Choosing a laptop

SketchUp Pro
1

My son needs a new laptop to run SketchUp pro. He is only 11 and I want to stay under $500. I am having trouble finding one that has the 3D class video card.

"Recommended hardware
2+ GHz processor
8+ GB RAM
700MB of available hard-disk space
3D class video card with 1GB of memory or higher and supports hardware acceleration. Please ensure that the video card driver supports OpenGL version 3.0 or higher and is up to date.
SketchUp’s performance relies heavily on the graphics card driver and its ability to support OpenGL 3.0 or higher. To test your graphics card’s compatibility, please download and run the SketchUp 2017 Checkup application. Historically, people have seen problems with Intel-based cards with SketchUp. We don’t recommend using these graphics cards with SketchUp at this time.
3-button, scroll-wheel mouse.

Minimum hardware
1 GHz processor
4GB RAM
16GB of total hard-disk space
500MB of free hard-disk space
3D-class video card with 512MB of memory or higher and supports hardware acceleration. Please ensure that the video card driver supports OpenGL version 3.0 or higher and is up to date."

2

Hello. Whatever laptop you choose, keep in mind that in 5-6 years it will need to be replaced as laptops get old and hardware gets better year by year. I would definitely recommend Asus notebooks. Make sure the graphic card is from Nvidia not AMD Radeon as they have a history of misfunctioning with SketchUp. From my personal experience I would stay away from Acer. Have owned 2 in the past and both broke down badly. An Intel i3, 4 GB RAM, 15.6 inch would do for a start perhaps. If we throw a dedicated graphics card in, the price will be higher.

3

At your price bracket I would probably look for a used/refurbished “gaming” laptop, with a Nvidia GeForce graphics card and an overall spec near the “recommended” spec. Both the computers I use to run SketchUp at the moment have less than the recommended 1GB of Vram but with my small models I don’t seem to suffer.

4

for roughly 500 bucks check the new Acer Aspire 5 series in connection with a high-clocked dual-core i3/i5 and a GeForce MX 150 (equivalent to GT 1030 on the desktop), a review here.