10 Best Laptops for Architecture 2025 Software

The best laptop for architecture must be GPU-optimized to ensure a lagless viewport when drawing. This is the most important aspect for speeding up your workflow with ANY BIM & CAD software.

What software specifically?

BIM & CAD software may mean “Rhino” (basically an advanced version of SketchUp), but for most people reading this, it will mean Revit.

Occasionally, you may have to use software like 3DS Max for high-quality renders, but you’ll primarily be using Revit or Rhino.

Regardless of software…

A quick workflow is achieved when you have:

A) CPU w/ at least ~4.5GHz

B) GPU with at least 2GB vRAM (if student) and 4-6GB vRAM (if architect).

What about workstation GPUs?

I’ll explain why soon, but basically 95% of the people reading this don’t need to shell out $2-4k for a 10lb workstation laptop. 

Best Laptop Specs For Architecture

To maximize performance without spending money on unnecessary hardware, take note of the most common 3 mistakes architects make when buying a laptop/desktop:

1. Not maximizing CPU clock frequency
2. Wasting money on high-end GPUs.
3. Not having enough RAM for fast renders.

Now, before we go over the best laptops for architecture, let’s quickly elaborate on the hardware details. If you need a more complete and easier explanation, head over to the end of this post.

CPU

Clock Frequency: Measured in GHz, the higher the better for drawing & designing because most functions are “frequency” dependent.
#Cores: This will not speed up the sketching process; it will only speed up rendering. The limit is about 10 (after that, returns are very small).

Architects:  Recommended CPUs: Core i7 (11th-13th gen) & Ryzen 7 (5th-7th gen)

Students:  You’ll work with CAD software regularly during your 3rd or 4th year, but even then, a Core i5 or Ryzen 5 from recent generations should suffice. Example: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H or Core i5 10300H.

Top 10 Best Laptops For Architecture

The following list includes laptops suitable for students, architects, and the few architects who require a workstation GPU. 

They all have the necessary hardware we discussed, but depending on the GPU, prices range from $500 to $2,000.

I could have just listed 5 laptops, but I aimed to provide more variety in terms of portability (for students) and power (for architects).

Don’t worry; I’ll explain in detail how and when each of these becomes useful. I won’t bore you with unnecessary jargon about hardware specs like most other sites do. 

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1. Acer Nitro v

Best Laptop For Architects – 6GB vRAM GPU

  Intel Core i5-13420H

  8GB DDR5

   NVIDIA RTX 4050 6GB vRAM 

  512GB PCIe NVMe

  15” FHD IPS

  4.66 lbs

  2 hours

  Best for Architects w/ Medium-Large BIM Models

For our 2025 Update, I decided to list a 4050RTX right off the bat FIRST. Now it’s overkill for architecture students for sure…but here’s the thing that isn’t a bad thing (that just means faster rendering and future proof hardware) especially when it’s selling for about the same price as laptops with cheaper GPUs. Currently, this laptop is selling for about 700 dollars whereas cheaper options (that are more balanced performance wise) sell for about 600-700 (we’ll go over those soon).

 GPU: 6GB vRAM Sweet Spot

A 6GB vRAM GPU is the sweet post for ultimate performance vs price. Anything above just gets way more expensive with diminishing returns in terms of performance with BIM software (for the kind of projects most WORKING architects deal with). Now for 6GB vRAM GPUs these are your options:

Name	Cores	vRAM	Speed
1060	1280	6GB	1670
1660 Ti	1536	6GB	1590
2060	1,920	6GB	1680
3060	3584	6GB	1780
4050	2560	6GB	2370

The 3060RTX has more cores (faster rendering) but lower (clock speeds). Overall the 3060RTX is the most powerful out of the small list followed by the 4050RTX….however that only applies if you get a 3060RTX running at “higher” wattages. Most 3060RTX run at lower wattages and sometimes they are outperformed by a 4050RTX. What’s wattage? Check out my post here.

Wattage:

But basically the higher the “TGP” of the GPU , the higher the performance. Manufactueres will list say “4050RTX 95W” the 95W part means it’s running at higher power. A 95W 4050RTX will be faster and most likely CHEAPER than say a 3060RTX at 85W (the most common wattage on budget laptops under 1000). A 4050RTX will likely only be outperformed by a 3060RTX running at 140W.

CPU-renderers

If you are not going to use GPU renderers and rely solely on AutoCAD, Rhino & Revit, then you don’t really need to worry about wattage as much. You can just focus on the amount of vRAM “Video Ram memory” your GPU has. And like a I said before: 6GB vRAM is the sweet spot for the vast majority of ARCHITECTS.

CPU: Core i5-13420H 

Ideally, you’d want a Core i7 or Ryzen 7 preferably from the latest 12 or 13th generation as these have more “clock speed” thus improving performance when rendering (final), rendering when editing, editing functions, modeling and so on.

However, when you’re paying 700 bucks you will always be limited to Core i5 or Ryzen 5 CPUs. You might get lucky with the GPU like this model but there’s no way you’ll find a Core i7/Ryzen 7 around 700 dollars.

Do note that the Core i5/Ryzen 5 especially from the latest gegenerations are PLENTY fast for most architects especially students. However, ultimate performance would be achieved with a Core i7/Ryzen 7 + 6GB vRAM (we’ll go over those models soon) but you’d need to invest at least 850 dollars.

RAM: DDR5 32GB

A cool thing about the latest Core i5 and Ryzen 5 CPUs is that they support DDR5 RAM (the latest generation) thus CPU performance will improve significantly. It won’t necessarily match the performance of Core i7/Ryzen 7 but it will def help a lot. Plus this laptop is upgradeable to 32GB RAM. If you ever feel sluggish (very unlikely with this much RAM) you can just upgrade it to 32GB and that will definitely do the trick in most cases.

Acer Nitro V
PROS	CONS
Latest Core i5 High Performance GPU: 4050RTX DDR5 RAM Cheapest 4050RTX laptop High Storage	Low Battery Somewhat Heavy Only 8GB RAM (can be upgrade to 16GB)

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2. Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3

The Best Laptop For Architecture

  AMD Ryzen 5 6600H

  8GB DDR4

  NVIDIA GeForce GTX 3050  4GB vRAM

  256GB PCIe NVMe

  15” Full HD IPS 144Hz refresh rates

  5.06 lbs

   5 hours

  Best for Architects w/ Medium-Large BIM Models

This is a slightly cheaper laptop than the 4050RTX. It has a 4GB vRAM GPU, so it’s more suited for “students” than architects. However, most architects who are just starting out in the field (about 1-4 years) will likely work with conservative and relatively small-sized models that do not require a 6GB vRAM GPU either. 

