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Hello im aware this has probably been asked a million times im just worrying its outdated with how much of an investment this is. Just wondering on a decent laptop for under £1500 that can run solidworks and other CAD software without being to bulky or loud, preferably not looking like a gaming laptop and with decent battery.

Minimum laptop requirements: Intel: i7 or i9 processor Ryzen: 7, 9, 16 GB of RAM 512 GB storage system Discrete graphics card Webcam Preferably looking for one between 0-1200 mainly for school, but also to run some engineering applications ex: Parallels. Not looking for a big Chonk laptop looking for a lightweight laptop that won't kill my back on campus lol. Thanks!

Budget: $2100, USA Use: basic college work and likely some simulation stuff idk I couldn't find much online but I am pretty sure as an engineering student I might run some CPU/GPU intensive stuff(correct me if I am wrong), gaming. I prob won't have a lot of time to game but I want the best experience possible when I have the time at least. 16GB RAM and hopefully a 1TB NVME. Is it worth going for 256GB and then buying your own 1TB NVME to save money or is it cheaper to choose the 1TB SSD already pre-installed(assuming that the laptop is upgradeable in that area)? IMPORTANT: must be a thin and light or at least as close as possible A high refresh rate would be nice nice screen(above 1080p) if possible at least 13.3 inch screen but I prefer 15-17 inch screen idc about RGB lights and stuff I like Razer but I heard that they aren't worth it, is is true? I need this computer by September of this year so if you know of any laptops that will be released later this year give me a heads up so I can check them out later on. This post is just to start a discussion so I have some ideas in my head as to what performance specs my computer should have. I know a bit about computers but I just want some expert opinions. Thank you

