Which laptop shall I buy? (Engineering student)

I'm an Engineering student and I need to buy a new laptop that can handle resource-intensive software such as AutoCAD, Matlab, Solidworks etc very smoothly. Can anyone recommend any laptops?

My budget is 700 pounds though I can push it up if need be. I prefer at least 8 GB RAM but I'm not too fussed about the HD space.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

ihavemooedtoday

17

For those things CPU is probably the most important. Solidworks only uses the GPU if you want realistic textures, etc, but for that you'll need a Quadro, which is probably way out of your budget anyways.

Matlab has some support for GPU computing, but it's highly unlikely you'll need that for undergrad work.

Reply 2

RedEgg

I cant specify a laptop but I can give you specs,
8 gig ram
intel 4th gen I5 or I7 depending on budget (I have I5 and I can run all adobe products fine)
GPU at least 1GB
screen at least 15"
If windows 8 then touchscreen is nice but not essential
I recomend getting an ultrabook if you can get one with these specs as you will not need a diskdrive (get an external one if necessary)

Original post by GPODT

I'm an Engineering student and I need to buy a new laptop that can handle resource-intensive software such as AutoCAD, Matlab, Solidworks etc very smoothly. Can anyone recommend any laptops?

My budget is 700 pounds though I can push it up if need be. I prefer at least 8 GB RAM but I'm not too fussed about the HD space.

Reply 3

go2thezoo

8

try this beast

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-023-GI&groupid=959&catid=1828

its slightly expensive but worse , 4 core i7 , 8 gb ram ,gtx 850 , full hd display (awesome for designing)

also this one but with i5

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/pc-specialist-cosmos-ii-rs-840-15-6-gaming-laptop-10004798-pdt.html

Reply 4

username1494226

19

From what I understand, being an engineering student will likely mean that you're working with CAD style software so you'll need a lot of memory for storing assets in RAM, a powerful mobile GPU and a powerful mobile CPU.

IF you can handle a 17 inch display and you can bump the budget to just under £800, there is this
http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-17-7737/pd?oc=cn77315&model_id=inspiron-17-7737
It's a very nice machine. It's got a Dual Core i7, powerful GT 750m GPU with 2GB VRAM, 8GB DDR3 RAM, FULL HD Display

The real problem though with looking into mobile products is that they often get very expensive if you need multi threading and powerful GPU's and you often have to go with a larger system in almost every case

Reply 5

SillyEddy

18

CAD and MATLAB don't need anything crazy. I can run both on a £300 laptop from a few years ago. You will also probably not have access to that software (unless you pay for it), so there isn't a necessity to get anything which runs it. If you need specialist software, you'll use the computers at uni.

95% of your work will be in Microsoft Word, 4% on PowerPoint and 1% on those sorts of software packages. Just get something which runs Word, anything else is just desirable.

Reply 6

Iqbal007

19

Original post by GPODT

I'm an Engineering student and I need to buy a new laptop that can handle resource-intensive software such as AutoCAD, Matlab, Solidworks etc very smoothly. Can anyone recommend any laptops?

My budget is 700 pounds though I can push it up if need be. I prefer at least 8 GB RAM but I'm not too fussed about the HD space.

http://cpc.farnell.com/msi/gp60-2pe-073uk/notebook-15-6-i7-12gb-1tb-w8-1/dp/SB05509

http://cpc.farnell.com/gigabyte/9wp15fv23-gb-a-001/notebook-15-6-i7-8gb-1tb-w8-1-p15f/dp/SB05597?in_merch=New%20Products

Reply 7

Sgt.Incontro

20

Original post by SillyEddy

CAD and MATLAB don't need anything crazy. I can run both on a £300 laptop from a few years ago. You will also probably not have access to that software (unless you pay for it), so there isn't a necessity to get anything which runs it. If you need specialist software, you'll use the computers at uni.

95% of your work will be in Microsoft Word, 4% on PowerPoint and 1% on those sorts of software packages. Just get something which runs Word, anything else is just desirable.

Mostly agree.

Reply 8

Sam Walters

3

Original post by Sgt.Incontro

Mostly agree.

I have a laptop with a reasonable spec.

i7-3630QM
32GB 1600mhz ram
7970m

I max it out daily in SolidWorks just on my own projects.

There is a good reason many new CAD work stations can cost around 5k

Reply 9

Ryan_Anthony_

7

I'm buying this at the end of the month, I'm an engineering student too and it looks perfect for both our needs.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-Inspiron-15-7537-Laptop-3-1ghz-16GB-1TB-2GB-Graphics-1920x1080-Touch-/301315907705?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item4627d3e079

Reply 10

Sgt.Incontro

20

Original post by Ryan_Anthony_

I'm buying this at the end of the month, I'm an engineering student too and it looks perfect for both our needs.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-Inspiron-15-7537-Laptop-3-1ghz-16GB-1TB-2GB-Graphics-1920x1080-Touch-/301315907705?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item4627d3e079

A bit overkill.

Reply 11

username1494226

19

Original post by Sgt.Incontro

A bit overkill.

