Hello!
I’ll be majoring in Electrical Engineering and need some advice before I buy a computer. I understand that I need a lot of memory and an great graphics card for programs like solidworks. I have looked at a few computers so far.
ASUS ROG G701VI
ASUS ROG G752VM OC Edition
ASUS ROG GL552VW-DH71
ASUS ROG STRIX GL502VT-DS74
Macbook Pro
Alienware 17 R4
Money is not an issue; I’m prepared to spend over 3K for a good computer. I’ve heard that gaming computers are the way to go, even though many have a short battery life(probably won’t be an issue…hopefully). Also need one that isn’t too loud; don’t want to distract other people. My older sister is also an engineer. She has a Lenovo Y700 - 15.6 Inch Full HD Gaming Laptop. She told me to get a better computer than what she has, since the graphics card isn’t that good. It would be greatly appreciated if you guys help me out. Thanks!!
Will you need to run a 3D CAD program like SolidWorks for EE? I ask because none of the laptop GPUs have high performance due to thermal and power issues. They also make the laptop bulky. IMHO, you’d be better off with a regular 13.3" laptop with an integrated Intel GPU for everyday use (e.g. HP Spectre x360) and a simple desktop with a dedicated graphics card for 3D work. An inexpensive desktop graphics card will have far higher graphics performance than the best laptop graphics hardware. Plus, you’d also have a much larger monitor on your desktop to help with visualization.
@droppedit I’m not sure if I will have room for a desktop. And even if I do, I probably am not going to study in the dorms all day, so having a laptop with a good graphics card is probably better. EE does need SolidWorks, since it has an addon for electrical systems apparently. They also use Autocad. Also, having a bulky laptop isn’t a big deal for me.
Here’s a GPU performance review of your sister’s Lenovo Y700:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10026/the-lenovo-ideapad-y700-laptop-review/4
It shows how stepping up to an Nvidia 980M can double GPU performance in some games. However, there may be substantial differences in performance for 3D CAD programs, which typically use OpenGL. With OGL, using “certified” drivers is important because they provide higher quality numerical results (hence, the “certified”) and are optimized for complex geometry, which are important in engineering. For example, an engineer I know, who does legal consulting on accident investigations, only uses Dell Precision laptops. Those laptops use older Nvidia Quadro GPUs … but their drivers are “certified” for numerical accuracy.
We’re still on a high growth rate for laptop GPU performance, so investing in a huge laptop right now might not be the best choice. Dragging around a power brick because of short battery life is a hassle … and many of the laptops with a discrete GPU switch between the Intel integrated GPU and the discrete GPU on-the-fly, which can cause problems with 3D programs.
If you were my kid I’d recommend going into school with a decent laptop and then see how much CPU and GPU horsepower you actually need once there.
What engineering degree is your sister going for? Are you sure you need a high end laptop as an electrical engineer? If you do some research on the web, you’ll find that you won’t actually need a high end laptop let alone spend over 3k or even more than 1k.
I’ve been an EE student I never had to use SolidWorks I think that’s for ME students. As for AutoCad is possible but is limited to AutoCad electrical and modeling circuits which don’t need a dedicated GPU.