The main components to be considered while buying a laptop for your architecture school will be the CPU, GPU, Display and RAM. The other preferences boil down to personal choices.
CPU
From 2022, AMD and Intel have been the primary market. Getting a CPU from Intel 12th generation or AMD Ryzen 5000 series is a safe bet. For architecture, it is important to get any CPU above Intel i5 or a Ryzen 5.
GPU
A Graphics card is highly essential for the smooth functioning of rendering and modelling software.
Nvidia and AMD are the main manufacturers of the GPU. But Nvidia has been on the market for longer and is more preferred. For architecture, it is often best to get a laptop with a graphic card with video memory of above 6GB (RTX3060 or RX6800).
RAM
More the RAM, the merrier the work. Go for the maximum amount of RAM that will fit your budget. Don’t go below 8GB RAM though.
Display
This generally becomes a personal choice as display size majorly affects the dimensions of the device.
If you frequently work in mobile places then get a smaller display but a larger display is generally preferred for working efficiently. Go for a resolution of anything above 1920x1080.
Most preferred brands:
Asus, HP, Dell, Lenovo, MSI and Acer are what will populate your second year to final year studio rooms.
Budget Friendly Models:
Asus TUF Gaming Series
Processor: Intel Core i5 10th Gen
RAM: 8GB DDR4, ROM: 512GB SSD
Graphics card: NVIDIA GTX 1650 4GB GDDR6 Graphics
Dimensions: 39.6cm (15.6”) FHD
OS: Windows 11 Home
Price: INR 94,990
HP Pavillion Gaming Series
Processor: Intel Corei7 11th Gen
RAM: 16GB DDR4, ROM: 512GB HDD
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Graphics, 4GB
Dimensions: 39.62 cm (15.6"), FHD
OS: Windows 10 Home Single Language
Price: INR 62,999
Dell G5 Series
Processor: Intel Corei5 11th Gen
RAM: 16GB DDR4
ROM: 512GB SSD
Graphics card: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Dimensions: 35.56 cm (14"), FHD
OS: Windows 11 Home
Price: INR 75,300
Lenovo Legion Series
Processor: Intel Core i5 10th Generation
RAM: 8GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD ROM
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
Dimensions: 39.62 cms (15.6 inches), FHD IPS
OS: Windows 11 Home
Price: INR 1,15,990
MSI Alpha and Bravo Series
Processor: Intel Corei7 10th Gen
RAM: 8 GB DDR4 ROM: 512GB SSD
Graphics card: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1650Ti, 4 GB
Dimensions: 39.62 cm (15.6"), FHD
OS: Windows 10 Home
Price: INR 94,490
High End Machines
Asus ROG Zephyrus
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 6800H Mobile
RAM: 16GB, ROM: 512GB SSD
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Graphics
Dimensions: 43.94cm (17.3"), FHD
OS: Windows 11 Home
Price: INR 98,990
HP Omen
Processor: 11th Generation Intel Core i7
RAM: 16 GB DDR4, ROM: 1 TB PCIe NVMe TLC M.2 SSD
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Max-Q 8 GB GDDR6 dedicated Graphics
Dimensions: 40.9cm (16.1”), QHD Display
OS: Windows 11 Home
Price: INR 1,36,990
Dell Alienware
Processor: Intel Core i9 8th Generation
RAM: 32GB RAM, 1TB HDD
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 OC Graphics
Dimensions: 43.94 cm QHD Display
OS: Windows 10
Price: INR 2,25,860
MSI Stealth and Raider
Processor: Intel Corei7 10th Gen
RAM: 8 GB DDR4 ROM: 512GB SSD
Graphics card: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1650Ti, 4 GB
Dimensions: 39.62 cm (15.6"), FHD
OS: Windows 10
Price: INR 3,85,000
Acer Predator
Processor: Intel Core i9-11900H 11th Gen
RAM: 16GB DDR4, ROM: 1TB SSD
Graphics card: NVIDIA RTX 3060 Graphics
Dimensions: 39.62 cm (15.6"), FHD
OS: Windows 11 Home
Price: INR 1,24,999
