Choose between the I7 6600U and the I3 1011U for your build.
Choose between the I7 6600U and the I3 1011U for your build.
You're weighing two laptops for engineering tasks—PLC coding and mechanical design. The ASUS ExpertBook P2 i3 1011U offers modern specs, while the Dell Latitude E7480 i7 6600U is an older model. Since you're an engineer working with complex software and CAD tools like Inventor and Siemens NX, performance matters more than age. The i3 provides better power efficiency and newer architecture, which can improve multitasking and long-term reliability. Unless your budget is tight, I recommend going with the ASUS P2 for its modern capabilities and future-proofing.
PLC programming isn't overly challenging. The latest laptops would be ideal, especially for longer use.
I’d likely choose the new i3. It offers greater power efficiency, improved integrated graphics that could help with NX tasks, and a longer battery life for on-the-go use. While opinions vary, the 10th generation seems to outperform the 6th despite Intel’s recent pace. There are four generations roughly spaced about four years apart.
I received a Lenovo with an i3 10110u for my grandfather, and ran it against my i7 7500u which has 8GB RAM. The i3 was dual-channel while the i7 was single-channel. I only tested Cinebench, but the i3 performed significantly better. From what I recall, the i7 scored around 280 points, whereas the i3 scored about 350.