It really isn't overkill. The RAM is nice, the storage is nice, the CPU is nice but the GPU is a major bottleneck. Most compute engineering programs require immense GPU power. Its why, to me at least, owning a desktop system makes all the more sense. My current rig( which i don't do engineering on because I am not an engineer :smile:

) has a i7 3770, 8GB RAM, GTX 660, 2TB HDD and even that is not enough now to me. Upgrading the GPU to a GTX 970, thats nearly 4TF of computational performance in terms of floating point operations per second, its crazy powerful. If you're in engineering and using a laptop, you're not gonna get those kind of specs and even if you get close, it will be crazy expensive

Reply 12

Sgt.Incontro

20

Original post by marco14196

It really isn't overkill...

...Most compute engineering programs require immense GPU power...

...which i don't do engineering on because I am not an engineer :smile:

...

So you aren't even an engineering student/engineer, yet you are able to make such claims? Haha.

In my original comment, I said it was overkill for most engineering STUDENTS needs. Most courses/study programs are very unlikely to ever require such capable hardware. Even if you do for once or twice throughout your course, most universities have highly capable workstations. Earlier poster 'SillyEddy' pretty much nailed this.

I am seriously getting a laugh out of comments like these, (including Sam Walters comment) - boasting about their 'high-end' specs trying to show off. Nobody cares.

Reply 13

Ryan_Anthony_

7

Original post by Sgt.Incontro

A bit overkill.

Course it is, But it's always better to have more than what you need, I have it now and it wrecks everything I throw at it without getting even slightly warm, Good build quality, Way to heavy but you can't have everything. My budget was £750, I got it for £100 less and got th ebest specs I could find at the time in a reasonable weight.

I agree it is totally Overkill, But I don't regret it.

Original post by Sgt.Incontro

So you aren't even an engineering student/engineer, yet you are able to make such claims? Haha.

In my original comment, I said it was overkill for most engineering STUDENTS needs. Most courses/study programs are very unlikely to ever require such capable hardware. Even if you do for once or twice throughout your course, most universities have highly capable workstations. Earlier poster 'SillyEddy' pretty much nailed this.

I am seriously getting a laugh out of comments like these, (including Sam Walters comment) - boasting about their 'high-end' specs trying to show off. Nobody cares.

Masters In Aeronautical Engineering here at UNI. We use these programs alot, and yes, although we could do it on UNI computers, I'd much rather be sat on my couch doing it while watching Big Bang theory with a Beer and a pizza than sat in UNI... The price was worth it for that alone...

Some of them are quite funny, But looking at it the same way, Nobody cares what you consider "Overkill" Either....

Reply 14

zedeneye1

18

Original post by Sam Walters

I have a laptop with a reasonable spec.

i7-3630QM
32GB 1600mhz ram
7970m

I max it out daily in SolidWorks just on my own projects.

There is a good reason many new CAD work stations can cost around 5k

how do you "max out" ? lol

a decent i5 with decent everything else (basicaly a standard laptop) is good enough for any engineering program...

source : regular user of autocad, 3ds max, solidworks, catia, blender, couple of others

Reply 15

Sam Walters

3

Original post by zedeneye1

how do you "max out" ? lol

a decent i5 with decent everything else (basicaly a standard laptop) is good enough for any engineering program...

source : regular user of autocad, 3ds max, solidworks, catia, blender, couple of others

That's how. Kinda blows the socks off anything 99.9% of uni students can muster.

So you say good enough for any engineering program....Id say not and by a long margin.

If you want to do serious engineering work on a computer a laptop is not the way to go.

If you cant understand the concept of maxing out a component. Ie 100% load on a cpu or gpu and using all the physical memory you have so you're running into the page file then you dont know enough about computers to be commenting on them....

(edited 9 years ago)

FinalRender_zps5d589fa1.jpg61.3KB

Reply 16

zedeneye1

18

Original post by Sam Walters

That's how. Kinda blows the socks off anything 99.9% of uni students can muster.

So you say good enough for any engineering program....Id say not and by a long margin.

If you want to do serious engineering work on a computer a laptop is not the way to go.

If you cant understand the concept of maxing out a component. Ie 100% load on a cpu or gpu and using all the physical memory you have so you're running into the page file then you dont know enough about computers to be commenting on them....

I've had more complex models without a problem on a 2nd gen mobile i7.

you normally don't need high quality renders to be made on your laptop, you have the more powerful university computers for that when you want to present your models to instructors etc. Most simulation work runs fine on these <$1000 laptops. Plus it never gets "serious" enough to "max out" on CPU resources. Most university level work is pretty basic.

Reply 17

Sam Walters

3

Original post by zedeneye1

I've had more complex models without a problem on a 2nd gen mobile i7.

you normally don't need high quality renders to be made on your laptop, you have the more powerful university computers for that when you want to present your models to instructors etc. Most simulation work runs fine on these <$1000 laptops. Plus it never gets "serious" enough to "max out" on CPU resources. Most university level work is pretty basic.

The fact of the matter is the laptop could not cope with the assembly a 3rd gen i7....Yet you apparently have had more complex models (I doubt, very very much that they are) and you could do it on a 2nd gen i7. Yeh alright mate if you say so. Ha!

Most simulation? Try simulating that. Good luck without a rack as slaves.

Ill give you all a choice. Take my advice. Someone whom contacts out to do this sort of thing. Or listen to some clown spouting rubbish.

Which laptop shall I buy? (Engineering student)

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