Best Laptop for AutoCAD 2022 [Architects & Engineers]

In this article
You will be able to find a best laptop for AutoCAD; there are many options included on the below list, keeping both budget and premium users in perspective. AutoCAD is a resource consumptive program that urges us to have powerful internals equipped inside our systems to get the most out of it. While using the AutoCAD program, you will be dealing mostly with graphics, so a strong GPU is a must for that purpose. Moreover, a sturdy RAM and Processor will help you get over things swiftly. If you are in a position to buy a top rated laptop for AutoCAD, along with a list, for your ease and comfort, we have included relevant FAQs and a self-descriptive buyer’s guide with all key factors.

Best Laptop for AutoCAD 2022

1. ASUS Vivobook K571
2. Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1)
3. Lenovo IdeaPad L340
4. LG Gram 15Z90P
5. ASUS ZenBook 13
6. ASUS TUF Dash F15
7. Microsoft Surface Laptop 4
8. ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14
9. Razer Blade 15
10. Dell G5 15

Computer-aided design (CAD) software is commonly used among engineers and architects. Using such software, one can modify, analyze, and optimize to design or blueprint anything. Among CAD tools, one of the most prominent software is AutoCAD. It’s a 2D/3D design software that most engineers rely on. Now, for running it smoothly on a laptop, an engineer would obviously want the best laptop for AutoCAD.

So, if you are looking for a laptop that will run AutoCAD for you, this is the right place. We have put together some rugged laptops whose performance is beastly and will process your AutoCAD tasks like a piece of cake. We also have included some laptops which are average performers. For the same reason, they become affordable for those who don’t want to spend a hefty sum. However, those who fall within budget may not be up to the mark at all times, but they will still work. Additionally, before jumping to reviews and choosing your next companion, make sure you go through our guide, which would help you choose the best laptop for AutoCAD 2022.

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Choosing the Best Laptop for AutoCAD

If you are still confused about the best laptop for AutoCAD or what features you should prefer to have in your best notebook for AutoCAD. Here you can find all the key specifications discussed to help you clear your mind about several things.

RAM

Multitasking and putting a load on a laptop is partially tackled by RAM. For running heavy software on a computer like AutoCAD, more RAM is essential. Laptops with regular RAM can also run such software. Still, if you want maximum performance without delay, you have to go for a higher RAM. The recommended RAM for any laptop to run AutoCAD is 16GB. An 8GB RAM also works for it, but you will be facing lag most of the time, and the system might get stuck.

Graphics Card

A GPU is essential when things are related to graphical work. However, in this case, all you need is an excellent built-in GPU for the 2D version. If you are working on 3D, you might feel the need for an excellent discreet GPU. The software will still work well with a built-in GPU, but a discrete GPU’s support will definitely be the cherry on top.

Processor

For operating heavy software, the laptop must be housed with a fast processor. A sound processor helps users to perform their tasks smoothly and comfortably with good speed. For using AutoCAD on your laptop without delay, there is a need to address your laptop with the fastest processor, which can efficiently render your files. Anything above a 6th Gen core-i5 would do the work. IN simple words, the higher the speed, the better the productivity.

Storage

This factor also has a significant impact on laptop performance. There are two most used types of storage, i.e., HDD and SSD. You have to go for an SSD if you want maximum performance with fast reading and writing speed to run your software smoothly. A good SSD laptop can run AutoCAD options smoothly. An HDD will take a while to load or even saving AutoCAD files, whereas, on the other hand, an SSD will do its work in the blink of an eye.

Operating System

Before choosing a laptop for AutoCAD, you need to check the operating system because there are compatibility issues. Most developers use windows operating systems, so because of this reason, 95% of CAD applications are built for windows. Whereas on MAC, only 25% of CAD applications are made to run on this operating system. Moreover, Linux is an open-source operating system. Therefore, it is widely used by developers, and most CAD apps work on this operating system.

Battery Life

Battery life is a crucial factor while going for a top rated laptop for AutoCAD. On the above list, almost all laptops are configured with high-end specifications like Dedicated GPU, Processor, etc. So it’s pretty apparent that they cannot last a full day with a single recharge. Laptop with a battery backup of 4 to 5 hours for demanding AutoCAD workloads should be considered as a good to go with option.

Ports

Decent Input and Output ports also play a vital role in AutoCAD laptop, as ports offer you the versatility to connect essential peripherals regarding your work. USB Type-C with Thunderbolt 3 standards is the center of interest for many because of its faster file transfer speeds (40GB/sec), similarly USB 3.1 Gen1, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, an HDMI port, SD-card reader, Ethernet port, Mini-Display, and Headphone/microphone combo jack. These are some essential ports that you should consider while buying your best laptop for AutoCAD.

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Best Laptop for AutoCAD 2022

1. ASUS Vivobook K571

Best overall

ASUS Vivobook K571 REVIEW: Asus Vivibook K571 being on top is a worthy laptop in the contest with ultimate potential for geeks mostly dealing with powerful graphics related programs like AutoCAD, etc. Asus is known for years for integrating latest and quality internals in laptops to ensure high-end performance. K571 comes with a glossy full high definition 15.6 inches and 120 hertz native refresh rate display screen to capture each pixel perfectly in detail. The affordable price tag, Amazing overall performance, decent port combination, Expandable RAM and dual storage option makes the contender stand tall among others. Without a second thought, go for Asus K571 if you want best laptop for AutoCAD 2022.

2. Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020)

Powerful Mac laptop for 3D modeling

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020) REVIEW: Apple’s 13 inch MacBook Pro M1 (2020) is an outstanding and incredible laptop of the Pro lineup. It has all the robust power which the professional creators need and is so far the best laptop for CAD and 3D modeling & rendering. The Pro 13-inch has the same design and Magic keyboard with TouchBar as its predecessor; still, it looks premium and is quite portable. Sporting a 13.3-inch Retina display with a native resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels (like its predecessor), the screen is bright, vibrant, and offers excellent color reproduction. What Apple has done in this model is the inclusion of its own SoC, i.e., M1 Chip, that differentiates it from the previous MacBook Pro models and also makes the Pro 13 an ultimate rival of the competitors. The M1 Chip offers 3.5x and 6x faster CPU and GPU performance, respectively, as compared to the predecessor. So, with this supreme and powerhouse performance, the MacBook Pro 13 handles any type of CAD-related challenging jobs without any issues.

3. Lenovo IdeaPad L340

Best design

Lenovo IdeaPad L340 REVIEW: IdeaPad L340 by Lenovo is a handy introduction to the list of best latops for AutoCad 2022, even thought the laptop comes on a budget side, but still carries amazing set of features to ensure premium performance. 8GB RAM storage and 9th generation processor offers you enough potential to deal with power consumptive programs. SSD storage enables you to more swiftly process files, FHD resolutions display screen gives satisfactory visual crisp, GTX 1650 is a blessing for pro-gamers, 6 hours battery life and the good looking overall design is what you should consider before going for any other on the list.

4. LG Gram 15Z90P

Portable laptop for AutoCAD

LG Gram 15Z90P REVIEW: LG is famous for manufacturing portable yet powerful laptops and for the same reason, LG is praised by its users. Meanwhile, LG has added a new addition to its Gram series, the Gram 15Z90P model. Design-wise, the laptop looks gorgeous with a black finish and thin bezels around the screen. Its ultra-portable nature is making the Gram 15 a perfect choice for those AutoCAD users and engineers who are always on the go or want a portable machine. At the same time, the robust internals that it is housed with like 11th gen processor and 8GB of RAM makes it a powerhouse for professionals. Further, it features a 15.6 inches FHD display that is quite detailed, color-rich, and bright, and when coupled with the Iris Xe graphics, the screen is ideal for high-res content creation and editing. Hence all these powerful internals and incredible features including 10 hours of battery backup, make it great for AutoCAD.

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5. ASUS ZenBook 13

Ultra-slim laptop for AutoCAD

ASUS Zenbook 13 REVIEW: The Asus Zenbook 13 radiates pure excellence with its astounding design and ultimate performance. Movies and games with true colors and in-depth details, feels immersive on the low-bezel 13.3 inches full high definition display screen. Also the biggest plus that Asus Zenbook 13 offers is its secondary screen on touch pad for quickly navigating things. Keyboard with its auto-tilt feature for comfortable typing is an interesting catch. Performance section is backed by a powerful processor, RAM, and SSD for more faster file processing. Intel Integrated HD Graphics 620 provide smooth and rich colors. last thing about Zenbook 13, the laptop’s speakers are not much loud for a large hall or a large room.

6. ASUS TUF Dash F15

High-end laptop with ultimate graphics

ASUS TUF Dash F15 REVIEW: The Asus’ new TUF Dash F15 is one of the powerful laptop for AutoCAD as it is backed by well-capable GPU, latest Tiger Lake-H processor and a bright display. Design-wise, the laptop look premium and durable. Apart from that, the Dash F15 is quite portable and lightweight as it weighs 4.4 pounds and has 0.78 inches thickness. Further, the 15.6 inch display is sufficiently bright, vivid and sharp and along with this, it offers a 240Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time. The best laptop for AutoCAD will not let you down on the performance side as it is housed with 11th Gen Core i7 processor and RTX 3060 GPU. Hence, a laptop that comes with such incredible and robust specs is surely capable of handling high-end AutoCAD tasks without compromising the performance. Not only this but TUF Dash F15 brings a comfortable RGB backlit keyboard.

7. Microsoft Surface Laptop 4

Power.Portable.Sleek

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 REVIEW: Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is a top rated laptop for AutoCAD with ultra-portable nature, large and bright display screen, latest 11th Gen CPU, RAM, SSD, and well-capable GPU. The laptop is configured with a well-placed key caps and low key travel keyboard for easy and comfortable long typing sessions. Moreover, getting a touch screen technology enables you to swiftly navigate between different tasks at a time, the Microsoft Surface has a 15.6 inch touch display screen. Also, the display is amazingly bright and colorful. Graphical power is backed by Intel Iris Xe Graphics while the 11th Gen Intel Core i5 is there for powerhouse performance. Above all, the Surface Laptop 4 provides a battery backup of 14 hours which will be for you all-day long AutoCAD tasks.

8. ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14

120Hz display

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 REVIEW: Although the Zephyrus G14 is a great gaming laptop but the latest and mighty specifications makes it an ideal choice for complex drawing, 2D and 3D modeling. Along with this, the G14 brings a long-lasting battery backup and portability. Speaking of its design, the G14 is extremely stylish, slim and light as it weighs 3.5 pounds and has thinness of 0.7 inches. Above all, it offers a 120Hz 14-inch impressive display that is bright, colorful and sharp that’s why you can use the laptop outdoor. Armed with Ryzen 9 processor and RTX 2060 Max-Q GPU, the best laptop for CAD offers more than enough performance for your high-end multitasking and productivity. Also, the keyboard provides responsive and satisfying typing experience due to the well-placed keys and better key travel.

9. Razer Blade 15

Durable laptop for AutoCAD

Razer Blade 15 REVIEW: If you want a best laptop for CAD software and professional gaming, Razer Blade 15 is what that can fully fulfill your dreams. The most elegant in competition and best with specifications. The laptop comes with a 15.6 inches bright display screen with FHD (Full high definition) resolution to perfectly display each capture each pixel. Also, the lightweight nature of Razer blade 15 offers you amazing portability, you can carry laptop on your business and family trips easily. Performance is backed by i7 processor, merely manufactured to handle heavy tasks. Apart from that, the laptop offers 16GB & 256GB of RAM and SSD storage to store files. Decent port combination offers you freedom to connect your daily essential peripherals. In short, if you are in a position to pay the price, there’s nothing that can beat Razer blade 15’s class.

10. Dell G5 15

Best for graphics designing

Dell G5 15 REVIEW: The Dell G5 15 is manufactured in order to bring out your battle cry. Configured with powerful internals to let you experience the unrivaled speed. You are getting a 9th generation Intel Core i7-9750H processor to handle intensive programs like AutoCAD etc. The FHD (Full high definition) resolution 15.6 inches screen is themed to bring you the best graphical performance alongside a demanding Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card. The anti-glare nature and narrow bezels around the display is what adds more to G5 15’s worth. Dell is keeping its legacy alive by providing high-end specification with an affordable price tag. The laptop holds advanced thermal design with dual fans and 7 hour of battery backup with a single recharge.

Performance Requirements for 2D vs 3D Modeling?

If you are using AutoCAD or plan to use it, you must know that the software allows you to do 2D and 3D modeling. And it is evident that 2D modeling requires less performance from your laptop’s components than 3D Models. The point of all this is that if you will be only using the software for 2D modeling or maybe you are just a beginner, you should not spend a lot and buy something costly. On the other hand, if you are a professional and you do a lot of surfaces and solid 3D models via AutoCAD, then you need to have a minimum of 16GB RAM, 2.5 GHz and above CPU clock speed, and a graphics card with at least 4GB VRAM and good bandwidth.

What is the Role of CPU in AutoCad and 3D Modeling?

All the new processors you see are multi-core, and you must have seen Quad-Core and Octa-Core written with CPU names. This means a processor has more than one core which acts as a CPU itself. So multiple cores help you because an octa-core processor means you have 8 CPUs working at a time on your task. Next is a processor’s clock speed; the higher the clock speed, the more a processor can do in a second. As an example, a 3.0 GHz processor executes 3 billion cycles per second. So a minimum of 2.5 GHz is recommended to use AutoCAD smoothly. And last but not least comes multi-threading. This functionality within your CPU allows each core to run multiple tasks in a queue with the help of your laptop OS. So, in short, a multi-core processor which is enabled with multi-threading and comes with a good clock speed will do wonders whenever you put it to work.

What is the Role of Graphics Card in AutoCAD and 3D Modeling?

When you jump to 3D modeling from 2D Modeling, this is where AutoCAD demands more graphical power. It is understandable because with 3D modeling, we add an extra dimension, and things go further in-depth. This is why your new laptop for AutoCAD must come with a good graphics card. This does not necessarily mean that you should have the latest graphics card on your laptop. However, something with a minimum of 4GB VRAM and a bandwidth of 29 GB/s is considered recommended. And being honest, the said specs are at a very low level. In our laptops for AutoCAD reviews below, you will get even better specs for lower prices.

What is the Recommended RAM storage for AutoCAD?

As we know that AutoCAD combines a set of various tools like 2D & 3D Mapping, Architectural design enhancement tools, Electrical design tools, etc. It means that there would be several power-intensive tasks going on in-parallel. A laptop with 8GB of RAM storage should be considered the minimum because 4GB won’t work for now. If you see yourself as a professional and dealing with more intensive workloads, go for 16GB and 32GB in case of workstation-centric workloads.

Is gaming laptop good for AutoCAD?

Gaming laptops are almost equipped with the same internals as laptops for AutoCAD. It depends on the level of experience as well, like a beginner to AutoCAD can go for a gaming laptop as it can cover most of the things easily. But suppose you see yourself on a professional side dealing with intensive AutoCAD workloads. In that case, you will need a dedicated system to keep things smooth without any interruption.