2024 Guide: Top Laptops for Mechanical Engineering Students

The most important thing I'll recommend when searching for the best high-performing, but still budget-friendly, college engineering laptop: go with Windows.

I've seen a ton of obscure applications thrown around in mechanical engineering classes, and I know they are typically Windows-only.

So your operating system is obviously important, but what else?

You'll want to focus on these 5 attributes. It's what we've ranked the below laptops for, with mechanical engineering students specifically in-mind.

• Processor Speed (>2.8 ghz)

• RAM (>16GB RAM)

• Storage (>512GB SSD)

• Display / 2-in-1 Compatibility

• Price

Best Computer Overall for Mechanical Engineering Majors

2023 Acer Aspire 5

Not only is the Aspire 5 below $500 on Amazon, but it's actually incredibly high-performing for how cheap it is relative to others on the market. It's 20GB of RAM and 1TB of storage are eye-popping in comparison to the price, and might be the best in its price tier.

I can't recommend this laptop enough to my friends who are majoring in engineering degrees, and the same goes for mechanical engineering. If you want a robust computer at a low sticker, look no further.

However, I will say my only qualm with the Aspire is the lack of 2-in-1 capability. In mechanical engineering, and really any STEM major, you'll be handwriting notes quite a bit, instead of typing. So in addition to having a high-performance PC for applications like AutoCAD, it could definitely be helpful if you wanted to stretch for a 2-in-1 instead that can do both.

Best 2-in-1 Laptop for Engineering Students

2022 Microsoft Surface Pro 9

I'd strongly recommend going with the 16GB RAM and 1TB storage here since you're going to be dealing with some fairly powerful applications.

The specs behind the Surface Pro are ample and slightly beyond what you need, so if you're looking for a powerhouse and something that makes note-talking feel more fun, I think this could be for you.

See price on Amazon here

Honorable Mention

Lenovo IdeaPad (2023 Edition)

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