5 Best Laptop for Engineering Students – Complete Guide 2021
Table of Contents
TOP PICK 
Model
BLW's Score
92
90
88
86
84
MSRP
$1,699.00
$1,698.99
$998.99
Price not available
Price not available
More Information
Processor
Intel Core i7-8565U
Intel Core i7-8550U 4 GHz
Intel Core i7-8565U (up to 4.6 GHz)
Intel Core i7-8550U
Intel Core i5-8265U
RAM
16GB DDR4
16GB DDR4
12GB DDR4
16GB DDR4
8GB DDR4
Hard Disk
512GB SSD
256GB SSD + 2TB HDD
512GB SSD
256GB SSD + 1TB HDD
256GB SSD
Display
14" FHD (1920 x 1080)
17.3" FHD (1920 x 1080)
15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080)
17.3" FHD (1920 x 1080)
15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080)
Graphics
NVIDIA MX150
AMD Radeon 530 Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce MX250
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
Intel UHD Graphics 620
OS
Windows 10
Windows 10 Pro
Windows 10
Windows 10
Windows 10 Pro
Weight
3.3 pounds
6 pounds
4 pounds
4.6 pounds
5.42 pounds
Battery Life
11 hours
7 hours
8 hours
8 hours
9 hours
TOP PICK
Model
BLW's Score
92
MSRP
$1,699.00
More Information
Processor
Intel Core i7-8565U
RAM
16GB DDR4
Hard Disk
512GB SSD
Display
14" FHD (1920 x 1080)
Graphics
NVIDIA MX150
OS
Windows 10
Weight
3.3 pounds
Battery Life
11 hours
Model
BLW's Score
90
MSRP
$1,698.99
More Information
Processor
Intel Core i7-8550U 4 GHz
RAM
16GB DDR4
Hard Disk
256GB SSD + 2TB HDD
Display
17.3" FHD (1920 x 1080)
Graphics
AMD Radeon 530 Graphics
OS
Windows 10 Pro
Weight
6 pounds
Battery Life
7 hours
Model
BLW's Score
88
MSRP
$998.99
More Information
Processor
Intel Core i7-8565U (up to 4.6 GHz)
RAM
12GB DDR4
Hard Disk
512GB SSD
Display
15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080)
Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce MX250
OS
Windows 10
Weight
4 pounds
Battery Life
8 hours
Model
BLW's Score
86
MSRP
Price not available
More Information
Processor
Intel Core i7-8550U
RAM
16GB DDR4
Hard Disk
256GB SSD + 1TB HDD
Display
17.3" FHD (1920 x 1080)
Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
OS
Windows 10
Weight
4.6 pounds
Battery Life
8 hours
Model
BLW's Score
84
MSRP
Price not available
More Information
Processor
Intel Core i5-8265U
RAM
8GB DDR4
Hard Disk
256GB SSD
Display
15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080)
Graphics
Intel UHD Graphics 620
OS
Windows 10 Pro
Weight
5.42 pounds
Battery Life
9 hours
If you are studying engineering or already are an engineer then you need a high-end laptop that is not only reliable but also durable.
Most of the applications you run will require a powerful PC and that is why it’s very important to buy a laptop that is suitable for engineers.
You don’t want a laptop that’ll slow down your work. You also don’t want a laptop that’ll cost you more than $800 as most of the engineering students are pretty low on budget.
One thing you need to make sure is that your laptop is fast, efficient and portable. Anyways, there are hundreds of best laptops on the market and it’s really easy to get confused and buy something that’s not really the best one for you.
So I understand that you don’t want a laptop that’ll empty your wallet but you also don’t want something that’s really cheap and slow.
For engineering students, a laptop is an investment and we mostly recommend getting a laptop without a gaming graphics card because for students it is very easy to drown in a gaming world.
However, if you are already an engineer and would like to play games on it then we recommend checking out our guide of best laptops under $1000, all the notebooks in that guide are recommended to gamers and you’ll surely love using it for your work as well as games.
