Laptops for engineering.

[hassan96]

I am going to study civil engineering for the next 4 years and I was wondering about which laptop to get. Here are some FAQs just to help you know what I really need.
1. What Will You Use It For?
Engineering applications such as auto cad.
Watching movies( I need a good screen)
Computer games
Where Will You Use It?
Well basically everywhere but mostly in my dorm, so I need it to be light.
How Much Can You Afford?
1700 dollars
How long will the battery last?
at least 5 hours
operating system?
preferably windows.

Any tips would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[legokill101]

while the battery life is not what you want simply becusae you cant find gaming laptops with that batery life this is a very good laptop http/www.eurocom.com/ec/configure(1,237,0)ec (note the link is broken unless you manualy copy and paste it)

 

[iceclock]

country and max budget?

 

[bambiboom]

hassan96,

For a CAD and imaging laptop, I'd suggest a 17" screen, a reasonably fast CPU, and a workstation graphics card with a lot of memory. A bit bulkier to carry around, but this makes visibility much easier and hours will be saved in panning and zooming. I'd think this would improve the gaming use as well. The workstation card is important as it can run the proper drivers for applications from Autodesk, Adobe, and Dessault (Solidworks) . AutoCad 2D runs on almost any kind of system .GPU, but as you use more advanced software with viewports, and are doing rendering, etc., the workstation card helps. I would much prefer a Quadro card to take advantage of CUDA acceleration, but Firepros have good performance and are good value.

The best laptop for your use and budget would be in my view a Dell Precision M6800. See:

http/configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=cap6800w7p002&model_id=precision-m6800-workstation&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&

> Which has a 17.3: screen, hyperthreading 2.5 / 3.1GHz i5, 8GB RAM and a 2GB Firepro, about $1,600. Precisions are really nicely built and designed for long, heavy, continuous use. I've had used Dell Precision desktops running completely reliably for years.

If you are adventurous and a wise shopper, you might consider a recent, used M6800 with higher specification i7, a Dell Ultrasharp screen, and a Quadro :

http/www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-M6800-Core-i7-4800MQ-16GB-Win8Pro-Quadro-K3100M-Webcam-Backlit-/181434570109?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item2a3e57d57d&nma=true&si=dGEqw9bHIs5yIoVUoUIHASXtV2o%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

> a completed listing with a 2.7 / 3.7GHz quad core i7, 16GB RAM, backlit 1080p screen, and a very nice GPU- a Quadro 3100m which has 4GB of DDR5 memory, for $1,439. I've been thinking of a laptop lately, and it will be an M6700 or M6800. On Passmark Performance Test baselines, I see the recent Precision laptops- M6600 and newer have scores as high as quite fast desktops with similar CPU speeds.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

HP z420 (2014) > Xeon E5-1620 quad core @ 3.6 / 3.8GHz > 24GB ECC 1600 RAM > Quadro 4000 (2GB)> Samsung 840 SSD 250GB /Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > AE3000 USB WiFi > HP 2711X, 27" 1920 X 1080 > Windows 7 Ultimate 64 >[Passmark system rating = 3923, 2D= 839 / 3D=2048]

Dell Precision T5400 (2008) > 2X Xeon X5460 quad core @3.16GHz > 16GB ECC 667> Quadro FX 4800 (1.5GB) > WD RE4 500GB / Seagate Barracuda 500GB > M-Audio 2496 Sound Card / Linksys 600N WiFi > Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit >[Passmark system rating = 1859, 2D= 512 / 3D=1097]

2D, 3D CAD, Image Processing, Rendering, Text > Architecture, industrial design, graphic design, written projects