Question Laptop Recommendations for CAD/CAM Work

[gunnwolf]

I posted this a few days ago at tom's hardware forum, with the questions copied from the main forum under "laptop general questions" there. I wasn't really sure if both tom's hardware and tom's guide forums are the same, but different settings, so I'm just covering all bases. So here it is:

1. What is your budget?

Up to $1,500 USD obo.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

15.6" or 17"

3. What screen resolution do you want?

1920x1080 @ 100% scale, maybe 4K, 60 Hz or 144 Hz

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

Both (plugged and unplugged) (Note: isn't a laptop considered portable? Is a desktop not portable? Clarify the question)

5. How much battery life do you need?

should be around 8 HR or higher unplugged, plugged don't matter.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

Don't play any games, but I liked playing Star Wars Old Republic long ago.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)

Photo/video editing, 3D programs like Autodesk/AutoCAD variables (such as Fusion360), Solidworks, Blender, SketchUp, FreeCAD, Revit, Rhino 7, Art of Illusion, Cura, Meshmixer, Meshlab, etc. (Yes, it's a long list and I'm choosing which is best for projects in 3D Printing, Laser, and CNC Router.)

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

Up to 1 TB Storage with options for SSD Boot Up

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

amazon.com, maybe newegg.com

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

For as long as it goes, up to 5 yrs or so. I like to fix things, if I can.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

None. Will be using portable drive.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

Don't like Dell much after having those a long time. Would like to look into Acer, ASUS, MSI, HP, and Lenovo.

13. What country do you live in? USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

I think AMD was more suited in the programs stated in question #7 than Intel, because those program are more focused into integrated CPU. But if any of you have any inputs related to this, please feel free to reply. I thought of those laptops, assuming you have already used those and had thoughts of them:
-Acer Nitro 5 AN515-55-35E5, i5 10300H, RTX 3050
-Acer Nitro 5 AN517-41-R0RZ, Ryzen 7 5800H, RTX 3060
-Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-54-760S
-MSI Katana GF66, i7 11800H
-Lenovo Legion 5 15, Ryzen 7 5800H, RTX 3050ti
-Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3, Ryzen 5 5600H, GeForce GTX 1650
-Lenovo Flex 5 (14"), Ryzen 5 5500U, Radeon Graphics
-ASUS TUF A15 FA506IH-A5S3, Ryzen 5 4600H, GTX 1650
-ASUS TUF A15, Ryzen 5 5600H, RTX 3050ti
-HP Pavilion 15 15DK0042NR, i5 9300H, GTX 1650

Note: Do both Intel and AMD CPUs have to be overclocked for 3d Designing programs? I know the fact the those companies that have developed 3d programs that focuses on integrated CPUs, not GPU. My concern is the overheating of the CPU when using the programs. I googled "water cooled laptops" and found that ASUS made a water cooled laptop with docking station in 2016 called ROG GX700, and recently a German company called Der8auer by a guy named Roman made a hybrid water cooled laptop from a Acer Predator Helios 300, by the looks of it, and posted youtube videos of it. Is that feasible for extensive 3d programs? I have never heard of those being used as CAD/CAM work along with 3d designing.

Hope the info helps on the selections!

By the way, getting a precision workstation laptops is out of question because they cost more and goes up to $6,000.....

 

[hang-the-9]

The question about portable is more of the size format, smaller vs larger.

You don't need to overclock anything to use CAD programs, laptops are not really setup for that anyway.

Any higher end system in your budget will do fine, workstation or gaming would be best. You do need a good video card in the system also, a lot of the rendering can be done using GPU power and even moving a complex model on the screen smoothly needs a good video card.

I don't like the ASUS TUF models, they seem to have more issues with overheating and fan noise than others. Lenovo is good, not the Flex, it's way too small for CAD work and heat. Legion is OK, as are the actual workstation laptops designed for work vs games.

www.xoticpc.com has a good selection of systems, easy to sort and compare then on that site. And check Lenovo, HP and Dell for their workstation laptops, those would be fine, they can get pricey but the lower end models should be in your price range.

 

[gunnwolf]

The question about portable is more of the size format, smaller vs larger.

You don't need to overclock anything to use CAD programs, laptops are not really setup for that anyway.

Any higher end system in your budget will do fine, workstation or gaming would be best. You do need a good video card in the system also, a lot of the rendering can be done using GPU power and even moving a complex model on the screen smoothly needs a good video card.

I don't like the ASUS TUF models, they seem to have more issues with overheating and fan noise than others. Lenovo is good, not the Flex, it's way too small for CAD work and heat. Legion is OK, as are the actual workstation laptops designed for work vs games.

www.xoticpc.com has a good selection of systems, easy to sort and compare then on that site. And check Lenovo, HP and Dell for their workstation laptops, those would be fine, they can get pricey but the lower end models should be in your price range.

You didn't mention the Acer brand, the Nitro 5 and Predator Helios 300. What is your opinion? What about the AMD vs Intel I-series CPUs? AMD has more cores than the intel.

 

[hang-the-9]

You didn't mention the Acer brand, the Nitro 5 and Predator Helios 300. What is your opinion? What about the AMD vs Intel I-series CPUs? AMD has more cores than the intel.

Never used Acers but Nitro has pretty good reviews for the money. AMD vs Intel depends on the exact CPU, you can find benchmarks of them online easily to compare.

 

[gunnwolf]

Is userbenchmark.com the best one to find out and compare between laptop specs or is there another better site?