See Related Article: 10 Best Mini Laptops
What to look for in the Best Laptop for Engineers?
Since you will have to work on applications like C++, AutoCAD, Java, etc. you will need a laptop that is able to handle just about everything.
And since engineering is not a short term, you’ll have to go with a reliable laptop brand as you’ll be using the same laptop for over 4 to 5 years. Few important things to focus on are, GPU, processor, OS, RAM and storage space.
Rest of the things can be standard but when it comes to processor and GPU, you’ll have to go into the details of brand, generation, model, etc.
We usually recommend GPU from NVIDIA and AMD. Both are great brands and they know what they are doing.
Again, we recommend two brands for processor which are Intel and AMD. Anyways, we have reviewed 5 of the best laptops for engineers and engineering students below.
Check Also: 10 Best Thin Laptops
Our Top Picks for Best Engineering Laptops
1. Asus ZenBook Flip
Specs:
- Intel Core i7-8565U processor
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 512GB SSD
Getting 4 stars from various technical gurus, Asus ZenBook Flip knows how to make a grand entry in the world already full of wow laptops.
For affordable price, it is easily available on many online retail shops, ready for delivery in any part of the world. Talking about the specifications, its body is 0.5 inches thin and weighs only 3.3 pounds.
See Also: 10 Best Lightweight Laptops
It has strong 8th generation Intel Core i7 processor. It features a wide angle display with 1920 by 1080 resolution, which helps keeping viewer’s eyes stress free. The nanobezel allows the laptop to be physically smaller without sacrificing display area. This laptop also includes a stylus for writing or drawing on the display.
One of the main features of this Asus laptop is its battery life which lasts up to 13 hours and does not die on you. It comes with Li-Polymer battery which is better if compared to Li-ion batteries used almost everywhere. It comes with 16 GB of RAM, Windows 10 and 512 GB SSD storage.
Asus top its game with the dual-band 802.11 ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1 helping you connect at super light speed.
Having a micro HDMI port, you can easily connect your Asus laptop with TVs, projectors or monitors in no time, which helps you in while presentations or gaming.
One of the new features that we noticed during the use is that Asus has an eye care mode, which keeps the blue light levels less so the viewing can be stress free. It offers normal mode, eye care mode, vivid mode, and custom mode.
ZenBook has two USB 3.0 ports, a micro HDMI port and an SD card slot to connect easily. In addition, the keyboard is backlit and provides visibility even in dark.
All in all, it is one of the best laptops for engineers and we found no problem with all the promises Asus made while delivering the laptop.
Pros:
- IPS display
- Full High Definition resolution screen
- Brilliant battery life
- Pen input
Cons:
- Screen flickers
- Bad storage card reader
Top Features:
- Intel HD graphics
- 8GB RAM
- 2 USB ports
- Micro SDXC card reader
- Touch screen display
- Webcam
2. Dell Inspiron i7579-5012
Specs:
- Intel Core i7-8550U Processor
- 16GB RAM
- 256GB SSD + 2TB HDD
Dell Inspiron is a great laptop for engineering students as well as engineers which is equipped with a display of 17.3 inches and AMD Radeon 530 graphics card.
It has a powerful Intel Quad Core i7-8550U processor along with its classic design of 6.1 pounds and it is known for its portability.
It is a medium-end laptop which is fully worth the money and you use it for all kinds of tasks, be it playing latest games, or watching movies or videos online, engineering applications or using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter as well as communicating with friends and family through Skype.
With a huge storage capacity of a 256GB SSD and a 2 TB hard drive, you can store as many of your important documents, favorite movies, pictures and anything for your personal usage in future.
Keeping in mind the multi-tasking nature of today’s generation, this laptop gives you the chance to multi-task with its 16 GB RAM and 7 hours of battery life in general.
