15 Best Laptops For Engineering Students 2023 – Review & Buying Guide

In this contemporary world which we are living, engineering is considered one of the most important fields. This is because of its immense connection with technology.

Every advancement we see around us is highly linked to engineering in some manner. It can be seen in the shape of technology, health, cars and so many other innovations.

Everyday we face a number of problems in our environment and engineers start finding ways to tackle them. They have already made our lives so easy and they will be doing it in the future.

[toc]

We commonly know engineering for the designing and structuring of roads, buildings, bridges and other construction works. But it covers a number of other fields focusing on a particular region.

Its immense role in our society is attracting a large number of students towards it. Since engineering studies include use of some heavy softwares like CAD and CAM, also some computer related works. A laptop with decent configurations is essential.

A laptop with a good Processor, RAM and GPU will get the job done but there are some other factors students need. A decent battery life and an affordable price.

I have chosen 15 best laptops for engineering students considering these factors so that you can easily choose a laptop for yourself.

Top Picks of 2023

1. Acer Nitro 5

Best Laptops For Engineering Students

Key Features :

  • Intel Core i5 7300HQ Processor
  • NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Ti GPU
  • 8 GB DDR4 SDRAM
  • 15.6 Inches Full HD LCD
  • 9 Hours Battery Backup

The Acer Nitro 5 is a budget gaming laptop but it can be also considered as one of the best laptops.

A perfect laptop for students considering its price and configurations which allows us to run heavy apps and games very easily.

The 1080p display makes the gaming experience even better. There is nothing negative to observe in the display. The brightness and colouring is pretty much balanced.

Well the design most likely gives the feel of a gaming laptop. The sharp edges and red theme of the laptop is very attractive. Some parts are made of plastic. In addition to it the thickness is a point to be concerned about.

One of the things to notice is the keyboard. The keyboard is extremely comfortable. While typing you won’t experience any delay. With the red theme it becomes even more attractive.

As good as the keyboard is, the worse is the trackpad of the Acer Nitro 5. The trackpad is so bad that you won’t even use it for the normal activities. It’s sticky and you would face so much delay in the touches. Light touches are not registered so you need to make heavy touches. Even the buttons need to be pressed more than once. But it’s not worrying because an external mouse will get the job done.

The battery timing is okay. Approximately 7 hours is recorded which is pretty decent for a gaming laptop.

2. ASUS Zephyrus G14

Key Features :

  • AMD Ryzen 4900HS Processor
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Graphics Card
  • 16GB DDR4 RAM
  • 1TB SSD Storage
  • More than 11 hours battery backup
  • 1920 x 1080 Full HD Display

An ideal gaming laptop for gamers. It comprises AMD Ryzen Processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 which makes it a solid performer.

With these configurations running heavy applications and games is not a big deal. A laptop which is easily movable with amazing battery timing makes it perfect. Which makes it one of our top picks for the best laptop for engineering students.

The ASUS Zephyrus G14 has a compact design unlike other gaming laptops now. It is incredibly thin and slim which we don’t see often in gaming laptops. You will be surprised to know that it weighs only 3.5 pounds making it one of most lightest laptops right now.

I don’t have any complaints with the 14 Inches Full HD Display. The impressive screen refresh rate of 120Hz makes it even better for gaming. Sufficient screen brightness and colouring is also there.

Despite the ASUS Zephyrus G14 size it still has a well placed and spaced keyboard. A comfortable keyboard for typing with a good response time. The LED backlighting is not worth the keyboard but still gives a satisfactory experience.

The keyboard and touchpad are the same in terms of smoothness. You will have a slick and  comfortable experience using it. The touches are absolutely perfect as well as the buttons.

You will be shocked by the battery timing of the ASUS Zephyrus G14. With multiple tasks running at the same time an 11 hours and 32 minutes was recorded. For a gaming laptop it is an incredible number. It is double of most gaming laptops batteries now.

3. HP Spectre x360

Best Laptops For Engineering Students

Key Features:

  • Intel Core i7 8565U Processor
  • Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0
  • 16GB DDR4 RAM
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Graphics Card
  • 512 GB SSD Storage
  • 3840 x 2160 Ultra HD 4K Display
  • 15.6 Inches Touch Screen

 The HP Spectre x360 is a beast of a laptop. A near to perfection laptop with exceptional hardware and sleek design alongside comfortable keyboard and touchpad.