If you are an architect just starting out, this is a good option, but I urge you to increase your budget by $50 and purchase the first laptop listed.

If you are a student on a 4-5 year journey to your degree, this laptop will definitely be sufficient and last you throughout those 5 years and into your first few years in the field.

  Hardware

GPU: 3050 RTX 4GB vRAM

The 3050 RTX GPUs, as of 2025, are still the best bang-for-your-buck GPUs. While the model I posted with the 4050RTX is more powerful and slightly more expensive, it’s rare—you won’t find 4050RTX laptops that cheap year-round.

There’s also the 3050Ti (3050Ti RTX and 3050RTX are two different GPUs), which is slightly better for GPU renderers (it runs at higher “speeds”), but it’s not easy to find at the same price point ($650). You’ll usually find them priced at $700, only $20 less than the more powerful 4050RTX. 

2GB vRAM vs 4GB vRAM

There are also 2GB vRAM GPUs (we’ll discuss one soon), and if you find them priced around $500, they will work too—especially during your first three years. However, if you decide to work on somewhat complicated and large projects using software like Rhino or 3DS Max, 2GB vRAM GPUs will struggle.

3050RTX vs Other 4GB vRAM GPUs

The bare minimum for large senior projects should be a 4GB vRAM GPU.

If you can’t afford a 3050RTX, there are other 4GB vRAM GPUs that can do the job just as well. We’ll cover those soon. The only difference with the 3050RTX GPUs is that, because they have more “CUDA cores” and “higher speeds,” they provide significantly better performance with GPU-based renderers (Lumion, iRAY, and 3DS Max).

CPU: Ryzen 5 6600H

If you do some research, you’ll find that 3050RTX laptops come with a wide variety of CPUs, some of which may be $10-30 cheaper but feature older CPUs.

As of Q1 2025, we are in the 14th generation of Intel CPUs on laptops and the 8th generation of Ryzen CPUs.

You can find 14th-gen Core i5 CPUs and 8th-gen Ryzen 5 CPUs with the 3050RTX, but they’ll add about $50-100 to the total price.

Benchmarks, such as those shown in my post: Ryzen 5 vs Core i5 Laptop CPU Comparison benchmarks, indicate that performance gains are not as significant with the latest Core i5 and Ryzen 5 models. Real, significant performance gains are observed with the latest Ryzen 7 and Core i7 CPUs. It’s not just about a 100-200MHz difference but also how efficiently a CPU runs at higher speeds, which depends on factors like power supply and the cooling system.

Storage: 512GB

If you’re an architect, you may need more than 256GB if you want to keep all past projects on the same laptop. However, for files generated over a few years, 512GB will be sufficient even if you install most popular BIM software on the same machine. 

This laptop comes with 256GB out of the box, but it is upgradeable. You can add an additional PCIe NVMe SSD through the M.2 slot or a 2.5” SATA III SSD as shown in this link.

RAM: 8GB vs 16GB RAM

If you are a student, RAM won’t be as useful beyond 8GB since you’re unlikely to run two or three programs simultaneously when drafting. However, 16GB will significantly speed up rendering. For example, detailed renders that take 1 hour with 8GB RAM will take just 20 minutes with 16GB.

This laptop comes with 8GB RAM, so if you want faster rendering, you’ll need to upgrade it yourself to 16GB as shown in this post.

8GB RAM will be fast enough for viewport, drafting, and rendering models throughout your four years of study. The only downside is that waiting 30 minutes for final renders may be a bit annoying. Upgrading to 16GB is not a requirement.

If you are an architect, upgrading to 16GB is definitely a must. Most laptops with a dedicated GPU already have 16GB RAM. If yours doesn’t, you can upgrade it later. 

Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3
PROS	CONS
6th gen Ryzen 5 Useful for Pro architectural work 3050RTX GPU under 700 Fastest 4GB vRAM GPU for GPU rendering	May need RAM upgrade to 16GB Low Storage (Upgradeable) Heavy Low Battery

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3. MSI GF63 THIN

Budget Laptop For Architecture

  Intel Core i5 12450H

  8GB RAM DDR4

   2050RTX 4GB vRAM 30W

  512GB PCIe NVMe SSD

  15” 1080p IPS 144Hz

  4.1 lbs

  3 hours

  Best for Architecture School & Architects

This laptop also has a GPU with 4GB vRAM (like the 3050RTX) but it’s about 100 dollar cheaper. 

 GPU: 2050RTX

GPU	Cores	vRAM	Speed
1650	1024	4GB	1560
2050	1477	4GB	2048
3050Ti	2560	4GB	1485
3050	2048	4-6GB	1500

MSI Thin GF63
PROS	CONS
Cheapest 4GB vRAM GPU Good for architecture school & Pros RAM & Storage Upgradeable Relatively lightweight	May not handle large BIM models in 3DS Max Low Battery

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4. Surface Laptop Studio 2

Best Laptop or Tablet For Architecture

  13th gen Core i7-13700H

  16GB LPDRR5 RAM

  NVIDIA RTX 4050 80W

  512 GB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD

  14.4”  2400 x 1600 2 in 1 Tablet-Laptop w/ Stylus

  4.37lbs

  5-8 hours

  Best for Architects

Surface Laptop Studio 2
PROS	CONS
Three GPU configurations Good for architects & students Can use stylus for sketching/drawing Decent battery  High resolution display	Not RAM or Storage Upgradeable Very Expensive

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5. Lenovo Business Pro 5i

Best Laptop For Architecture School

  Core i5 11300H

  8GB DDR4 

   MX450

  512GB SSD

  16″ 2.5k resolution

  4.2lbs

  3 hours

  Best for Architecture School

This laptop comes with a 2GB vRAM GPU, and it may or may not be cheaper than the 4GB vRAM GPUs we’ve already discussed (like the 2050RTX and 3050Ti). That’s why I didn’t list it first—currently, decent 2GB vRAM GPU laptops aren’t significantly cheaper than 2050RTX laptops.

However MX450 laptops like this one CAN BE a better investmentl—not just because it has a dedicated GPU but also because it has the BEST DISPLAY on the list. 

  MX Series GPUs

As of 2025, the MX Series GPUs are the weakest but still relevant and decent dedicated GPUs available for laptops, such as the MX450.

