The type of CAD software that you’ll likely be running on your laptop as an engineer is extremely graphics intensive and for complex tasks will require a processor with a high clock speed of 3 GHz (or more), at least 6 cores, 8 GB of RAM, or greater, and a powerful, dedicated GPU.
The setup you’ll need will largely depend on how big and complex your drawings are going to be.
If you’re just drawing in 2d, a decent gaming laptop shouldn’t have any issues.
However, if you are attempting to render an extremely complicated 3d model with loads of detail, then you’re probably going to need a specialized workstation and even the best gaming laptop will begin to lag.
But as a student, you should be able to take advantage of lab computers for heavy workloads and you probably won’t be required to render complex 3D models on your personal laptop.
So, will a good gaming laptop see you through your engineering studies?
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Is A Gaming Laptop Good For Engineering Students?
Gaming laptops are good for engineering students because as a student, you usually won’t be rendering complex 3D models or even running any expensive CAD software or conducting any resource-intensive analyses on your own laptop.
As a student, the most you’ll probably be using your own laptop for is running less resource-intensive programs like Excel, Matlab, or some other lightweight CAD program that a gaming laptop would have no problem running.
You will most likely have the option to run the heavy-duty projects and CAD software on a computer in your college lab.
However, most universities will supply student licenses for engineering software and may encourage the use of heavy-duty programs like Solidworks CAD and Ansys FEM on your own laptop.
Some smaller colleges also may not have a computer lab and might instead sell high-performance laptops at a discounted price.
You should find out directly from your university if they require students to have their own laptops and the minimum specs they require for students’ laptops before you enroll.
If you do have to run the heaviest of engineering software on your laptop, a gaming laptop just might not cut it.
The problem with using a gaming laptop for running heavy-duty engineering software lies in the difference between the graphics cards in workstations and the graphics cards in gaming laptops.
The ones in workstations are optimized to be able to render 3d models in CAD and the graphics cards in gaming laptops are designed to prioritize different tasks.
Workstation graphics cards are thoroughly tested for 3D renderers and other workstation applications.
They also come with good technical support and have optimized drivers for the various programs they are designed for.
Gaming graphics cards are not tested for these workstation applications and do not have the same driver optimizations.
They also don’t come with technical support.
Most gaming graphics cards will simply not be compatible with heavy-duty workstation applications.
Gaming graphics cards are optimized for speed while gaming and this results in a different firmware controlling the card.
A graphics card designed for gaming can limit textures and other in-game elements to keep the game’s overall frame rate high.
However, a CAD-oriented graphics card will not have these needs prioritized and is designed to accurately complete all rendering operations.
Workstation and gaming graphics cards are both powerful in their own right but usually not compatible because they have quite different priorities.
A good gaming laptop, like the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE, is great for engineering studies and could handle most 2D modeling tasks; you just might have to steer clear of the heavy-duty 3D rendering applications.
Why You Should Use A Gaming Laptop As An Engineering Student
As long as you’re staying away from the most resource-intensive tasks, a gaming laptop is great for engineering studies because it can do everything an ordinary laptop can do but with less effort because it will have better specifications – more memory, faster speeds, more powerful graphics, and more processing power.
Gaming Laptops Are Fast And Powerful
Besides gaming – which I’m sure you’ll still do from time to time – you can use a gaming laptop to breeze through the vast majority of tasks that don’t require the power of a workstation, including, 2D rendering, media streaming, web browsing (with a ton of tabs open), office-type work, school work, video editing, graphic design, photo editing and mostly everything else you can think of.
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They’re Great For Gaming Too
If you’re ever feeling bogged down by your engineering coursework, a gaming laptop can give you a little break and a chance to blow off some steam with a few rounds of your favorite game.
They’re Ungradable And Future Poof
gaming laptops are also a lot more upgradable than regular laptops.
It’s usually not too difficult to update the GPU, processer, and memory to give you a lot of extra power for multitasking and more intensive projects.
This will help not only when it comes time to run more demanding applications, but also with future-proofing your laptop for heavier workloads so you don’t get left behind in the next few years.
The biggest difference between a standard laptop and a gaming laptop for engineering studies is the graphics card or GPU.
In an ordinary laptop, the GPU comes integrated into the motherboard while in a gaming laptop, it’s separate from the other components and typically a lot more powerful.
They Are Great For Multitasking
Lots of memory and a dedicated graphics card will always be included with good gaming laptops which is great for engineering students because the extra power will come in super handy.
You won’t need to worry about multitasking slowing down your device.
With a gaming laptop, you’ll be able to watch Netflix in 4K on one half of your screen, while having a web browser with 20 different tabs open on the other half of your screen – all while running Microsoft or Adobe applications in the background.
Try that on a budget laptop and you’ll see your whole system grind to a halt.
Gaming Laptops Have Features That Boost Productivity And Make Engineering Study Easier
Good gaming laptops have backlit keys, media buttons, and programmable keys which will really up your productivity and allow you to work in poorly lit areas.
With dedicated media keys you can control the volume and other media controls like pause, play and stop, without having to click into menus to find these options.
On many gaming laptops, you can also program buttons to carry out various functions that you regularly use.
For example, you could program three buttons to be Cut, Copy and Paste or a single button to be Ctrl, Alt, Delete or two buttons to act as forward and back browser buttons.
So, as an engineering student, should you invest in a gaming laptop?
The answer is an unequivocal yes.
It may cost a bit more than an ordinary laptop, but you can usually find some excellent discounts on gaming laptops.
And, if you already have a gaming laptop, there’s no need to upgrade – your current machine will do just fine for your engineering studies.