College ultrabook

[dinicaandrei0]

Hello guys,

I want to buy a new laptop. Mostly I will use Autocad, Matlab, Eclipse, Android Studio and maybe some Photoshop. I was thinking at matebook 13 from Huawei, the version with i5 or the zenbook 13. Portability and battery life are priorities. What do You think about those laptops?

 

[Golfdriver97]

Welcome to the forums. The first problem I saw with both laptops is neither one has the recommended specs for just AutoCAD. Neither has the recommended specs for both RAM and VRAM. Now, while they cover the minimum, that doesn't really mean anything. It just means the program will fire. It has no bearing on if the program will work after launch, how how well.

Before I suggest anything.....what is your budget?


Edit: Recommended specs from AutoCADs site: https://knowledge.autodesk.com/supp...oCAD-2019-including-Specialized-Toolsets.html

 

[dinicaandrei0]

€1000-1200. Acad it's not a main program to use. I will use It from time to time and an older version won't be a problem at all. Matlab and Eclipse are the programs that i need the most.

 

[Golfdriver97]

I'm not sure which one to suggest. Laptops aren't always easy to upgrade if it's even possible.

I'd almost recommend splitting your budget...put most in a desktop, and get an inexpensive laptop to carry around.

 

[dinicaandrei0]

What about Lenovo yoga S730?

 

[ochhanz]

What about Lenovo yoga S730?

, I would recommend something with dedicated gpu with at least 4 gb vram so you are futureproof. Perhaps a HP Envy with a MX150/250 (but double check if it is the fast one with 4 gb vram). There is also a new Matebook 14 with a fast MX150/250 iirc. Note that the MX130/230 is crap so skip that one, also the MX150 in the older Matebook Pro is slow too.
Preferable you would want something with a Nvidia Quadro or AMD FirePro or Radeon Pro, e.g. something like a P1000 with 4gb vram. Perhaps you can find a Probook (or such) through a sale at your college.

If you want to save a bit on cash but don't mind sacrificing a bit on battery, AMD Ryzen with Vega 8 / 10 are also options. Though preferable, you will want to wait for new 3rd gen since supposedly they have better battery life. Their gpu performance in theory is comparable with the MX150/250 BUT varies a lot per model, so be sure to check the reviews and if the laptop has dual channel memory. HP, Acer and Thinkpad E or A series are probably your best bets for a solid Ryzen laptop for a good price.

Also either get something where you can upgrade the ram or get a laptop with 12-16 gb ram. Preferable, you will want something where you can change the ssd, ram and battery so in the case your laptop has a problem, you can fix it easily or you can let it be fixed for cheap. Usually Acer, Asus, Clevo/Eurocom (etc) laptops and also business line laptops (Probook, Thinkpad, Precision etc.) have these features, but the business line laptops are more expensive as well (though there are discounts for students and refurbished ones are a lot cheaper).

Finally I recently saw some Surface Laptop 1 with a i7-7660u & Iris Pro 640 igpu & 16 gb ram on sale, those have still ok performance but are light and have great displays, batteries, keyboards & touchpads.

You have a lot of choices to choose from, good luck.