<p>Ok, so I'm going to be studying aerospace engineering at UC San Diego in the fall. I've since started searching for a laptop. As of right now, I'm stuck between two laptops, both Asus: The G55VW-DH71 or the N56VZ-ES71. The main difference between them is graphics capabilities... and about $200. I imagine that I may be using some computer-aided design programs and will need a computer that is strong in the graphics department, but is the g55vw overkill? It's packing a GTX 660m while the N56 rocks a GT 650m.</p>
<p>Both of those will just be “okay” for CAD work anyway. Most gaming-type GPUs are only mediocre when it comes to CAD programs. To get real performance in such programs, you need a workstation card like a Quadro, which are generally more expensive. For that reason, I would suggest just going the cheap route or even just getting one without an on-board graphics card (unless you plan to play games on the laptop). Most likely your school will have computer labs that you can do CAD in if you need to and they will be more powerful for that application than your laptop likely will.</p>
<p>According to rumors, the difference in gaming vs CAD graphics card is really the drivers, as the hardware is fairly similar. I’ll ask my NVIDIA guy next time I see him… </p>
<p>Having said this, I don’t thing undergrad majors need uber-graphics anything for CAD. Heck, my DD1 is an architecture major and her Lenovo T420 with discrete NVIDIA something is more than enough. Rendering takes a while but few renderers use the GPU anyway - the ones she uses don’t -</p>
<p>As far as I know (using NVIDIA as an example), the GeForce lines and Quadro lines use the same hardware but the GeForce cards have had certain features disabled, both through software and hardware. I believe it is similar to how Intel locks down the multiplier on some processors and leaves them unlocked on others and charges more for them. I bet if one truly knew what they were doing, they could pop off the cover of their GeForce card and re-solder in a couple of spots to unlock the card, at least partially, as a Quadro, but that would be quite foolhardy. I wouldn’t have the slightest clue where to start.</p>
<p>I would be interested in hearing whether you NVIDIA guy confirms that or not.</p>
<p>Wait till you get to school so you can find out what other students use and recommend. Check out the lab facilities first so you can find out if they will be packed or not so you can just use the computers on campus.</p>