A few things to note:

• Not all MX GPUs are worth it. While they all have 2GB vRAM, their clock speeds and CUDA cores differ vastly.
• MX450 & MX550 are the only ones worth buying. The older MX350 may show up for under $550 (or even $500), but its performance isn’t much better than laptops with modern integrated GPUs.

MX550: A Solid Option (but pricey)

The MX550 is very close in performance to the 1650GTX, but it’s still quite expensive. The main reason to choose it is portability.

If you’re a student with extra cash to spend, go for it! It’s a fantastic choice if you want a lightweight traditional laptop that still packs enough GPU power for BIM software.

Cheaper and Lighter MX450 Alternative: ASUS ZenBook 14 (3.2 lbs, ~$530)

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Performance: MX450 & Core i5 11300H

Unlike most MX450 laptops, this one has a gaming-grade CPU—the Core i5 11300H, which is a high-performance chip similar to what you’d find in the HP Victus or MSI GF63.

Cheaper, more portable laptops with the MX450 usually come with low-voltage CPUs that may not turbo boost to their advertised clock speeds as reliably as high-performance CPUs.

Since clock speed is crucial for both rendering and drawing, you’ll get better overall performance with this model.

Rendering Time:Compared to 13th and 12th gen Core i5 CPUs, rendering might take around 20 minutes with this setup.

vRAM: 2GB

The MX450’s 2GB vRAM will provide smooth viewport performance for school projects, such as houses and medium-sized buildings.

You might experience some lag with slightly larger buildings, but it’s usually manageable. Most architects deal with these occasional lag spikes—for example, rotating a model too fast may cause a brief pause before the next frame loads.

Extreme designs (e.g., hospitals): Walkthroughs for massive projects like hospitals will result in significant lag. This laptop is more suitable for school projects and not for professional architectural work or very complex designs.

 Display: 16” 2.5K (QHD)

This is where this laptop shines—the display is the main reason I chose the MX450 version over slightly cheaper and more portable alternatives.

You can see how much extra space a QHD display gives you over FHD on this post.

If you’re okay with carrying a 4-pound laptop (similar to the weight of a 16’’ MacBook Pro), this display will make your workflow much faster for all your tasks, not just CAD software.

Why the resolution and size matter:

• The larger workspace lets you view multiple windows side by side.
• For CAD design, you get a bigger drawing area with more toolbars and quick-access functions visible at the same time.

Lenovo Ideapad 5i Pro
PROS	CONS
High Resolution Display (QHD) Good for architecture school Lightweight Decent Battery	Not for professional work RAM not Upgradeable Just as expensive as 4GB vRAM GPUs Laptops

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6. MacBook M3 Pro Chip

Best MacBook For Architecture

  M3 12 Core CPU

  18GB Unified Memory

  18 Core GPU

  512GB SSD

  16.2” Liquid Retina  2234×3456

  4.7lb

  13 hours

  Must Watch for Software Compatibility 

In 2025, there are still quite a lot of architecture software programs that are not compatible with macOS.

AutoCAD and Maya have Mac versions. However, 3DS Max and Revit do not.

If you want to use a MacBook, this is a serious problem because Revit is essentially the industry standard and the go-to software for architecture CAD design classes.

There are solutions to use Revit and 3DS Max on a MacBook:

• You can use BootCamp. However, BootCamp is only available on the older models with pre-M chips.
• Parallels: This software allows you to run Windows alongside macOS, enabling you to run any Windows software you need.

I’ll elaborate on these two methods soon. First, let’s talk about performance for architecture software.

 Performance

Truthfully, performance is all over the place because there are so many hardware configurations, even with the newest M3 chips. Haven’t seen a GPU on the newest MacBooks? That’s because Apple Silicon chips, also known as M1, M2, and M3 chips, do not use NVIDIA or AMD GPUs. Instead, they use their own GPUs, which share resources with the CPUs (M chips). They function similarly to integrated graphics.

However, unlike integrated graphics, they have an impressive amount of ‘vRAM’ because the “RAM” on these chips is shared between the GPU and CPU. This doesn’t mean their performance will match a 4090RTX with 16GB vRAM, but it’s definitely better than an MX450 or most integrated GPUs.

M3 Pro Max > M3 Pro > M2 Pro > M1 Pro Max > M1 Pro > M2 > M1

I haven’t tested every MacBook to compare their viewport performance with gaming GPUs. For instance, I can’t definitively say whether the M3 Max chip with its 40-core GPU outperforms a 4090RTX for very large models.

However, based on the following video using the M1 chip for Rhino 7:

Even the lowest configurations of the M chips—M1, M2, and M3—should provide a fast workflow for low- to medium-sized projects. If we extrapolate this to the latest M3 chip, which has significantly more “cores” and “unified memory,” it should handle large-sized models effectively.

That said, I would NOT recommend a MacBook for extremely large models better suited to 8–16GB vRAM dGPUs. I would expect the more powerful M3 chip MacBooks to perform similarly to a 6GB vRAM GPU.

As for GPU rendering, it will be MUCH slower on a MacBook because neither the older nor newer models have “CUDA Cores,” which are essential for many GPU renderers.

What’s the advantage of buying a MacBook for architecture?

There’s one key advantage: battery life.

The M chips are far more energy-efficient, even when handling heavy graphics. This means you’ll get significantly longer battery life when using software like Rhino, AutoCAD, or Archicad (all of which have macOS versions and don’t require workarounds).

While a gaming laptop might last around 3 hours running Rhino, a MacBook with an M chip can easily last at least 8 hours on a single charge. This makes it an ideal companion for designing on the go. Even an M1 MacBook Air can be productive for hours without needing a charge!

 Display & Design

Other reasons architects might choose a MacBook, despite the software limitations:

• Build quality: MacBooks are built to last longer than most Windows laptops. They’re durable and can withstand frequent travel, making them ideal for architects moving between offices and construction sites. On average, MacBooks last 7 years or more.
• Compact design: The 16’’ MacBook Pro is large, but it’s still lighter and thinner than many Windows laptops with powerful dedicated graphics.
• Display quality: Even older MacBooks often have better displays than most Windows laptops. Recent models feature QHD (2K or Retina) resolutions, True Tone, and wide coverage of sRGB and aRGB color spaces. This makes them excellent for showcasing final renders to clients.

Parallels vs BootCamp: Revit

A great alternative to Revit is Archicad, which has a macOS version. However, if you’re a student, you’ll likely need Revit.

