Here you can find the best laptops for engineers! Computers and electronic devices are maybe one of the most important parts of an engineer’s career and life. Nearly all the tasks are done in computers in terms of engineering. In mechanical engineering, various kinds of software programs are used to accomplish engineering duties and projects.
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Firstly, each of these engineering programs requires different kinds of features from computers. And also, according to the working field of a mechanical engineer, the requirements of the features of a computer change. Also, an engineer must select the best computer engineers for different kinds of programs and tasks.
Furthermore, this article will be very useful for mechanical engineers or mechanical engineering students to select the best computers for engineers and different kinds of subjects and programs in mechanical engineering.
How to Choose the Best Laptops for Engineers?
As we stated above, there are various kinds of topics and professions in mechanical engineering. So, according to the profession that you will deal with, you need to select the best performing device in terms of price and performance. So, let’s take a look at the different professions and computer programs in mechanical engineering.
Computer-Aided Design
The computer-aided design may be the most used computational profession in mechanical engineering. And also, almost all mechanical engineering students and mechanical engineers are using computer-aided design tools and software in their professional careers. But, the level of use of computer-aided design tools is very important here.
Furthermore, in industry, CAD software packages are changing according to the changing level of design. With the changing software packages, expected technical requirements from the best computers for engineers change. It is very easy to find the best computers for engineers or laptops by looking at the hardware requirements for computer programs. But in general, the level of use of software programs is mostly unclear in these requirements.
Maybe you can make your CAD duty or project with a laptop or the best computers for engineers which has a lower version of Intel HD Graphics. Because you will not design very complex assemblies or renderings with that software package.
Or you may need to use CAD programs for very complex projects and works. You need to obtain very high-quality renderings of assemblies if you are working for professional companies. In terms of this fact, you need to have a very good computer or laptop that has very good graphics cards and processors.
So, as you understand, you need to select a laptop or computer according to your requirements in CAD projects in mechanical engineering.
Best Laptop for Computer-Aided Engineering
The term computer-aided engineering is very omnibus. But we consider computer-aided engineering in terms of running Matlab and Excel.
Also, mechanical engineers are using different kinds of software packages to make complex calculations and optimizations. Among these software packages, Matlab and Excel may be some of the most used ones. And then, you can find other software packages similar to these software packages.
In terms of these packages and mechanical engineering duties and projects that are made with these software packages, selecting a proper computer is easy. You do not need to have very high requirements for graphic cards. But your CPU and RAM must be above the average to accomplish complex projects and duties.
If you will not use these software packages in a very professional and complex way, you do not need to consider very high CPU and RAM requirements.
Also, you can find minimum and optimum requirements to run different CAE software from their official sources. You can select your computer or laptop according to these requirements. So, your computer can have CPU and RAM near to minimum requirements declared by software producers if you are a beginner to use this CAE software.
Finite Elements Analysis And Engineering Simulations
Laptops and the best computer for engineer choice for a mechanical engineer may be the most important in finite element methods and simulations. The most used engineering software are ANSYS, Abaqus, NASTRAN, ADAMS, etc. The complexity of your work is also very important in FEA software and laptop selection.
Creating mesh structures and executing the calculations according to these mesh structures is one of the most important aspects of FEA and engineering simulations. If you create much more complex and intense mesh structures, you will obtain better engineering simulation results that converge to real-world physical applications. With the increasing mesh density, hardware requirements are also increasing.
If you are dealing with very professional engineering projects for companies or academics, your laptop or best computer for engineers must have very high features of the graphics card, CPU, and RAM. Also, an SSD drive is very important.
Furthermore, if you are not dealing with very intensive mechanical engineering projects or if you are a beginner to FEA and engineering simulation software, you can consider cheaper hardware to run engineering FEA software.
And also, like other engineering software mentioned above, minimum and optimum requirements of software packages can be a very good guide for selecting the optimum device for you or mechanical engineers.
Best Laptops for All Types of Engineering Fields!
In general, if you are dealing with a mechanical engineering profession, you will not probably use mainly all types of software packages; CAE, CAD, CAM, or FEA. If you are professional in one area, you may choose your hardware mainly according to the software that you are using.
For example, if you are dealing with engineering simulations of different professional mechanical engineering systems, your laptop or computer must have very good hardware for the requirements of these CAE software packages.
