Laptop for Engineering School

Crapxxas119 · Jan 26, 2014

I am (very likely) going to be at Penn State next year for electrical engineering and i will need to get a laptop for then. My brother's laptop is currently on its last leg due to some physical damage that has been messing with the display cable. My current laptop will go to him and i will get a new one for myself and probably repurpose his. I would like something that will last me through college although i dont need the best of the best, just something that will be sufficient.

The Penn State recommendations are here http://www.ecs.psu.edu/psu_coe_comp_recommendation.htm

My budget is basically as cheap as possible for something that will last me through college and still be convenient in terms of how fast it will be able to do whatever calculations it will need to.

As far as size, i would prefer 14-15.6 inch screen although im open to anything as long as its justified in terms of convenience and such.

bob4933 · Jan 26, 2014

For starters, get to your engineering school before focusing on getting a laptop oriented for "engineering". That will be a couple years, you have time.

In the mean time, you don't "need" a laptop at all. Get something you want at this point. Its unlikely a laptop will last you 4-5 years honestly, especially if you're moving it around all the time.

edit: anything you buy now will be significantly cheaper in 2 years as well.

edit 2: its not criminal to use student loans, and you can get a loan for a laptop. I normally don't condone putting "computer" things on "credit" but at 1-2% interest of a student loan, its really not a bad gig to get something you need.

edit 3: I realized I am in no way answering your question haha. But you have a few years to wait before you need to focus on anything for school honestly. In the mean time, what are you using the laptop for? Gaming? general purpose use? facebook? lol

Crapxxas119 · Jan 26, 2014

The only reason why i am looking at laptops now is that my brother's can die today.

The whole money thing is not a problem though. I can spend as much as i desire on it, but i dont want to be wasting money. The ideal recommendation would be as cheap as possible to last me through school. I just want a recommendation so if my brother's laptop breaks tomorrow then i will know what to get that will last me.

And a laptop can certainly last for 4 years. My current laptop is 3.5 years old and it still is working without a hitch. Plus it was bought during the first gen of core i series processors and i can still do anything i would need to do minus newer games. It has an i3 350m and the only reason why i cant game is because im on integrated graphics.

bob4933 · Jan 26, 2014

Lets try this again.

You don't need an "engineering school laptop" for at a minimum of 2 years. You won't even be in the engineering college for 2 years minimum. Being an electrical engineer, you most likely won't be using CAD or other intensive rendering programs either.

So, to reiterate, your laptop "requirements" are simply your own. ANY laptop can last 4 years, doesn't mean it will be relevant in 4 years. But if you're carting it around all the time, the likely hood of damage is much higher then sitting on your desk or bed at home, which is more what I was playing at.

So, before anyone can answer your questions, you need to specify what YOU want, not some simple vague "engineering requirments" and "needs to last 4 years" thing.

oG AnarCHy · Jan 26, 2014

Try this one out, you can upgrade it to dual 750s in the future
its the one i plan to get for college, and im going for software engineering
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y510p/

Crapxxas119 · Jan 26, 2014

I am wondering if a quad core is really necessary and worth the cost though. Plus, is that dedicated graphics really necessary? I can get a laptop for less with a less powerful card. I dont imagine that i would be doing anything that intel dedicated graphics cant take care of.

oG AnarCHy · Jan 26, 2014

I got a feeling you would be running cad programs that would be able to take advantage of the quad cores, plus its allot nicer programming on visual studio on my 4670k then a core 2 duo at my school...i can't tell you how many times i waited around for large programs to compile at my school :/

Crapxxas119 · Jan 26, 2014

Thanks!
But as far as graphics go, does it matter as long as i have dedicated? I dont really care for gaming performance but i need to know how the gpu will affect modeling.

oG AnarCHy · Jan 26, 2014

It wouldn't hurt lol, the one i posted for the money is great, and it has the highest recomendation on cnet

Crapxxas119 · Jan 26, 2014

I have found deals online fore much cheaper though. I am willing to go for refurbished as long as it has a 1 year warranty. I found a samsung a while ago for $650 that was refurbished with a quad core i7 and 740m gpu but my dad said it was too early (thinking that a deal like that is always available).

Thekamikazepr · Jan 26, 2014

lenov y510 that was already posted is the best bet for your buck.

You really wont need something that powerfull until you reach yhour junior year.

Also note that you are electrical and not mechanical nor civil engineer , so your cad will be more 2d oriented and programming/electrical simulations. You will be more CPU and RAM intensive that GPU (graphics) intense.

Crapxxas119 · Jan 26, 2014

Does that mean that i could get away with no gpu and just intel integrated?

And i only plan on buying one laptop to last me through school. I will be buying either once my brother's breaks or around July (certainly before school starts because if his breaks during school then we will have a big problem).

Thekamikazepr · Jan 26, 2014

Not that much you still need video but its like saying

a gtx 630 vs a gtx 680m sli (which will cost 3 times more)

Crapxxas119 · Jan 26, 2014

Alright! Thanks for the help guys. When the time comes i at least know what to buy.

Thekamikazepr · Jan 26, 2014

Maybe one of those apu A10 Kaveri might be enough. But again I don't know since I haven't test them.

I did engineering school 9 years ago ... (Wow I did just calculate that) back in 05. Auto cad ran ok in a $400 laptop. Now if you do 3d modeling thats another 10 bucks....

Most colleges do have CAD labs

Hippogriff · Jan 27, 2014

I'm a business PhD student and I have a Dell Precision M4800, but it is probably overkill.

Radeon28 · Jan 27, 2014

I went through college (2008-2012) as a mechanical/thermodynamic engineer and intel integrated graphics, a dual core processor, and 4GB of RAM was fine for me, even with 3D modeling and fluid simulations. My roommate that studied electrical engineering had no problem using the same laptop, the programs you use as an EE aren't as demanding as ME software.

Don't overspend on specs you don't need, that's college beer money being wasted.

pcgamer4life · Jan 27, 2014

Get something with an i5, 8gb RAM, HDD size of your liking, screen size/resolution of your liking, and call it a day. I wouldn't mess with a GPU, because that will drive up cost significantly. You could spend a chunk of change on a decent sized SSD (256gb), or replace your optical drive with a smaller boot SSD.

Two years from now when you actually start your program, your laptop will still be relevant and perform perfectly fine for whatever you can throw at it, within reason.

Crapxxas119 · Jan 27, 2014

Sweet, that will save me a bunch! I might try to see if i can find one with an msata ssd along with the hdd (or at least one with an open msata port). Any brand recommendations? I dont quite want to ask for specific models because that might change by the time i am ready for purchasing, but i would value your opinion of brands very highly.

Radeon28 · Jan 28, 2014

If you want to go budget you can get a cheap little Dell Latitude with an i5, 4Gb RAM, and a 15" screen for cheap.

If you want to treat yourself get something nice like an ASUS with similar specs and an SSD.

Final thoughts, most of your engineering software will be distributed through CDs, so unless you are good at making .ISO files and thumb driving them, I would recommend getting something with a CD Drive (ultrabooks don't have CD Drives). Also, don't get a laptop with a huge internal HDD, but something like a western digital passport; you will like it because engineers trade files around A LOT.

Laptop for Engineering School

Member

Member

Member

Member

We're all out of trollish titles

Member

We're all out of trollish titles

Member

We're all out of trollish titles

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Similar threads