3 Best Laptops for SolidWorks

Laptop has been a part of most of us, with varying specifications and built, the laptop as a tool has had a lot of applications and functions to fill. From the routinary office crunch on excel and slides, to more complex media juggling between graphics-intensive tasks to high-computing functions for engineers and their laboratories. The versatile yet mobile power in a box has been with us in our failures and achievements for a significant amount of time.

Solidworks started around 1993 as an answer to making 3D CAD more accessible to everyone. Because at that time CAD was based on the UNIX platform. They wanted a more affordable, easy to use and understand that is based on the windows platform. Since then, the solidworks team worked tirelessly to add feature on top of feature, improvements on top of continuous innovation up until today the work has not slowed down. Today new features such as accessing any drawing for modification regardless of how it was saved is already possible and makes editing more efficient and fast.

User interfaces for geometric tolerances also have a ton of improvements that make working on it more comfortable and easy to handle. Chipset and motherboard innovation that accompanied the developments in cooling and graphics processing has provided a new arena for the laptop to fight, the power and graphics computing together with an old contender, the desktop. The laptops that we will provide in this article can hold that candle with modern desktop powers, but with a better design footprint plus the portability. The limelight of our criteria is based on the application Solidworks, and the laptops we thought can manage this application with flying colors.

Ideal Basic Specification

As an application Solidworks is foundational to developing mechatronic models and systems. Through this, engineers and designers plan, design, model and render, build visual ideation and designs of structures. But interestingly, this function eventually ends in playing a critical role for creating systems to manage devices, automate data and operate cloud services. Before we get the laptops we thought to make it clear the basic or safest backbone specification should be cleared first.

Operating System For Windows

• Windows 10 (64 bit)
• Windows Server 2019

Operating System For Mac

• macOS Catalina
• macOS Big Sur
• macOS Monterey (2022 software update)

Memory

• at least 16GB

Storage

• Preferably Solid-state drives

Card Requirement (there should be an optional non-built-in)

• Nvidia GeForce: Quadro, RTX, and/or GTX)

You decide on the quality of the screen but these above should play a good base for checking out available options one may find on amazon or in any online store today.

The Laptops

We have Identified 3 possible profiles for Solidworks users, and these are _The Creative Genius, the Engineering Wizard, and the Tactical Operative._ All these profiles with different points of directions, and temperament, but all demand high performance of superlative context.

The Creative Genius: Microsoft Surface Book 3 (I7 + 16 Or 32G + GTX)

This niche laptop has a specific audience profile and based on the already powerful previous generation the newest iteration, Book 3, has provided an emphasis on longer power supply duration, which means better battery life of up to 17 hours. The screen is detachable from the keyboard which gives more flexibility to our geniuses for whatever function and convenience this feature may provide. The near 4K display at 3:2 ratio is ultra-sharp and the colors are well and vivid. This features makes a more accurate development and rendering of any related work underway

Specification:

• Windows 10 Home (OS)
• 16 GB (RAM)
• Intel Core i7 (10th Gen)
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX
• 256 GB SSD
• 3240 x 2160, 4K Screen Resolution
• 1080p HD webcam
• Up to 17.5 hours battery life

Pros and Cons

• 4K Display and crisp images (3420 x 2160)
• Ergonomic keyboard design easy on the fingers
• The GPU power is well accessed by the laptop making heavy applications work smoothly

• Lack of Thunderbolt 3 port
• Possible reliability issues rooting from the fulcrum hinge

Summing up

The Surface book is a creative genius’ extension of the mind for freely creating the best ideas and works out there. The long battery life makes sure you can get more out of the powerful computing prowess of the laptop. The modular feature of the laptop that liberates the display from the keyboard is a feature that will make more room for the artists to move and explore. This puts forward a mobility and versatility capability conducive for creativity and exploratory works. The very feature can make the display handy in presenting to prospect clients or an audience over a coffee table. That is why there is a significant amount of artists using this feature as part of the client engagement phase.

