*Updated For 2020
As an electrical engineering student or major, you need a powerful laptop because engineering software is demanding to run.
In this article, we list the best laptops for electrical engineering students and majors.
The Microsoft Surface Book 2 allows you to take notes easily in class thanks to its detachable keyboard. A true convertible laptop.
Sleek, thin and powerful. The MSI GS66 is a powerful laptop with solid build quality.
The Acer Aspire 5 is a solid budget laptop for electrical engineering. This won’t break your wallet.
The Microsoft Surface Book 2 allows you to take notes easily in class thanks to its detachable keyboard. A true convertible laptop.
Sleek, thin and powerful. The MSI GS66 is a powerful laptop with solid build quality.
The Acer Aspire 5 is a solid budget laptop for electrical engineering. This won’t break your wallet.
Last update on 2020-05-26 at 11:05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Preview |
Name |
Rating |
Processor, GPU & RAM |
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Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GTX 1060, 16GB |
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Intel Core i7, NVIDIA RTX 2060, 16GB |
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Intel Core i7, NVIDIA RTX 2060, 8-16GB |
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Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GTX 1650, 16GB |
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Intel Core i5,NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, 8GB |
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Intel Core i5, NVIDIA MX250, 8GB |
Here Are the Best Laptops For Electrical Engineers Including Students and Majors
➕ Pros
- Solid Performance
- Excellent Display
- Insane Battery Life
- A True 2-in-1 Laptop
➖ Cons
- Pricey
- Doesn’t come with a stylus
CPU: Intel Core i7 | Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1060 | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 15.6″ PixelSense (3000 x 2000) | Storage: 512GB SSD
The Microsoft Surface Book 2 is the perfect 2-in-1 laptop for note-taking during classes.
Most convertible laptops require you to turn the display 360 degrees to be used in tablet mode. This just makes it more uncomfortable to use because the keyboard is in the way.
The Microsoft Surface Book 2 allows you to fully detach the display leaving the keyboard. This allows you to use the laptop in tablet mode in the truest sense.
It also doesn’t let the keyboard get in the way. You can then easily take notes during class eliminating the need to carry books.
Aside from being able to be used in tablet mode. The 2-in-1 laptop has an above-average performance. Powered by an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM and NVIDIA GTX 1060. It will handle the most demanding applications.
The display on the Microsoft Surface Book 2 is truly amazing. A high-resolution PixelSense (3240 x 2160) display that has high brightness, colour accuracy and reproduction.
Battery life on this thing is nothing to scoff at. Expect for 10-12 hours of battery life under consistent usage.
Even with all its benefits the Microsoft Surface Book 2 is hard to repair. If something goes wrong you have to send it to an experienced repairer or back to the manufacturer.
Also, upgrading the RAM or SSD is a pain in the ass. Fortunately, the build quality is good so the chances of a component getting spoilt are slim.
The Microsoft Surface Book 2 is a great 2-in-1 laptop for electrical engineering students or majors. Because the fact that you can use this as a tablet in the truest sense makes it so.
➕ Pros
- Excellent performance
- Sleek design
- Thin and light
- Decent battery life
➖ Cons
- Runs hot
- Loud fan
CPU: Intel Core i7 | Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 2060 | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 15.6” Full HD (1920 x 1080) 240Hz IPS | Storage: 512GB SSD
The MSI GS66 is not a powerful laptop. It’s one of the best gaming laptops on the market. This makes it one of the best laptops for electrical engineering because not only can you play games on it, it also has the performance to run demanding engineering software.
Furthermore, you can get high FPS playing the latest games on high settings. However, the performance comes at a price which is temperature because of its thin and light chassis. The MSI GS66 doesn’t run cool even with its improved thermal solution. Undervolting and thermal paste application is a must if you want to prevent overheating and thermal throttling.
When it comes to the display, it is sharp, bright and has good colour accuracy. The refresh rate is also very high making your gaming experience a smooth one. Since there won’t be screen tearing, stuttering, and ghosting.
Battery life is quite impressive. You are able to get 6-7 hours under consistent use. This will be less when gaming.
Overall, the MSI GS66 is a high-performance laptop with the great build quality and a decent battery laptop. One of the best laptops for electrical engineering and gaming.
➕ Pros
- Solid Build Quality
- Beautiful Sharp Display
- Great Performance
- Decent Battery Life
➖ Cons
- Fingerprint Magnet
- Runs Hot
- Dim Display
CPU: Intel Core i7 | Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 2060 | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 15.6” Full HD (1920 x 1080) 144Hz IPS | Storage: 512GB SSD
The Razer Blade 15 is one of the go-to laptops for gaming. The build quality on this laptop is top-notch. It is built with full aluminum chassis, making it have one of the best constructions.
The laptop has virtually no flex to it and it is robust. However, it is an absolute fingerprint magnet, so you will be cleaning it often.
Just like with all gaming laptops, the performance is great, having a 9th Gen Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, and an NVIDIA GTX 2060.
Razer Blade laptops are known for their exceptional displays and Blade 15 has a high colour accuracy, reproduction, saturation, and vibrancy. But, it is dim, making it not so great for outside use.
Battery life is decent. You are looking at 5-6 hours under consistent use, which is pretty respectable for a gaming laptop.
