equivalent and load it with a SSD and memory from NewEgg or TigerDirect. Fairly inexpensive way to build a very capable student machine that will easily last through your undergraduate years. Upgrade once you have your degree and are in the workforce.
hi...i recently took admssn in cmputer netwrking program...please suggest best laptop for me.....
hi.
whats youre idea about Surface book?im really dont know witch one to buy,surface book or dell xps 15,help me please.
thanks
I'm a third year mechanical engineering student. Should I buy a macbook air or a Windows laptop. Which is the best option?
is amda8 is better than intel i5 or not
Grettings, My 17 year old son wants to become a Pilot he currently has a flight simulator. I would like to purchase a laptop so he can use to play his simulator.I have no clue about computers but from reading your articles would the Toshiba P50/P52 be the best laptop to get him? Thanks.
I am going to pursue electronics engineering can you plz suggest me the list of laptops that would be better option for me and yes it includes software also as today we should be multi-disciplinary in education
Please am an information technology student. Which HP,Dell or Toshiba laptop budget $500 to $550 will you recommend for me. Thanks
What laptop would you recommend to run Solidworks and ANSYS smoothly?
What do you think about the Dell XPS 13? Although there are desirable upgrades to the CPU/GPU/Storage/RAM, the 13 seems like a good alternative to the 15 for significantly less.
If you are even thinking of running SolidWorks I highly recommend a Quadro card. I'm a mechanical designer finishing my BSME degree and work in SolidWorks daily. As a CAD Administrator and having worked for several companies with pesky IT departments that think they know better than the CAD guys that use the software everyday...I can tell you that you WILL notice a difference when not using a Quadro or similar graphics card.
hi, i would like to know if the model HP ProBOOK are good for civil engineers
- Author
Hi Dom, does your Macbook have graphics card? If not, it would be a good idea to get a new Macbook Pro that comes with a dedicated graphics. Hope this helps.
I'm stuck between getting a Mac and a Windows laptop. I have a macbook pro now that I got 4 years ago, and I love it. I've never been a fan of windows laptops. But when I was looking at the macbook I wanted to buy, they have a bunch of upgrades available. Do you think that it's worth getting all the upgrades and adding about $900? or just get the base macbook pro? I haven't chosen my field of engineering yet, but I'm leaning toward biomedical. The upgrades include:
2.9GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz to 3.1GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz
8GB 1866MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM to 16GB 1866MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage to 1TB PCIe-based Flash Storage
- Author
Hi Caleb,
That is quite a good laptop. Good job! :)
Hey I have recently got the samsung notebook 7 spin with 940m Nvidia 12gb ram 1T hard drive and 15.6inch screen that is 1080p. Is this a decent laptop?
which graphics card is better?
1. NVIDIA GT 940M graphics/ NVIDIA GeForce 940M graphics
2. Intel HD Graphics 520
3. Intel HD Graphics 520
4. Intel HD Graphics 520
5. Intel Iris Graphics 540
- Author
Hi Lucifer,
Do all of these have discrete graphics card? (AMD or NVIDIA)
I'm sorry if this is a lot but I have 5 laptops in mind and don't know which to choose
Here are my choices:
1. Asus - Zenbook 13.3" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 12GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive
2. Dell - Inspiron 2-in-1 13.3" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 12GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive
3. HP - Spectre x360 2-in-1 13.3" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive
4. Acer - Aspire R 14 2-in-1 14" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 8GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive
5. Lenovo - Yoga 900 2-in-1 13.3" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive
Which one would you recommend?
Hi, i just finished my a levels and i want to take up civil engineering. Do you think a AMD quad-core A10-8700P with Radeon R7 discrete class graphics(1.8/3.2Ghz) processor is better or should i just stick with Intel core i5/i7 6th generation?
And also, it has 2GB AMD Radeon R7 M360 Graphics, 2TB hard drive and 8GB RAM
- Author
Hi Ryan,
That is a good build. Perhaps replace the hard drive with an SSD. If you aren't into gaming that much, reduce RAM to 12 or 8GB—the offset might be enough for getting the SSD drive.
Hi, I've designed a custom build laptop and I am wondering if it would be alright for mechanical engineering. The application I know I will be using are ANSYS, creo and solidworks. The specs for it are as follows:
Intel I7 quad core 6700hq (2.6ghz - 3.5ghz turbo)
16Gb hyper x 2133mhz sodimm ddr4
Nvidia gtx 970m 6gb vram
500Gb serial at a hard drive (7200rpm)
Artic mx-4 cooling compound
1920x1080 res
About £950
Would this be an alright build?
