Best laptops for robotics students
Best laptops for engineering students in 2021VERDICT
REASONS TO BUY
REASONS TO AVOID
VERDICT
REASONS TO BUY
REASONS TO AVOID
Included in this guide:1 DellXPS 152 Pixelbook Go3 AppleMacBook Air (M1, 2020)4 AsusZephyrus G145 HPSpectre x360 (2021)6 DellG5 157 MicrosoftSurface Book 2 (15-inch)8 DellXPS 17 (2020)9 ThinkPadX1 Extreme Mobile Workstation10 RazerBlade 15 Studio Edition (2020)Students searching for the best laptops for engineering need a lot of power. But, they need a few other things as well. Most matriculating minds on their way back to school need to find that sweet spot between performance and price, and should look at laptops ideal for college. Engineering students, however, need powerful graphics cards, as well as other capable innards, to be able to fully utilize programs like CAD and CAM, not to mention handle computational tasks that require a lot of computing power. All that power needs to come in a reasonably priced package that also has great battery life and is lightweight. While they might not compare pricewise to cheap laptops, they need to be within a college students budget. Additionally, the best engineering laptops should be able to last the whole day on a single charge as well as be easy enough to lug around from class to class. Weve done the hard work for you and gathered the best laptops for engineering students here, some of which are under $1,000, just in time for back to school season. Since we've tested these notebooks, rest assured that youre getting quality, regardless of your pick. The best laptops for engineering in 2021The ultimate laptop has arrivedSpecificationsCPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i5 i7 Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti RAM: 8GB 64GB Screen: 15.6" FHD+ (1920 x 1200) InfinityEdge Non-Touch Anti-Glare 500-Nit 15.6" UHD+ (3840 x 2400) InfinityEdge Touch Anti-Reflective 500-Nit Display Storage: 256GB 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe View at Dell View at Walmart View at Amazon Reasons to buy+Amazing speakers+Beautiful display+Comfy keyboard Reasons to avoid-GTX 1650 Ti is a little weak The Dell XPS 15 is, without a doubt, one of the best laptops for engineering students to hit the streets this year. Combining staggering power in a stylish thin and light chassis, this laptop doesnt hold back when it comes to internals and features that improve your computing experience overall. Among those amazing features are a gorgeous bright display with 500 nits of brightness, an extremely comfortable keyboard, impressive speakers, and a terrific trackpad. Were not saying that this laptop is perfect, but its certainly the best laptop for engineering students right now.
The best Chromebook and laptop for engineering studentsSpecificationsCPU: Intel Core m3 - Intel Core i7 Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 615 RAM: 8GB - 16GB Screen: 13.3-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) or 4K LCD touchscreen Storage: 128GB - 256GB eMMC View at Walmart Prime View at Amazon View at Best Buy Reasons to buy+11-hour battery life+Amazing Hush keyboard+The best Chromebook Reasons to avoid-No biometric login-Chrome OS only The Google's Pixelbook Go is the best Chromebook money can buy right now, and it's also a fantastic laptop for engineering students. Coming with a more affordable price tag than its predecessor, the Pixelbook, Google's latest Chromebook still packs plenty of the premium features the original came with, including an amazing battery life, and one of the best keyboards we've used on a laptop. Sure, it doesn't use Windows 10 - instead it runs Chrome OS - but you can also install Linux on this thing as well, which makes it an even more versatile laptop. It features some impressive specs for a Chromebook, which ensures that Chrome OS positively flies on this device, and puts its performance on par with many of the more expensive Windows laptops and MacBooks.
The Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020) isn't just the best laptop Apple has ever made, it's one of the best laptops for engineering students. Thanks to the revolutionary ARM-based Apple M1 chip that powers the new MacBook Air (Apple has ditched Intel for these new laptops), this is a stunning achievement: a thin and light laptop that offers great performance, while also offering incredible battery life. Easily managing over 11 hours on a single charge, this is a laptop you can easily carry around with you in the office or outdoors. Its screen is gorgeous and the new and improved keyboard means you can happily work away for hours on this thing.