If you still want a MacBook, here are your options:

BootCamp:

BootCamp is available on older models and allows you to install Windows natively on a MacBook. This means you can run Windows just like on a Windows laptop—no special software needed. You can then install Revit and other Windows-only architecture software.

If you go this route, look for an older MacBook with a dedicated GPU. For example, the 2019 MacBook Pro with the RX 5500M offers performance comparable to the 3050RTX with 6GB vRAM.

Parallels:

Parallels is your only option for running Windows on newer MacBooks with Apple Silicon M chips. These models cannot run Windows natively, so you’ll need to install Parallels to create a virtual machine for Windows.

While this approach uses some hardware resources, the M chips are powerful enough that the impact is minimal. Once Windows is running through Parallels, you can install Revit and any other Windows BIM software.

M3 MacBook Pro
PROS	CONS
Fastest CPU on laptops GPU is configurable Useful for both students & architects Superb high resolution display Very Long Battery	Revit & 3DS Max requires Parallels Ultra expensive May not handle super large BIM models

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7. ASUS ROG Strix Scar

Most Powerful Gaming Laptop For Architecture

  Core i9-14900HX

  32GB DDR5 

  NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

  2TB NVME SSD

  18″ QHD+

  6.83 lbs

  3 hours

  Best for  Architects Running EXTREMELY Large BIM Models w/ LOD = 500

This is currently the most powerful laptop with a non-workstation (aka gaming) GPU as of Q1 2025. It’s listed here for architects who need as many hardware resources as possible from a laptop.

  RTX Ada 5000 vs 4090 RTX

What sets this laptop apart is not just the GPU but also the CPU. As of Q1 2025, the 14th generation Intel CPUs are still being rolled out. Fortunately, the Core i9 is already available on laptops.

Regarding the GPU, this laptop features the most powerful GPU available for GPU-rendering software.

GPU	CUDA Cores	vRAM	Clock Speed (MHz)
Ada RTX 5000	9728	16GB	1680
4090 RTX	9728	16GB	2040

The 4090 RTX has a significantly higher clock speed compared to the Ada RTX 5000, which results in much faster rendering performance for GPU-rendering tasks.

vRAM

Both the Ada RTX 5000 and the 4090 RTX feature 16GB of vRAM. For most architectural projects, even extremely large ones, it is highly unlikely that you will require the full 16GB of vRAM.

RAM & Storage

This laptop comes maxed out with RAM and storage. However, if you find a laptop with the same CPU and GPU combination but with lower RAM or storage, go for it! Both RAM and storage are easily upgradeable, typically costing no more than $100 total for upgrades.

 Display

The display is the main selling point of this laptop. It features an 18-inch QHD screen, offering the largest screen space in this list for sketching and modeling with BIM software. As of 2025, this is the best screen space available for architectural tasks.

However, the large display means this laptop is quite heavy. It’s best suited for use in an office environment with limited mobility—perhaps a single trip during the day.

ASUS ROG Strix Scar
PROS	CONS
Fastest CPU on laptops Most powerful GPU on laptops Largest display on laptops QHD resolution Best for super large BIM models	Overkill for most architects Ultra expensive

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8. Lenovo Legion Slim 5

LightWeight Laptop For Architecture

  AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS

  64GB  LPDDR5

  NVIDIA RTX  RTX™ 4060

  2TB NVME SSD

  16″ QHD

  5.3 lbs

  2 hours

This is a mid-range performance laptop. It offers better GPU rendering capabilities and accelerated effects for BIM software than the RTX 4050 but falls short of the RTX 4070 and other high-end GPUs (e.g., RTX 4080, RTX 4090).

The main reason it’s featured here is because it’s a high-performance laptop that’s portable. Its performance surpasses the Laptop Studio while being just as portable.

  CPU + GPU

The CPU is the latest 8th Gen Ryzen 7, which is the second highest-performing multi-thread CPU in the Core i7 and Ryzen 7 series.

For users primarily working with Revit and AutoCAD, there’s no need to heavily invest in a GPU. A GPU with 6GB VRAM will likely suffice for most architectural models encountered in these programs. However, this laptop comes with an RTX 4060, which features 8GB of VRAM and significantly more CUDA cores. Combined with the Ryzen 7, this laptop is particularly well-suited for Rhino and 3ds Max, both of which rely heavily on the GPU for rendering—unlike Revit and AutoCAD, which are less GPU-intensive.

Feature	Rhino	3DS Max
Modeling	Mostly CPU, moderate GPU (for viewport)	Mostly CPU, moderate GPU (for viewport)
Viewport	Highly GPU-dependent	Highly GPU-dependent
Rendering	Primarily CPU unless using “external GPU renderers”	Heavily GPU-dependent with GPU renderers
GPU Dependency	Moderate (for modeling) to high (for real-time visualization)	Moderate to very high (with GPU rendering)

  Display & Design

The primary reason this laptop is listed here is because it’s a large, powerful laptop that’s lightweight compared to others with similar hardware. Despite being a 16-inch laptop, it weighs under 5 lbs, making it comparable to one of the most powerful MacBooks. This portability makes it convenient for carrying between the office, home, or construction sites.

Additionally, the 16-inch display boasts a 2.5K (QHD) resolution, which is higher than FHD. We’ve already discussed the advantages of this resolution for workflows involving BIM/CAD software, but in short, more screen space = faster workflow.

At around $1,400, it’s also reasonably priced. This is significantly less expensive than a maxed-out M3 MacBook Pro or the ASUS ROG Strix with an RTX 4090.

Lenovo Legion Slim 5
PROS	CONS
8th gen Ryzen 7 CPU 8GB vRAM GPU QHD resolution + large display Relatively lightweight Ram maxed out at 64GB	Will need a cooling pad for very heavy loads Expensive

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Workstation Laptops

Workstation laptops are often considered the de facto choice for 3D modeling, including architectural work. However, the reality is that most architects don’t need the power of workstation laptops.

In fact, 95% of architects will find them unnecessarily expensive. That said, workstation GPUs do unlock special features in some CAD software and can reduce artifacts/errors, particularly when working with extremely large models. However, I personally don’t think the latter is a strong enough reason to invest in a workstation GPU.