TL;DR version: I am looking for an ultrabook/Macbook for around 900 dollars (pre-tax). I am concerned that I cannot get on-par performance for the same amount of money that I spent on my laptop in 2015. Here are my specific questions, but all ideas and suggestions will be much appreciated. 1- Will there be an M1-like chipset from AMD/Intel that will bring any Windows laptop to M1 Macbook performance levels (within similar packaging/thermal constraints)? 2- Is this an exceptionally bad time to buy a laptop? Should I delay it by a year if possible? 3- What would be a set of specifications for a laptop ready for the next 5 years? Feb 21 Update: Tentatively decided to wait for Macbook Air/Pro with M2. --------------------------------Post starts here. ----------------------------- I am looking for something in the same price range as my previous laptop. However, I won't "upgrade" to a new laptop if I won't get a substantially better device, naturally! I also want to treat this as a practice in exploring how much 'newer and faster technology' has become more accessible over the last 5 years. To establish the baseline, let me quickly go over the specs of my current laptop. In June 2015, I bought the ASUS UX303L-Signature Edition with the following specs for 800 USD (equiv. to 873 in Dec'20 1). 13.3'' 3200 x 1800 with touch Intel Core i5-5200U 8GB DDR3L 1600 MHz 256GB SSD (around 400 MB/s read and write) Intel HD Graphics 5500 1.46 kg My review of the device: It had good(not Macbook level, but satisfactory) battery life. It was an absolute beast for high school. Its construction is rigid. Storage has been fine. Processor has just started feeling sluggish in the last year. Yellows look mustard-y, but it is not bothersome. Great for someone who needs a computer for classes and extracurriculars. Why change it now? The hinge snapped a few times. For now, it's held together by epoxy. Battery life has gone downhill, too. Also, now that I am deep into the college life, I'm doing more engineering work. That means CAD modeling and MATLAB analysis. Also Python. I am sure thousands of people would understand the workload. Novice engineer work. It is getting laggier by day. Note: I don't have a workstation. Looking at the current market Note: I still need to carry this device everywhere and use it on battery power. Loads of typing is inevitable, too. I would love to have a 14'' or 15'' display this time. I also don't have good enough Internet connection for any modern Wi-Fi standard to be an issue. 16:10 aspect ratio is preferred, but 16:9 is acceptable. Also, MacOS is fine (well, except Solidworks, and ARM Bootcamp support will be an interesting question, but I may use university computers for SW.) I'd quit following laptop prices after buying mine, and I am shocked to see how much prices have gone up. I've checked out a few competitors (in the ultrabook category) that sprung to mind, and here's what I can get for the same price in Jan'21: ---------SKIP THIS SECTION IF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH CURRENT PRICING ON ULTRABOOKS ---------- DELL: 900 USD OLD XPS 13: i7-10510U , 8GB LPDDR3 2133 MHz , 256 GB PCIe SSD,13'' FHD non-touch 2 1000 USD NEW XPS 13: i3-1115G4, 8GB LPDDR4 4267MHz , 256 GB PCIe SSD,13''FHD non-touch 2 ASUS: 1000 USD ASUS ZenBook Duo UX481: i7-10510U, 8GB LPDDR3 2133 MHz, 512 GB PCIe SSD, 14'' FHD touch3 800 USD ASUS Zenbook UX325JA-XB51: i5-1035G1, 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, 256GB PCIe SSD, 13'' FHD non-touch3 1000 USD ASUS Zenbook UX325JA-DB71: i7-1065G7, 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, 512GB PCIe SSD, 13'' FHD non-touch3 900 USD ASUS Zenbook UX431FL-EH74 : i7-10510U, 8GB RAM, 512GB PCIE SSD, 14'' FHD touch?, NVIDIA GeForce MX2503 ... similar options at similar prices 800 USD Asus Zenbook UM433DA-DH75 : Ryzen 7 3700U, 8GB RAM, 512GB PCIe SSD, 14.0" FHD touch?3 HP: 835 USD HP ENVY x360 15'' BASE: i5-1135G7m 8GB DDR4 RAM, 256 GB Intel(?) SSD, 15.6'' FHD touch4 +60 USD i7-1165G7 +60 USD + GeForce MX450( still 2gb vram) +90 USD 16 GB DDR4 RAM +200 USD 4K touch +100 USD 512 GB PCIe SSD 720 USD HP ENVY x360 15'' BASE: Ryzen 5 4500U, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 256 GB PCIe SSD, 15.6'' FHD touch4 +90 USD 16 GB DDR4 RAM 900 USD HP ENVY X360 13-ay0021nr: Ryzen 7 4700U, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512 GB PCIe SSD, 13'' FHD touch4 Note: Cheapest 13'' Spectre x360 starts at 1150 USD, so I've skipped them. Note: I am not sure about the battery life/thickness of Envy series, battery capacity: 51Wh. ACER: 800 USD Acer Swift 3 : i7-1165G7, 8GB LPDDR4X RAM , 256GB PCIe SSD, 14'' FHD non-touch5 LENOVO: 940 USD IdeaPad Slim 7 82A40012US : i7-1065G7, 16 GB DDR4R AM, 512 GB PCIe SSD, 14'' FHD touch6 -----------------------BORING PRICE AND SPECS LISTS ARE OVER, YOU CAN CONTINUE ---------------- Looking at these prices, I see that I can get a 10th or 11th gen i5 processor, 256 GB of faster SSD, and 8 GBs of faster RAM for the same price. If I sacrifice on battery life/build quality/ thin-and-light aspect, I can get an i7/Ryzen 7, 16 GB of RAM for a bit above my budget. That makes me concerned about how future-proof my new laptop would be. I bought my ultrabook when 12 GB RAM was the absolute maximum on an ultrabook and SSD had just gotten cheaper. It has served me well, but now I need something that will serve me equally well for at least another 5 years. I also have another option- getting my brother's 2016 Macbook Pro (i5-6267U, 256 GB SSD, 8GB DDR3 2133 Mhz, Iris 550) to use for a year. I know benchmarks are not perfect. Especially across operating systems. But here's one comparison list: PassMark (Multi-thread) - CPU i5-5200U : 2,512 (Current) i5-6267U : 3,236 (Loaner Mac) i3-1115G4 : 6,465 i7-10510U : 6,997 i5-1035G7 : 8,414 i7-1065G7: 8,967 i5-1135G7 : 9,774 i7-1165G7 : 10,414 Ryzen 5 4500U : 11,267 Ryzen 7 4700U : 13,802 PassMark shows significant increase in performance. However, I'm not sure what that would mean for me, the workloads I have do not benefit drastically from more cores/threads. I feel that RAM would be a bigger factor, for example. Or maybe I should consider a -weak but still much better than integrated- GPU. Main Question: I feel insulted about waiting 5 years and still getting a laptop with 8GB of RAM. Looking at the rate of development at desktops, I feel terrible about paying so much when a desktop would be 10 times faster, more reliable and future proof. But I need a laptop. I am open to all ideas, all suggestions, all recommendations. Specifically, I also want to ask: 1- Will there be an M1-like chipset from AMD/Intel that will bring any Windows laptop to M1 Macbook performance levels (within similar packaging constraints)? 2- Is this an exceptionally bad time to buy a laptop? Should I delay it by a year? 3- What would be a set of specifications for a laptop ready for the next 5 years? SOURCES [1] https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm [2] Dell USA Pricing [3] Amazon pricing [4] HP USA Pricing [5] Acer USA Pricing [6] Lenovo USA Pricing Thanks for reading my long post. Sorry for any grammatical errors, typos, and other mistakes. I'll proofread it when I get up. Cheers, egemen404.