Is a dell Inspiron i7 with Intel core i5 procescor 16 GB ram 500 gb ssd memory and Nvidia 960m 4gb good. And if so I'm debating to use this or get another laptop becuase it's a little bulky
- Author
Hi Sahil23k,
Unfortunately, ultrabooks under 14 inches with powerful processor and graphics are all over Rs. 50k. At this time, it is really a matter of what constraint to let go of: budget, portability, or graphics. :)
Thank you @neosurk sir,
You took time for my question and I respect your advise, but I would rather prefer a 13.3 inch laptop, 15.6 would be too bulky, is there any you could suggest ?
Again with due regards , I thank you .
- Author
Hi Pratyush,
Please take a look at the requirements mentioned in the above article, then search around within your budget. Rs. 30k in budget is quite limiting in terms of an engineering laptop, but a good desktop might be available within that price.
- Author
Hi Sahil23k,
Take a look at this HP 15: http://bit.ly/2aPDdlr
- Author
Hi Mel,
Yes, Macbook Air is not advised. Macbook Pro with NVIDIA Graphics is a good one (display size is your preference). Other 12-13" laptops are also expensive, so if you are a Mac lover, by all means go with a Macbook Pro.
2nd year undergraduate Civil Engineering Student
Want to get a MacBook but money is a factor
And the cheapest was MacBook Air but I hear it's not advisable
Which MacBook should I get ?
Or which other sleek laptop about 12-13"
Thanks
Hey, I'm tight on budget around 45k, also u have mentioned the minimum requirements for an engineering student, considering those specs I would like add one more - a good keyboard ( as I'm studying computer science engineering ) and quite portable, considering all these plz suggest a few portable laptops under 50k, which perform great and is also good for multimedia and lite gaming, my minimum requirements are - 6gb ram, 512gb ssd/hdd, 1080p screen, dedicated graphics, above 2.0 GHz, screen size 13.3-14. I can compromise on memory, but not on performance , graphics and screen resolution. Thanking you !
- Author
Hi Matt,
That decision entirely depends on your preference. If you are a Mac lover and are already used to it, get a Mac and install Windows like in your old Macbook. However, if you like change, take a look at some of the laptops above.
- Author
Hi Cindy,
Some laptops use i7 dual cores as a part of a mobile architecture (like Surface Book). Quad core i7 processors are better, but i7 dual cores aren't bad either. If the versatility of Surface Book is of preference, by all means, it is enough!
- Author
Hi DV,
If possible, get a 1080p screen instead of 4k—really helps cut down price. A workstation grade graphics card is not a requirement, a good gaming card is okay.
- Author
Hi Kholder,
Yes, that would work quite good with SolidWorks.
- Author
Hi Akhila,
How about the laptops mentioned above? They're all good.
Hi, I'm from India.I am a first year instrumentation engineering student. my budget is low (INR 20,000 to 30,000 ). I don't know which softwares I'll be using. Which laptop would you suggest ? What are the minimum specifications I MUST look for before buying the laptop?
P.S.- I don't actually care about gaming.
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!
hi, i am from India. i am student of instrumentation engineering. my budget is kind of low-moderate ( INR 20,000 to 30,000 ). what laptop would you suggest ?
PS : i don't actually care about gaming
i am going to start with computer engg. and i am a bit of comfused between two laptops ,one is dell inspiron 5000 with 6th generation i5 and HP Notebook - 15-ay011tx.
I had a Macbook pro but it recently stopped working, I had software such as AutoCad, MatLab, and Sketch up but was also running a dual boot with ArcGIS and other surveying software. Would you recommend me buying another Mac or what other lap top would you suggest.
Thanks!
I am helping my daughter spec out a new laptop for college. She is Engineering, not sure what discipline she will pursue. But we would like laptop to last all 4 years, regardless of her major. We are considering fully loaded i7 Surface Book with the dedicated NVIDIA graphics, 1TB SSD, 16 GB memory. However, my concern is the i7 processor is dual core versus quad core. Do you think the dual core will be sufficient? If not, we will have to look at larger laptops (i.e. 15 inch). In general, what is your opinion on the i7 dual core. Thanks for your help.
