Identify the Unique Requirements for Engineering Students
Students and faculty across academic disciplines need devices that support a diverse set of common computing activities throughout the day, from email and content creation to video-based learning and collaboration. Those in the engineering field require even more powerful capabilities to support the data-intensive software programs they use and the leading research and development work they do.
While one approach to device selection is to start by considering basic capabilities, when it comes to computers for engineering students, understanding the most-complex computing needs will help ensure devices keep pace with students through advanced coursework and graduate-level programs.
Evaluate and Narrow Your Device Options
To help you select or recommend devices with the flexibility and performance needed for engineering, we’ve assembled helpful guidance on the key device attributes to consider.
Select a Form Factor That Meets Student and Learning Environment Needs
Discovery happens everywhere—on or off campus at any time. Intel-based laptops for engineering students provide a balanced blend of uncompromised performance with the portability and usability needed to do resource-intensive work from any location. This can be especially important when time is of the essence, such as compiling and testing code, rendering drawings, or processing data to inform the next steps in an experiment or in-flight workflow.
To help students maximize productivity from wherever their day takes them, a laptop with a touch screen or a versatile 2-in- 1 option can deliver the best of all worlds: ready for notetaking and textbook reading with a tap of a pen or finger and outfitted with a full-size keyboard when it’s time to write reports or extensive code.
Intel works directly with leading technology manufacturers, including HP, Dell, Lenovo, ASUS, Acer, and others, to make a wide selection of Intel-powered devices available to meet your specific form factor, performance, and budget needs and give you more flexibility and choice in your purchasing decision.
For example, we partnered with known brands to coengineer Intel® Evo™ Edition laptops powered by Intel® Core™ Ultra processors. These laptops deliver new AI-enabled experiences alongside supercharged performance to support advanced, innovative use cases and demanding applications like those in engineering.
Available in a variety of designs, Intel® Evo™ Edition laptops are tested, tuned, and verified to enable the best overall laptop experience.1 These thin and light laptops offer touch screen or 2-in-1 formats, seamless extended screen sharing with iOS and Android devices via the Intel® Unison app, AI-optimized audio and video streaming, immersive graphics, high performance, low power processing, and longer-lasting battery life.
- Learn more about Intel® Evo™ Edition laptops
- Discover the groundbreaking AI-enabled benefits of the Intel® Core™ Ultra family of processors
- Explore available Intel®-powered laptop options for performance and portability
Select a Preferred Operating System (OS) to Support Evolving Software Requirements
For engineering students, it’s important to consider the OS requirements of the key software applications used in core classes and within their engineering specialization. Some software will only run on the Windows OS, while others may be accessible through a virtual desktop or have versions that work on several OSs.
Intel-based devices provide a range of operating system choices and the ability to run multiple OSs natively, including Windows, Ubuntu Linux, and ChromeOS.
Additionally, Intel® Virtualization Technology, available on laptops with Intel® Core™ and Intel® Core™ Ultra processors, helps simplify the common practice of switching between different operating system workloads on the same device, whether to streamline code testing across multiple OSs or to isolate personal, academic, and professional workloads for increased information security.
Choose a CPU That Provides Optimal Performance Over Time
Laptops for engineering students will need to support multitasking, video streaming, content creation, and a range of productivity and engineering-specific applications, often simultaneously. Selecting a processor that provides this level of required computing power with as few disruptions as possible is key for learning and discovery.
When selecting a processor:
- Identify the recommended, optimal processor requirements for mandatory engineering software applications. Keep in mind that future software updates may require additional performance beyond current specs as new features and capabilities are added.
- Consider additional performance power needed for advanced use cases, such as curricula or labs that leverage AI-based workloads. To future-proof your investment, consider how these performance needs may change over the course of a multiyear degree.
- For devices intended for use outside of engineering labs, ensure that the selected processor provides a level of performance that meets or exceeds the needs of the engineering curriculum and across the educational spectrum.
Intel-powered devices are available with a range of processors—including proven Intel® Core™ processors and AI-enabled Intel® Core™ Ultra processors—to meet the varying and demanding needs of any higher education and engineering program.
- See our Intel® processor family quick comparison guide, where you can also learn about our updated processor naming conventions.
- Dive deeper into how to evaluate and select processors based on workload needs in this white paper from MOOR Insights & Strategy.
Assess How to Best Support the Use of AI
With the global adoption of AI and integration of AI into all aspects of higher education, students and faculty need PCs that provide a level of performance matched to the workload complexity and scale of the AI initiatives they are involved in. They will need consistent performance when using AI-assisted productivity tools and the highest level of computing power and performance when using AI in their projects and research.