If you need a laptop that you want to run all the engineering programs at the same time, you are probably a beginner to learn all this software. You will probably use all of these software packages for different engineering duties at a beginner level. You are probably a mechanical engineering student. So, you do not need to consider all the maximum requirements of all types of CAD, CAM, CAE, and FEA software. You can consider all the minimum requirements of these software packages and select the proper laptop for you that provides these minimum hardware requirements.
In short, if you are a mechanical engineering student, you do not need to bother yourself to buy the best computers for engineers or laptops that have the highest prices and highest hardware.
Best Laptops for Engineers And Engineering Students
On top of that, according to the facts that we stated above, you will not find randomly recommended laptops and the best computers for engineers to force you to buy one of them. So, the recommendations are made according to the general requirements of different software packages that are used in mechanical engineering at different levels. You can find an appropriate laptop for your specific needs from this list!
1 – Lenovo ThinkPad P1
If you are a CAD designer and you need to use the CAD software professionally, the first recommendation is the Lenovo ThinkPad P1. According to the system requirements of Solidworks 2021, the hardware of Lenovo ThinkPad P1 will be satisfactory to run Solidworks 2021 CAD tools.
Also, you can create basic to advanced 3D designs with complex assemblies without any problems.
Up To 4.10 GHz Processor Capacity!
Furthermore, processor requirements for CAD systems are a very important thing to run the CAD software without any lags or shut-offs. Also, the latest versions of Solidworks require an optimum 3.3 GHz of processors from the best computers for engineers. Lenovo ThinkPad P1 satisfies this hardware requirement with its 4.10 GHz turbo processor capacity.
Best for CAD
NVIDIA Quadro P1000!
Around Solidworks’ latest version system requirements, the graphics card is one of the most important hardware. And also, NVIDIA Quadro P1000 4GB graphic card will run the Solidworks 2021 and upper versions of it without any problems. You can design detailed and complex projects with different CAD software programs with this graphic card.
16GB DDR4 RAM!
16GB of RAM is a major requirement for nearly all CAD programs. So, the 16 GB DDR4 2666Mhz SoDIMM Memory of Lenovo ThinkPad P1, will be sufficient to run Solidworks and other CAD programs without any problem.
256GB SSD!
Also, solid-state drives are new storage technology that the computer programs that are installed in SSDs are working much more efficiently. So, SSD systems are strongly recommended by CAD software producers. 256GB SSD of the Lenovo ThinkPad will satisfy this need.
2 – Dell Precision M7720 7720
This recommendation is actually for mechanical engineers or mechanical engineering students who are dealing with finite element analyses from beginner level to semi-professional manner. We said, ‘semi-professional’ because, big engineering companies are using the very high capacity of workstations to overcome very realistically and high-level engineering simulations.
But you can be an engineer who deals with FEA software individually for freelance work or academic work. According to people in this class that we stated, Dell Precision M7720 will be a very good choice to meet the computational requirements of various FEA software such as ANSYS. Let’s check the general features of Dell Precision M7720 in terms of the FEA analyses and FEA software.
It Is A Mobile Workstation!
This Dell Precision M7720 is also called a mobile workstation, which is generally used for these kinds of engineering practices. Its hardware features are optimized according to this way.
Best For Engineering Applications!
8GB GDDR 5 – Nvidia Quadro P4000!
Nvidia Quadro series of graphics cards are generally used to overcome different complex engineering analyses, designs, and calculations. P4000 graphics card is tested and approved graphics card from various FEA software producers including ANSYS. And also, for complex engineering models designed in FEA, this level of graphics card must be used.
2.9 GHz Intel Core i7-7820HQ Quad-Core!
For engineering FEA analyses, the processors of the best computers for engineers are important in terms of the time of the solution. So, as we stated above, with the improving mesh structures, the time required to obtain solutions increases. At the same time, the correctness of the analyses increases. So, big technology companies are using very high capacities of processors to achieve very complex analyses in short time durations.
As an individual, you need to provide acceptable mesh structures and models to your customers or for academic work. Also in terms of time, a 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7-7820HQ Quad-Core processor in Dell Precision M7720 mobile workstation will be satisfactory.
A Fantastic RAM and CPU!
16GB of DDR4 RAM!
