What sort of laptop should i purchase as someone who intends to pursue engineering at university? (1 Viewer)

[Somehumanguy]

For some context, I'm sitting the 2024 HSC and plan on pursuing either electrical, mechanical, mining or civil engineering and I intend on buying a laptop that should be able to carry me through the 4-5 years at uni without struggle, I'm indecisive as to whether i should purchase an M2 macbook air with 16gb ram and 10 core gpu and or base M3 pro with base M3 chip at 16gb ram, I would like to know if something like the M2 i described would suffice or if the M3 is overkill for things like CAD softwares and other programs i might be using through my engineering course, internal storage isn't something I'm concerned because I plan on using a 2TB external SSD. Feel free to provide alternatives if you believe there are better options than those i listed.

 

[areyoufr]

The Air doesn't have a fan so I would go for the Pro

 

[its_ace21]

apple sucks

 

[AsuTeksu]

You should consider looking at the software that your desired university is primarily operating on. Perhaps, reach out to the university directly.

I am aware it varies from university to university.

For example, for highschool I am currently using an Apple laptop as that is what they prefer and most softwares are designed according to the Apple OS.

However, at MQ, from what I've experienced, all of my lecturers and units preferred the use of Microsoft software which is why I'll be switching to a laptop other than Apple that runs Microsoft.

 

[liamkk112]

For some context, I'm sitting the 2024 HSC and plan on pursuing either electrical, mechanical, mining or civil engineering and I intend on buying a laptop that should be able to carry me through the 4-5 years at uni without struggle, I'm indecisive as to whether i should purchase an M2 macbook air with 16gb ram and 10 core gpu and or base M3 pro with base M3 chip at 16gb ram, I would like to know if something like the M2 i described would suffice or if the M3 is overkill for things like CAD softwares and other programs i might be using through my engineering course, internal storage isn't something I'm concerned because I plan on using a 2TB external SSD. Feel free to provide alternatives if you believe there are better options than those i listed.

the issue is that some softwares used in engineering just don’t really run on mac well or are kind of half supported, solidworks notably is one i can think of off the top of my head. not every discipline uses this though, but if you’re undecided between the ones you listed it’s risky. don’t forget uni computers always exist so not everything has to be done on your laptop though (and also some unis have something called citrix which basically lets u access a computer remotely with the software on it), but for everything bar maybe electrical id probably recommend windows just for compatibility reasons (yes virtual machines exist but then performance and gpu compatibility issues etc, it’s just more difficult)

 

[Somehumanguy]

the issue is that some softwares used in engineering just don’t really run on mac well or are kind of half supported, solidworks notably is one i can think of off the top of my head. not every discipline uses this though, but if you’re undecided between the ones you listed it’s risky. don’t forget uni computers always exist so not everything has to be done on your laptop though (and also some unis have something called citrix which basically lets u access a computer remotely with the software on it), but for everything bar maybe electrical id probably recommend windows just for compatibility reasons (yes virtual machines exist but then performance and gpu compatibility issues etc, it’s just more difficult)

Good to know, what would be my best choices given my circumstances if I proceed with windows.

 

[liamkk112]

Good to know, what would be my best choices given my circumstances if I proceed with windows.

i guess a windows laptop, plenty of options out there

 

[Duskheaven]

I do mechanical, UTS, just finished the course. I bought a dell xps9500 2020 model during covid (before M1 announcement). I then realised that virtually all the assignments requiring CAD are incredibly simple and don't have large computational requirements (though it felt hard at the time). The course doesn't really go very far into CAD at ALL. I am dead serious when I say the course does not deal with large assemblies. Other unis the same.

AutoCAD and Solidworks can both be run off virtual machine or on university computers as needed. A good computer is definitely a nice to have with a few exceptions - eg if you do extra-curricular such as rocketry OR carry a CAD-based group assignment. You can still do this via uni computer or Virtual machine (Citrix).

If you do software, possibly a different story. M2 definitely sufficient.

For reference, my work computer (which I use as an engineer) is even more underpowered than my dellxps9500 which is weaker than M2. The drafters do have better devices. Computer still does FINE.

I would personally buy apple M2/M3 - look at some benchmarks.

Oh, btw, apple doesn't have the same excel functionality as windows which has occasionally been relevant during the degree.

 

[wollongong warrior]

Get a Windows laptop with i5 minimum, i7 if you got the budget
Lenovo thinkpad series is pretty good

 

[Horses88]

I would consider a Macbook only if you can afford a Windows PC to run alongside it. The reason is that some CAD software is not compatible with macOS so it would honestly be a pain working around that. I heard that Dell XPS is good (not sure about the new models) and also some of the Lenovo Thinkpad series as mentioned above.

 

[MJRey]

ANU does a lot of stuff with Microsoft, so I ended up replacing my Mac with the LG Gram for my engineering degree since it's really lightweight (moreso than the Macbook Air). I've been really impressed with the performance so far apart from the random updates that happen when my laptop dies.

 

[seremify007]

But do you actually need a laptop now? There's always going to be something better or cheaper down the line.

I'm a huge fan of the Macbook Air - I'm currently using an M3 16/512 midnight; and previously had an M2 16/512 (also in midnight). It has epic battery life, great performance in everyday use, and I generally like Apple's ecosystem and how it all works together.... but as others have pointed out it really comes down to what your uni/courses actually use since it varies between unis (and even lecturers/etc). I'd suggest waiting until you actually get into the degree/know which uni/etc before buying.

Also, Excel Mac is frustrating at times especially if you're doing anything remotely advanced vs Windows and how it's set up. Depending on your uni/lecturers this may be an issue especially if all the instructions/lessons are on Windows and have a slightly different interface.