How much CPU power do I need as a student?

[DrSpychology]

So in a couple of weeks, I'll be starting my first year of university. I'm going to study civil engineering in architecture and I've noticed that I'll be getting a ton of classes designing stuff using my PC. However, I don't know which programs I'm going to have to use and google hasn't helped me find out if those programs are CPU intensive or not. I'm set on which laptop I want to take, but I don't know if I should go for the i5-3230M or for the i7-3630QM. I'm willing to pay the extra €110 if that means that the programs will run significantly faster, but if it doesn't speed things up too much, I'd rather save that money for a possible SSD upgrade down the line or something else.

 

If anyone is interested, I'm thinking about the Asus N56VB, because it's the cheapest laptop available with a full HD screen and a backlit keyboard, base price with the i5 is €750. It comes with 4 gigs of ram (which might not be enough, but it's easily upgradable, so I'm not too worried), a 500 gig HDD and an Nvidia 740M with 2 gigs of DDR3 VRAM. I'd go for a Haswell laptop, but I can't find any that can compete with the price/performance ratio of this machine.

 

Thanks in advance!

[SpenceSouth]

If you are doing architecture go for the i7-3630 and make sure it has a decent graphics card.  You will probably end up rendering a lot of images and such, so you will be happy you have the extra processing power.  However,  if you are on a budget the ASUS N56VB with the i5 and 740m will perform just fine for you.  It's probably better than what most of your classmates will be using. 

[brownninja97]

Please remember to laugh at apple users.

[bartekxx12]

I would get the i5-3230M verion and quickly upgrade to an SSD. The i7 won't really improve general snappiness in Windows or any programs you might be using but an SSD definitely will, and by A LOT. 

[Guest]

Wait.. did you say a Nvidia 740M? ....

Anyways, I think it would be better to go for a i5 + SSD for most cases. However, if you really think you need the processing power, go for the i7.

[DrSpychology]

If you are doing architecture go for the i7-3630 and make sure it has a decent graphics card.  You will probably end up rendering a lot of images and such, so you will be happy you have the extra processing power.  However,  if you are on a budget the ASUS N56VB with the i5 and 740m will perform just fine for you.  It's probably better than what most of your classmates will be using. 

The 3630QM is the same laptop, so still a 740M and stuff, and I'm more on the side of the i5, because it has lower power consumption and less heat, which means a little extra battery life and better cooling. The version with the i7 apparently has some throttling issues in extreme cases, so the i5 should be able to use it's full potential. Also, since I'm on a bit of a budget, this seems like the better option.

 

I would get the i5-3230M verion and quickly upgrade to an SSD. The i7 won't really improve general snappiness in Windows or any programs you might be using but an SSD definitely will, and by A LOT. 

I'm thinking this too, but the problem is that I can't upgrade the CPU if that ends up slowing down the performance significantly on these specific programs when I do install the SSD, I'll be a bit dissapointed. Also, if I don't take the upgrade, I'll probably get the SSD during christmas time for myself, while otherwise it might be next summer vacation, so the time difference where I'll be without an SSD won't be that big.

[DrSpychology]

Wait.. did you say a Nvidia 740M? ....

Anyways, I think it would be better to go for a i5 + SSD for most cases. However, if you really think you need the processing power, go for the i7.

Yep, Nvidia GeForce GT 740M, and I don't know if I really need the extra processing power

[t0ps]

The smart buy seems to be get the cpu and upgrade to an ssd down the road. Why? Because you'd basically have to buy a brand new laptop to get more computing power if you were to need it.

[notenoughtv]

If you have a way to do it, ask 3rd or 4th year students what their requirements are for the programs they use. If you have a students forum, try asking there.

One other thing. I don't know if it is your case but engineering schools on the first year mostly build a solid science and math base for you to get more in depth the following years, so maybe if you already have an older laptop, try using it maybe for the first semester so you can get a clearer picture of what you will be dealing with.

And by then you will probably be able to get what you need on a Haswell platform which is great for notebooks.

[rashdanml]

Programs you may be likely to use for analysis: Excel (yup, don't underestimate Excel), MATLAB, and AutoCAD. I'd recommend an i5 as a minimum. GPU isn't as crucial, but a decent one helps for quick previews of designs in AutoCAD (especially if it's 3D).

