Portable device for aerospace engineering course

[gandalftheblack24]

I currently have a desktop with specifications as follows:

 

Intel Core i7 8700k

16GB 2400Mhz RAM

RTX 2070

2TB Samsung 960 Evo

 

I would like to get a 2-in-1 laptop or laptop + tablet for my engineering college courses at Texas A&M University coming up this fall (I will be graduating high school in May of this year) and am not sure what I'm going to need in terms of compute power and since I have a pretty beefy desktop, I am not sure whether or not I will need a powerful laptop as well. I would like to take digital notes to be much more organized and so I can carry less as I will be walking/biking around campus but am not sure what I should get. I have been looking into the Surface Book 2 but have heard some bad things about the pen as well as considering using a traditional laptop with a iPad and a Apple Pencil because I heard that the Apple Pencil and iPad are second to none when it comes to digital note taking (besides Wacom equipment obviously)

[genexis_x]

Location? Budget? Any preference on weight, battery life and display size?

[gandalftheblack24]

I live in the US, with a budget of $3,000, want something under 5 lbs, would prefer a battery life of roughly 10 hours for light loads; web browsing, taking notes word processing, etc. As well as a 15" screen. I will also be using CAD software. I have a beefy desktop and I am not sure whether I will need to be able to run cad/simulation software outside of the classroom.

[genexis_x]

2 minutes ago, gandalftheblack24 said:

would prefer a battery life of roughly 10 hours for light loads; web browsing, taking notes word processing, etc.

then your options will be limited if you need powerful hardware which eats up battery life

[gandalftheblack24]

Really, doesn't windows turn off the dGPU when it isn't in use?

[genexis_x]

49 minutes ago, gandalftheblack24 said:

doesn't windows turn off the dGPU when it isn't in use?

yes, but the dGPU will still take up power consumption

[gandalftheblack24]

Alright, I would like at least 5 hours.

[genexis_x]

Forgot to ask, do you need Quadro? And must it be a convertible/tablet?

[gandalftheblack24]

I was doing more research on what I need and hardware wise, I'm going to need an i7 8650u, MX150, and 16GB of RAM

[genexis_x]

49 minutes ago, gandalftheblack24 said:

I was doing more research on what I need and hardware wise, I'm going to need an i7 8650u, MX150, and 16GB of RAM

Buying laptop isn't just specs

 

Kindly answer my question:

5 hours ago, GeneXiS_X said:

Forgot to ask, do you need Quadro? And must it be a convertible/tablet?

[gandalftheblack24]

I would prefer it to be a convertible that won't be very bulky and can use an active stylus that works well. Another option Would be a traditional laptop with a tablet like the iPad with the Apple Pencil. Would prefer to have everything in one device though.

[genexis_x]

HP ZBook Studio x360 G5 - a bit heavy, expensive due to Quadro

HP Spectre x360 15-ch012nr, ch011nr

Dell XPS 15 9575 with 16GB RAM

Lenovo Yoga 720 15 80X700CAUS (or any other variant)

Lenovo Yoga 730 15 81CU000SUS (or any other variant)

Dell Inspiron 7586 Black Edition

 

Note that all models above have 4k display which reduces battery life (FHD option no where to be found / doesn't offer good specs)