Best Laptops for Civil Engineering Students : Recommended Best Laptops for Civil Engineers

So, you’re planning to pursue a career in civil engineering. Welcome on board! I’ve heard it’s a rather satisfying major to get. Although it comes with a few hardware specifications, for all the different kind of software you’ll going to use. Me, I’m not a civil engineer. But, what I do best is guiding other people into buying a life-long, trustworthy laptop for their needs. If you’re not into the hardware jargon, just skip to the end of the article to get our dedicated reviews for five of the best laptops intended for civil engineering students.

What to look for in a laptop for Civil Engineering?

Let’s talk about the processor, and the RAM. These are the specs that mostly come into play when you choosing a laptop for civil engineering purposes. Some of the most used programs by Civil Engineers are  AutoCAD, Revit, 3ds Max , Sketchup, as well as other 3D rendering and visualization software. And to be able to run some of these properly, we wouldn’t recommend you going any lower than an 8^th generation Intel Core i5 processor, coupled with a minimum 8 GB of RAM. That’s a decent “entry level” standard for laptops nowadays. However, while 8GB might be good if your projects are mainly 2D, it is not enough if you’re going to do any serious tasks, such as rendering or you will be working on 3D projects. In fact, the more RAM you can have in your laptop the better. If you can’t afford a laptop with a higher amount of RAM at first, check if it’s upgradable, and if you’ll be able to add more RAM down the road.

Another thing to consider, is the storage unit. Even if they come at a higher price, solid state drives (SSD) enable your machine to boot fast and run your software arguably smoother than a traditional HDD. You’d best choose a laptop with a SSD, or a hybrid solution with both the SSD for the fast start up and the HDD for additional storage space.

When you look at the system requirements of most CAD and 3D modelling programs, you’ll see that a dedicated graphics card will come in handy. I even think it’s a necessary feature when choosing a laptop for Civil Engineering work. When you’re buying a laptop, look out for the entry-level Nvidia GeForce MX150, at least. Most of the machines that you’ll look at will be labeled as gaming laptops for having a dedicated GPU. Isn’t that ironic? Well, you could have some fun with a few games on the side of your productivity and study schedule.

So now that you have an idea what type of laptops we will be looking at, let’s check some of the best laptops for Civil Engineering Students available right now. Feel free to ask us in the comment if you have any questions or suggestions!

Best Laptops for Civil Engineering Students

Acer Aspire E15 E5-576G-5762

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If you’re a Student and looking for a reliable budget laptop, then look no further than the  Acer Aspire E 15 E5-576G-5762! The E15 is an affordable option if you’re looking for a laptop to run AutoCAD and 3D Modelling software. That’s because it features an entry-level dedicated Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics card. The Aspire E15 is equipped with an 8th generation I5 processor, 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD.

The Aspire E 15 offers a consistent performance and stays very responsive thanks to the included SSD and the fast RAM. In case you need more power, the RAM is expandable up to 32GB. You can add a second hard drive, too.

The Aspire E15 also offers great battery life: while Acer claims it can last 15 hours, you can expect an average of 10 hours in real world use, which is excellent at this price range!

Acer Aspire 7 A715-72G-71CT

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The Acer Aspire 7 A717-72G-700J is 15,6”, Full HD laptop that is suitable both for gaming and running 3D rendering software. It features an 8^th generation Intel Core i7 processor. On top of that, you can customize the amount of RAM and SSD storage, from a starting point of 8 GB of RAM and a 128 GB SSD. The Aspire 7 is equipped with a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti graphics card, with 4 GB of RAM.

The Aspire 7 features a backlit keyboard with a separate numeric keypad. It includes a USB Type-C port and a fingerprint reader as additional features. It ultimately makes for a wide view powerhouse, considering its budget. On top of that, the Aspire 7 offers an average of 6 hours of battery life.

MSI GV62 8RD-276

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The MSI GV62 8RD-276 is a thin and light, 15.6” Full HD gaming laptop. It features an 8^th generation Intel Core i7 processor, 16 GB of RAM and a hybrid solution: a 128 GB SSD for fast booting and 1 TB of HDD for the additional storage space. The GV62 is packed with a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti graphics card, with 4 GB of RAM.

The MSI GV62 8RD-276 comes with an aggressive looking, backlit red keyboard, that you can customize to your wish. If you want additional raw power, you can easily upgrade the RAM up to 32 GB. The hybrid solution of having both the SSD and a HDD is what makes this a powerful machine, that’ll have your back for many years to come.

Having cutting-edge graphics, the MSI GV62 8RD-276 will easily run your most demanding software without overheating, thanks to its cooling system.

Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-51-78NP

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Going for a slightly higher budget, the Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-51-78NP is an aggressive-looking, 15.6” Full HD gaming laptop. It’s packed with a display with 144Hz of refresh rate. It features an 8th generation Intel Core i7 processor, 16 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. It’s also equipped with a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card, with 6 GB of RAM.

The Predator Helios 300 is designed to be a powerful gaming laptop, but thanks to its high specs you can use it to run AutoCAD and other software for 3D rendering, that are demanding on the graphics card.

On top of that, the Predator Helios 300 is equipped with a USB Type-C port and a consistent cooling system, to avoid overheating. It offers up to 7 hours of untethered performance.

MSI GS65 Stealth THIN-068

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If you’re looking for a more high-end solution, we have the MSI GS65 Stealth THIN-068, a sleek 15.6” Full HD laptop with a narrow bezel designed display. It features an 8^th generation Intel Core i7, 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. It’s packed with a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card with 8 GB. It comes with the Windows 10 Professional operating system.

The MSI GS65 Stealth is a good looking, gold and diamond gaming laptop with a backlit, customizable RGB keyboard. Despite being thinner than a dime, it will run smoothly AutoCAD and all your other rendering software. The GS65 Stealth also includes a USB Type-C port for the better connectivity. There’s really nothing you could wish more for this powerful machine to have.