Just like the performance the design won’t disappoint you either. Slim and smart with Poseidon Blue colouring. The gold colouring of the edges is also a point of attraction.

Well, the most impressive feature of the Spectre x360 is the 4K IPS Display. The 60Hz screen refresh rate makes the video quality even smoother. While the touches on the touchscreen are absolutely accurate and responsive.

The keyboard is magnificent for a laptop this thin. Reactive and comfortable while typing. The touchpad is also comfortable for use but the placement is awful. An external mouse is always recommended.

The battery timing is not that good but it’s awesome for a thin laptop like this. Approximately 7 hours is recorded, Incredible. It is probably more than most of the gaming laptops.

4. Lenovo Legion Y740

Best Laptops For Engineering Students

Key Features :

  • Intel Core i7 9750H Processor
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Graphics Card
  • 16GB DDR4 RAM
  • 512GB SSD Storage
  • 1920 x 1080 Full HD IPS Display
  • 720p Webcam
  • RGB Backlit Keyboard

The Lenovo Legion Y740 is a solid contestant in the race of gaming laptops. A laptop with extremely powerful components and a bright Full HD display but a little weighty.

The design is decent enough. It comes with black exterior and gray lid. The RGB lighting on the keyboard as well as the sides makes it’s design even more attractive.

The display is excellent also. The 1080p display is as clear as it can get. But sometimes you might feel the details are missing in the brightness. The 144z screen refresh rate makes it perfect for gaming and other activities.

The keyboard is not as good as we would expect. It has some additional keys on the left side of the keyboard resulting in wrong placement of the buttons which we are used to. So your gaming and typing experience can be challenging.

The touchpad is fairly comfortable. The touch accuracy is on point. It has dedicated buttons but since its a gaming laptop an external mouse is to be used. For normal use it is absolutely fine.

The battery is the worst of all. With continuous use it would hardly last 3 hours, awful. It cannot get any worse than this.

5. Dell XPS 15

Best Laptops For Engineering Students

Key Features :

  • Intel Core i7 10875H Processor
  • 15.6 Inches 4K Touchscreen
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Graphics Card
  • 16GB DDR4 RAM
  • 3840 x 2400 Display
  • 512 SSD Storage

The Dell XPS 15 is not only a gamers dream laptop but also students. A near to perfection laptop. There are so many reasons behind that but one of them is the attractive and lighter design.

It is not a dedicated gaming laptop but the components allow us to run heavy games and applications very easily.

I would be ignoring my sincere duty if I mention anything before the display. The optional 4K display is just awesome. It takes your gaming experience to the next level. The extra brightness we expect is there. Obviously, the 4K display enables us to do many other tasks, especially watching movies. It is a touchscreen so it can be used at night as well.

The design is extremely slim. The covering of the touchscreen is really thin. The weight it has is too less for a 15 Inches laptop making it very easy for carrying. This feature makes it one of our top picks for the best laptops for students.

The keyboards of the XPS series have always been exceptional. One of the most comfortable keyboards you will experience in your life. Absolutely accurate and smooth to use. Your fingers will fly past the keys.

Same is the case for the touchpad. It is sixty two percent bigger than its predecessor. One of the biggest and smoothest touchpads I have seen.

You might be surprised by the battery timing. It is crazy for a 4K Display laptop. Approximately 10 hours was recorded at full brightness. Using 4K Display 6 hours 44 minutes is recorded. Still impressive for a thin laptop of this sort.

6. Microsoft Surface Book 2 (15 Inch)

Best Laptops For Engineering Students

Key Features :

  • Intel Core i7 8650U Processor
  • 3240 x 2160 15 Inches Display
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Graphics Card
  • 16GB RAM
  • Upto 1TB SSD Storage

If you want a two in one laptop just like the Dell XPS 15, this is another yet expensive option. A perfect laptop for gaming as well as student use.

If we talk about the design it’s pretty attractive and sleek. It doesn’t have the typical gaming laptop look but a decent look. It is thinner and lighter than the previous model of the same series.