Furthermore, the complexity of the FEA analyses depends on the RAM capacities of workstations. Again, big companies are dealing with very complex engineering systems that must be modeled as FEA systems in the best computers for engineers. So, they are using very big workstations which have very high capacities of RAM.
As an individual FEA analyst, you will not probably deal with so complex duties in a very accurate mesh structure. By considering the general projects and general mesh structures that an individual will deal with, 16GB of DDR4 RAM will be satisfactory. Also, a minimum of 16GB of RAM is a general requirement from FEA software providers like ANSYS!
256GB SSD!
On top of that, Solid State Drive is very important for FEA software. All the software developers are recommending SSD drives for the more fast and more optimized running of computer programs. You need to install your engineering program to SSD and you need to run the created projects with FEA software with your SSD. So, you need to save your projects into your SSD. Complex FEA projects can have very big sizes(at the level of GBs), and your SSD capacity must be at an acceptable level. But if you are working with separate projects, 256 GB of SSD will be sufficient for you.
3 – Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Laptop
This laptop recommendation is for engineers who are dealing with MATLAB and Excel engineering projects mainly. There can be various projects that are required to be performed with MATLAB. MATLAB includes very extensive engineering tools such as programming libraries related to different engineering areas such as Simulink for control systems designers.
Also, if you are an engineer that must use engineering tools of MATLAB or Excel, Lenovo IdeaPad 3 will be very suitable for you. In general, you do not need to use high-level graphic cards for these kinds of computer programs. Your CPU and RAM capacities must have enough capacity to run very complex projects in MATLAB or Excel.
If you are using office programs intensively, Lenovo IdeaPad 3 will be best for you.
Let’s take a look at the hardware features of the Lenovo IdeaPad 3;
14-Inches Of Screen!
The small screen size of this laptop will be very suitable for you to carry the laptop with you all day! Also, a lightweight design comes with this compactness. You can work on your projects with these laptops wherever you want. You can bring your laptop with you to show your projects to people easily.
Very Good RAM and SSD Storages
8 GB DDR4 RAM!
In general, a minimum of 8 GB of RAM is recommended to run engineering programs like MATLAB. And also, RAM is very important to solve and compile complex engineering codes and numerical calculations swiftly and 8 GB of RAM will be satisfactory enough to run all the complex engineering projects with different software like MATLAB or Excel.
256 GB SSD!
As we stated for other laptop recommendations, Solid State Drives are recommended over HDDs. Because SSDs provide better and optimized working of computer software which are installed in them. So, you can install the engineering programs that use in the 256 GB RAM of the Lenovo Ideapad 3 laptop and you can save your projects into this SSD. Also, if you run your software and save your projects into SSD, it will work faster and be optimized.
4 – MSI Prestige 15
This recommendation is for both mechanical engineers and mechanical engineering students who want to run nearly all the CAD, CAM, FEA, and CAE software. The hardware properties of MSI Prestige 15 are approximately a combination of all the best computers for engineers recommended above.
You will see how MSI Prestige 15 includes all the properties combined.
Furthermore, you can be a mechanical engineering student willing to learn all the best computers for engineers in the mechanical field. With MSI Prestige 15, you can run all the engineering programs without any problem and you can make complex engineering projects; complex assemblies and renderings with CAD programs, complex FEA analyses with high-density mesh structures with FEA software, complex codings, and simulations with CAE software.
Let’s check the hardware properties of MSI Prestige 15 in terms of engineering software.
So, if you are interested in MSI Prestige 15, click on the given link or the ‘Shop Now button to check the prices on Amazon.com!
Intel Core i7-1195G7 Processor
As we stated above, processor power is very important to run engineering simulations and FEA calculations in a fast way. And also it is very important for the CAE calculations that run in CAE programs such as MATLAB and Excel. Intel Core i7 2.9 GHz processor of the MSI Prestige 15 will be satisfactory for both of these engineering duties. You can deal with various complex engineering projects including both FEA and CAE calculations.
Best Laptop for Engineers Dealing with CAE!
1 TB SSD!
And also, the total space of SSD must be enough for all the engineering programs and all the project files created with these engineering programs. You need to run all these project files stored in the SSD and all the engineering programs must be installed in SSD. We recommended 256 GB of SSDs above for individual engineering programs but if you run all of them, a bigger space is required.
So, the 1 TB SSD of the MSI Prestige 15 will have sufficient space for all the engineering programs and software that you will use!
