my sister does the same study and uses a software called "autocad", i don't know if your sister uses the same.
i looked it up since i didn't know the specs required and apprently it requires at the very least something like 3GHz GPU while 4 up to 6 Gb CPU should be enough.
Hope it helps

Why not just ask her what software she uses?

my brother became an architect and he used the top model macbook pro with a windows dual boot

this guy is right about autocad but wrong about literally everything else

from what I read on autodesk's website autocad recommends 8gb of ram and a dx11 compatible graphics card so I wouldn't worry about putting down much cash on the computer.

if she insists on spending more I would look into more quality of life features like an ssd boot drive a nice webcam and mic, or touchscreen compatibility

overall most architecture programs are like stripped down 3d modelling programs so they really dont require a powerhouse pc, even if she is using a different program

thanks for good advice :)
think we're settled on this; might not need the strength of the cpu and gpu but it can't hurt to have good specs if it's within budget. seems to have decent media features and what not as you said so should be good :)

said she wasn't sure as the course hadn't started, but thinks it's probably autocad

Another thing to consider is that she might not want such a big laptop if she's taking it to uni everyday, 15 inch is manageable but not great imo

i guess so, hard to find notebooks with good specs though :/ she's used to using a large laptop anyway from old one

I'm studying Architecture and, although this might be very specific to my university and my age, you need to do a lot of work with Autocad and Photoshop, maybe with some more 3D-oriented programs like Rhinoceros or rendering software. Right now, I use exclusively Photoshop and Autocad to make plans. Some time ago I tried others but, like everyone, I kept using the programs and the method that lets me create the plans I want to make.

I don't know how this is in England, but it's possible that she will have to use BIM software like Revit, which I haven't used too much. What people told you above is more or less true, but in general, a GPU with CUDA can help you with Photoshop quite a bit. I haven't rendered absolutely anything in years since I do all my images with Photoshop, but I would think having a good card will also make it much more bearable.

Autocad isn't meant for Architecture and, even though it has improved quite a while since some years ago, the plans that you end up using -cartography and such for urbanism classes- tend to be complete crap and will make you want to end your life unless your CPU can stand it. Trying to process hundreds of hatches and splines is a nightmare when each command takes several seconds to process.

I would say an SSD is really important, not only for the QoL but also because some Photoshop files end up being really large and it has a file cache the program uses to improve the time to apply filters and such. And, even if it's only for opening files, I consider it a godsend. RAM is also really great. Photoshop will eat as much as you want to give to it, and Autocad... Well, it's Autocad.

Apart from this, other programs -for example for structure calculations- that I've had to use have been really awful and my friends were having a very bad time with their PCs because their CPUs weren't very good and tended to crash really frequently.

My most important advice is that she makes sure what she's going to use and plan for that first. Tell her to ask people in the senior years of her uni, they'll know better than me, probably. All of this is useless if she will use Revit 90% of the time. Plus, if this is anything like my first year, she might not even use Autocad at all, like some of my friends did.

And don't get a PC that's too big. It's a bad idea.

^ This is also what I'm very confused about. Any time I ever need to use any CAD/matlab for my classes I just go to the Engineering lab.

If she is going to extensively be using AutoCAD a one year license is $1400 + all the other programs that she might have to acquire.

yeah but pirating is always an option

Universities in Spain, and pretty sure around Europe, give licenses for educational versions of software like Autocad, Photoshop, and even Windows.

Everyone just pirates it because it's easier anyway lol. They require you to install a program to download the licensed Windows copy... that only works on Windows.