AutoCAD Laptop Specs

[620R]

Hi, a friend of mine needs a laptop which its main purpose will be AutoCAD work, both 2D and 3D. I had a rough idea of the specifications of the laptop she should get, but upon further researches on the mighty internet, I am more confused than when I started. I was trying to understand what component should be the most important for doing AutoCad work, since I knew that GPU were the most important part, but I wanted to be sure. Everybody seems to have their own opinion on that, there's who says that the GPU is the most important part, other say that's the CPU, other say that it's the RAM, and other even say that's the SSD, so I came here trying to get a clear answer.

What is the most important component for an AutoCAD computer for both 2D and 3D work? 

Now for the laptop suggestion part. What she wants is a under 1000€ laptop that has great battery life, can do both 2D and 3D AutoCAD, and that has a maximum of 15 inch screen, possibly not too heavy to carry around. She doesn't care about thick bezels, aesthetics, thunderbolt, or gaming capabilities. For the CPU I was thinking that an i5 8250u or an i7 8550u would be great, but wasn't sure what to chose between the two, since I didn't understand how big of a role the CPU would play in AutoCAD; for the GPU I was thinking that a 1050 (non TI) would be fine, but reading around the forums I saw that many people said that an MX130 or MX150 would be plenty enough for this kind of workload. Also, I would install a 256 GB SSD, NVME if possible.

She is an architect student, so I don't think that she will have to do a lot of heavy 3D work, just some medium-basic workloads. Also, if possible, a backlit keyboard would be a great feature, but it's not necessary.
For her money is a big deal and if she could save a couple of hundred euros it would be great. That's why I'm searching really into what AutoCAD needs to work properly, because having to buy a laptop with an i5 and  MX130 would cost about 650€, while an i7 with a 1050 would cost about 1000€ and that it's quite a big difference, so please don't suggest something with an i7 8700HQ and a 1070 MaxQ, because it just won't be feasible.

I used Intel/Nvidia parts just because it seems that there are more laptops with them, but AMD components are welcome, if they can satisfy the requirements.

So, recapping

Requirements:

• AutoCAD 3D (medium-light workload)
• Great battery life
• Max 15 inch screen
• Under 1000€
• Backlit Keyboard (optional)

Location: Italy.

 

 

[genexis_x]

1 hour ago, Messer Donwide said:

Under 1000€

First of all, I must say that I'm noob in software things, however I'm pretty sure you need powerful hardware

 

Preferred max weight in kg/lbs and min battery life in hours? Do you mind low sRGB display? Any links of online stores?

[markr54632]

4 hours ago, Messer Donwide said:

Hi, a friend of mine needs a laptop which its main purpose will be AutoCAD work, both 2D and 3D. I had a rough idea of the specifications of the laptop she should get, but upon further researches on the mighty internet, I am more confused than when I started. I was trying to understand what component should be the most important for doing AutoCad work, since I knew that GPU were the most important part, but I wanted to be sure. Everybody seems to have their own opinion on that, there's who says that the GPU is the most important part, other say that's the CPU, other say that it's the RAM, and other even say that's the SSD, so I came here trying to get a clear answer.

What is the most important component for an AutoCAD computer for both 2D and 3D work? 

Now for the laptop suggestion part. What she wants is a under 1000€ laptop that has great battery life, can do both 2D and 3D AutoCAD, and that has a maximum of 15 inch screen, possibly not too heavy to carry around. She doesn't care about thick bezels, aesthetics, thunderbolt, or gaming capabilities. For the CPU I was thinking that an i5 8250u or an i7 8550u would be great, but wasn't sure what to chose between the two, since I didn't understand how big of a role the CPU would play in AutoCAD; for the GPU I was thinking that a 1050 (non TI) would be fine, but reading around the forums I saw that many people said that an MX130 or MX150 would be plenty enough for this kind of workload. Also, I would install a 256 GB SSD, NVME if possible.

