Best value for money laptop for aerospace engineering student?

Hi I will be starting my BEng in aerospace engineering at the University of Nottingham this year, and after reviewing the IT requirements for the universities' department of mechanical engineering , I am not sure which computer would be the best one for me.
I want something that is of good quality and with the best value for money.

These are the minimum specs I'm looking for in a computer:

- Processor: Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 min.
- RAM : 16GB min.
-Storage: 512GB SSD min.
-Operating system: Windows 11
-Screen size: 14" min.
-Screen resolution: HD min.
- Pen enabled touch screen
-Battery life: 6h min.
-Webcam and microphone

I am currently looking at the ASUS Zenbook 14 model UX3402VA, I own an old ASUS vivobook which is over 5years old so I know Asus is of good quality, but it is really expensive £999.99 on Amazon and I'm not sure if it is the best option.

Any help would be very welcome,

Anna

Reply 1

TNGFR

Original post by Anna172

Hi I will be starting my BEng in aerospace engineering at the University of Nottingham this year, and after reviewing the IT requirements for the universities' department of mechanical engineering , I am not sure which computer would be the best one for me.
I want something that is of good quality and with the best value for money.
These are the minimum specs I'm looking for in a computer:
- Processor: Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 min.
- RAM : 16GB min.
-Storage: 512GB SSD min.
-Operating system: Windows 11
-Screen size: 14" min.
-Screen resolution: HD min.
- Pen enabled touch screen
-Battery life: 6h min.
-Webcam and microphone
I am currently looking at the ASUS Zenbook 14 model UX3402VA, I own an old ASUS vivobook which is over 5years old so I know Asus is of good quality, but it is really expensive £999.99 on Amazon and I'm not sure if it is the best option.
Any help would be very welcome,
Anna

Do the minimum requirements make any mention of graphics card or GPU? some form of dedicated graphics solution is typically favoured for engineering laptops as it significantly benefits the sort of modelling you'll likely be doing, this is likely to be focused around labs but it's always beneficial to be able to do these sorts of tasks on your own hardware too!

Reply 2

Anna172

Original post by TNGFR

Hi TNGFR, thanks for helping me, I agree, I would like to do a lot of my course work at home, as I will be commuting every day. The minimum requirements don't seem to mention anything about Graphic cards or GPU, but I do know I will be using an App called Sketchbook pro so the computer's graphics must be good.
Sketchbook pro requires a minimum of 256 MB Graphics card with OpenGL 2.0 support and 2.5 - 2.9 GHz of Intel or AMD CPU.
What are your thoughts?

Reply 3

B17118

Original post by Anna172

Hi I will be starting my BEng in aerospace engineering at the University of Nottingham this year, and after reviewing the IT requirements for the universities' department of mechanical engineering , I am not sure which computer would be the best one for me.
I want something that is of good quality and with the best value for money.
These are the minimum specs I'm looking for in a computer:
- Processor: Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 min.
- RAM : 16GB min.
-Storage: 512GB SSD min.
-Operating system: Windows 11
-Screen size: 14" min.
-Screen resolution: HD min.
- Pen enabled touch screen
-Battery life: 6h min.
-Webcam and microphone
I am currently looking at the ASUS Zenbook 14 model UX3402VA, I own an old ASUS vivobook which is over 5years old so I know Asus is of good quality, but it is really expensive £999.99 on Amazon and I'm not sure if it is the best option.
Any help would be very welcome,
Anna

I've had a quick look based on your specification, and this seems like a decent place to start. Use this as a reference point while looking for alternatives, and keep asking around.

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/lenovo-ideapad-flex-5-16-2-in-1-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-1-tb-ssd-blue-10250519.html

Reply 4

Anna172

Original post by B17118

I've had a quick look based on your specification, and this seems like a decent place to start. Use this as a reference point while looking for alternatives, and keep asking around.
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/lenovo-ideapad-flex-5-16-2-in-1-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-1-tb-ssd-blue-10250519.html

Hello B17118, thanks a lot for the great suggestion, I hadn't seen this one, I really like the flexibility of the screen, so I'll take a closer look!