3 Best Laptops for BIM Software in 2024

From this article, you will know what are, in our opinion, the best laptops for BIM software you can buy and use in 2024.

BIM (Building Information Modeling) software is software that can model and simulate buildings and infrastructures in 3D. Many people, such as architects, engineers, and construction project managers, use it to help them plan, design, manage, and optimize the construction projects they are responsible for.

To run BIM software, you can use a laptop. However, as BIM software can be very demanding for a laptop to run, the laptop you use should have the right model and specification quality. Using the wrong laptop can make your experience in using BIM software rather unpleasant as you may encounter considerable lags or even crashes frequently.

If you want to use a laptop to run BIM software but don’t have a capable one yet for that purpose, you might be interested in buying a new laptop. It can be confusing, nevertheless, to pick the right laptop to run BIM software with from many laptop models and specification choices out there. This is why Innovation Infinite has tried to compile a list of the best laptops for BIM software that you can use as your laptop-buying reference.

What laptops do we recommend and why do we recommend them? Let’s start digging into the list right away.

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Image	View on Amazon	Product
	View on Amazon	Dell Precision 7780
	View on Amazon	HP ZBook Fury 16
	View on Amazon	Lenovo ThinkPad P16

What are the Best Laptops for BIM Software?

Now, let’s see more about the laptops we recommend when it comes to excellent laptops to use BIM software with. Using one of these laptops should give you the laptop support you need to work in BIM software more optimally.

1. Dell Precision 7780

Dell Precision 7780 is the first laptop we think can be brilliant for BIM software usage. It is a robust workstation laptop from Dell with the model and specification quality you need to work in BIM software productively.

This laptop has a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 processor and 64GB RAM capacity as its main performance specifications. With these specifications in place, running BIM software should be smooth with this laptop. The RAM capacity, in particular, should be enough for even complex 3D building models you want to create.

This laptop is equipped with an NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada GPU with 12GB VRAM to process your 3D building models. You should be able to smoothly render and do simulations with the 3D models you have thanks to the GPU capabilities. When you need to work in an outdoor environment, this laptop’s display can reach up to 500 nits and there is an anti-glare screen on this laptop to enable you to still better see and work on your 3D building models.

Additionally, the webcam of this laptop is an FHD webcam that can make your communication experience more positive when you do video calls with your colleagues or clients to discuss the construction projects you are responsible for. All in all, this Dell Precision 7780 can be the ideal laptop choice for you to use BIM software with.

Key Features

• Screen Size, Resolution: 17.3 inches, 1920 x 1080 pixels
• Processor: 13th Gen Intel Core i7 with 20 cores and speed in the range of 2.1-5.3 GHz
• RAM Capacity: 64GB
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada with 12GB VRAM and 115W TGP
• Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD
• Battery Life (Estimation): up to 9 hours of usage capacity

Pros

• Excellent performance in running BIM software
• Sturdy build
• A full range of ports with two Thunderbolt 4 ports
• Bright display
• Comfortable keyboard to type on

Cons

• Bulky

2. HP ZBook Fury 16

HP ZBook Fury 16 is the next laptop you may want to check out during your laptop-buying process. Looking at its model and specifications, this laptop should perform well as it supports your work in BIM software.

The processor of this laptop is a 13th Gen Intel Core i9 processor. It is a powerful processor model with 24 cores and a speed that can reach up to 5.5 GHz to run the BIM software you use without much problem. To provide you with the memory space you need for your 3D building model creation, there is 64GB RAM in this laptop available for you to use.

For graphic processing, this laptop relies on an NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada GPU with 12GB VRAM. It is a fast GPU for professional work that should do its tasks well when processing your 3D building models. When you need to connect to external devices to enhance your work productivity, this laptop has a full range of ports with two Thunderbolt 4 ports you can use on its sides.

This laptop seems to have quiet fans as well so you shouldn’t disturb people around you too much when you need to work on complex 3D building models with this laptop. Overall, this HP ZBook Fury 16 can be just the laptop you need to work with BIM software productively.