The display is one of the best things in the Surface Book 2. It’s just behind the 4K laptops. You will feel a sharp and extra bright display taking your gaming and streaming experience to the sky.

The keyboard of the Microsoft Surface Book 2 is a pleasure to use. Extremely comfortable and easy to use. With the backlighting it becomes more attractive.

The touchpad is also comfortable and smooth to use. You won’t experience any kind of delay while using it. Long presses may result in some sounds so tap use is preferred.

A huge upgrade can be seen in the battery life. It lasts almost double compared to its predecessor. It lasted 7 hours and 39 minutes which is pretty impressive for a laptop of this sort.

7. Acer Predator Triton 500

Best Laptops For Engineering Students
  • Intel Core i7 10875H Processor
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
  • 32GB DDR4 RAM
  • 512GB SSD Storage
  • 1920 x 1080 Full HD Display
  • 15.6 Inches Screen

If you are looking for a gaming beast with a comparatively slim design. You are at the right place.  A laptop with blazing fast performance and a sleek design.

The best thing about the Acer Predator Triton 500 is the design. The laptop is made of shining black metal. This is probably the most slim gaming laptop available now.

The display is also decent enough. It is fairly bright and colourful. But considering the price we expected a better display.

The RGB keyboard is also an attractive feature of the laptop. Extremely comfortable for typing and gaming. The customizable per key RGB system is just awesome. It gives the feel of a typical gaming laptop.

The touchpad feels a bit sticky at times. While using the touchpad there is no space to place your hand which forces you to use an external mouse.

Since it is a gaming laptop with extremely heavy configurations the battery is affected. In the modern world gaming laptops batteries are improving but the case here is opposite. It lasted approximately 4 hours, decent but still shorter.

8. Dell G5 15

Best Laptops For Engineering Students

Key Features :

  • Intel Core i7 8750H Processor
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU
  • 16GB RAM
  •  1TB HDD, 128GB SSD Storage
  • 1920 x 1080 Full HD Wide Angle Display

A monster of a gaming laptop. The Dell G5 15 is enough to meet your gaming needs and provide you a smooth and quality experience.

The design is attractive enough but at first look some may find it bulky. It is not the best design like today’s gaming laptops but still decent enough. The chassis is made by a combination of plastic and brushed black metal, it feels strong.

The full hd display is exactly what the gaming performance the Dell G5 deserves. Decently bright and colouring is also okay. The 144Hz refresh rate is enough to provide you smooth use of the laptop.

There will be no need to plug in an external keyboard because the keyboard is smooth and really comfortable for typing as well as gaming. The green backlighting makes it even more impressive.

The touchpad is also comfortable but very small in size. There is no place for you to position your palm. And since it is a gaming laptop everybody will prefer an external mouse.

The best thing about the Dell G5 15 is the remarkable battery life. It lasted 10 hours at movies playing continuously. And approximately 5 hours at gaming. Quite impressive for a gaming laptop of this range.

The battery life and the performance are the main reasons this laptop is on our list of best laptops.

9. Lenovo Ideapad L340 (15 Inches)

Best Laptops For Engineering Students

Key Features :

  • Intel Core i7 9750H Processor
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Graphics Card
  • 8GB DDR4 Ram
  • 1920 x 1080 Full HD IPS Display
  • 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD Storage

The budget gaming laptops you have been looking for. It’s no secret that the price makes it one of the best laptops for engineering students or any field.

It is an entry level gaming laptop at a very affordable price. So running heavy apps is not a big deal for this laptop and for non gaming tasks it is perfect.

The design is decent enough but it’s not the design of a typical gaming laptop and rightly so. It is simpler than what you would expect but still it is a good fit for students.

The display is fairly well for the price. Bright enough and balanced. The full hd resolution is good enough to give you an impressive gaming experience.

Well, if keyboards are concerned Lenovo are known for their keyboards in gaming laptops. But the tradition doesn’t go well for the Ideapad L340. The keyboard is pleasant enough for typing and gaming. The blue backlighting gives a feel of a gaming laptop which is quite impressive.

The touchpad is good if used for normal use. Smooth enough but quite okay. But decent for a budget gaming laptop.

The battery backup is excellent for a gaming laptop of this class. The Lenovo Ideapad L340 lasted 6 hours and 11 minutes, quite impressive isn’t it?