- Learn about AI-specific technology needs for higher education, and find AI programs and resources for students and teachers in our article, “Technologies to Enable Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education”.
- Bring the power of AI to students and faculty with the AI PC powered by Intel® Core® Ultra processors. AI acceleration built into every processor enables enhanced productivity, collaboration, and creativity with fast CPU response, high graphics throughput, and greater power efficiency when used for computing-intense activities such as processing AI datasets.
Evaluate Memory and Storage Options for Optimal Performance and Scalability
Large datasets in popular engineering software suites will benefit from as much onboard RAM and storage as you can allot on a smaller form-factor laptop. Consider 16 GB of RAM as a minimum or 32 GB and above for those who expect to use the most-data-intensive applications. Also consider that software memory requirements will increase over time with application updates, so selecting a laptop with additional RAM or an upgradable memory option will help to extend the useful life of your device.
High-performance engineering design and programming applications will also require more memory bandwidth to help minimize lag and disruptions to learning progress. To support this, look for laptops with RAM types of DDR4 or DDR5, both of which are available on Intel-powered devices.
Large digital files are common outputs from engineering coursework. When evaluating laptop storage needs, consider 512 GB as a sufficient requirement, with 1 TB or more recommended when running multiple virtual machines or working with digital media or large datasets, such as those common in engineering workloads. Intel-based devices are available with a range of storage sizes and solid-state drive (SSD) and hard disk drive (HDD) options.
Solid-state drives are often the more popular choice for laptops because they are faster and more power-efficient than HDDs. The speed of SSDs can accelerate OS and application and service startup times and storage-intensive tasks. As SSDs are all digital, they can also better withstand laptops being dropped or bumped—an important factor to consider for a device that is portable by design.
Confirm Devices Provide Necessary Connectivity and Compatibility
When evaluating your form factor options, also assess available connectivity protocols, including Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth, to provide reliable, responsive, and higher-bandwidth connections that minimize learning disruptions and quick access to wireless devices. To enable students to connect to external devices and accessories, confirm the availability of standard compatibility ports for USB, USB-C or Thunderbolt™ 4, HDMI, and headphones.
Laptops with Thunderbolt™ 4 provide their users with additional benefits, including the ability to daisy chain up to five devices, along with powerful charging and data and video transfer capabilities. Learn more about Thunderbolt™ 4.
When it comes to connectivity and compatibility, Intel® Evo™ Edition laptops help to simplify your evaluation process, as they offer no less than the Wi-Fi 6E standard and support the high-speed Thunderbolt™ 4 protocol.
Weigh Graphics Options Based on Engineering Specialty
The type of graphics card needed for engineering student and faculty laptops may vary by engineering specialty. For example, integrated graphics will meet most students’ needs, providing a balance of performance without taxing the laptop’s battery and memory. However, students in fields such as mechanical engineering that run graphics-intensive programs for 3D modeling and simulations or those working on virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) may benefit from discrete graphics cards with dedicated power and memory for faster rendering of high-resolution images.
Devices with Intel® Iris® Xe graphics technology deliver amazing HD video capabilities that support high-resolution image quality for video streaming and screen viewing and the graphics performance needed for creating and sharing original content. For users who need an even higher level of performance, Intel® Arc™ GPUs enable AI-augmented and accelerated immersive experiences, including text-to-image generation and AI-accelerated video editing.
- Learn more about Intel® Arc™ GPUs and the experiences they deliver on Intel-based laptops.
- Learn about the benefits of GPUs and how they accelerate a broad range of applications well beyond traditional graphics rendering.
Equip Your Engineering Students, Faculty, and Institution with Laptops Built for Learning
Enabled with their laptops, today’s engineering students will benefit from and contribute to the speed of technological innovation unlocked by ubiquitous access to AI and greater computing power.
As you move forward with selecting laptops for institution-wide or individual use, devices that offer you the flexibility of choice to meet current and future needs will provide a greater return on your investment and consistently support learning over a longer period.
Additionally, we understand the importance of protecting students, faculty, and staff from cyber threats that can compromise their safety, security, and privacy. To provide the level of protection needed without making securing devices an arduous task or impacting performance, all Intel-based laptops come with a level of integrated, multilayer hardware-based security technologies.
- If you are ready to take the next step in purchasing Intel-based laptops for engineering for your institution, contact your IT provider.
- If you are a student looking to purchase an Intel-based laptop for engineering, start by referring to your institution’s website for recommendations.
- For IT teams within higher education institutions looking for additional technology, solutions, and resources, visit our Higher Education hub.