Hi, many programs sugest a workstation grade graphics card, but do i really need that or am i ok with a good gaming card?
Also I have 2 options, since screen resulution is important, what should i go for:
1- gtx 960m with 1080p screen
2- gtx 950m with 4k screen
PS: is a i5-6300HQ good for the programs or should i save some more money and go with a i7-6700hq
Woot.com has the
HP ZBook 15-G2 Mobile Workstation, 15.6" Full-HD Anti-Glare Display, Intel Core i7-4710MQ Quad-Core 2.5GHz, 8GB DDR3, 500GB SATA, NVIDIA QUADRO K610M 1GB, 802.11ac, Bluetooth, Win8.1Pro
$799.99
What do you think? would it work well with solidworks 2016
Hi , I Completed my graduation in computer application and got placed in an IT Company as a programe Trainee, wud u plss suggest me a laptop for my work..
Thankyou..
- Author
Hi Sammy,
Alienware 15 R2 i7 is the better version between those too. However, also take a look at the weight of the Alienware laptop. Since it is bulky, it might discourage him using the laptop and taking it to class regularly. And there is no point in buying a high-performance laptop if one is not taking it to school. Dell XPS 15 i5 version is also good and if it has a dedicated graphics, it is also a great buy.
hi ! my son is going into electrical engineering. Please help me choosing between Dell xps 15 i5 vs dell alien ware 15 R2 i7. Thank you.
- Author
@Cole,
Surface Book? Good? It's one of the best. Go for it! :)
I'm going into general Engineering. And I have been looking at the Microsoft Surface book. Should that be a good laptop for me or should I go somewhere else?
What do you think about Acer s5-371-55Ah 13.3 inch For a mech Eng student doing some heavy CAD?
Operating System
Operating System
Windows 10 Home
Processor & Chipset
Processor Manufacturer
Intel®
Processor Type
Core™ i5
Processor Model
i5-6200U
Processor Speed
2.30 GHz
Processor Core
Dual-core (2 Core™)
Memory
Standard Memory
8 GB
Memory Technology
LPDDR3
Memory Card Reader
Yes
Memory Card Supported
SD
Storage
Solid State Drive Capacity
256 GB
Solid State Drive Interface
Serial ATA/600
Optical Drive Type
No
Display & Graphics
Screen Size
33.8 cm (13.3")
Display Screen Type
Active Matrix TFT Colour LCD
Display Screen Technology
ComfyView
In-plane Switching (IPS) Technology
Screen Mode
Full HD
Backlight Technology
LED
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Graphics Controller Manufacturer
Intel®
Graphics Controller Model
HD Graphics 520
Graphics Memory Technology
LPDDR3
Graphics Memory Accessibility
Shared
Network & Communication
Wireless LAN Standard
IEEE 802.11ac
Ethernet Technology
Gigabit Ethernet
Built-in Devices
Microphone
Yes
Finger Print Reader
No
Interfaces/Ports
HDMI
Yes
Number of USB 3.0 Ports
2
Total Number of USB Ports
3
USB Connector Type
Type-C
Software
Operating System
Windows 10 Home
Operating System Architecture
64-bit
Input Devices
Pointing Device Type
TouchPad
Keyboard
Yes
Battery Information
Number of Cells
3-cell
Battery Chemistry
Lithium Polymer (Li-Polymer)
Battery Capacity
4030 mAh
Maximum Battery Run Time
11 Hour
Power Description
Maximum Power Supply Wattage
45 W
Physical Characteristics
Height
14.6 mm
Height (Front)
14.58 mm
Height (Rear)
14.58 mm
Width
327 mm
Depth
288 mm
Weight (Approximate)
1.30 kg
Miscellaneous
Package Contents
Aspire S5-371-55AH Ultrabook
Lithium Polymer Battery
AC Adapter
Warranty
Warranty
1 Year Warranty
Many thanks
- Author
@Gavi,
Pull the trigger. That is a good deal after all!
Hi, I am going into mechanical engineering school in October and this article helped me a lot. I thought I could be ok with my 3 year old laptop with a 3rd gen i5 and no dedicated graphics card and 8 GB of RAM and 750 GB of storage...but I think I need an upgrade for school. I found the Asus Q534UX . This thing is a beast. 2 in 1 laptop/tablet with touchscreen . 15.6 inch 4K display. 6th gen core i7 processor. 16 GB of DDR4 RAM. 2 TB HDD with 512 GB SSD. And to top it off NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M GPU. And a backlit keyboard. Now...this is for 1399$ on Best Buy. Idk about you but I'm pretty sure this is a real bargain for these specs. Do you think I should pull the trigger on it? I'm
Any recommendations for software engineering student ?