10. Asus ZenBook 13 UX325

Best Laptops For Engineering Students

Key Features :

  • Intel i5 1035G1 Processor
  • Intel UHD Graphics Card
  • 8GB DDR4 RAM
  • 1920 x 1080 Full HD Display
  • 256GB SSD Storage

You must be surprised that what is a laptop of such configurations doing in this list. Well, there is a reason behind that.

This is probably one of the cheapest laptops on the list. It is not a gaming laptop like other laptops mentioned. The Asus ZenBook 13 is one of the best and cheap laptops available for daily use right now.

Just like the other laptops of the ZenBook series, the ZenBook 13 has an attractive design. The chassis is built of gray aluminum. Overall the design is simple and decent.

The display is quite brilliant in terms of colours but it lacks extra brightness. The ZenBook’s display offers a clean and detailed experience while watching movies.

The keyboard is as comfortable as we would expect. The keys are well spaced and large in size delivering a smooth and comfortable typing experience. The backlighting makes it easy to type even in the dark.

The battery life is the main reason for including this underrated laptop in this list. Honestly, nobody would expect this much from an average laptop. The ZenBook 13 lasted 13 hours and 45 minutes at full brightness. Beyond imagination really.

11. Microsoft Surface Book 3

Best Laptops For Engineering Students

Key Features :

  • Intel Core i7 1065G7 Processor
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Graphics Card
  • 3240 x 2160 4K Display
  • 32GB DDR4 RAM
  • 512GB SSD Storage

A near to perfection laptop for engineering students. In every perspective it’s the best. It has everything. Impressive components, staggering display and a beautiful look. It is not a dedicated gaming laptop but gaming can be done with ease as well as other everyday tasks.

The design is simple but still attractive. The point to notice is the screen can be removed from the keyboard making it alot easier to use at times. The Surface Book 3 is surprisingly a strong one.

The display of the Surface Book 3 is out of this world. The 4K display takes your streaming and gaming experience to the next level. The brightness and the details in the colouring is brilliant.

It has one of the best keyboards you will find right now. Extremely comfortable and smooth. The key spacing is perfect and there is so much space to place your palms. Your typing experience will be just awesome.

The touchpad is also smooth and comfortable to use. But since it has the touchscreen many things are done with the touchscreen. To be honest we would expect a much better touchpad considering the price.

The Surface Book 3 has two batteries actually. One in the keyboard part while the other in tablet. Using it as a laptop it lasted 7 hours and 10 minutes, Impressive.

12. Dell XPS 13

Best Laptops For Engineering Students

Key Features :

  • Intel Core i7 8565 Processor
  • Intel UHD 620 Graphics Card
  • 16GB DDR3 RAM
  • 1TB SSD Storage
  • 3840 x 2160 4K Touch Display

Well, the Dell XPS series is famous because of the Dell XPS 15. But it does not make my list because it’s a dedicated gaming laptop and the price of course.

The Dell XPS 13 is a laptop perfect for student use. A movable laptop alongside excellent display and performance.

The design is attractive and sleek. We saw a big upgrade in design. Which is the placement of the webcam. Now it is above the screen. Generally, the design is perfect for students.

The best thing is the display. It’s just glorious. The details in the brightness and colour replication is exceptional. One of the best displays you will ever witness.

The keyboard is enough to provide you the comfortable typing experience you dream of. Good key positioning alongside space for hands to place.

The glass covered touchpad gives the same comfort. The response and travel is absolutely on point. Something that is really important for a laptop that is not made for gaming purposes.

At maximum brightness with 4K resolution the Dell XPS 13 lasted 12 hours, absolutely insane. It’s truly unbelievable for a laptop of this price.

One of the best laptops for students. I think it is easy to understand why this laptop books a spot for itself in the list of best laptops.

13. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme

Best Laptops For Engineering Students

Key Features :

  • Intel Core i7 8850H Processor
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
  • 32GB DDR4 RAM
  • 1TB SSD Storage
  • 3840 x 2160 4K Display

A laptop perfect for office use alongside stunning display and design. Great performance and comfortable keyboard with good battery life. All are the reasons worth mentioning.