So in short, if you are looking to fulfill all your requirements, from 17.3″ display to i7 processor, you are in for a treat with the Dell Inspiron 17 5000.
From average computer users to classy professionals, from gaming maestros to movie buffs, this laptop is suitable for everyone and is the best buy at this price range.
Pros:
- Crisp display
- Good for gaming
- Great battery life
- 2-in-1 design
Cons:
- Dull color display
- Bulky casing
Top Features:
- Intel Turbo Boost technology
- 6th gen intel core
- Anti-glare display
- GeForce GTX 960M 4 GB GDDR5
3. ACER ASPIRE 5
Specs:
- Intel Core i5-8565U processor
- 12GB DDR4 RAM
- 512GB SSD
The Acer Aspire 5 is a budget-conscious notebook targeted to the middle segment of engineers which largely require notebooks for work and entertainment purposes. It is a great laptop with a few downsides.
Having an Intel Core i5-8565U processor ensures that your system is never slow and has all the resources it needs for heavy processing tasks as well. Its 15-inch display is more than enough for all kinds of engineering projects as well as for watching movies.
It boasts an very respectable battery life of 8 hours while doing normal tasks. This makes it one of the best battery life laptops.
It comes with pre-installed 12GB DDR4 RAM which is upgradable to 32 GB. It is equipped with a dedicated graphics GPU using an NVIDIA GeForce MX250. It is not built specifically for gaming but can be used to play titles like FIFA, COD, WOW, Sims 4, etc.
Multiple connectivity ports have been provided in It. The weight may be an issue as it is a bit bulky and some might not prefer carrying it around. The 512GB SSD is enough storage for most purposes. If not, the storage can be updated, external storage can be used, or you can store files in a cloud service like Google Drive or DropBox.
Keeping all the above features and its downside in consideration, the Acer Aspire 5 is still a nice budget buy if not used frequently for travel.
Pros:
- Elegant design
- Brilliant memory
- Doesn’t overheat
- Has 2GB of GDDR5
Cons:
- Display could be brighter
- Bad battery performance
Top Features:
- 8GB RAM
- Nvidia GeForce graphics processor
- 1 TB SSD
- Connects to Wifi and Bluetooth
- Has a webcam
4. ASUS VivoBook Pro
Specs:
- Intel Core i7-8550U Processor
- 16GB RAM
- 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD
The ASUS VivoBook Pro has some great features for engineering students.
An engineering laptop requires a relative fast processor speed and maximum display resolution for the great user experience. This laptop meets those requirements with with its Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 discrete graphics GPU.
The turbo speed of 4 GHz which makes the laptop very fast for both number crunching and graphics rendering. The 17.3″ FHD display is a benefit for viewing complex engineering drawings and documents. Even thought it has a relatively large display, the thin bezel reduces the physical size of the laptop. It’s also a very thin laptop at 0.8″.
Fast internet connectivity with 802.11ac, ASUS- exclusive cooling techniques, full size keyboard with backlight, its well-rounded sleek edges delivers a smooth and quality computing experience for engineers.
The laptop has a powerful speaker and amplifier combination using ASUS SonicMaster software. You will appreciate the immersive sound quality very much if you like background music while working, studying or if you also want to use the laptop for streaming video or gaming.
You can easily use applications like Adobe, Blender, AutoCAD, Maya as well as playing demanding games on it when you need a break. Overall, we like this laptop and strongly recommend it for engineering students or professional engineers.
Pros:
- Durable construction
- Great audio
- Suitable for gaming and engineering
Cons:
- Poor battery life
- Thick bezel
Top Features:
- Illuminated keyboard
- Connects to Wifi and Bluetooth
- Lightweight
- HD webcam
5. HP PROBOOK 450 G6
Specs:
- Intel Core i7-8265U processor
- 8GB DDR4 RAM
- 256GB SSD
- Intel UHD Graphics 620
The HP ProBook 450 G6, upgraded by CUK (Computer Upgrade King), is a solid laptop for engineering applications. The specifications are are very respectable and price is reasonable at under $1000.