When I started at my current company as a Project Manager/Field Engineer I was given a HP Probook 455 G6 as my field laptop. The IT department of our parent company swore up and down that it would run AutoCAD with no issues and would have amazing battery life. The laptop was brand new when I received it, took the plastic off the box myself. But it has failed at every single step of that process, it not only will only barely run CAD but if I open up a word doc bigger that 500+ words it will chug and chug to make it even scrollable. And the battery wont even last 4 hours on a flight with brightness turned down and battery saver on. So I came here to get the communities advice on what laptop I should suggest to my boss to be the replacement for this paperweight. I would like it to be light as I have to travel with it and traveling with a goliath laptop sucks. Preferably even something with a detachable keyboard or tablet capabilities to use as a "show and tell" on site when discussing drawings. Thank you for your time, Morv

I've been looking for a laptop for college as an engineering student. I find that I have been searching a lot but struggle to find something with good battery life or the fact that 10 key-less. I've looked at the Asus Zenbook Pro Duo UX582 but I worry about battery life and uncomfortable ergonomics when typing. I think a dell xsp would be good and considered sacrificing the 10 key. Was wondering if anyone has any suggestions with adequate performance and battery life.

Hey there! I am looking for a new professional oriented laptop. I am currently doubting between the XPS 15 2020 (i7-10750H + GTX 1650 Ti Max q) and the ZBook 15 G5 x360 (i7-9750H + Quadro P2000, convertible as an extra). I am using it for normal office stuff and I also need enough horse power to run some 3D modelling (CATIA) and light simulations as part of my engineering degree. I feel like the XPS is a better overall package but will it performance and thermals be enough (I am not doing any gaming at all)? Which one of this devices would you recommend and why?

Hey LTT Forums. I don't know where else or who else to ask this, but I need some help. I'm headed off to college in a few months as a Mechatronics Major at CSU:CI. I need to know what type or power of a Computer I'll be needing. Here's some background: Mechatronics is basically a mix of Computer, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering with some Robotics and Computer Science in there too. The things I'm trying to figure out are what programs I'll be running on my PC in my classes (Generally, not looking for too many specifics), and how much graphical and CPU processing power I'll need. I don't know if it'll be mostly document writing and program compiling or major Physics and Engineering simulations needed a Laptop with a strong GPU such as the 1060. Don't worry about my needs for Gaming and such, I can take the power I'll need for that in the future myself, I'm smart enough to figure that out. All I don't know is what I'll be doing at college. If anyone has any recent experience with Computer Engineering or Science, such as a schooling program within the past 5 years, just let me know what you ended up needed a computer for in college. Thank you so Much!