If you are looking for a perfect dedicated GPU laptop for Data Science projects, then this post will definitely help you out. I have poured my experience making the list.
Data science is a big umbrella under which we have Data Analytics, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning. The first two can be done with any good programming laptop. But for Deep Learning, you need a powerful GPU for processing tons of media files. Majority of the time you have to deal with thousands and thousands of images to train the model. All these activities require a huge amount of processing power. An ordinary laptop might heat too much during training the model and damage itself.
If you are looking for just a good programming laptop and don’t want to involve in Deep Learning projects, it’s better to check this page for the best programming laptop.
What to consider in a Data Science Laptop
The graphics processing unit (GPU)
The clear-cut function of a GPU is to render images on the screen. Originally designed to accelerate the rendering of 3D graphics, GPU has become one of the most important types of computing technology.
GPU is used in a wide range of applications, including graphics and video rendering, and shows its real power in Gaming, creative production, and artificial intelligence (AI). A data science sort of activity depends hugely on this organ of the laptop, the more powerful the GPU is, the better and faster it renders your tasks.
There are two types of GPU, integrated and dedicated (discrete). An integrated GPU does not come on its own separate card at all and is instead embedded alongside the CPU. While a dedicated GPU is a distinct chip that is mounted on its own circuit board and is typically attached to a PCI Express slot. For better performances in Machine Learning, we would recommend you go with the dedicated one. The two large companies that produce GPU are AMD and NVIDIA. If you want to learn more about GPUs, you can visit the intel site.
CPU
The processor of the laptop is the heart where all the processing takes place. It fetches the task, interprets it according to the program’s instructions, executes it, and writes back the output.
How fast your program will run depends hugely on it. If you are looking for a good laptop for Data Science, we would recommend going with at least the latest generation of intel core i7 or equivalent for AMD, Ryzen 7. Best i7 windows laptop.
Drive
The computer Drive stores all the files and data present in a computer permanently. Whenever you open a file in a computer, data is transferred from the drive to the RAM. More the free spaces in your drive, the smoother data transfer will occur.
There are two types of Drives that you usually see on your laptop, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and SSD (Solid Disk Drive). SSD is comparatively faster than HDD because it has not any movable parts or any electric circuitry.
We advise you to first consider those laptops which have SSD in them and for Data Science projects we recommend you to go with at least 512GB SSD. But if you are going with HDD, consider at least a 1TB HDD laptop for optimal performance.
RAM
You can imagine RAM in a computer as a platter to eat food. When you want to eat something, you take the food from the large container and put it into the platter a portion you want to eat. After eating, you just clean the platter.
So in a laptop or PC, all the data and programs are stored in Drive (container here) and when you run any programs(s), you actually take it from the Drive and put it into the RAM (platter here), and when you close the program, the RAM gets cleaned as there left nothing on it. So, the larger the platter (RAM) is, the more the amount of food (programs) can be taken in it.
As a Data Scientist, I would recommend you go with at least 8GB of RAM to run your AI environment peacefully. Larger RAM also allows you to multitask, like editing while coding and recording screens while coding for making tutorials, etc.
Cooling Capacity
This can’t be neglected in a laptop that you are using for heavy applications. While gaming, Machine Learning, and Graphic editing, the CPU throttle itself to boost the power. This produces a lot of heat which needs to be pulled out to protect the laptop. Not every laptop is designed to have a good thermal flow. Therefore it becomes very necessary to choose a laptop for Data Science that has good thermal cooling capacity.
Best Laptop for Data Science
Dell XPS 9710
Features:
| Screen | 17inches, UHD+ Touch Display |
| Processor | Intel i7-11800H |
| Storage | 1TB SSD |
| RAM | 32GB |
| GPU | GeForce RTX 3050 |
| Price | $2,399, see the current price |
Dell is known for making quality electronic products. With their long experience in tech and innovations, they are ruling the computer industry. The XPS series of Dell laptops are very successful in terms of sales and they have various series from 13 to 15 to 17. There are various models under each series of XPS.
In my experience, this XPS 17 9710 laptop is one of the top-notch candidates for qualifying as one of the best laptops for Machine Learning, Data Science, and other heavy task applications in the windows system because of its performance, look, and lightweight.
This laptop comes with a 17-inch UHD display with a touchscreen display. The 500 nits of brightness are good to work even in sunlight with an anti-glare feature to remove eye strain. The InfinityEdge corners of the screen increase the screen sizes and give water falling feel. On top of that, it has Dolby Vision, which means you gonna get greater depth, incredible contrast, and more colors.
Powered with Intel Core i7 11th gen processor with 8 Cores, 16 Threads, and up to 4.6GHz Max Turbo Frequency, combined with massive 32G RAM and an ultra-fast 1TB SSD, this laptop has enough power to quality as a slim-portable desktop. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 card with 4GB GDDR6 dedicated graphic memory, gives it the real power to render and process the task on the screen.
Finally, if you are looking for a powerful yet slim laptop for Data Science projects, 3D rendering, game development, and gaming, this XPS 17 9710 is worth considering to have on your table.