We usually recommend this laptop to college students and it’s certainly a great choice for engineers as well as engineering students.
When it comes to performance, the 8th generation Core i7 processor and very capable Intel UHD graphics will be sufficient for most engineering applications.
The full HD display has good resolution at 1920 x 1080 pixels, but you may want to consider one of our higher priced choices if you need higher resolution to work with detailed engineering drawings.
It can also handle mid-range games with ease and we believe it is great value for the money. It is also available in number of variants so check the product page for alternate configurations if you need more memory, a larger SSD or other upgrades.
HP laptops are popular for engineering applications. You’ll be happy with this choice if you have modest requirements and don’t want to spend much money.
Pros:
- Powerful processor
- Great graphic card
- Lots of RAM
Cons:
- Complicated to set up
- Not aesthetically pleasing
Top Features:
- 8th gen processor
- 1 TB HDD
- Wifi and Bluetooth connectivity
Buyers Guide
Have you ever made a purchase and thought ‘this isn’t quite what I wanted’? It happens a lot. In fact, we get so excited to buy new equipment that we forget about all of the minimum criteria that we expected the product to have.
Buying laptops isn’t any different and with all of the overwhelming choice out there for us, it becomes incredibly easy to forget exactly what we want. Avoid this post-purchase disappointment and follow our laptop for engineers buying guide to make sure you are getting exactly what you need.
Below is a list of the most important features that an engineering laptop should have. Knowing what features your engineering laptop is expected to have should help you make a more confident and informed purchase.
- Price
Annoyingly, price plays a big role in the laptop you will get. We all have our price limit and no matter how much you love the sound of a premium laptop that has all of the add-ons and features anyone could dream of, at the end of the day it might be out of your price range.
If you can’t allow yourself to spend so much money on a laptop then you will have to do a bit of digging around. Lucky we have done the digging for you, hey!
2. Processing power
Engineering requires an i5 or i7 core, the more cores the processor has, the faster it will be. If you have some serious work to do on your computer, an Intel i7 core will be better for you, plus it serves as a brilliant processor for gamers too.
3. Battery life
Laptops that are used for work purposes more than pleasure are generally taken from place to place. Whether you are taking your laptop from home to your office or back and forth from school you are going to need your laptop to have plenty of battery life.
Not only that, engineering programs and applications drain your computer’s battery and you certainly don’t want to be plugged into the charger constantly. If you need your laptop for school, not all lecture halls have easily accessible sockets so running out of battery in the middle of a lecture could be a massive disaster.
4. Weight and size
At first, this may not seem like such an important feature, but if you are carrying a 7 pound laptop around you might regret getting one that is quite that heavy. Laptops weigh on average 5 pounds, so unless your laptop does some super technical things that an ordinary laptop doesn’t do then it shouldn’t be more than a few ounces heavier than that.
Its size is an important factor for a number of reasons. As we have mentioned above, traveling with a laptop is very uncomfortable if it is big and bulky. That is not the only reason for its size being so important, a small screen can make doing engineering work uncomfortable and very difficult.
5. RAM
8 GB of RAM is usually more than enough RAM for the average person, however, for engineering, it might be scraping it. 16 GB RAM is recommended for engineers to ensure you have enough data storage for your needs.
6. Speed
Ideally, you want a clock speed of about 3.5. You may even need a clock speed of 4.0 if you do a lot of complicated engineering on your laptop.
There are few things worse than having a slow laptop, especially when you are trying to get important work completed. Make sure your laptop has good multi-tasking abilities and refrain from having lots of windows and applications open at any given time if your laptop starts to lag.
7. Anti Glare Screen
Do yourself a favor and go for a laptop that has either a small pixelated HD screen or an anti-glare screen. Working on your laptop for long periods of time can cause havoc with your eyes and an anti-glare screen will be much more comfortable for you in the long run.