[warmmilk]

what software will you be using?  Just general CAD and some sort of FEA software?  or will you also be using 3D modeling software such as Revit or Catia?  Will you be doing any rendering?  Just to begin, any basic software of this caliber you'll want more than 4GB of ram.  8 is minimum, if you're gonna be doing some of the heavier stuff you prolly want at least 16

 

I work in the field.  If you provide me with a list of software that you'll be using I'll be able to give you a good idea on some hardware specs that'd be good to have.

[Guest]

Yep, Nvidia GeForce GT 740M, and I don't know if I really need the extra processing power

But.. but.. the 740 isn't even released yet.... Or is it referring to something else since it's M Series?

[DrSpychology]

But.. but.. the 740 isn't even released yet.... Or is it referring to something else since it's M Series?

 

M is mobile gpu's for laptops and stuff, they are released completely separately from the desktop series. 

[DrSpychology]

what software will you be using?  Just general CAD and some sort of FEA software?  or will you also be using 3D modeling software such as Revit or Catia?  Will you be doing any rendering?  Just to begin, any basic software of this caliber you'll want more than 4GB of ram.  8 is minimum, if you're gonna be doing some of the heavier stuff you prolly want at least 16

 

I work in the field.  If you provide me with a list of software that you'll be using I'll be able to give you a good idea on some hardware specs that'd be good to have.

 

I unfortunately don't know which programs I'll be using yet, otherwise I'd be looking at the system requirements for that. Also, I'm starting out with 4 gigs, but the laptop can easily be upgraded to 8 or 16 gigs if needed, so I'm not too worried about ram

[Guest]

M is mobile gpu's for laptops and stuff, they are released completely separately from the desktop series. 

Ah, makes sense. I knew the M was for laptops, but I didn't know it was a complete different series.

[warmmilk]

I unfortunately don't know which programs I'll be using yet, otherwise I'd be looking at the system requirements for that. Also, I'm starting out with 4 gigs, but the laptop can easily be upgraded to 8 or 16 gigs if needed, so I'm not too worried about ram

 

official system requirements are typically quite useless for pretty much all software you'll use in this field.  and lots of times its not even published.  It goes both ways too, some stuff lists much higher hardware than you really need to run it smoothly and others fall well short of the mark.  Just an FYI

[WoodenMarker]

Yep, Nvidia GeForce GT 740M, and I don't know if I really need the extra processing power

Don't worry about the gpu. You'll probably work with Autocad and the extra cores/threads from a QM i7 will help with the rendering.

--Unless you're doing simple hardware renders with the gpu. Then the gpu would make a difference but depending on where you're shopping, it might not make much of a difference.

[Scheer]

During my first year of Civil Engineering we didn't touch personal computers, just occasionally had to use the computer lab... I think you are better off waiting.

[KaareKanin]

Not knowing what kind of work load you will put on your PC is a bit of an issue. Working with heavy 3D CAD models in proper CAE-software will put a strain on "everything", especially graphics. If possible I would go with a good WS-type GPU, but that tends to put you in a completely other price bracket. 

 

As for MatLab i would say cache is your friend, more low-level (or was it high, I can never seem to remember which way is denoted as high or low) CPU will heighten the barrier for how large matrices your CPU can handle at speed. I think this probably is fairly universal for stuff like FEM-analyses in stuff like e.g. nastran too, but I haven't done any tests (although i'd be surprised if the basics differ enough to have any significance).

 

I guess the question mostly comes down to what programs you'll be using and how "hard" you'll be using them. Are they multithreaded? (lots of sim. software is... very! like a rack-server chewing away would come-in-handy!) What graphics cards do they support? (probably not anything consumer/gaming oriented).

Have a talk with your teachers and have them give you a rough outline of what you can expect to use your computer for. It might turn out that you'll be better off getting an ultrabook (or macbook air) for normal type of work and light work loads, and use your (powerful) computer at home to do the hard stuff

 

(don't laugh at mac users btw, my core2duo mac kicked i5 butt in Unigraphics NX 8)