Apple MacBook Pro 14
Features:
| Screen | 14inch, Liquid Retina XDR Display |
| Processor | M1 Pro Chip, 10 Core |
| Storage | 1TB SSD |
| RAM | 32GB |
| GPU | M1 Pro Chip, 16 Core |
| Price | $2,891, see the current price |
No one doubts the performance when the device is manufactured by Apple Inc. If you can afford it, this might be the best option if you are looking for a laptop in MacOS for Machine Learning and Data Science kind of stuff.
The 14-inch screen comes with a Liquid Retina XDR display, which means, for a brighter image, the screen produces higher resolution employing mini-LEDs. The XDR stands for ‘Extreme Dynamic Range.
The Apple M1 Pro chip’s 10-core CPU delivers up to 3.7x faster performance to fly through pro workflows quicker than ever and its 16-core GPU with up to 13x faster performance for graphics-intensive apps and games, giving you a massive leap in processing and machine learning performance.
It has very good thermal ventilation for cooling your device at maximum throttling of the CPU during heavy application running. The battery life is amazing, having 11hrs to 17hrs depending upon the task you are doing. If you are looking for a slim, lightweight yet powerful laptop for Data Science and Machine Learning applications, this should be on your top list.
HP Omen 2022
Features:
| Screen | 17.3, QHD, IPS Panel |
| CPU | 12th Gen Intel i7 |
| Storage | 1TB SSD |
| RAM | 32GB DDR5 |
| GPU | GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, 8GB |
| Price | $2,389, see the current price |
HP is among the top 3 brands worldwide that make reliable business laptops and PCs. With their long experience in technology and innovations, hp is known for providing more power in a laptop as compared to DELL at the same price level.
This laptop, HP Omen 2022 model has a big screen of 17 inches that is very helpful in data visualization and multitasking. The resolution is QHD and you will get an IPS panel, which means the color and contrast are going to be a more accurate, and anti-glare feature. The brightness is 300nits which is average but would not be a problem unless you use this in direct sunlight outside.
This laptop comes with a powerful latest 12th generation Core i7 processor having 16 cores and 25MB cache memory. Combined with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (8GB), this laptop makes no compromises when it comes to raw power and performance, giving you extreme power while dealing with heavy data processing, machine learning, and gaming.
This HP Omen has an ample amount of storage, a 1TB fast SSD, which you can use to store tons of programs and media files without feeling the need to delete the older ones. The 32GB DDR5 RAM makes no compromise while dealing with heavy programs and applications, and multitasking, giving you a very smooth experience.
For all the above reasons and user reviews, this HP Omen laptop has the full right to be on our list of best Data Science laptops.
MSI Stealth 17 Studio
Features:
| Screen | 17.3″ QHD |
| Processor | Intel Core i9-13900H |
| Storage | 1TB NVMe SSD |
| RAM | 32GB DDR5 |
| GPU | RTX 4080 |
| Price | $2,799, see the current price |
No doubt, MSI has become one of the prominent names for making quality gaming and creativity laptops, PCs, and accessories.
This laptop comes equipped with the 13th Gen. Intel Core i9 processor with improved hybrid core architecture, up to 6 Performance-cores and 8 Efficient-cores, for better multitasking works and running demanding games.
With this laptop, you’re going to get a wide 17.3 inches QHD screen with a 240Hz refresh rate and 100% DCI-P3 display for abundant color gamut, more vivid colors and details.
With 32GB massive DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB SSD fast drive, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 GPU powered by the Ada architecture, you can unleash the full glory of ray tracing, which simulates how light behaves in the real world.
The cooler boost system has 7 heat pipes with a new Shared-Pipe design to help improve the thermal capability under extreme loads.
Overall, this is really a powerful laptop for data science, gaming, and other complex applications. The battery life could be an issue after a year.
ASUS VivoBook Pro 15X
Features:
| Screen | 15.6inch, FHD, 144Hz |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX |
| Storage | 1TB SSD |
| RAM | 32GB DDR5 |
| GPU | RTX 3070 |
| Price | $1,799, see the current price |
According to certain reports, ASUS is the world’s No. 1 motherboard and gaming brand as well as a top-three consumer notebook vendor. ASUS laptops are generally known for providing better gaming and creative experiences.
The ASUS VivoBook Pro 15x is a dedicated gaming laptop, which means, it is equipped with huge power for all sorts of jobs. VivoBook Pro 15x comes with a 15.6 inches Full HD screen with a good refresh rate of 144Hz. The bezel is ultra-slim NanoEdge which gives a wider view experience.
The laptop Comes with a powerful processor of AMD Ryzen 9 having 8-core and 16-thread, 16MB cache, and 4.9 GHz max boost. This AMD processor is equivalent to Intel Core i9 12900H. Combined with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 graphic card, having 8GB GDDR6 memory, this laptop is studio ready for doing all sorts of Data Science projects, visualizations, 3D rendering, heavy complex applications, and gaming.
You will get a fast and ample amount of storage (1TB SSD) in this laptop to store lots of software and application, no need to care about disk emptying. 32GB DDR5 RAM is more than enough to run all sorts of memory-hungry applications and multitasks.
The thermal outtake system of this laptop is designed very well to cool your laptop during max throttling. The battery life of the laptop is neither good, nor bad is average and can be improved.