8. Ease of Use
No one wants their work time doubled because of a laptop that is hard to use. Keep it simple and only use programs and applications that are necessary. Go for a laptop with a comfortable layout that is familiar such as Windows 10.
Do not go for an overly techie and complicated laptop unless that is what you need. Sometimes the simplest programs and setups are the most successful.
9. Aesthetics
There is no denying that if we all want nice-looking things, so why should your laptop be any different? Make sure that the laptop you are considering getting has the right look for you.
Consider how slim you want the laptop to be, what size screen you need, what material you want the casing to be made of, and whether you want a backlit keyboard or not. These are all aesthetic features that will contribute to how you feel about the overall look of your laptop.
10. Durability
Ok, so you are not going to be throwing your laptop about or anything like that, but if it is going to be traveling with you in your bag, it should be a little bit bump proof.
Engineers and engineering students are going to need a laptop that won’t scratch, chip or dent easily and will look new, even when it is not. It might be worth getting a good, solid laptop case to keep your laptop extra safe on your travels.
Conclusion
Well, I hope now you completely understand what kinds of laptops engineers must buy and use. We have listed these 5 best laptops for engineering students and we highly recommend going with one of them.
You need a laptop you can trust when it comes to your work or studies and we believe that the above are not only trustworthy but will get the job done brilliantly. Whatever you are looking for you will find in one of our top 5 laptop picks, so save yourself the hassle, headache, and hours of research looking for something else.
However, along with the engineering, you have some other needs then feel free to contact us through comments or our expert advice page and we’ll try our best to help you. Also, if you have other doubts regarding laptops then please don’t hesitate to let us know.
Engineering Laptops Frequently Asked Questions
No question is a silly question, especially when it comes to parting with your hard-earned cash. You probably still have a few questions about engineering laptops so we have put together a FAQ section to help you out.
Q: Which laptop brand is best for engineering students?
A: The brand doesn’t particularly matter, what is important is what features your laptop has. Engineering laptops need to be fast with great memory storage and easy to work with.
Q: What an engineer should look for when buying a laptop?
A: An engineer needs a powerful laptop with at least 8GB RAM and a screen that is comfortable to look at for long periods of time that is not pixelated or too dull.
Q: Is a laptop required for engineering students?
A: Yes, engineering students need to have a laptop in order to complete their work quickly and efficiently. Engineering takes a lot longer when a laptop isn’t at hand to help.
Q: How much RAM do I need for engineering?
A: a minimum of 8 RAM is needed for engineering, however, 16 RAM is recommended.
Q: What is the best laptop for AutoCAD?
A: the Lenovo Thinkpad, Dell XPS, and ASUS ZenBook pro are the top laptops for AutoCAD.
Q: Do I need a Powerful laptop for engineering?
A: Yes, things like 3D modeling require a lot of power in order for the computer to run smoothly without stuttering. Although schools have special engineering laptops, it is good to be able to have the ability to complete these tasks from home too.
Q: Are 2-in-1 laptops good for engineering?
A: Yes, 2-in-1 laptops are good for engineering. Their best trate is that they are lightweight and easy to carry around making taking them from home to school or the office easy.
Q: Do engineers use Mac or Windows?
A: Microsoft Windows is generally the more popular choice for engineering.
Q: Is the Dell XPS 15 good for engineering?
A: yes, it is not only good for engineering, it is great for gaming, video editing, school work and more. That is why tech geeks and young adolescence that love technology go for the Dell XPS 15.
Q: Should I use a second-hand laptop for engineering?
A: using a second-hand laptop for engineering may not be such a good idea. Even some new laptops aren’t fast and powerful enough for everything engineers need to do, so you can imagine how a second-hand laptop may respond to some complicated jobs.
Resources
About the Author Marcus
Marcus has a graduate degree in computer engineering and has many years of experience in cutting-edge technology research and development in both startups and Fortune 500 corporations. In his free time, he enjoys RTS gaming.
