Laptop for CAD student

[Akadis]

My Friend wants a PC for his school.

 

Usage:

• mainly school (CAD programs, Office, ....)

Important Specs:

• good battery 4-5hours + 
• good display (at least FullHD an 15 inch or bigger)

He would like a small overview on what he could expect at what prize.

 

So I am looking for something at the following Prizes:

• 500€
• 750€
• 1000€
• 1200€

At the 1000€ one I would have recommended an Lenovo Y700 but i am open for other suggestions.

 

Thanks

[Bigbootyjudy]

if he wants to totally cheap out he could just get a chromebook which I am using to write this. It depends on what he wants to do on it. 

[joshfrog]

if he wants something for CAD keep an eye out for laptops that have quad core i7 cpus and discrete graphics something like a 1060. im not sure about the prices in euro but look at the dell xps 15 or there cheaper inspiron line. the main thing to focus on is the cpu and gpu because CAD will run so much better on that sort of hardware.

[CharminUltraStrong]

I wouldn't touch a Lenovo gaming computer if it was given to me for free.  An acquaintance of mine had a Y-80 that didn't last more than a week without something going faulty.  The customer support was awful and took months.  Now I know you might laugh but, Alienware 15 R2? At 1,000$, roughly, this isn't a bad price whatsoever.  I have one with a 980m and 2 (256 GB)NVMe drives that I threw in, chugs along like a dream.  There are ways to unlock the bios and you can OC the GPU.  I OC'd mine and put a pretty substantial boost on the Clock and the VRAM

[Akadis]

1 hour ago, Bigbootyjudy said:

 

 

1 hour ago, joshfrog said:

 

 

51 minutes ago, CharminUltraStrong said:

 

 

Chromebook is not an option because he needs windows and i can't imagine that any CAD program can run on it well or am i wrong there?

 

The other to are 1000€ + any idea on something at around 500 and 750?

 

How about something like the Acer aspire E15 maybe?

[Bigbootyjudy]

1 minute ago, Akadis said:

Chromebook is not an option because he needs windows and i can't imagine that any CAD program can run on it well or am i wrong there?

 

The other to are 1000€ + any idea on something at around 500 and 750?

 

How about something like the Acer aspire E15 maybe?

Ya oops I should have read the post better

[joshfrog]

it would run but i dont think it would run well 

[Mooshe]

If your friend is both a CAD student and Gamer, I would recommend lenovo products, as they're much more durable (from my experience) for the various price points:

• 500 - Lenovo Flex 4 - I personally have a Flex laptop, and before I bought it I didn't think I would use the touchscreen that often, but for precision control, or where you have to gesture smoothly without using a tablet, the touchscreen is a godsend. While it isn't all that powerful, it's perfect for any student.
• 750-1000 - Lenovo ThinkPad X260 - A good bang for the buck. While there is no dedicated graphics card, it can handle most recent games, and multiple processes running simultaneously. It remains leightweight enough for a student to move around.
• 1200 - Lenovo ThinkPad P50 Workstation is an absolute beast when it comes to CAD and resource-intensive processes. I would recommend this to anyone who is doing some serious work, as it's cut out for almost everything you can throw at it.

 

If there's a tight restriction on the budget, I would also recommend looking for open box deals and used laptops. You may be able to find a great deal for a laptop which has hardly been used before.

 

 

1 hour ago, CharminUltraStrong said:

I wouldn't touch a Lenovo gaming computer if it was given to me for free.  An acquaintance of mine had a Y-80 that didn't last more than a week without something going faulty.  The customer support was awful and took months.  Now I know you might laugh but, Alienware 15 R2? At 1,000$, roughly, this isn't a bad price whatsoever.  I have one with a 980m and 2 (256 GB)NVMe drives that I threw in, chugs along like a dream.  There are ways to unlock the bios and you can OC the GPU.  I OC'd mine and put a pretty substantial boost on the Clock and the VRAM

 

I've never had an issue with Lenovo (with their hardware or customer support) at all, and I have to say, I would choose them over HP or Dell any day.

[Akadis]

1 minute ago, Mooshe said:

 

Also have a Lenovo and works pretty well

 

I would ad yours to my list i just wrot mind to go over if they would also suit to what he wants?

 

1500€ - Dell XPS 15 - Link

 

1200 - Lenovo ThinkPad P50 Workstation - Link

1000€ - Lenovo ideapad 700 (256GB SSD, 16GB RAM) - Link

 

~900€ - ThinkPad x260 - Link

800€ - Lenovo ThinkPad E560 - Link

690€ - Acer Aspire E 15 - Link

 

600€ - Lenovo ideapad 500 - Link

 

500 - Lenovo Flex 4 -  Link

 

Any suggestions on what to avoid? if not so i would send him that list so he can decide on his budget

@don_svetlio @Dackzy

[CharminUltraStrong]

18 minutes ago, Mooshe said:

If your friend is both a CAD student and Gamer, I would recommend lenovo products, as they're much more durable (from my experience) for the various price points:

• 500 - Lenovo Flex 4 - I personally have a Flex laptop, and before I bought it I didn't think I would use the touchscreen that often, but for precision control, or where you have to gesture smoothly without using a tablet, the touchscreen is a godsend. While it isn't all that powerful, it's perfect for any student.
• 750-1000 - Lenovo ThinkPad X260 - A good bang for the buck. While there is no dedicated graphics card, it can handle most recent games, and multiple processes running simultaneously. It remains leightweight enough for a student to move around.
• 1200 - Lenovo ThinkPad P50 Workstation is an absolute beast when it comes to CAD and resource-intensive processes. I would recommend this to anyone who is doing some serious work, as it's cut out for almost everything you can throw at it.

 

If there's a tight restriction on the budget, I would also recommend looking for open box deals and used laptops. You may be able to find a great deal for a laptop which has hardly been used before.

 

 

 

I've never had an issue with Lenovo (with their hardware or customer support) at all, and I have to say, I would choose them over HP or Dell any day.

They sent a replacement model that broke shortly because of "Poor QC" and "Lower quality components" that they now use.  These are direct quotes from the Tech support.  They even sent a different model that he requested and he's dissastisified with it even now.

[Dackzy]

11 minutes ago, Akadis said:

Also have a Lenovo and works pretty well

 

I would ad yours to my list i just wrot mind to go over if they would also suit to what he wants?

 

1500€ - Dell XPS 15 - Link

 

1200 - Lenovo ThinkPad P50 Workstation - Link

1000€ - Lenovo ideapad 700 (256GB SSD, 16GB RAM) - Link

 

~900€ - ThinkPad x260 - Link

800€ - Lenovo ThinkPad E560 - Link

690€ - Acer Aspire E 15 - Link

 

600€ - Lenovo ideapad 500 - Link

 

500 - Lenovo Flex 4 -  Link

 

Any suggestions on what to avoid? if not so i would send him that list so he can decide on his budget

@don_svetlio @Dackzy

Avoid acer, if he can get a P50, then get a P50, it is the most powerful one of them all and the best build