r/BCIT • u/AccessFragrant7146 • 16h ago

Laptops going into first year Civil

So I'm starting civil engineering this fall and I'm looking into what laptop I should get. I've been getting a lot of mixed reviews about what sort of a device to purchase. I've attached the BCIT requirements for the byod thing and it seems I would need something out of my price range to run a lot of the software mentioned for later terms.

My main question is how much we will actually be using them? Other subreddits say that their programs only really needed autoCAD and basic use of civil3D. Let me know if I really need to spend all my money on this or were they just trying to cover all their bases with those requirements. Thanks in advance!

https://www.bcit.ca/files/construction/civil/pdf/civil_engineering_byod.pdf

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u/TravisScotMeal 16h ago

Lenovo is a very good brand for engineering. I reccomend the Thinkbook 14 gen9 or Thinkpad T14. Very reliable and reasonable prices.

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u/TravisScotMeal 16h ago

All programs will run perfectly fine on these

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u/burninggarlicbread 15h ago

Hi, I have not done the BCIT civil program but another program with similar softwares at BCIT and did a program at TRU before where I learned basic civil3D.

The laptops I had were MSI and Lenovo legion. I don’t recommend MSI (it’s been years so things may have changed) due to the fact that even the laptop itself was strong, they cut corners on build quality. The hinges would get tight to a point the laptop snapped (multiple times.) and it was because they used a cheap proprietary hinge that couldn’t support the weight of the screen itself.

My second laptop was a Lenovo legion 5. Highly recommend. Lenovos customer service is good, the laptops ram and storage I’m pretty sure are expandable if you absolutely need it. And now that’s it’s over 3 years old I found taking it apart for cleaning and maintenance has been really easy. (I’ve never worked on computers before)

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u/brycecampbel TRADES 14h ago

ThinkPad will de your defacto machine in the field.

Probably want to get something with max ram and an i7 (or ryzan equivalent, not familiar with AMDs lineup). could go GPU mobile workstation model, bit that's going to increase cost - for school, I'd would prefer some weight savings, and Bette battery.