Thinkpad for engineering school?

[Bzdougie]

Looking for a powerful laptop that's going to provide a good performance and life span and be somewhat future proof. I'll be needing it to perform tasks like autoCAD and matlab. 14-15" 1080 display if possible. And VERY light and occasional gaming would be an added bonus. Any input or ideas would be appreciated. 

[The Sloth]

i went through engineering with a ThinkPad but xps 15, dell Inspiron 7000 are more powerful, if you game a lot. 

[Taswell]

As far as I know there are no Thinkpads with any kind of integrated GPU unless you look at the mobile workstations.

 

Something with a DGPU and a Non U Series CPU would be best for that stuff

[AnonymousGuy]

You don't need a powerful laptop for college, simply because at that level you aren't doing anything that's complex or taxing.  My laptop was "budget" when I got it and 5 years old when I graduated and I was never like "gee I wish I had a more powerful laptop".  I just built a desktop for gaming.  Engineering too.

[Dackzy]

ThinkPads are great if you want durability and are willing to pay the extra to get the durability. A T470p would be able to play very light games, like CSGO and Minecraft. If you want to play heavier games then you only really have the P50, P51, P70 and P71. Those cost a lot and the best GPU you can get is about a 980m.

[Bzdougie]

CSGO and Gary's mod are what games I'd be playing. Maybe something more. Doubt it though. 

[Bzdougie]

 

i went through engineering with a ThinkPad but xps 15, dell Inspiron 7000 are more powerful, if you game a lot. 

What kind of thinkpad?

[The Sloth]

30 minutes ago, Bzdougie said:

What kind of thinkpad?

you should find ones with i5 or i7 with 940mx. 

[Bzdougie]

19 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

you should find ones with i5 or i7 with 940mx. 

Quad core processor? Or will a U suffice

[The Sloth]

3 minutes ago, Bzdougie said:

Quad core processor? Or will a U suffice

quad core will be better, is this your only computer? 

[Bzdougie]

30 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

quad core will be better, is this your only computer? 

Yes. First real computer

[Bzdougie]

3 hours ago, Dackzy said:

ThinkPads are great if you want durability and are willing to pay the extra to get the durability. A T470p would be able to play very light games, like CSGO and Minecraft. If you want to play heavier games then you only really have the P50, P51, P70 and P71. Those cost a lot and the best GPU you can get is about a 980m.

If money wasn't really a factor and all you gamed was like CSGO, what would your laptop choice be?

[The Sloth]

8 minutes ago, Bzdougie said:

Yes. First real computer

i would go for the Inspiron 

[Bzdougie]

28 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

i would go for the Inspiron 

Can you link something because all I see are the gaming notebooks and I'd prefer a professional look. 

[The Sloth]

10 minutes ago, Bzdougie said:

Can you link something because all I see are the gaming notebooks and I'd prefer a professional look. 

XPS 15 

[Bzdougie]

20 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

XPS 15 

Why isn't thinkpad what you choose?

[The Sloth]

29 minutes ago, Bzdougie said:

Why isn't thinkpad what you choose?

 i bought a 2009 t7200 with 256 mb of Vram, it was worth it. 

 https://support.lenovo.com/ca/en/solutions/pd002695

 

[Bzdougie]

7 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

 i bought a 2009 t7200 with 256 mb of Vram, it was worth it. 

 https://support.lenovo.com/ca/en/solutions/pd002695

 

So are you saying xps 15 or a thinkpad?

[The Sloth]

Just now, Bzdougie said:

So are you saying xps 15 or a thinkpad?

buy a XPS 15 if you can afford it

[Bzdougie]

2 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

buy a XPS 15 if you can afford it

I5 7300HQ vs i7 7700HQ?

[The Sloth]

12 minutes ago, Bzdougie said:

I5 7300HQ vs i7 7700HQ?

7700HQ

[Dackzy]

5 hours ago, Bzdougie said:

If money wasn't really a factor and all you gamed was like CSGO, what would your laptop choice be?

well I am a business laptop only kinda guy, because of the keyboard and build quality that makes macbooks look like toys. I would probably see if I couldn't get a used or outlet P50 with a M2000M. That should perform lile a 960m in games and give you 7-8 hours of battery life when you don't game. The P51 has a GPU that is about a 965m so a decent performance boost, but it also cost quite a bit more.

[Illya]

12 hours ago, Bzdougie said:

Looking for a powerful laptop that's going to provide a good performance and life span and be somewhat future proof. I'll be needing it to perform tasks like autoCAD and matlab. 14-15" 1080 display if possible. And VERY light and occasional gaming would be an added bonus. Any input or ideas would be appreciated. 

What budget do you have?

There is a lot of great laptops that can handle what you wish for. 

Myself I have an elitebook from 2011 and it fulfills my needs when it comes to work with ptc Creo and when it comes to play older games. It cost me to buy it for 3000 kr = 300 $.

But a budget can help us to know what you are looking for.?

[Bzdougie]

1 hour ago, Illya said:

What budget do you have?

There is a lot of great laptops that can handle what you wish for. 

Myself I have an elitebook from 2011 and it fulfills my needs when it comes to work with ptc Creo and when it comes to play older games. It cost me to buy it for 3000 kr = 300 $.

But a budget can help us to know what you are looking for.?

Don't really have a budget. Any price is fine. 

[Bzdougie]

4 hours ago, Dackzy said:

well I am a business laptop only kinda guy, because of the keyboard and build quality that makes macbooks look like toys. I would probably see if I couldn't get a used or outlet P50 with a M2000M. That should perform lile a 960m in games and give you 7-8 hours of battery life when you don't game. The P51 has a GPU that is about a 965m so a decent performance boost, but it also cost quite a bit more.

Where do you think I can find a review on the new P51?