Leading AMD's charge to mobile dominanceSpecificationsCPU: AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti RTX 2060 RAM: Up to 32GB Screen: 14-inch Non-glare Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS-level panel, up to 120Hz 14-inch Non-glare WQHD (2560 x 1440) IPS-level panel, 60Hz Storage: 512GB / 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 View at Walmart View at Amazon View at Best Buy Reasons to buy+Best battery life in a gaming laptop+Excellent performance+Thin and light Reasons to avoid-No webcam-Fans can get loud The Asus Zephyrus G14 may be designed like a gaming laptop, but its proven itself a more than capable all-around laptop. Whether you are serious about your gaming or need a powerful laptop for productivity or content creation, this Asus laptop delivers incredible performance as well as an amazing battery life, a fast screen, and a thin and light chassis that makes it super portable. Its not the cheapest option out there, but you have to pay a premium for quality. And, if youre an AMD fan, youll certainly appreciate the processor under its hood.
Powerful performance in a head-turning designSpecificationsCPU: 11th-generation Intel Core i5 i7 Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics RAM: 8GB 16GB Screen: 13.3" FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS BrightView micro-edge WLED-backlit multitouch 13.3" diagonal 4K (3840 x 2160) UWVA BrightView micro-edge AMOLED multitouch Storage: 512 GB 2TB SSD View at HP (US) View at Walmart View at Best Buy Reasons to buy+Powerful Intel Whiskey Lake processors+12-hour battery life+Thin, light, and portable Reasons to avoid-More powerful than some users will need The HP Spectre x360 (2021) 2-in-1 laptop had a big refresh for 2021, and the boost in specs, with 11th-generation Intel Core processors and Intel Iris Xe graphics, along with the impeccable 2-in-1 design and pristine gem-cut chassis, means that this version is at the top of our best laptops for programmers list. The HP Spectre line has always consisted of stunning devices. So, when we say that the Spectre x360 takes things to another level, that should mean something. Not only is this one of the most beautiful laptops on the market right now with its gem cut design and sleek profile, but its tough on the inside. HP fitted this with impressively long battery life, which means that youre getting one of the best laptops on the market, hands down. As such, its also one of the best laptops for engineering students right now.
Gaming laptop that delivers a killer comboSpecificationsCPU: 9th Generation Intel Core i5 i7 Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 RTX 2060 RAM: 8GB 16GB Screen: 15.6 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS 300-nits 15.6 inch FHD(1920 x 1080) 300nits IPS Anti-Glare LED Backlit Display, 144Hz Storage: 128GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD + 1TB SATA Hard Drive 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD View at Walmart View at Amazon View at Walmart Reasons to buy+Perfectly balanced feature set+Strong gaming performance+Great battery life Reasons to avoid-IPS panel is merely OK-Confusing configuration options Youve got a killer combo in the Dell G5 15, a gaming laptop that combines affordability with a solid gaming performance, an amazing battery life and the optional 144Hz refresh rate display. If youre looking for a great value laptop, this ones a winner, and not just for gamers everywhere. This is a great option for professionals and students as well, especially those who often rely on graphics-intensive applications and 3D design software. The fact that lasts up to 10 hours (based on our tests) on a single charge, a plethora of ports, and a chassis that has a more subtle gaming aesthetic are only welcome extras.
One of the best 2-in-1 laptops to dateSpecificationsCPU: 8th Gen Intel Core i5 i7 Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 RAM: 16GB Screen: 15-inch 3240 x 2160 PixelSense Display Storage: Up to 1TB storage (SSD) View at Walmart View at Amazon View at Best Buy Reasons to buy+Crazy long battery life+Massively powerful+Excellent cooling Reasons to avoid-No up-firing base speakers-Small trackpad-Very pricey Whats a better laptop for engineering students than one thats actually designed for it? Microsoft developed the Surface Book line with graphical design and creative tasks in mind. It's even built it to support Surface Dial and Surface Pen to make your creative experience more effortless and all the more immersive. Of course, this laptop boasts some pretty powerful specs, robust enough to support casual gaming, as well as a long battery life that will last you up to 17 hours on a single charge. Not impressed yet? Well, that excellent cooling system should round out this package nicely.
