I’m a frequent flier to various architecture-related Facebook and Reddit communities. One thing I see asked every single day—sometimes multiple times a day—is the age-old question: “what laptop should I get for architecture?” It can be a really difficult one to answer without asking follow-up questions to help narrow options based on needs and workflows. Student or professional? Project manager or visualization enthusiast? Tight budget or no expense spared? I often do ask for the missing information; but I don’t get a response. They’ve moved on. It keeps me up at night wondering what laptop the poor random souls on the internet ended up getting to do door schedules and reply to emails on the weekend.

Regardless, I jump at answering this question when I can. It’s a topic close to my heart that I’ve been exploring for years. Over the past decade, I’ve bought/returned/resold probably 50 laptops as I’ve looked for the perfect one. Everything ranging from Apple to Dell to Surface to Razer to Alienware and more. I’ve never quite found it. I’ve gotten close, but there’s always some issue for some niche of my workflow that sours me. Plus new shiny stuff is always coming out. Sometimes it’s the allure of more power; sometimes it’s a new gimmick that seems cool for architecture work. But I’ve never given up on the mission. And that’s allowed me to attempt to best answer the questions from online strangers a little more thoughtfully than most, I think.

I’m going to keep attempting to answer that question, of course, but I thought I’d create a webpage to try and help people make an informed decision without even less difficulty than sorting through comments and trying to make sense of them all. If you find yourself on this page without a clue on what you need except you know you don’t want a webcam that looks up your nose while you’re on Zoom calls, scroll on down and see what I would recommend.

Disclaimer: I’ll try to keep this page updated as new stuff comes about or my opinions change—and keep in mind—this page is my opinions. I have biases. I’m neither sponsored nor rich. I haven’t tested every computer. I aim to be a solid resource, but I’m not the end-all-be-all with a closet full of laptops that were sent to me by brands (maybe one day?). You may loathe a brand I like for silly, yet valid, personal reasons. My workflow may differ greatly from yours. And my preferences for subjective matters such as the way a keyboard feels may conflict with yours entirely. That said, if you still find value in my insight, but can’t pull the trigger on what I’m recommending you purchase with your hard-earned cash (or your company’s tax write-off), leave a comment and let’s try to figure out what makes the most sense for you.

The page is current as of May 2024.