The aluminum chassis and stunning display are the main selling points of the Razer Blade 15. Brightness could be better.
Overall, this machine certainly gets the job done with its performance and light form factor. Highly recommended if you want a solid electrical engineering laptop.
➕ Pros
- Thin and light
- Long battery life
- Great performance
- Beautiful display
- Sold build quality
➖ Cons
- Runs hot
CPU: Intel Core i7 | Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1650 | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 15.6″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS | Storage: 512GB SSD
The Dell XPS 15 is the best workstation laptop for electrical engineering students and majors. However, due to its thin and light chassis, it runs hot. Undervolting and applying thermal paste is a necessary action to take if you want the best performance.
This is packed with an Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, and a GTX 1650 card. More than enough power for CAD, AutoCAD, etc. This will handle them easily. And if it fits your fancy, you can use it to play games. But they must be on medium settings.
The Dell XPS 15 is a well-built laptop that is thin and light, and the display is excellent. A very bright full HD display that is sharp and colour accurate.
To be honest, Dell XPS 15 displays do not disappoint. Hence the main reason why they are the top choice of most people.
Dell XPS 15 has an impressive battery life. Enough battery power to last you 10 hours under consistent use.
Overall, the only flaw of the Dell XPS 15 is the tendency to run hot and thermal throttle. However, applying thermal paste and undervolting will solve the problem and it a much more stable system.
Highly-recommended laptop for electrical engineering.
➕ Pros
- Great performance
- Affordable
- Solid build quality
➖ Cons
- Not the best battery life
- Dim display
CPU: Intel Core i5 | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 | RAM: 8GB | Screen: 15.6″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) LED-backlit IPS | Storage: 512GB SSD
If you are an electrical engineering student who likes to game, then the Lenovo Ideapad L340 is the laptop you need. No fancy gamer design. Just a professional-looking laptop that can game.
A 9th Gen i5 quad-core processor, 8GB RAM, and an NVIDIA GTX 1650. The i5 processor has high clock speeds because this has gaming hardware multitasking and running demanding applications won’t be a problem.
The NVIDIA GTX 1650 is also a great dedicated graphics card that can handle a lot of games on medium settings.
When it comes to the display, it has a 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080). To be honest, the display leaves more to be desired because it isn’t bright and the colours are a bit off.
The only redeeming factor is its decent viewing angles because of its IPS display.
The laptop weighs about 4.8 pounds (2.2 kg) and less than an inch thick. Lightweight and thin enough to easily carry around without any problems.
Battery life is below average. Under normal workloads, it is only able to last 4-5 hours.
Overall, the Lenovo Ideapad L340 is the best budget gaming laptop for electrical engineering.
➕ Pros
- Solid Performance
- Good Battery Life
- Sharp Display
- Affordable
➖ Cons
- Bloatware
- Low Brightness
CPU: Intel Core i5 | Graphics: NVIDIA MX250 | RAM: 8GB | Screen: 15.6” Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS | Storage: 512GB SSD
The Acer Aspire 5 is a cheap laptop for electrical engineering students and majors on a tight budget. Even though it’s a budget laptop, the hardware on this machine is praiseworthy.
In terms of performance, it is powered by an Intel Core i5 processor. A capable processor that can handle most tasks including certain demanding ones.
The RAM is 8GB and the storage device is a 512GB SSD. Most budget laptops have an HDD. Your Acer Aspire 5 boot up and load applications quickly.
In addition to that, it has an entry-level NVIDIA MX250 graphics card. A card good enough for casual games, not AAA title gaming. It’s decent enough to get high enough FPS for smooth gameplay on Fortnite and Overwatch.
When it comes to the display, it is a 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080). Colour accuracy and reproduction are average but surprisingly the sharpness is decent. Brightness on this laptop is low and using it outdoors will be quite difficult.
The Acer Aspire 5 is able to last 8 hours of consistent use before requiring a recharge.
Unfortunately, Acer laptops are plagued with a lot of bloatware and the Acer Aspire 5 is no exception.
The Acer Aspire 5 is one of the best budget electrical engineering laptops because of its solid performance at such an affordable price. Highly-recommended.
How To Find The Best Electrical Engineering Laptop
Here’s a guide on how to go about choosing the best laptop for electrical engineering.
CPU/Processor
Software used in electrical engineering is demanding. For this reason, you need a laptop with high-performance processors. Intel Core i5 and above are highly recommended on the blue team. When it comes to the red team, AMD Ryzen 5 or higher are highly recommended.
RAM
A minimum of 8GB RAM is recommended. But, having 16GB RAM is highly recommended. Less freezing and your laptop can multitask easily. If you get a laptop with 8GB RAM, try to upgrade it to 16GB.
Battery Life
It’s hard to find a powerful laptop with great battery life, so you must strike a balance. A minimum of 6 hours of battery life is more than enough. That way you have enough power for daily activities.
Budget
Before getting a laptop, you must know the budget. Knowing how much you will spend on a laptop will make you subconsciously look for the best bang for the buck because you want to get your money’s worth.
Final Thoughts
As an electrical engineering student or major. You need all the processing power you can get to run the engineering software. Fortunately, the laptops listed are powerful so you won’t have a problem.
That’s it for the best laptops for electrical engineering.