- Author
Hi Zack S.
First of all, thank you for your appreciation. The reason I mentioned an SSD drive is because it is faster than the mechanical hard drive, albeit not mandatory. I recommend(ed) SSD because it would at least run your OS faster. So, if 256GB of SSD is not enough (which normally is not enough), then getting the 256 GB laptop along with an external portable hard drive of 500GB or 1TB is better than getting a 500 GB of mechanical disk laptop. But again, if your budget or preference is more memory within the laptop itself, and you don't want to carry a portable hard drive, then the 500 GB laptop or 1000 GB mechanical hard drive laptop is also good. Make sure it has a dedicated graphics card and RAM of 6-8 GB. The main ingredient one should be looking for is a decent RAM and a graphics card. The hard disk size/type depends on what you might require. One could get away with 500 GB of hard disk size. For a movie buff, even 1 TB may not be enough.
So, I would advise you to get one with 8 GB RAM and a dedicated graphics card (e.g. Nvidia GeForce). The hard disk type/size, again, is not a serious matter. But if the laptop does not have a dedicated graphics card, then it might be of no use for an engineer.
Hello,
This article was fantastic. It answered so many of my questions, though I still have a few that I hope you can help with. I am an incoming freshman pursuing civil engineering and am fairly sold on an HP Envy. The problem is like listed above, the right one you suggest is hard to find. I'm not very tech savvy so I don't know much of the differences between internal/external, portable/mechanical. The link to the one on Amazon in your review of the envy 15, is that a good option took with?? I believe it says it has a 8GB Ram and a 1000gb mechanical hard rice. Would that be sufficient for my needs?? Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you so much.
Attached below is that link.
Hows this from Amazon? Acer Aspire E 15, 15.6 Full HD, Intel Core i5, NVIDIA 940MX, 8GB DDR4, 256GB SSD, Windows 10, E5-575G-53VG . I'm going into aeronautical engineering, and from what I've read I'm mainly going to be using programs like SolidWorks. I see also that it's only a 256GB SSD, so can you also recommend a good external drive or give some tips on picking one? Thank you.
Hows this for aeronautical/electrical engineering? I'm going into it in 2 years, after my associates at a community college. Acer Aspire E 15, 15.6 Full HD, Intel Core i5, NVIDIA 940MX, 8GB DDR4, 256GB SSD, Windows 10, E5-575G-53VG from Amazon. Also, in noticed its onlly 256 GB which most likely wont last me through college, can you recommend me a external drive too? Thanks.
- Author
Yes, the HP Envy 17t with NVIDIA Graphics is a good one for Electrical engineering students.
- Author
Hi Faizal, no, there is no downside to MSI. Please follow the instructions in the article and not in the comments.
is MSI laptop a good choice for emgineering students. the specs look good - i7 8Gbram nvidia 950 graphics etc...however its not mentioned by most commenters. is there a downside to MSI laptops?
- Author
Hi Airich,
Yes, the graphics card is good. 4k display is not a requirement; and if you are getting a good deal or you like its other features, take it.
I am looking into the HP 17.3 would that be a good recommendation for Electrical Engineering?
What about the Dell Inspiron 17 5000? How about it?
Umm.. Windows 10 pro. ; 6ty generation i7 up to 3.10Ghz.
16 gig memory : 2TB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive, AMD Radon R5 M335 4GB DDR3 graphics card
Is this graphics card good???
Is it good as it doesn't have a 4k display or should I take a dell Inspiron 15 or better still just stick with xps 15
I currently use an early 2011 Macbook Pro 13" (1280 x 800) with 2.3 GHz intel i5 core processor and an intel HD graphics 3000 512mb. I recently upgraded the hard drive to a 480gb SSD and upgraded the RAM to 16gb. I'm wondering if this will be enough to run Matlab and AutoCAD among other engineering software? Or if I should consider getting a second laptop for school/engineering. Also, would it be worth it to run Windows, or would it be best to stick with OS X? And finally, would it be worth to upgrade the logic board?
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