The Engineering Wizard: DELL PRECISION 5760 WORKSTATION (i7 + 32G + GeForce RTX + 512 SSD) fg

The way this laptop will amaze you about its weight will be little compared to how this laptop will impress you about the quality and speed it will provide. This Engineer’s dream machine has received quite a significant positive feedback on a number of surveys. The high duty CPU, Intel core i7 in tandem with the Nvidia’s GeForce RTX A200 provides a powerful computing blend of quality and speed. Higher quality in display with 100% adobe RGB accuracy and top i7 performance, plus the speed, is a true marvel.

Specification:

• Windows 10 Pro (OS)
• 32 GB, (2 x 16 GB (RAM))
• Intel Core i7-11850H
• NVIDIA Geforce RTX A3000
• 512 GB, SSD
• 1920x1200 (Full HD Display)

Pros and Cons:

• Flexible configuration options
• 17” Display + Full HD is made for full productivity
• Well-designed keyboard and touchpad
• Has 4 thunderbolt 4 ports

• Pricing is too high
• Iron webcam with 720p quality
• Battery life is lackluster

Summing up

This power tool will surely match the demanding professions of the modern day engineers, architects, designers and software professionals. The keyboard has back-lit features too. The Dell brand’s extensive use cases across multiple working environments, cultures, industries and practices, it has acquired an enormous wealth of best-practice knowledge base to support the development of the best performing laptops today. The precision workstation line is specifically built for the serious performer of higher standard. A full-time professional who values the relationship between the work and the worker. Dell precision workstations, though not built to be entirely mobile, are exactly not built for that to fully focus on providing the best output from the highest possible specification assembled in a laptop.

The Tactical Operative: LENOVO THINKPAD P15 (Xeon W-10855M + 128GB + Nvidia Quadro RTX5000 + 8TB SSD)

Does having a military background really puts confidence in production? In this case Yes. Lenovo’s very strict standards, military-grade standard, has provided us a high performing and very durable workhorse for the smart tactician of a designer or engineer you are - or whatever your profession or passion is. The built-in design allows best performance while maintaining good temperature levels, thanks to a well-designed cooling system.

Specifications:

• Window 10 Pro (OS)
• 128 GB (RAM)
• Intel Xeon W-10855M with vPro
• Nvidia Quadro RTX5000
• 8 TB (PCIe SSD)
• 3840 x 2160 Full HD Display
• Up to 15 hours of BATTERY LIFE

Pros and Cons:

• Overall Performance
• Durable and strong build
• Large Storage space
• Offers multiple configurations
• 2 x Thuderbolt 3 Type Cs

• High Price level

Summing up

Designed to carry heavy tasks while on the go, either for work purposes on the field or just for pure gaming power. This lenovo really delivers what is required. It does not disappoint. Lenovo is well known for its rigorous and over-the-top testing of its hardware. From extreme temperatures to extreme beating, dropping and shock tests, the laptop undergoe these torture rides to discover the best design for strenght without compromising high performance

Conclusion

While most of the performance workload is determined by the screen resolution, CPU, and GPU, other minor factors or elements affect the overall performance. This determines the quality of work and quality of experience in using the machine. Solidworks are well known to be highly demanding of the resources the hardware can provide, this is due to the high measure of deliverables it can provide. To put it in perspective, in 3D CAD works, solidworks provide better productivity and design. It can detect design inconsistencies which allows modification prior to production, cutting process time. Solidwork also allows seamless collaboration between team members, in this angle you will appreciate the configurations of the laptop mentioned. For an output to be completely in its best state, the hardware, software and the user should be equally competent. And, with solidworks married to the laptop mentioned in this article you are almost assured that your works and its results will be properly represented by high quality, high precision work. The 3 laptop brands and their configurations presented in this article are not the only options out there that could fit in your criteria. But these options should provide us a clear guide in terms of the measure of quality that the software would demand. Thank you for joining us in our short exploration of this 3 selections, all are good brands and the rest of it will be based on how good the users will be.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a laptop suitable for running SolidWorks?

A suitable laptop for SolidWorks should have a high-performance CPU (Intel i7 or Ryzen 7), a dedicated graphics card (like NVIDIA Quadro or RTX series), at least 16GB of RAM, and an SSD for efficient performance. A large, high-resolution display is also beneficial for detailed design work.