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If You Need a Workstation Laptop

If you have no choice but to buy a workstation GPU, here are some important points to keep in mind. Ignoring these could result in wasting thousands of dollars:

1. Pricing and Sellers:
   • Workstation laptops are usually sold by resellers, which means higher price tags and limited spec options.
   • Always buy directly from the official website (e.g., buy a Dell workstation laptop from Dell, not Amazon) to avoid overpaying by as much as $1,000.
2. Size and Weight:
   • Workstation laptops are huge and heavy, typically weighing between 6 lbs and 10 lbs.
   • They are not ideal if you frequently move between construction sites.
3. Performance Comparison:
   • Not all workstation laptops are better than regular gaming or consumer laptops.
   • Always check GPU specs meticulously and compare them with consumer graphics cards (e.g., RTX 3050 Ti, RTX 3060) to determine if they’re worth the extra cost.
4. Mistakes in GPU Selection:
   • It’s very easy to mistakenly buy a weaker workstation laptop than a regular one because of the overwhelming variety of workstation GPUs available.
   • You can’t determine the GPU’s performance just by its name; research is essential.

To Save You Time

Because understanding workstation GPU performance is crucial and takes hours of research, I’ve created the table below to help you make the right decision. Use it to ensure you’re not overpaying and that your purchase meets your needs.

Workstation GPU	Consumer Equivalent	Cores/Shaders	Clock Speed	vRAM
P500	MX150-	256	1519	2GB
P520	MX150	384	1493	2GB
K2100M	GT 750M	576	667	2GB
K3100	765M-	768	706	4GB
P620	MX250/1050	512	1442	4GB
M620M	950M-	512	1018	4GB
M1000M	950M	512	1072	4GB
Pro WX 3200	RX 550	1082	640	4GB
M2000M	950M/960M	640	1197	4GB
M1200	960GTX	640	1150	4GB
P1000	1050GTX	512	1519	4GB
P2000	1050Ti	768	1468	4GB
T2000	1650/1660Ti	1024	1785	4GB
T1000	1650-	768	1455	4GB
RTX 3000	2070RTX+	1280	1380	6GB
RTX 4000	2070/2080	2560	1560	8GB
RTX 5000	2080RTX+	3072	1350	16GB
RTX A2000	~3050Ti	2560	1200	4GB
RTX A3000	~3060RTX	4096	1560	6GB
RTX A4000	~3070RTX	5120	1560	8GB
RTX A5000	~3080  RTX	6144	1695	16GB
RTX A5500	~3080Ti RTX	7424	???	16GB

Ex: Say you find a workstation laptop with a  T2000 for 1000 dollars? Check the table, that’s equivalent to a 1650GTX which is found on laptops around 700 dollars. Is it worth the extra 300 dollars? Unless you need the workstation GPU for very specific software (mostly plugins), then it’s not worth it.

NVIDIA RTX Ada Generation:

These were released last year and are still the latest generation of RTX workstation GPUs:

GPU	Equivalent	Cores	Speed	vRAM
RTX Ada 3500	-4070RTX	4608	??	8GB
RTX Ada 4000	==4080RTX	5120	??	12GB
RTX Ada 5000	-4090 RTX	7424	1680	16GB

So although there’s going to be performance gains when rendering (due to more CUDA Cores and higher clock speeds), there isn’t going to be much performance gains when using viewport (working with a model) when you work with a very large BIM with LOD = 500 . Yes, there’s going to be SOME performance gains but nothing significant. Artifacts & errors may be eliminated of course. 

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9. Dell Precision 5680

Workstation Laptop For Architecture – Ada 3500

  Intel Core i7-13800H

  32GB RAM DDR5

  NVIDIA RTX 3500 Ada

  1TB NVMe SSD

  16” FHD+ IPS Anti-Glare

  5.75lbs

  1 hours

Unless you need to run special plugins and avoiding artifacts/errors when using these or when viewporting , this laptop is not useful especially since vRAM is on the low side (for the price tag).

RTX Ada 3500 vs 4070RTX: 

Note that the price of this laptop is TWICE the price of its ‘consumer’ equivalent which has a 4070RTX despite having the same amount of vRAM. Both GPUs however should perform equally well because they also have the same amount of CUDA cores.

As for ‘wattage’, it’s very rare to find a 4070RTX GPU running at low power and virtually all workstation GPUs run at full power. So performance wise these are EQUALL Tied.

Core i9 CPU:

However, performance will be BETTER with this laptop because it has a very powerful Core i9 CPU and that’s the thing with workstation laptops:

Note: Large BIM models with high LOD

Both the 4070RTX & Ada 3500 can handle huge models with lots of details. Examples: Full sized hospitals, college campuses, skycrappers with very high LOD (500  ,  detailed interiors ), etc.

However, artifacts will be almost non-existant with the Ada 3500 as you navigate (viewport) through a model.  

Lack of VRAM?

Do remember though it is likely that , if you are working on such projects, they will be broken down into sections so an entire can work on the same project. So don’t expect to design (viewport) throughout the entire project on this machine alone, it will handle just a section of it. This is obviously better than LAGGING massively with any of the  laptops above. 

Dell Precision 7680
PROS	CONS
Fastest Core i7 12GB vRAM Workstation GPU Eliminates artifacts & errors	Overkill for most architects Heavy Low battery Only FHD resolution

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10. MSI Creator

Most Powerful Workstation Laptop For Architecture

  Core i9-13950HX

  128GB RAM

  NVIDIA RTX 5000 Ada 16GB vRAM

  4TB SSD NVMe

  16″  UHD (3840 x 2400) TouchScreen  

  8 lbs

  1 hours

As of Q1 2025, this laptop features the most powerful workstation GPU available: the NVIDIA RTX Ada 5000. While there are faster workstation GPUs, they have yet to be released in laptop form factors.

RTX 4090 vs. RTX Ada 5000

In our review of laptop #7, we discussed the differences between the RTX Ada 5000 (the most powerful workstation GPU) and the RTX 4090 (the most powerful gaming GPU).

• Viewport Performance: The RTX Ada 5000 holds a slight advantage over the RTX 4090 due to its architecture, which is optimized for calculations specific to 3D CAD software. This advantage is particularly noticeable in models that require nearly 16GB of VRAM. For models with lower VRAM requirements, both GPUs deliver similar frame rates during model manipulation.
• GPU Rendering: The RTX 4090 outperforms the RTX Ada 5000 in GPU rendering tasks, thanks to its significantly higher number of CUDA cores. This makes the RTX 4090 more suitable for rendering-intensive applications.

In summary, the choice between these GPUs depends on your specific workflow needs:

• For tasks involving complex 3D CAD models and viewport manipulation, the RTX Ada 5000 offers a slight edge.
• For GPU-intensive rendering tasks, the RTX 4090 provides superior performance.

Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 2
PROS	CONS
Most powerful workstation GPU Maximum amount of RAM on laptop Very high resolution display (UHD) Bullet proof for ANY architecture model	Overkill for virtually 99% of architects Ultra expensive Very Heavy Very low battery

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How To Buy The Best Laptop For Architecture

Architecture Students

This post has been written mainly for architects & architecture students in the United States. If you are a student outside the US, it’s always a good idea to check your department’s curriculum.

Some international architecture students may need to use architecture software much earlier or much later. 

Architects

If you are an architect, skip to the hardware guide section on this post and/or check my post on Revit & AutoCAD . In the latter, I go into much more details about what CAD software for architecture uses for every instance of the design process.

Architecture Software

Although the software will depend on the concentration you choose (Ex: landscape and interior design will use Revit+3DS Max). The hardware guide can still apply to all BIM & CAD architecture software.

Note that some of these software may not have a Mac version so you may need to use bootcamp or use a virtual machine if you want to use a MacBook.

• • • 3D Modeling: Revit, Rhinoceros 3D + Grasshopper or AutoCAD
    • 2D drawing : CAD (AutoCAD) or Revit
    • Models with straight shape: Sketchup
    • Rendering & Animations: Lumion, Autodesk Maya, 3DS Max
    • Additional but less hardware demanding software: 
      • Multimedia editing: Adobe After effects
      • 2D Rendering and Visualization: Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop

If you don’t have a good grasp of hardware terminology like cores , clock speed, vRAM , Turbo Boost, and so on please check my beginner’s guide to computer specifications .

1.CPU (Processor) 

As you know there are ONLY TWO specs in a CPU to look after when shopping for a laptop or a desktop: #Cores & Clock Speed. If you’re trying to maximize performance on a specific instance of the modeling process you may need to focus on one or the other.

Modeling and Drawing: Clock Speed

Virtually every single CAD Software (Rhino, AutoCAD, Revit) relies on the CPU’s ‘speed’ (measured in GHz) when drawing.

In fact, most of it relies on a single thread as shown in the figure: 

This means if your current system is slow when drawing, then you need to replace the CPU. Of course on laptops this means buying a laptop with a higher clock speed CPU since you can’t replace the CPU.

Now, it doesn’t mean you should replace it/buy a laptop with the highest clock speed on the market. There’s a limit to where you’ll see peformance gains and that’s about 5GHz, where 4GHz is enough for a fast workflow.

3D Rendering: #Cores

Any type renderer will benefit from # of cores. Cores are basically ‘mini computers’ if you will, so the more you have the faster the process will be carried out. 

Ex: If one core can render a snapshot in 1 min, 2 cores can do it 30 sec, 3 cores 20 sec, etc.  

Rendering is just one of those type of ‘processes’ that can be done by multiple entities. This isn’t the case for editing/modeling which are a step by step processes.

Now…

As conterintuitive as it may seem, at some point the number of cores start giving you diminishing returns. That number is around 8 cores, there are performance gains for rendering at 10 and 12 cores but not worth the investment. 

if you have a very high clock speed eight core CPU each running with 5Hz, you can be sure that even high quality renders of large models will take ~10 min at most on Revit. But it will take longer on software with higher quality texture & shaders such as  3DS Max & Lumion. Those software also make good use of “GPU cores” we’ll talk about those later. 

Recommended CPUs

The following are the best bang for your buck CPUs found on laptops as of 2024.

CPU	Base	Turbo	Cores
i5 9300H	2.4GHz	4.1GHz	4
i5 10300H	2.5GHz	4.5 GHz	4
i5 11300H	3.1GHz	4.4GHz	4
i5 12500H	3.3GHz	4.4 GHz	8
i5 13420H	1.5GHz	4.6 GHz	8
i7 11800H	2.3GHz	4.6 GHz	8
i7-11375H	3.3GHz	5.0 GHz	4
i7 12800H	3.7GHz	4.8GHz	6+8
i7 13620HX	2.4GHz	4.9GHz	6+8
i7 13650HX	3.6	4.9	6+8
i7 14700HX	1.9	5.4	6+8

 

CPU	Base	Turbo	Cores
Ryzen 7 8845HS	3.5	5.1	8
Ryzen 7 7745HX	3.6	5.1	8
Ryzen 7 6800HS	3.6	4.7	8
Ryzen 7 5800H	3.2	4.4	8
Ryzen 7 4800H	2.9	4.2	8
Ryzen 5 8645HS	3.2	5	6
Ryzen 5 7535HS	3.3	4.55	6
Ryzen 5 6600H	3.3	4.5	6
Ryzen 5 5600H	3.3	4.2	6
Ryzen 5 4500U	2.3	4.0	4

There are Core i9 and Ryzen 9 CPUs that may have more cores & clock speeds but the performance/money ratio gains are low. In other words, they’re too expensive to justify the extra hundreds of dollars.

2. GPU

The integrated GPU comes by default with ANY CPU you buy.

The dedicated GPU is an additional piece of hardware that doesn’t share resources with the CPU, it has their own that’s why it’s way more powerful than iGPUs and that’s why it adds a lot to the overall price.

In the following figures, the integrated GPU is labeled as GPU 0 whereas the dedicated GPU is labeled as GPU1.

Drawing/Drafting: If you check figure 1 in the CPU section, you’ll notice there’s minimal GPU usage and the only reason why it’s being used is because the structure and material has to be RENDERED (colored) while placing a column.

GPU usage is about ~4%? That basically means graphics cards are NOT used for drawing/drafting. In the figure, I forced the software to use the dedicated graphics, otherwise it would have used the integrated GPU instead.

Viewport: Below you can see a moderately sized hospital building with a LOD (level of detail) ~200 (max is 500) and just rotating it puts the dedicated GPU under heavy loads (~20% on average, 40% max).

Now this is a pretty heavy model, the likes some architects will see during their first year at work.

Students aren’t likely to work with something like this unless it’s a senior project.

Notice, however, ONLY 1GB out of 6GB vRAM is being used.

What is vRAM?

If you checked my beginners post, you’d know ‘vRAM’ stands for video memory.

vRAM is where a 3D object’s data gets temporarily stored for graphics processing.

The bigger the object is the more vRAM you’ll need.

As a student, you aren’t likely to need 6GB vRAM to have a fast viewport.  4GB vRAM is a good number with 6GB vRAM being ideal for Architects.

There are some rare breed  of architects who may need 8GB vRAM or even 16GB vRAM.

Basically those working with very very very detailed and large models and clients rarely , if ever, ask for this.