A brilliant 17-inch UltrabookSpecificationsCPU: Up to 10th Generation Intel Core i9-10885H Graphics: Up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6 with Max-Q RAM: Up to 64GB DDR4-2933MHz Screen: 17.0" FHD+ (1920 x 1200) InfinityEdge Non-Touch Anti-Glare 500-Nit 17.0" UHD+ (3840 x 2400) InfinityEdge Touch Anti-Reflective 500-Nit Storage: Up to 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe View at Dell View at Walmart View at Walmart Reasons to buy+Great screen+Long battery life+Powerful Reasons to avoid-Not the most portable-Lack of ports For a 17-inch laptop, the Dell XPS 17 (2020) is impressively thin and light, especially when you consider the fact that it boasts powerful specs for that top-notch performance that content creators require. Among the best 17-inch laptops out there, this is practically the whole package, touting a big, gorgeous screen, fantastic battery life that will last you the entire day and gorgeous design on top of everything else. Thats without even mentioning its mid-range price of entry, giving the MacBook Pro 16-inch a good run for its money.
Great power, massive price tagSpecificationsCPU: up to 8th-generation Intel Core i7 Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti with Max-Q design RAM: up to 64GB Screen: 15.6 FHD (1920 x 1080) 15.6 4K UHD HDR (3840 x 2160) multi-touch Storage: up to 1TB SSD Weight: 1.8kg View at Walmart View at Amazon View at Lenovo USA Reasons to buy+So much power+Glorious 4K screen+Great user experience Reasons to avoid-Heavy-It'll burn a hole in your pocket If youre looking for a workhorse and you have the funds for it, then Lenovos ThinkPad X1 Extreme mobile workstation is the ultimate machine to shell out a lot of cash on. It has several configurations on hand, fitting different needs and budgets. But, at its most basic, its already pretty powerful, rocking a solid graphics card in a robust carbon-fiber and aluminum package that will survive any field work. Theres no doubt that this mobile workstation earned its spot in our best laptops for engineering students list.
If you want the most powerful laptop ever made and money is no object, then the Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition (2020) might just be the best laptop for engineering students such as you. This gorgeous, smart-looking mobile workstation will give some of the most powerful desktop PCs a good workout, running for their money, showcasing prowess in complex tasks like 3D animation and video rendering. Thats while delivering a delicious 4K touchscreen display with 100% DCI-P3 color gamut thats more than enough for creative pros and accomplished multi-taskers. Of course, itll also set you back a hefty sum. But, if youve got the dough, this has all the serious firepower you need.
How to choose the best laptops for engineering students?So, what exactly makes for the best laptops for engineering students? Since you're likely to be running complex programs like AutoCAD, you're definitely going to need a laptop with enough power to run them. We recommend a laptop with the latest Intel Core i5 or Core i7 chips, and at the very least, 8GB of RAM though 16GB is even better. Many of the programs engineering students rely on are also graphically intensive programs especially CAD, MATLAB and Solid Works, which are used for 3D modelling and video rendering. This means that it's crucial to have a laptop with a dedicated graphics card - rather than an integrated one powered by the processor. This is why the best gaming laptops are also ideal choices for engineering students, since they offer that kind of graphic power, and the fact that they can handle games for unwinding after classes is just the cherry on top. A large screen with a high resolution is also advisable, and if you're going to be working on site a lot, Finally, it would be a fine idea to take a look at some of the rugged or well-built laptops that are built to withstand accidents on work sites.
Round up of today's best deals Dell XPS 15 9500 Laptop - w/... Dell XPS 15 (9500) Dell $1,199.99 See all prices Low Stock GA00519-US Google Pixelbook... Google Pixelbook Go Walmart $473.75 See all prices Reduced Price 2020 Apple MacBook Air... Apple Macbook Air (M1 2020) Amazon $999 $799.99 See all prices Low Stock Reduced Price ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14... Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Walmart $1,099.99 $211.69 See all prices Recommended Retailer HP Spectre x360 Convertible... HP Spectre x360 (2021) HP (US) $849.76 See all prices 2020 Dell G5 15 Gaming... Dell G5 15 Amazon $821 See all prices Reduced Price Microsoft Surface Book 2 15"... Microsoft Surface Book 2 (15 inch) Amazon $2,499 $1,799.99 See all prices Dell XPS 17 (9700) Dell XPS 17 (9700) Dell $1,749.99 See all prices Low Stock LPM-2 Lenovo Thinkpad X1... Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Walmart $889.91 See all prices Reduced Price Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition... Razer Blade Studio Edition (2020) Amazon $4,799.98 $4,071.69 See all prices powered by 
Senior Computing editorMatt (Twitter) is TechRadar's Senior Computing editor. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. If you're encountering a problem or need some advice with your PC or Mac, drop him a line on Twitter.
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