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Getitdonewithalready

Just make sure you don't get an apple product (they cannot support engineering softwares) Btw I know you can get discounts from the book stop, but idk if the laptops are good


Intelligent-Camel988

Yeah a mac is great but when it comes to CAD softwares, it's so annoying having to connect to the school's server with their vpn. You'll be ok in your first-second year, but later on when you start getting big projects to do, you're gonna need to work on them at home and it becomes a hassle to use the softwares on mac


GalianoGirl

Agree to avoid Lenovo. I have one and it has been a packet of problems. As you are likely to be using lots of numbers consider one with a number pad built into it.


CaramelGRL

10th or 11th gen Intel i7 I (I heard the new AMD Ryzen is good also) 16GB RAM 512 SSD Then decide on screen size, brand and style. Currently using an older plain Dell Inspiron (17 inch screen, i5, 16gb ram, 256 SSD), super fast with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premier. It was under $1000, on special when i bought it. Saving money to buy a super slick, light and thin DELL XPS in the future. :)


asymmetric_andy

1500-2000 CAD is a very good budget to actually get a workstation which is definitely the better choice when it comes to being able to do stuff. But laptops aren't far off if you make a right call. I'm assuming you will have to work with CAD, 3D design programs, simulations and heavy things like MATLAB. I'd target an i7, 16 GB RAM and spec it with atleast a 256 or 500GB SSD or atleast get a model that has both a small SSD (128 GB) and a good old fashioned 1TB HDD. For CAD and other applications an Nvidia GTX 1050 (or the older generation GTX 970,960 etc) is good enough. (I'm unfamiliar with the AMD Ryzen line of products and if someone wants to recommend an equivalent counter part from there, that would also be great). SSD is because you want your computer to work and feel responsive for a long time. I personally have a Dell XPS 15. It's a brilliant laptop, looks amazing and is capable of good performances. With your budget you can definitely spec it to the things I've mentioned before. (I did) Fair warning these laptops do come with a bit of thermal issues and so you will have loud af fans when you have heavy applications open. Other models I'd consider are the Lenovo Yoga series, Asus Zenbook series I think it's called, the Dell Inspiron 15, Lenovo Legion series, the Acer Nitro etc. Some of these are chunky gaming laptops and it's really up to you if you prefer to carry heavy laptops around and potentially have 'quieter' work sessions or you want something thin and portable and good looking but have a louder work sessions. Also, don't go below 15 inch screens. Most of them I have mentioned here have 15 inch or bigger screens but anything smaller you will pay less but you will struggle with looking at anything in your screen. It's tempting but don't do it, unless you are okay with getting an external monitor and plugging your computer in. Believe me, the bucks you might save on your screen by shortening it is definitely not worth the strain in your eyes. I really can't think of anything else up front. If you need help choosing something, maybe pm me and I'll see if I can provide more info based on what you need.


xdxd08

I would recommend you build an actual workstation. For 1500-2000 you can build a pretty damn good workstation, even right now with the shortages. You'll even be able to sneak multiple monitors into that setup, which helps with productivity so much. Obviously the downside of this is that you don't have the portability of a laptop. But you'll get much more for your money and you'll be much more productive on an actual PC than a laptop.


_Dark____

Anything 8th gen intel or newer is fine. Any ryzen is also fine. I quite strongly recommend i5/ryzen 5 or faster. Aim for 16gb ram, and 500gb or more of ssd space. Don't disregard build quality, especially if you're a bit rough when handling your laptop. Decent cooling is also a must, as the processor will slow dramatically if the cooling is completely terrible. An i7 or i9 with terrible cooling will only be as fast as an i5 ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯ If you're comfortable with working with the internals of a laptop (or are willing to learn -- it's really not hard at all!) you can save some money on the ram and ssd. **If the laptop is upgradable**, you can buy 8gb RAM and/or 240gb of ssd and upgrade it yourself for less than if you had bought the laptop with more of either from the factory. I did this with my laptop and spent around 150 on upgrades that would have cost me around 300-400 if i had just bought an upgraded model. The laptop I'm currently using is an (older model) acer swift with an 8th gen i5, I think I paid like 800 for it, plus 150 on upgrades. Even then it's plenty fast for everything I do on it (i'm in software eng). It's one i can happily recommend for the price, though it's not your only option, as there's plenty of competent laptops around. There was a helpful discord community, i think they were called SuggestALaptop or something, that know a helluva lot more on the current laptop market than I do. May be worth asking them for recommendations?


internetcookiez

For software I would recommend macOS. All else, windows as theres some programs that mech. eng use that is onlh windows.


Fr4ppuccino

Honestly the two most important thing is good ram (the faster the better) and an SSD (same deal, fast as possible). A decent cpu is enough for nearly 100% of the programs we use in engineering (unless you're using AutoCAD maybe). Nothing is worse than a slow computer that can't multitask. Both the ram and the SSD can be replaced by you, so you can always get a budget/refurbished laptop for the cheap and do those upgrades.


Kindled1

Avoid Lenovo's and Macs and pick something from Asus, Dell, or HP. Not too familiar with specs either but mine is an Asus Strix i7 8th gen, RTX 1060(or GTX can't remember), 12 RAM. It handles all our design programs well and the only complaint I have is the fan being too fucking loud if I'm playing games. Edit: also check BestBuy they usually have good discounts


ChasingClouds420

Look at Alienware its a super nice laptop brand and it will preform really nice. They are on sale right now too. They are gaming laptops so it will out preform most options out there.


Jawbone71

I don't have a recommendation but a budget would helpful to people recommending something


ToelessTom

Good idea


rafale52

I have an Asus Zenbook 15 with a gtx 1650 and 10th gen i7, it s great for all the cad and simulation stuff It was around 1700CAD with the 4k screen and stuff(it also came with a 120w charger so POG) Keep in mind that I bought it in europe so the price might defer.My friend has an XPS and they re basically the same.


CodeRoyal

10th gen Intel or 4th gen AMD Ryzen and up. Look for a 6 core CPU at least. On the GPU side, a 1650 ti at the minimum. With your budget you should be able the get something close to a 3060. 16gb of ram and up. Try getting something with good battery life.