Think about working on a project that needs a model of all buildings within whole block each with a LOT of 400-500 all on the same file. Such projects are usually broken down into parts to reduce the computer load.

NVIDIA GPUs in 2024 (Laptops)

The following are specs for laptops. Desktop GPUs have more “Cores” and “Speed”

Name	Cores*	vRAM	Speed
MX450	896	2GB	1582
MX550	1024	2GB	1320
1650	1024	4GB	1560
1660 Ti	1536	6GB	1590
3050Ti	2560	4GB	1695
2050	2048	4GB	1477
1070	2048	8GB	1645
1080	2560	8GB	1733
2060	1,920	6GB	1680
2070	2560	8GB	1770
2080	4352	11GB	1650
4050	2370	6GB	2560
3060	3584	6GB	1780
4060	3072	8GB	2370
3070	5888	8GB	1730
3080	8704	8GB	1710
4070	4608	8GB	2175
4080	7424	8GB	2280
4090	9728	16GB	2040

Rendering: Cores

When it comes to Revit Rendering is a CPU task, more specifically, it’s entirely dependent on CPU cores. Note in the graph below how the CPU is used at 100% whereas the GPU only at 8%.

That doesn’t apply to all software. For example, Rendering in revit makes use of CPU cores whereas vRAY (a rendering engine used with 3DS Max) can use both the GPU & CPU.

These “GPU renderers” make use of CUDA cores the same way Revit makes use of CPU cores.  Thus if you want fast rendering with “GPU-dependent” renderers, you want to grab a GPU with lots of CUDA cores.

Though for most architects and architecture students any mid-range (6GB vRAM GPU) will have sufficient “GPU cores” to make rendering fast enough and not last more than one hour.

Workstation GPUs

For most architects, workstation GPUs are useless.

They offer no advantage over gaming GPUs (the ones I’ve listed and talked about so far) which still have the same features : CUDA cores, vRAM, same speed (or even higher), etc.

Workstation GPUs are said to have ‘special’ plugins to make rendering & working with 3D CAD Software much smoother but they just work as good as any gaming GPU especially when you don’t deal with extremely complex models.

Below you can see a good sample size of workstation GPUs released for laptops during the past 7 years.

The second column gives an idea how powerful they are by comparing it to a gaming GPU.

Workstation GPU	Consumer Equivalent	Cores/Shaders	Clock Speed	vRAM
P500	MX150-	256	1519	2GB
P520	MX150	384	1493	2GB
K2100M	GT 750M	576	667	2GB
K3100	765M-	768	706	4GB
P620	MX250/1050	512	1442	4GB
M620M	950M-	512	1018	4GB
M1000M	950M	512	1072	4GB
Pro WX 3200	RX 550	1082	640	4GB
M2000M	950M/960M	640	1197	4GB
M1200	960GTX	640	1150	4GB
P1000	1050GTX	512	1519	4GB
P2000	1050Ti	768	1468	4GB
T2000	1650/1660Ti	1024	1785	4GB
T1000	1650-	768	1455	4GB
RTX 3000	2070RTX+	1280	1380	6GB
RTX 4000	2070/2080	2560	1560	8GB
RTX 5000	2080RTX+++	3072	1350	16GB
RTX A2000	~3050Ti	2560	1200	4GB
RTX A3000	~3060RTX	4096	1560	6GB
RTX A4000	~3070RTX	5120	1560	8GB
RTX A5000	~3080RTX	6144	1695	16GB

Ada Series

Ada RTX 5000	~4090
Ada RTX 4000	~4080++
Ada RTX 3000	~4070

When are they useful?

They MIGHT be worth a try if you lack vRAM for a certain model. However, on laptops, the most powerful gaming GPU has the same vRAM as the most powerful workstation GPU so they’re basically useful for desktops.

What about AMD GPUs?

Name	Shaders	vRAM	Speed	NVIDIA Equivalent
Pro RX 555X	768	2GB	855	MX150/MX250
RadeonRX 540	512	4GB	1219	~950M
Radeon RX 550	640	4GB	1287 – 1476	+950M
Radeon RX 560X	1024	4GB	1172 – 1275	1050GTX
RX 580	1536	6GB	1077	~1060GTX
RX5500M	1408	8GB	1327 – 1645	~1660Ti

AMD GPUs are RARE on laptops.

If you find them on a good deal be sure to check out how much RAM they have.

The vRAM in AMD GPUs works the same way it does on NVIDIA GPUs (small = 2GB vRAM, large = 4GB vRAM , extremely large = 6GB vRAM).

Note that AMD GPUs cannot be used for most GPU-renderers. .

3. RAM

If you fail to get enough RAM when building a desktop (or when buying a laptop), then even if you have a powerful CPU and a beast GPU, everything from drawing to viewport and rendering will be massively SLOWED down.

Now revit will take approx. 1GB when open (more if you have several files open), Windows 12, 11 or 10 will take approx. 4GB, that’s 5GB already which gives you only 3GB to spare for any background process and any other software (AutoCAD will take an extra 1GB).

8GB: Bare minimum

This is why 8GB is the bare minimum . Luckily, most laptops have at least 8GB RAM especially if you make sure to grab the CPU or GPUs I’ve talked about.

If you’re building a desktop, no vendor in their right mind will sell you a dedicated graphics and 4GB RAM so you’re probably covered anyways.

16GB: Great for Rendering & Extra Viewport Performance

Whether you are an architect or a student, the upgrade to 16GB is EXTREMELY useful to speed up your workflow:

• If you work with very very large models. The extra RAM will be used by your CPU to viewport, just like your GPU uses vRAM.
• If you cannot afford a laptop or desktop with a dedicatedGPU, maxing out to 16GB will give your ‘integrated’ GPU articial ‘vRAM’ to work sort of like a dedicated GPU thus speeding up viewport performance
• Having 16GB will automatically save you from any “LAG” spikes that may happen due to automatic windows updates, antiviruses, too many chrome tabs etc. 
• The more RAM you have the faster the rendering because RAM is where all the data is temporarily stored for your CPU to run calculations. There’s a limit to this though and that’s usually about 16GB for most people.

32GB & 64GB: Maximum Rendering Speeds

You can get rendering performance gains up to 32GB. 

64GB gives you very very low returns however it may still be useful for super large models but if that scenario ever came up a desktop would be a better choice. Most laptops only support RAM up to 32GB. Only expensive workstation laptops support 64GB.

4. Storage 

Size: 256GB vs 512GB

Storage size isn’t an issue because you can always buy external storage devices to store all your projects and you might not even need to do so as most revit & rhino files take no more than 1GB.