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650!
Furthermore, as we stated above again, the graphics card is a very important requirement for CAD design, engineering simulations, and engineering renderings. If you are willing to deal with all the engineering software at different levels, your best computers for engineers or laptops must have sufficient graphics card capacity to overcome the different engineering tasks.
Also, MSI Prestige 15 laptop has NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card which will be very sufficient for all the engineering tasks in FEM, CAD, CAE, and renderings. Also, you can acquire MSI Prestige 15 laptop with peace of mind to use it for years in your engineering education and engineering career.
32 GB DDR4 RAM!
The RAM capacity of a laptop is very important to overcome various complex engineering tasks by using different software programs. And also, if you are running software programs with full capacities, you need to have optimum requirements of RAM capacities that are shared with software producers. 32 GB of RAM will satisfy all the optimum RAM requirements that are shared by different software packages such as ANSYS, Solidworks, etc.
5 – Lenovo Flex 5
On top of that, this recommendation is not for running complex engineering software packages. Some mechanical engineers are working in departments of engineering companies where they must make lots of presentations about engineering products or engineering projects to customers or their chiefs. So, having a small and compact laptop will be very useful and elegant for a successful presentation.
Furthermore, with the compactness of your laptop, you can show and explain all the required details related to your topic to others. And also, carrying a compact laptop with you will make your hustling much easier.
14.0 Inches Of Screen!
Maybe one of the most important features of the Lenovo Flex 5 is the small screen which makes it fits everywhere. You can carry this laptop with you like carrying a little book with you!
FHD (1920 x 1080) Touch Display!
The touch display is another perfect feature of the Lenovo Flex 5! You do not need to carry a mouse with you to use Lenovo Flex 5 effectively! And also, with a touch display, you can show your projects and engineering tasks effectively to others!
Other Important Features
16GB DDR4 RAM!
Also, other compact laptops may have little RAM capacities. The 16 GB of RAM capacity of Lenovo Flex 5 will be very sufficient to run lots of computer software in it! So, you can make some edits and updates on your complex engineering projects with it!
256 GB of SSD!
SSDs are indispensable units of laptops in today’s technology. Also, you can install all the engineering programs and software in 256 GB of SSD of Lenovo Flex 5 laptop easily! So, like the other laptop recommendations that we shared with you above, 256 GB will be very sufficient for you!
Flexible Structure!
As you see in the photograph above, Lenovo Flex 5 laptop has a flexible structure that you can adjust to show your projects and documents to others effectively. Also, you can use this feature of the Lenovo Flex 5 to use it as a tablet.
AMD Radeon Graphics
And also, with the additional AMD Radeon integrated graphics card, you can achieve minimal CAD designs and assemblies up to a certain level with its digital pen! Furthermore, it will be very joyful to use CAD software with the touch screen of the Lenovo Flex 5.
AMD Ryzen 5 4500U Processor
On top of that, the processor capacity of the Lenovo Flex 5 will be very sufficient for your different tasks like presentations and simple manipulations on your engineering projects.
6 – Lenovo IdeaPad L340
This recommendation is for people that have a limited budget. According to your limited budget and considering the best price/performance laptop, we can share the Lenovo – IdeaPad L340 with you. So, we did our research according to the requirements of different engineering software that you need to use in your educational and professional career. Also, let’s take a look at the hardware features of the Lenovo IdeaPad L340.
Intel Core i5 9300H
As you know from the other recommendations, processor capacity is very important for a laptop for engineers. A 9th generation Intel i5 processor in Lenovo IdeaPad L340 will be sufficient for all the complex engineering tasks made in various CAE tools such as MATLAB and Mathematica.
8 GB RAM
If you take a look at the system requirements of different CAD, CAM, and CAE software, you will see that 8 GB RAM is generally recommended to run the software successfully. According to your budget, selecting the best computers for engineers or laptops that has at least 8 GB RAM capacity Lenovo IdeaPad L340 will be very proper for you.
SSD and Graphic Cards
256 GB of SSD
So, in today’s technology, SSDs are used mainly over HDD drives in all types of laptops. You need to have the required space for your engineering software and engineering project files in your SSD to run different engineering programs effectively. Furthermore, 256 GB of SSD capacity of Lenovo IdeaPad L340 will be sufficient for you to run different engineering packages in optimized settings.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
In terms of obtaining complex engineering renderings and assemblies in CAD and FEA software, a graphics card is required which has a capacity above the average. We selected the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 for this purpose to overcome most of the engineering assemblies, complex CAD designs, and engineering simulations in full options.