Key Features

• Screen Size, Resolution: 16 inches, 1920 x 1200 pixels
• Processor: 13th Gen Intel Core i9 with 24 cores and speed in the range of 2.2-5.5 GHz
• RAM Capacity: 64GB
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada with 12GB VRAM and 115W TGP
• Storage: 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD
• Battery Life (Estimation): up to 7 hours of usage capacity

Pros

• Excellent performance in running BIM software
• Sturdy build
• A full range of ports with two Thunderbolt 4 ports
• Quiet fans
• Comfortable keyboard to type on

Cons

• Bulky

3. Lenovo ThinkPad P16

Lenovo ThinkPad P16 is another laptop that can be suitable for your BIM software usage needs. Coming from the popular Lenovo ThinkPad series, this workstation laptop can be relied on to give the performance level you need to build your 3D building models in BIM software.

To run its operations, this laptop uses a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 processor and 32GB RAM capacity. These are great specifications for a laptop to have and should handle tasks related to your BIM software usage well. You can upgrade the RAM capacity to up to 192GB later when you feel you need more memory space for your BIM-related work.

Similar to our two previously discussed laptops, this laptop’s GPU is an NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada with 12GB VRAM that should process your 3D building models quickly. When you need to work in BIM software for long hours, this laptop has a friendly-to-the-eye display that shouldn’t give you much eye strain so you can work more comfortably.

The keyboard of this laptop is also excellent to enable you to type comfortably whenever you need to input things into the BIM software you use. All in all, this Lenovo ThinkPad P16 seems to be a splendid laptop you can choose to help you work with BIM software.

Key Features

• Screen Size, Resolution: 16 inches, 2560 x 1600 pixels
• Processor: 13th Gen Intel Core i7 with 16 cores and speed in the range of 2.1-5 GHz
• RAM Capacity: 32GB
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada with 12GB VRAM and 115W TGP
• Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD
• Battery Life (Estimation): up to 9 hours of usage capacity

Pros

• Excellent performance in running BIM software
• Solid build
• A full range of ports with two Thunderbolt 4 ports
• Friendly-to-the-eye display
• Quite a flexible hinge (up to 180 degrees)
• Comfortable keyboard to type on

Cons

• Bulky

What are the Things We Should Consider When We Want to Buy a Laptop to Run BIM Software with?

Here are the things we think you should consider when you want to buy a laptop to support your work in BIM software.

• Operating system (OS). BIM software seems to only run or run best in Windows OS. Thus, to make it much simpler for you to use all the BIM software you want, you should buy a Windows laptop instead of a MacBook or a Chromebook


• Processor. You should have an excellent processor in the laptop you buy as BIM software can be very demanding for a laptop to run. We recommend a laptop with at least a late-generation i7 or Ryzen 7 processor for this


• RAM capacity. You should have a large RAM capacity in the laptop you buy so it can provide the memory space needed for your work processes in BIM software. We recommend a laptop with at least 32GB RAM for this


• GPU. BIM software needs an excellent dedicated GPU in your laptop so the 3D building models you work on there can be processed relatively fast. Thus, we recommend you buy a laptop with at least an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU with 6GB VRAM for this


• Storage. You may need to store some files related to your work in BIM software internally on your laptop so you can access them much more easily later. Thus, the laptop you buy should have adequate storage space to accommodate those files. We recommend a laptop with at least 1TB SSD storage space for this

Wrap Up

When you want to buy a laptop, you may want one that can help you work in BIM software smoothly. However, it can be confusing to pick the right laptop from many laptop choices out there. This is why Innovation Infinite has created a list of the best laptops for BIM software to help you.

To summarize, here are three laptops we recommend for BIM software usage.

• Dell Precision 7780
• HP ZBook Fury 16
• Lenovo ThinkPad P16

We hope our list can help you buy the best laptop to support your work in BIM software!



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