Laptop for 3D CAD Software

[Crook]

Is anyone able to offer some advice on a reasonable laptop for doing 3D CAD work on it please?

It would be for Fusion 360 for joinery and maybe a bit of Sketchup for interiors - nothing particularly heavy duty like Solidworks.

Other designers I've spoken to who make large office interior models use gaming laptops (it does need to be a laptop rather than PC) and when I was office based many years ago and on Solidworks I did spec a PC with what would be a good game set up (large RAM, excellent video card etc.) however now I really don't have that much of a clue and the suggested spec is always a bit useless (my current laptop meets that but freezes enough for it to be annoying).

I don't want to over order but equally it needs to be up to the job for the next few years.
Any and all experience / suggestions welcome.

Many thanks in advance.

[Mr Pointy]

What screen size do you want & do you mind if it weighs more than the usual type of laptop? Does it have to be new because you could get more bang for your buck if you looked at refurbished laptops.

[Crook]

My current screen is 15.5" but I do have an additional screen at my desk for working - the portability is more about working in different offices - it's seldom that I'd have to slog it across the tubes etc. to a site so it doesn't need to be a featherweight.

Re refurbished - hadn't thought of that - am open to it. (My phone is a refurbished one.)

Many thanks

[jackofall84]

If you have a look at the hardware section on the solid solutions website it'll give you an idea of what specs to aim for.

[Crook]

jackofall84 said:

If you have a look at the hardware section on the solid solutions website it'll give you an idea of what specs to aim for.

Thanks I'll take a look however my current laptop meets the requirements for Fusion 360 only it apparently doesn't in practice.

ETA.

I'm trying to match up the graphics card specs with the laptops on offer and they don't appear eg. Solidworks website says: RTX 3000 - Laptop for sale website says: RTX 3060. Is the 3060 better or just a less powerful thing with a bigger number? That's before I get onto the recommended driver.

It may be obvious to some but it's something I struggle to comprehend.

I will keep looking though as it has to make sense at some point.

Edited by Crook on Wednesday 22 March 12:00

[devnull]

You'd be suprised at what CAD apps will run on these days. I would reckon it would run on any mid-tier or higher laptop made in the last 5-6 years.
The important thing really is screen real-estate - you want something higher than 1080p resolution at a minimum.

I have a Thinkpad P71 with a 17" 4k screen and a quadro GFX card which you can find refurbished thesedays.

[shirt]

i'd go the opposite tbh. small form factor and use a dock with external screen[s] and input devices. nothing worse than using any cad software using a laptop imo, no matter how large the screen.

[Crook]

Thanks, I'll have a look at that.

I was looking at this which seems to have high enough spec WRT RAM / Graphics card / etc.

Lenovo ThinkPad 16p G2 Ryzen 7 16GB 512GB SSD RTX 3060 16" WQXGA Win11 Pro Laptop

I just don't want to get the wrong thing when I've got an opportunity to get something.

[Crook]

shirt]i'd go the opposite tbh. small form factor and use a dock with external screen[s said:

and input devices. nothing worse than using any cad software using a laptop imo, no matter how large the screen.

I understood the last bit. I do use an external screen & keyboard / mouse. I need the portability for working in different offices / site / client presentations.

[colin79666]

Don’t need to go crazy with specs unless you are going to be doing big stuff in Revit.

If portability is key to you have a look at the HP Zbook Firefly.

[anonymous-user]

Crook said:

Thanks, I'll have a look at that.

I was looking at this which seems to have high enough spec WRT RAM / Graphics card / etc.

Lenovo ThinkPad 16p G2 Ryzen 7 16GB 512GB SSD RTX 3060 16" WQXGA Win11 Pro Laptop

I just don't want to get the wrong thing when I've got an opportunity to get something.

I don't have much to add other than I have that exact spec laptop but it in a Lenovo Legion Pro (gaming laptop). I personally think it is excellent, has that one got the 500 Nits 165MHz screen?

Just checked, the laptop you are referring to only has a 400 nits, 60Hz screen, plus one of the 8GB memory DIMMS is soldered to the board.

This would be better for the same money, but weighs 2.5KG is portability is important. The ram in this laptop is much faster as well and much more upgradable.

https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/p/laptops/legion-lapt...

Spend a bit more and you get the 3070 graphics card

[Crook]

Many thanks for the help and advice