She is an architect student, so I don't think that she will have to do a lot of heavy 3D work, just some medium-basic workloads. Also, if possible, a backlit keyboard would be a great feature, but it's not necessary.
For her money is a big deal and if she could save a couple of hundred euros it would be great. That's why I'm searching really into what AutoCAD needs to work properly, because having to buy a laptop with an i5 and  MX130 would cost about 650€, while an i7 with a 1050 would cost about 1000€ and that it's quite a big difference, so please don't suggest something with an i7 8700HQ and a 1070 MaxQ, because it just won't be feasible.

I used Intel/Nvidia parts just because it seems that there are more laptops with them, but AMD components are welcome, if they can satisfy the requirements.

So, recapping

Requirements:

• AutoCAD 3D (medium-light workload)
• Great battery life
• Max 15 inch screen
• Under 1000€
• Backlit Keyboard (optional)

Location: Italy.

 

 

That's a pretty unrealistic wishlist.

 

Honestly theres nothing out there that's going to be powerful enough and get over 4 hours of battery under load.

 

Autocad generates heat. The thinner and lighter you go, the less heat the laptop can dissipate.

 

While she may not be looking for gaming performance, gaming laptops are the cheapest method to get the hardware she needs for her workload within budget.

 

The y530 and g5 both barely squeak in under budget with their base config on their italian website.

[620R]

3 hours ago, GeneXiS_X said:

Preferred max weight in kg/lbs and min battery life in hours? Do you mind low sRGB display? Any links of online stores?

For weight i guess under 2 kilos. Battery life 3 hours. For the display everything it's good, even a 720p one. For the links I will explain down on this post.

28 minutes ago, markr54632 said:

Honestly theres nothing out there that's going to be powerful enough and get over 4 hours of battery under load.

Autocad generates heat. The thinner and lighter you go, the less heat the laptop can dissipate.

While she may not be looking for gaming performance, gaming laptops are the cheapest method to get the hardware she needs for her workload within budget.

The y530 and g5 both barely squeak in under budget with their base config on their italian website.

Yeah, What I meant with great battery life isn't something like 12 hours, I know it would be unrealistic, but something that can last at least 3 hours under medium-light workload. Also, it's not that I excluded gaming laptops, it was just to inform that there will be no gaming on that laptop, so, for example, if an MX150 was enough for the work, no one would suggest spending more for a 1050 because then you could start to game decently on that laptop, since in this case would be pointless.

Also, I'm not searching for suggestion in a particular laptop, but more on the specs that it should have to get the work done. That's because here, in Italy, online prices (the only one that you guys can see and search) are usually higher than physical stores prices, since they tend to stay at MSRP and won't go down even after 2 years that the laptop is on the market. That's why I was more interested in understanding which component is worth putting the money into and which could be skimped over, since knowing that, I could do the research myself going to the stores and searching into the various flyers that they put in the letterbox, both things that you guys, for obvious reasons, couldn't do and I didn't want to make you lose time searching in online stores when it would be quite pointless in doing so. 

[markr54632]

If you have the ability talk to her instructors. No one will know the workload as well.

 

Short of that https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/System-requirements-for-AutoCAD-2019-including-Specialized-Toolsets.html

Use the reccomended specs off of that list, not the required.

 

If I was picking something I would shoot for:

 

1050 or 1050ti 4gb

16gb ram (absolute minimum for me anymore)

An ssd (128gb or more, even the cheapest crap ssd is fine to boot from)

A 1920 by 1080 display that is usable 

A keyboard that is comfortable.

Something not made by msi

[620R]

1 hour ago, markr54632 said:

Something not made by msi

May I ask, why not something from MSI? I always thought they made quite good laptops. 

[markr54632]

25 minutes ago, Messer Donwide said:

May I ask, why not something from MSI? I always thought they made quite good laptops. 

Qc is beyond horrible especially for the models within OPs budget.

[620R]

1 hour ago, markr54632 said:

Qc is beyond horrible especially for the models within OPs budget.

Didn't know that. Thanks for the heads up. 

[genexis_x]

7 hours ago, Messer Donwide said:

For weight i guess under 2 kilos. Battery life 3 hours. For the display everything it's good, even a 720p one. For the links I will explain down on this post.

The links?