Lenovo IdeaPad L340 Is A Gaming Laptop!
These properties above are added to Lenovo IdeaPad L340 to serve it as a gaming laptop for the market. You can acquire this laptop as a gaming laptop, also you can complete your engineering tasks with it. This multi-purpose side of Lenovo IdeaPad L340 can be preferable to mechanical engineers or mechanical engineering students who are willing to play video games with their laptops!
7 – MSI WE76 11UM Mobile Workstation
We recommended the mobile workstation above which is a somewhat cheaper mobile workstation according to the budgets of individual mechanical engineers that are dealing with professional projects. This recommendation is also a mobile workstation recommendation for engineers or companies who are working on big and complex engineering projects. Let’s take a look at the hardware properties of MSI WE76 11UM.
Intel Core i9-11980HK Processor!
The processor’s quality and capacity are very important in a workstation to overcome complex engineering simulations and FEA analyses. For example in an individual FEA project, maybe 500.000 mesh elements are used. But in a company-level professional engineering FEA analysis, 12 millions+ mesh elements can be used. With the increasing number of mesh elements, the time required for the solution of an engineering problem gets longer and longer.
The 11th generation Intel Core i9 processor of the MSI WE76 11UM mobile workstation will be very sufficient and powerful for company-level engineering FEA analyses.
SSD and Other Properties
1 TB of NVME SSD
Big projects take up large spaces on drives. The file of a professional FEA project can take up dozens of GBs in the hard drive. SSDs are also strongly recommended drive systems by software producers because of the more optimized running of computer programs.
1 TB SSD space of MSI WE76 11UM mobile workstation will be satisfactory for engineering projects at the professional business level. All the computer programs and engineering project files can be stored in this 1000 GB of space.
64 GB DDR4 RAM
The analysis and design of big engineering models such as complex assemblies or products that constitute sub-parts or sub-assemblies require big capacities of RAM. The bigger the RAM, the more complex projects that you can achieve.
MSI WE76 11UM mobile workstation comes with 64 GB DDR4 RAM which has the best capacity among the recommended laptops for engineers. It will be very satisfying while you are dealing with very complex engineering projects.
NVIDIA RTX A5000 Graphics Card
While dealing with very complex CAD and assemblies and the renderings of these complex files, it’s better to have large capacities of the graphics card. NVIDIA RTX series of graphics cards are best for these jobs. And the 16 GB GDDR6 NVIDIA RTX A5000 graphics card will be very sufficient for complex engineering simulations, renderings, and assemblies.
You Have An Idea About The Best One For You!
So, we shared our laptop recommendations according to the specific needs of an engineering student or a mechanical engineer. Also, all the recommendations are explained in terms of different mechanical engineering practices and all the hardware properties are explained in terms of the mechanical engineering computational requirements.
Furthermore, you can find a good recommendation from this list according to your specific needs and you will be able to decide on the best laptops and hardware according to the needs of the computer programs of mechanical engineering.
And also, after reading this article, you will have the ability to choose the best laptop for your engineering education and career around thousands of laptops. So, you know what kinds of hardware you need according to the mechanical engineering computer programs and at which level you will use these computer programs.
Find Other Best Computers for Engineers on Amazon.com!
If you click on the links that we shared with you, you will see that specific laptop that we recommended to us. Also, you can see the same laptops which have the same hardware features through these links!
Conclusion on Best Laptops for Engineers
Finally, this article is very special from other articles about laptop or notebook recommendations for mechanical engineers. Also, this article provides direct information about how to select a laptop according to specific engineering programs.
So, do not forget to leave your comments and questions below about the best notebooks and laptops for mechanical engineers or mechanical engineering students. If you have an additional recommendation, please leave yours in the comments below with us!
FAQs About Best Laptops for Engineers
It is not about the price of the laptop or notebook. It is about your needs and your budget. Furthermore, as a mechanical engineer, you can have specific needs from a laptop. You need to find out the best-priced laptop that satisfies your needs.
There are tons of comparison websites where you can compare different laptops if you are not sure which is the best one. Also, again, it is actually about your needs and your budget for them.
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