Most laptops have about 150GB left after installing windows, revit & AutoCAD.

If you do install games on a laptop for architecture such as Fortnite and CoD then you will run out of storage pretty quickly for which 512GB will be the absolute minimum.

Speed: SSD 

Far more important than size is storage speed because this is where files & the software will be stored and where the data will be retrieved. 

That means having a faster storage means faster reading and writing of files which means:

• Fast saving and opening files
• Launching the software in seconds
• Booting up the system in seconds
• Loading up libraries in seconds.
• Importing very large CAD files will take minutes as opposed to 20-30 min (compared to the old HDDs).

Virtually all laptops in 2024 have SSDs which will give you all the benefits listed above.

SSD Type

Now there are types of SSDs: SATA III SSDs, PCIe NVMe SSDs.

The fastest ones are PCIe NVMe SSDs and virtually all laptops used this as the main storage device. However, even if you use a SATA III SSD you will still get all the benefits save for the last one (importing files) which is slightly slower on Sata III SSDs.

PCie NVMe: 4.0 vs 5.0

This year will see the release of PCIe NVMe 5.0. The current generation is 4.0. The 5.0 PCIe NVMe SSDs will be SIGNIFICANTLY faster however the noticeable performance gains will only be when importing/exporting large files.

High Storage SSDs & External Hard Drives

The problem with SSDs is that buying them with high storage capacities (1TB) can make a laptop very very expensive. 

You can however do the upgrade yourself as shown here on my post: Adding a second SSD which is WAY cheaper (you just need to buy an SSD for 50 bucks and a screwdriver).

OR you can get an external storage device either a USB stick or a large ruggerized hard drive.

5. Display

In CAD design is the more space you have, the faster your workflow will be.

That’s because the more screen space there is, the greater the overall view of your model AND the greater the amount of quickaccess tools at your disposal . Since there will be less need to access drop down menus, that means faster access to functions.

You get more screen space by choosing a:

Big Display : Obviously the bigger the display, the bigger the on-screen space for Revit, AutoCAD, Rhino, etc.

Now the problem is bigger means more weight and it isn’t ideal to grab the biggest (17”) if you are a student.

If you are an architect it’s really a no brainer as this laptop will probably stay in a single location most of the time. 

Resolution:High resolution means more pixels, more pixels means more figures can be scaled down in size which frees up space.

The effect is MASSIVE as you step into QHD or UHD resolutions, they offer an insane amount of extra screen space EVEN if you have a 15” laptop.

As of 2024, laptops with QHD displays are not so expensive.

If you have the cash, it is probably an even BETTER investment than throwing money at a Core i9 CPU or a 6-8GB vRAM GPU.

On the other hand, laptops with UHD resolution (4k) are to expensive. No need to invest on those, QHD displays get you plenty of space for a fast workflow.

External Display:This is a much cheaper to increase screen space. All laptops support external displays.

Now you’re obviously NOT going to bring an external display in a suitcase if you’re going to work or to architecture school but you can use it back home to boost your productivity (if you don’t have a desktop already).

Laptop vs. Desktop

Now this brings me to a very good point. If you are using your laptop mostly at home or at work, why not just get a desktop?

A desktop will be much cheaper and get you  more power for less money. For example, a 1650GTX desktop GPU and Core i5 10th gen CPU are x4 times more powerful than CPUs & GPUs found on laptops with the same name.

That’s because desktops have ‘more space’ and chips are able to hit higher clock speeds without the need to be careful of high temperatures (more space means easier cooling).

If you are a student, my advice would be to buy both though.

Have a nice desktop back home and a cheap (portable) laptop to design and draw on the go or in school, then do the rendering and final touch ups on your desktop.

If you are an architect, you may not even have to buy a laptop, if you know how to use the cloud.

You can use a desktop back home to do your work and upload it to the cloud to work on the same project at your workplace.

Anyways,  this is just random advice, i don’t know what your exact situation is but I would try to see a way to use a desktop (for reasons mentioned) unless a laptop is a MUST (maybe you need to show your on-going progress to clients, who knows?) . 

Accesories

Besides the external hard drive two accessories are a MUST when buying a computer for architecture.

Mouse

Nobody uses a the trackpad to draw. But I can tell you most people do not choose a good mouse to draw.

They have no idea what a big difference a good mouse makes.

I recommend you give ‘gaming’ mouses a try because not only are they EXTRA SENSITIVE to movements but they also have A LOT OF EXTRA BUTTONs to the sides as shown below: 

The one I use is the Razer DEATHADDED essential. It has two buttons on the left and a wheel mouse which if you press it down acts like an extra button, you can set these extra keys to activate certain functions on your software as shown in this post. 

Power Extension Cord

A must have if you a student, you’re going to need a power extension cord because battery will run out pretty quickly when you use CAD software for too long. Also laptops with dedicated GPUs have low battery lives whether you use CAD software or not. 

The power cord will give you a few extra meters of range so you can find your way into the nearest outlet in the library, the lab or whever you do your work.

It may not be a problem if there are plenty of space and outlets where you study but it might be during finals when every building is packed.

Macs for Architecture

There’s no problem using Macs now that Revit can be used through parallels or bootcamp (depending on the Mac) and that Rhino has a Mac version.

As for sketch up you can find a Mac version of 2017 Sketch up which was the last FREE version. 

So what’s the main issue with MacBooks or Macs?

It will be having everyone else around you using Windows.

The functions and menus can be different for CAD software so when you need trouble-shooting or you need help on how to do something from your peers, it may be a little different to do on a MAC OSX.

You could still use the Window versions of any of these software if you can install BootCamp on a MAC or Parallels may even work for sketch up since it isn’t really that hardware demanding (Parallel runs OSX along with Windows simultaneously whereas BootCamp only runs Windows ).  The problem with parallels is that it doesn’t make good use of all hardware resources since it still needs to run OSX in the bakground.

Bootcamp is the best choice but it’s only available on older MacBooks. The most powerful macbook with a good dedicated GPU is 2019 MacBook. It’s the one I also use now in 2024.

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Author Profile

Miguel Salas

I am physicist and electrical engineer. My knowledge in computer software and hardware stems for my years spent doing research in optics and photonics devices and running simulations through various programming languages. My goal was to work for the quantum computing research team at IBM but Im now working with Astrophysical Simulations through Python. Most of the science related posts are written by me, the rest have different authors but I edited the final versions to fit the site's format.

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