laptop for architecture

[cristian arevalo]

Hi everyone

In a couple of weeks ill be heading off to university to study architecture and will be needing a laptop to take with me as my current desktop is impractical and i wont be able to use it in lectures and such.

The university has sent me a list of 'minimum' system requirements (they're quite high) which ill try and add below.


What is your budget?
1500-2000

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Anything with a 17"

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Full hd 1920-1080 or better

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
laptop

5. How much battery life do you need?
doesn't matter

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop?
no

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop?
Photoshop, Illustrator, Maya, any other 3d modeling programs.

8. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
at least 3-4 years

9. What country do you live in?

Ecuador

In my country the technology costs about 300 dollars more

An example, a alienware a year ago


http://

 

[maestro0428]

A Quadro equipped laptop is probably your best best. I don't know what is available down there but here is a good choice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834258950&ignorebbr=1 The pro gpu equipped models are very pricey, so if you need a consumer based gpu model, I would go with something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231631. Its actually more powerful and a much better value.

 

[nadavpld]

Hi, I know its not a recommendation for a specific laptop, but I think it something worth thinking about.
My gf is an architect (studied in Israel), in the first year there was no "study" use for the laptop, so you might want to check your sylabus before buying.
A laptop for an architect should be very powerfull, a nice cpu, lots of ram, and a strong gpu - buying one now, and not using it for archtectural purposes is a waste of money, because next year there will be a new generation of literally everything, so if you are not gonna use any heavy programs the first year (which mostly you dont - first year is mainly sketching\drawing with a pencel and some other things that does not require a computer), save your money and buy one before you start.

Architects mostly use Autocad, sketchup, 3dmax, rhyno, revit
The first two dont require much, the last three requiers alot.
My gf decided to buy a desktop because it offers more, she uses a core i7 4770, 8gb ram, 670GTX 2GB configuration which provides amazing rendering quality - and everytime she renders you can hear the gpu working hard .

About the screen size, dont overpay for a 17" laptop, you can get an exterior 24" (or more) amazing screens and use dual screens.

 

[XtremeAero426]

Hi everyone

In a couple of weeks ill be heading off to university to study architecture and will be needing a laptop to take with me as my current desktop is impractical and i wont be able to use it in lectures and such.

The university has sent me a list of 'minimum' system requirements (they're quite high) which ill try and add below.


What is your budget?
1500-2000

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
Anything with a 17"

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Full hd 1920-1080 or better

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
laptop

5. How much battery life do you need?
doesn't matter

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop?
no

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop?
Photoshop, Illustrator, Maya, any other 3d modeling programs.

8. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
at least 3-4 years

9. What country do you live in?
Ecuador

Here's a good laptop but it's 15.6" instead.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233043

 

[myhrddin]

With the offerings being so diverse, this tool from Autodesk may come in handy to let you customize your needs and get recommendations in budget.
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert?id=18844534&siteID=123112
Your field of study probably has some of the highest need of raw power for computations and rendering. Or, you are going to have one sweet rig to hit university with.!
Please let us know if this helps. ~Thanks.!

 

[cristian arevalo]

Hi, I know its not a recommendation for a specific laptop, but I think it something worth thinking about.
My gf is an architect (studied in Israel), in the first year there was no "study" use for the laptop, so you might want to check your sylabus before buying.
A laptop for an architect should be very powerfull, a nice cpu, lots of ram, and a strong gpu - buying one now, and not using it for archtectural purposes is a waste of money, because next year there will be a new generation of literally everything, so if you are not gonna use any heavy programs the first year (which mostly you dont - first year is mainly sketching\drawing with a pencel and some other things that does not require a computer), save your money and buy one before you start.

Architects mostly use Autocad, sketchup, 3dmax, rhyno, revit
The first two dont require much, the last three requiers alot.
My gf decided to buy a desktop because it offers more, she uses a core i7 4770, 8gb ram, 670GTX 2GB configuration which provides amazing rendering quality - and everytime she renders you can hear the gpu working hard .

About the screen size, dont overpay for a 17" laptop, you can get an exterior 24" (or more) amazing screens and use dual screens.

seriously
I did not know I have not known any who follow this career
I thought that since the first year I requested to use autocad and similar

Sorry for my bad English

 

[nadavpld]

seriously
I did not know I have not known any who follow this career
I thought that since the first year I requested to use autocad and similar

Sorry for my bad English

If the university have already accepted you, you should be able to see the sylabus for the first year, check which classes you are going to take.
If you see that in your first\second semester there is a class that requiers such use, follow the suggestions given above and buy a computer that fits your needs.
If you see that there is no such class that requiers such things, wait before buying and save your money for a better investment in the future.

 

[maestro0428]

The guy who does some 3D work for me renders on what used to be a hefty laptop. It renders slowly and get very hot with the i7/460 GTX sandwiched in it. When we moved to one of my workstations with a 780, it was A LOT faster, we are talking hours and days, not minutes. Just a thought, have you considered getting a laptop and a desktop? It is nice to have something to work on in the field and then have a render machine you could offload big renders too.

 

[Bolin]

The guy who does some 3D work for me renders on what used to be a hefty laptop. It renders slowly and get very hot with the i7/460 GTX sandwiched in it. When we moved to one of my workstations with a 780, it was A LOT faster, we are talking hours and days, not minutes. Just a thought, have you considered getting a laptop and a desktop? It is nice to have something to work on in the field and then have a render machine you could offload big renders too.

I don't think he'd love to spend double the money

 

[maestro0428]

I didn't think so either, but if you are going to be serious about a career like that, you need the tools to do well.