Actnup3

Holy crap, just got back from work and didn't expect this level of response guys! Seriously guys thank you. Anyone actually used a quadro vs GTX/RTX for CAD? I see a lot of propaganda from Nvidia and Solidworks, but what kind of real world difference does it make? I can find systems with 2080 max Qs for the same price as one with a quadro p1000. FYI I WILL not be gaming on this laptop. Haven't set up my signature yet, but I have a liquid cooled 7700k, 2080XC, on an samsung 970 pro triple monitor setup at home.

First post, new to forum so don't hate me guys. Starting a Mechanical engineering program and need a Laptop that can run AutoCAD and Solidworks. School's requirements are SSD, dedicated graphics (4gb VRAM),16gb RAM, and i5 or i7. Vague, I know. I'm well versed in building and have a rig with custom loop and all that, but I've never used CAD software. My question is which brand do I go with, and which model. Trying to keep it as budget friendly as possible, something that will last me through a 5 year program, and possibly have some upgrade room as far as RAM and SSD/M.2 goes. Would like recommendations from hands on experience if possible with regards to quality and use experience because this thing has to last. So far I think I've found out that 16gb RAM, i7-8750H, quadro P2000, 512gb PCIe SSD should get me going strong and hopefully last the full distance. Never used Xeon, so idk if I need ECC for this kind of thing and if I you think an i5 will do just fine please let me know. Lenovo P52/P1 seems to be a good bet (heard bad things about battery life though), MSI W series seems to be the best value Perf/$, and Dell precision looks solid but pricey. If I'm being dumb about something please let me know, as this is very much uncharted territory for me.