Laptop for cad and 3d modeling

AutoCAD is heavily dependent on CPU for most of its processing so if you want to get the best laptop for AutoCAD then your choice should be heavily dependent on CPU architecture and speed.

Go to the Laptop list directly.

But that does not mean you can ignore other factors like a fast memory, SSD and GPU as slower hardware may create a bottleneck where faster CPU will remain idle if your components simply fail to deliver the data fast enough to process them.

So, the best bet is a fast CPU with fairly optimized other peripherals.

In this article, I have explained in detail all the important hardware specifications to consider when buying a laptop for AutoCAD.

The minimum system requirement as suggested by AutoCAD is almost of no use as it covers the bare minimum of hardware specs and does not address the issue of a data type with which you are working.

For a smaller data set a fairly modest configuration will just work fine but when you are working with large files and especially 3D drawings containing several features, materials, textures, camera and rendering environment then faster hardware will make your work easier.

So, let’s start with the highlight of the AutoCAD laptop i.e Processor.

Processor

AutoCAD is predominantly a single core application and apart from 2D regeneration, there is hardly anything in AutoCAD that depends on multiple cores.

But that does not make a multicore processor redundant for AutoCAD. Despite being a single core application I would recommend at least a 4-core processor with a higher clock speed.

Multiple cores will help you leave plenty of room for other applications in your laptop keeping enough room for AutoCAD to work smoothly.

Autodesk recommends a minimum of 2.5 GHz of clock speed but it is sufficient only for small 2D drawings up to a few MB’s in size for a larger data set you would need a faster CPU.

Though clock speed is an important factor when selecting a CPU don’t always rely on clock speed alone as its built architecture is also important.

As an example, an older generation CPU with higher clock speed will be outperformed by the latest-generation CPU with lower clock speed because of the architecture which will allow the CPU to process data much more efficiently.

But if you are selecting a CPU within the same generation then always go with the higher clock speed.

Another thing to look for in a processor is the size and type of Cache memory.

This is the type of memory that stores data temporarily from your application for the CPU to process but as this memory is directly available in the CPU (and in some cases on Motherboard) it is a lot faster than RAM.

Another thing to consider is overclocking which is the additional speed your CPU can gain to perform intensive tasks provided it is equipped with a sufficient cooling system.

Not all CPU’s can be overclocked, but Intel has several that can be, and you can easily identify a CPU that can be overclocked using the K or X suffix.

As an example, Intel i7 8700K can be overclocked whereas Intel Core I7 12800H can’t be overclocked.

Apart from that Xeon processors don’t support overclocking and all AMD Ryzen processors support overclocking.

Memory

RAM or the physical memory installed in your PC dictates the number of and size of concurrent programs and datasets you can have open at any one time.

Although AutoCAD can work quite easily with 8Gb of RAM for simple 2D drawings as well as some 3D components, I would recommend an absolute minimum of 16 GB of RAM considering their cheaper price and for making your laptop future proof.

But as always, more RAM will allow you to work with more programs at once and open bigger datasets.

If your CAD program requires more RAM than you have installed then windows redirects the allocation to virtual memory (section of the hard disk that is set up to emulate the computer’s RAM) that will allow you to continue to work, but you’ll find operations are slower and sluggish.

So, if you are working with larger file sizes only then upgrading to 32 GB of RAM or more will be suitable but for normal CAD workflow, 16 GB is just the sweet spot.

RAM these days are quite inexpensive and you can also purchase laptops with 8GB of RAM and later upgrade it to 16GB or more yourself which can be a lot cheaper than buying one with preinstalled 16 GB RAM.

A common mistake is to assume more RAM will automatically make your computer run faster in every department, this is incorrect.

If you have 32GB RAM installed but your programs are only using 9GB RAM, your computer will perform the same as if you had 16GB RAM installed or 64GB.

More RAM simply means you have more breathing space to work on bigger datasets before Windows begins to use the virtual memory.

Another important feature of RAM is the data speed, which is usually measured in MHz, this is the rate at which data is transferred between RAM and processor.

As you can expect higher speed is better but as AutoCAD is not a memory hog getting a very high-speed Ram may not significantly improve the performance and beyond 3200MHz it will generally decrease the overall performance.

Another thing to consider is the CAS latency.

This is the time RAM takes to access the data in the memory. Try to go with the RAM with a lower CAS number as it will have less latency.

Graphics Card (GPU)

As mentioned previously AutoCAD being a single core application it very much depends on the processor for its performance but there are areas where it uses GPU as well.

Especially in 3D rendering and when working with designs containing complex 3D models a dedicated GPU will give you a significant improvement in performance.

As far as integrated graphics is concerned, I will recommend you stay away from it if your work needs complex 3D modelling and rendering.

Even when you only work with 2D drawings you should avoid integrated GPU keeping upgradability in mind.

An Autodesk certified graphics card like NVIDIA Quadro will play well with the software and we recommend a minimum of 4GB of VRAM with 106GB/s bandwidth and DirectX 12 compliance.

So, the takeaway here is simple, if your work involves working with 2D drawings then I would recommend investing in an entry-level dedicated GPU rather than spending a ton on high-end GPU’s.

Hard Drive

Let me start this with one very important note. Never ever go with a hard disk drive (HDD) for the Boot drive always go with a Solid State Drive (SSD) where the faster the drive the better.

This may be an easily overlooked factor but if ignored this has the potential of creating a bottleneck in your system where the effect of high-end CPU, Memory and GPU will be dwarfed by the HDD which will perform slowly keeping CPU idle most of the time.

Hard disk drives are disk platters that rotate at high speed and data is read from this disk platter.

These hard disk drives are bulkier and contain a lot of moving parts.

On the contrary, there are no moving parts in Solid-state drives and hence they are generally more stable and faster too.

SSDs are generally separated into two categories identified by the communication bus they use, that being SATA or PCIe.

SATA solid-state drives are limited to roughly around 600mb/s data transfer rate, which is the limit of the SATA interface, whereas PCIe based solid-state drives can read and write at over 2500mb/s.

There are many SSDs on the market that can read and write at 3500mb/s too.

If you are on a budget a SATA SSD will be a good investment because despite the comparatively slower data transfer rate and higher latency it’s still way faster than HDD.

But for the best performance, you can go with PCIe M.2 NVMe SSD which is way faster than its traditional counterpart.

Cooling vents and Ports

These things may not look like a significant feature, but they also make quite a difference in performance.

Cooling is essential for CPU and GPU as well so you should select a laptop with a better heat vent design. Make sure you don’t block these vents and clean them regularly.

You will start noticing a significant drop in performance of CPU at higher temperatures like 70 degrees Celsius or more.

Also, invest in laptops with at least one USB 3.X port and type C as well as they may not directly help you with AutoCAD but eventually will make it convenient to attach it with external peripherals like an external hard disk or your phone.