Best Specs for a Dell Laptop? (Mechanical engineering at The Citadel)
USA | $1,800-$3,000 | Mechanical Engineering Student Choosing Between RTX GPU or 64GB RAM
LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE
Country
United States
Budget
$1,800-$3,000 USD
Are you open to refurbs/used options?
Maybe, but preferably new
Screen size
15”-16”
Weight limit
Preferably under 5.5 lbs, but performance matters more
Purpose
Mechanical engineering school, CAD, MATLAB, programming, simulations, general productivity, note taking
Form factor
Standard/Clamshell
Intended usage
I’m going into mechanical engineering and expect to use programs like SolidWorks, MATLAB, Fusion 360, coding software, simulation software, and general multitasking with a lot of tabs/windows open. I also play games occasionally but school performance matters more than gaming.
The main thing I’m debating is:
32GB RAM with an RTX 5060/5070 dedicated GPU
vs
64GB RAM with integrated Intel graphics
Trying to figure out which would actually benefit me more long term for engineering workloads.
Desired battery life
At least 6-8 hours for lighter schoolwork if possible
Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life
Performance, battery life, weight, size
Info/Requirements
I want something that will comfortably last all 4 years of engineering school. Good thermals and build quality matter to me. I’d prefer Windows. I’m also wondering if 32GB RAM is already overkill for most engineering students or if 64GB is worth it even with weaker integrated graphics.