New laptop for engineering student

[Tycho]

Hi guys, my son is going into his 2nd year of uni doing Aero Engineering. His current laptop is an Asus 2 in 1 from about 3 years ago and he is really struggling with 8Gb RAM and an i5 CPU.

I've looked at lots of info about GPUs and I'm thinking about a Dell refurb with an eye on the following:

Dell Precision 15 - 32Gb, 1Tb SSD, NVIDIA RTX 1000 Ada Generation 6GB

Dell Precision 14 - 32Gb, 1Tb SSD, NVIDIA RTX 500 Ada Generation 4GB

Dell Precision 15 - 16Gb, 512Gb SSD, NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation 8GB GDDR6

I'm leaning towards the 3rd option due to the Ada 2000 8Gb and the fact that RAM and SSD can be upgraded later on with these laptops but can anyone recommend any other machines that are similar in price and spec? I think that the refurbs get around £250 off retail price.

Unfortunately Solidworks doesn't run on macOS without Parallels and a load of registry editing in Win 11. I'd also have to get a Windows licence as his old laptop is getting passed down to my wife.

[wyson]

What do they recommend on his course? Courses like that always recommend computer specs.

Also the 1st link doesn’t work.

Edited by wyson on Thursday 28th August 14:56

[BlueMR2]

Tycho said:

I'd also have to get a Windows licence as his old laptop is getting passed down to my wife.

https://ecokeys.co.uk/microsoft-windows/

Under £10 for Windows 10 or 11 Pro.

I'd agree though, find out from people on the course or the teachers what is a good spec then upgrade it abit further.

[biggiles]

Do you know he *needs* a separate GPU on his laptop? They are mostly used for games. CAD systems (these days) won't stress a GPU, and they are unlikely to be useful for AI. I have a very fancy GPU in my laptop and it's almost never used. For CAD or AI. Or gaming...

The dept will suggest some models, but a decent processor and lots of RAM will always be good. 16 GB minimum these days, 32GB great. And what size: I feel you can't really compare 13/14/15" models. A 13" is surely too small.

[frisbee]

I did aero at uni (years ago) and there wasn't much CAD on the course. All the CAD stuff was taught in labs using workstations.

A faster, lighter general laptop may be more useful, and a lot cheaper.

[barryrs]

I got a Dell Inspiron 15 3000 for £329 delivered from the outlet a couple of years ago and it’s been faultless.

I use it everyday and it handles AutoCAD architecture brilliantly, so I wouldn’t get too hung up on something with all the bells and whistles.

[Tycho]

wyson said:

What do they recommend on his course? Courses like that always recommend computer specs.

Also the 1st link doesn’t work.

Edited by wyson on Thursday 28th August 14:56

I think that the laptop in the first link has gone. He can't find a spec list but Ansys Dicovery (fluid dynamics software) just specifies an Nvidia GPU.

BlueMR2 said:

Tycho said:

I'd also have to get a Windows licence as his old laptop is getting passed down to my wife.

https://ecokeys.co.uk/microsoft-windows/

Under £10 for Windows 10 or 11 Pro.

I'd agree though, find out from people on the course or the teachers what is a good spec then upgrade it abit further.

The license isn't a massive issue TBH but having to buy Parallels and do loads of faffing around trying to get Solidworks to run would be a massive headache.

biggiles said:

Do you know he *needs* a separate GPU on his laptop? They are mostly used for games. CAD systems (these days) won't stress a GPU, and they are unlikely to be useful for AI. I have a very fancy GPU in my laptop and it's almost never used. For CAD or AI. Or gaming...

The dept will suggest some models, but a decent processor and lots of RAM will always be good. 16 GB minimum these days, 32GB great. And what size: I feel you can't really compare 13/14/15" models. A 13" is surely too small.

I'm pushing towards a 14 inch or larger but he has a 24in monitor that he can use as well.

He can't find a spec list but Solidworks has a list of recommended GPUs and everything I can find inline says that the experience isn't good without one. He is also using Ansys Discovery for fluid dynamics but that doesn't seem to be too demanding apart from needing an Nvidia GPU. The good thing about Dell laptops is that they can be upgraded with RAM and SSD from 3rd parties.

Thanks for the suggestions all.

[Tycho]

barryrs said:

I got a Dell Inspiron 15 3000 for £329 delivered from the outlet a couple of years ago and it’s been faultless.

I use it everyday and it handles AutoCAD architecture brilliantly, so I wouldn’t get too hung up on something with all the bells and whistles.

I like the idea of an outlet Dell as they also offer 3 years onsite support. I think that the min spec for Solidworks is higher than AutoCAD but I'll take a look at the Inspiron line as well.

[Tycho]

frisbee said:

I did aero at uni (years ago) and there wasn't much CAD on the course. All the CAD stuff was taught in labs using workstations.

A faster, lighter general laptop may be more useful, and a lot cheaper.

Unfortunately everything is done on student laptops in Southampton.

[OutInTheShed]

If an engineering stoodunt doesn't know what 'puter he needs, there's not much hope.