The design of the ThinkPad X1 is quite sleek and slim. When touched, you can feel the smoothness in the material of the laptop. The thin covering of the screen enables the laptop to be thin enough.

The 4K touch display is one of the best displays right now. The details in colours reproduction are out of this world. The brightness is also there.

The keyboard is comfortable and smooth enough. It is sufficient to make your typing fast and comfortable. With good spacing there is no number pad.

On the other hand the touchpad is not that bad either. The response and smoothness is perfect. You will find your finger sliding past on the smooth surface.

The battery is impressive for a 4K laptop. It makes the 6 hours and 9 minutes mark. Not that good but not that worse. Specially for students it’s a decent number.

14. MSI GF63 Thin

Best Laptops For Engineering Students

Key Features :

  • Intel Core i7 9750H Processor
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
  • 512GB SSD Storage
  • 8GB DDR4 RAM
  •  1920 x 1080 Full HD Display

If you are looking for a budget laptop that can do the gaming work as well then this is the one. With decent configurations it is affordable as well.

By the name we can guess how the design is going to be. It has a typical gaming and slim design. It’s similar to the previous model of the same series. It is one of the most lightweight laptops at the time.

The full HD display is decent enough for a budget gaming laptop. With 60Hz refresh rate the brightness and colouring are also sufficient.

The MSI have never disappointed us with their keyboards. They always give their best to make gaming friendly and smooth keyboards. So is the case with GF63’s keyboard. With red backlighting it becomes more attractive.

The touchpad is comparatively smaller but still gives smooth experience. It is made of plastic which feels very smooth at times.

A thin laptop like the MSI GF63 Thin does not provide that of battery life as we would expect. While this laptop lasted approximately 5 hours which is quite good for a gaming laptop.

15. Dell G3 15

Best Laptops For Engineering Students

Key Features :

  • Intel Core i5 8300H Processor
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
  • 8GB DDR4 RAM
  • 1920 x 1080 Full HD Display
  • 1TB HDD + 128 SSD Storage

If you want an entry level and very low budget gaming laptop then this is probably it. The Dell G3 delivers an amazing gaming experience.

The design is sleek and attractive enough. It is fully made of plastic. With blue colouring on the chassis. Generally, the design is quite impressive.

The full HD display is also impressive. The colouring is near to perfection but it just misses that extra brightness. But it is not that of a problem considering the price.

Well the keyboard is too good for a laptop of this budget. The key spacing and layout is absolutely on point. It also has the numpad with perfect positioning of the keys. You will have an incredible typing experience for sure.

However, the trackpad is smooth enough as well. With accurate touches and good response rate the size is just smaller than expected.

The battery life is a bit disappointing but still okay for the price. At 50% bright display it lasted only 4 hours and 30 minutes. Still impressive for a laptop this cheap.

Buying Guide

Now that I have listed 15 best laptops for engineering students. It is essential to know some things before buying a laptop. Actually in this section we mention the things you have to be aware of if you are choosing a laptop.

Processor

The processor or CPU in other words is the nucleus of a laptop or computer. The gaming laptops companies nowadays focus more on processors. Engineering demands use of some heavy applications which need a good processor with a high number of cores available. I will recommend at least a Core i5 processor with a minimum 4 cores.

Graphics Card

The graphics card is also called GPU. Well, gaming laptops nowadays consist of a good graphics card to run extremely heavy applications and games. A good graphics card is meant for video editors specially.

But since engineering studies don’t demand that much heavy applications so a normal graphics card will get the job done. I will recommend a maximum of GTX 1050 Ti. Above that will just be a waste of money.

But if you are a software engineer then we would recommend the RTX 1660 Ti at least.

Display

I don’t think there is something I need to discuss about the display. Well, without any doubt the 4K resolution is the best but if you don’t want any waste of money you should go for the 1080p.

RAM

Ram is something we all know since childhood. Nowadays not only dedicated gaming laptops but also laptops made for daily use have good RAM.

But since we are discussing laptops for engineering students who have a number of tasks to do on laptops. I prefer 8 GB of RAM at least. While 16GB will be icing on the cake.

Conclusion

Well, engineering is a field that demands laptops with different configurations for different tasks.

Keeping the price in mind I have chosen the 15 best laptops for engineering students. These are the laptops with decent components and affordable prices.