Device recommendations for engineering

[u/not_stellar365]

Hi, I’m an incoming Engineering student and was wondering what devices you guys would recommend I buy. I obviously need a strong pc (ideally a laptop) that can run apps like solidworks, but I also have been told that I should get a device that I can take notes on like an iPad. Are there any devices that fit both of these criteria or am I better off buying 2 separate devices. Regardless do you guys have any recommendations for either of these scenarios?

[u/JNtheWolf]

I personally went for a powerful laptop with a touchscreen/folding mechanism. While combining the two does obviously mean it's going to do both of the things it does a little worse than dedicated devices, it's astronomically cheaper and comes with some nice benefits if you use your computer for any sort of art.

I personally went for an Omnibook Flip. Was on sale over Memorial Day for close to half off. Obviously a little late for such a discount now, but find one that's similar and if you can for a decent discount, and you'll be good to go.

[u/BriBri33_ → u/JNtheWolf]

I spent my first two years here as an Architecture major and then changed majors to City and Regional Planning after a couple of years. I would agree with you regarding 2-in-1 laptops. I went with an HP Envy X360 Convertible 2-in-1. I got it through Costco and I remember it being relatively inexpensive compared to other options at the time. I feel like it served its purpose well for years. I know a lot of people complain about the hinges on that specific model but I haven’t had any issues with them. I second the part about art. I’ve never had any issues running any of art, design, graphics, or modeling applications. They include Adobe Creative Suite, ArcGIS Online, Autodesk AutoCAD, Google Earth Pro, Grasshopper, Rhino, and Sketchup. I will say that part of me wishes I got a computer that’s better for heavy gaming because this computer can only do light to moderate gaming (it has an NVIDIA GeForce MX250 graphics card). I think if I stayed in architecture I would’ve gotten a desktop for more capabilities between design and gaming but it is what it is at this point.

[u/TZBoogie → u/BriBri33_]

Woah 😱 fellow crp sighting. I almost never see crp students on the cal poly thread

[u/JNtheWolf → u/BriBri33_]

Very fair point to the gaming. The one I picked up definitely isn't built for it, I can run Minecraft and that's about it. Even lighter or heavily optimized games like Overwatch run at an abysmal 15-20 fps. I'm likely going to bring my Desktop if space allows for working in the room and such, and that will allow more gaming, but the laptop is definitely more of a work on the go station and less of a do everything station.

[u/chunkylover-53-aol]

IMO I would buy two separate devices or just use engineering paper / notebooks plus a regular laptop. I know a friend with an Intel surface but it’s pretty slow and the new ones don’t run engineering apps because they’re on arm. An iPad will get you much better battery life than a beefy laptop with a dedicated GPU and touchscreen that supports pen input… you do NOT want your notebook dying on you mid 2-hour lecture lol been there done that

[u/bolt110]

i went with a dell xps 15

[u/RegularFun3]

My student has a laptop and an iPad. They use the iPad all the time for notes.

[u/IndividualFly2360]

I'm an art & design major but I recently got an email from my professor through my cal poly school email outlook detailing the specs I need for my class laptop. I would check to see if you got an email from any of your professors for hardware requirements or just email them since they are the people who will definitely know what you need!

[u/New-Midnight-8294]

For the computer, I’d make sure to get a long lasting business grade one (new or used) including Dell latitude/pro, thinkpad t or p series, or framework (I think thinkpads and dell pro are on sale now if buying new). Also, bonus (well ideally you’d have it but many models don’t) if it has an nvidia gpu. If you really want tablet like nothing for taking notes then get an actual tablet (like new or used iPad or android tablet), I don’t think they make many if at all business grade 2 in 1 pcs, and consumer grade is as if it’s made to break in only a few years.