Best laptops for engineering students 2023: Expert picks and advice

The Dell XPS 17 has a lot going for it. You’re getting super-fast performance, a vivid display, and long battery life. The laptop also provides great connectivity features with four Thunderbolt 4 ports and an impressively long battery life. Under the hood, it’s rocking an Intel Core i7-13700H CPU, an Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage. That’s a ton of memory and storage, which is a good thing if you’re using a lot of resource-intensive applications such as 3D CAD modeling programs

The one real downside is that the XPS 17 weighs just under five and a half pounds, so it’s a real beast. The webcam is only 720p, as well, which may be a downside if you have to do any online classes or video-conferencing. Buy if you can live with those minor shortcomings, the latest XPS 17 is a phenomenal choice.

If you’re looking to save some cash, the Acer Aspire 3 is a worthy choice. It packs a good amount of performance for not a lot of money. Plus, the full-size keyboard provides loads of room, which is perfect for writing those term papers or modifying those CAD models. While that’s all well and good, the internals are really what makes this laptop a solid value buy.

The Aspire 3 comes with a Ryzen 3 7320U CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of PCIe SSD storage. The 15.8-inch 1080p display also has decent color quality. In our tests we found that the battery was able to hold a charge for up to eight hours of continuous use—enough to last a full day of classes. One of the most surprising features was the design. While a little utilitarian, it’s one of the sturdiest builds we’ve seen on a budget laptop. All in all, the Acer Aspire 3 gives you plenty of bang for relatively few bucks.

Need a lightweight laptop to take with you to class? The Acer Swift 5 will surely fit the bill, as it weighs a little under three pounds. It also has a compact design, a 1080p webcam, and impressive battery life. The 14-inch display is “bright and spacious” thanks to the 16:10 aspect ratio and 2560×1600 resolution. Under the hood, you’ll find an Intel Core i7-1260P CPU, Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage. The only real knock we have against this machine is the undersized touchpad. However, it’s not a deal-breaker, as you can always plug into an external mouse. It’s a charming little laptop that’s both zippy and travel-friendly.

Lenovo just continues to improve upon its Legion 5 Pro laptop, which offers awesome gaming performance, superb connectivity features, a durable design, and much more. It can easily handle both schoolwork as well as late-night gaming sessions. While it isn’t exactly cheap, considering the performance features it gives you, the pricing can actually be considered affordable as well.

This laptop is rocking an Intel Core i7-13700H CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. It performed well in our gaming tests with numbers that land it solidly in the midrange gaming laptop pack. As for the 16-inch display, it has a resolution of 2560×1600 and a maximum refresh rate of 165Hz. We weren’t too impressed with the screen, which, while definitely bright, is not as vibrant as others we’ve seen. Still, if you’re looking for a versatile laptop that can do it all—work and play—look no further than Lenovo’s latest Legion 5 Pro.

When going to and from classes, taking notes, and then doing assignments, you might not always have a convenient way to charge your laptop so you need something that will last all day. The Asus Chromebook CM34 Flip does just that with a fantastic battery that just doesn’t seem stop. It lasted a jaw-dropping 19 hours on a single charge during our testing—we had to run the benchmark twice just to make sure. That’s positively wild. For most laptops if you can eek out 10 hours on a single charge it’s considered a long-lasting. But the CM34 Flip almost doubles that number.

Lest you be concerned about whether this Chromebook will be a solid performer, know that it features AMD’s Ryzen 3 7320C (like the Acer Aspire 3 above), which is superior to a Snapdragon CPU. This 2-in-1 Chromebook also comes with a colorful touchscreen display, comfortable touchpad, and high-quality 1080p webcam. It’s not the most portable though, weighing in at just over 4 pounds. But if you’re on the hunt for a long-lasting everyday machine that won’t break the bank, you can’t get much better than the CM34 Flip.

Lenovo laptops are always great options for professionals and students alike and the latest ThinkPad X1 Nano is no exception. Lenovo’s aim with the X1 Nano is to cram an enjoyable laptop with great performance into the smallest footprint possible and it accomplished this goal. The X1 Nano comes with the latest 13th-gen Core i7-1360P processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. But the real gem is the excellent keyboard. The layout is surprisingly spacious with easy-to-find keys that have good travel and a clicky, crisp bottoming action.

All of this is somehow fit into a pint-sized footprint of 11.54x 8.19 inches with a thickness of just 0.58 inches. Plus it weighs a mere 2.18 pounds. It’s an easily portable laptop to haul between classes or fit into your bag for a trip to the coffee shop for some paper writing. The only issue is the battery life. In out real-world tests we found that it needed to be recharged in the middle of a workday with heavy use, which is a bit lower than we would’ve liked. Regardless, if you want a compact laptop that provides a satisfying typing experience for when you’re working on assignments or taking notes in class look no further than the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano.

If you’re an engineering student, chances are you’re going to be spending a lot of time staring at a screen. You might as well invest in a good one then, right? Well, the HP Pavilion Plus 14 has a gorgeous OLED display. The 14-inch screen has a resolution of 2880×1800, a 16:10 aspect ratio, and a 90Hz refresh rate. According to our tester, the display produces “incredible contrast and deep blacks” as well as a “sharp picture” overall. As for the internal components, it has an Intel Core i7-12700H CPU, Intel Iris Xe graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage. While we loved the superb display and durable all-metal chassis, we weren’t thrilled with the short battery life and the low contrast between the keys. Nitpicks aside, this is a great pick if you suffer from eye strain and tension headaches.

The Asus Zenbook Pro 14 takes the idea of a nice display and doubles it, sporting a 14.5-inch 4K touch OLED main panel and a truly intriguing secondary 12.7-inch 2880×864 screen located right above the keyboard. This second display is recognized by Windows as a second monitor and you can use it to help with all kinds of tasks, such as a trackpad or to display touch controls for some Adobe apps. It’s not just pretty screens though; the Zenbook Pro 14 comes with a Core i7 processor, RTX 3050 graphics, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD essentially making it a midrange workstation. The only real drawback is the mediocre battery life, which means you’ll probably need to carry around a charging cable while on the go or in class. Despite this, the Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED is a well-tuned productivity machine complete with two high-quality displays and enough performance to create and render those next engineering masterpieces.