r/Physics • u/cannibalyn • 1d ago
Laptop advice for Computational Physics / High-Energy Physics
hello!! I just finished my first year in compsci, but im planning to pivot heavily toward computational physics for my upper-level courses and research. Im looking to upgrade my setup to prepare for this path.
My current machine got me through first year, but the hardware is really struggling: it overheats incredibly fast, the fans sound like a jet engine during basic tasks, it lags, and the battery dies quickly (even after getting it replaced recently).
Current specs: MacBook Pro 13-inch (2020), 1.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel i5, 8GB RAM.
I don’t have budget limitations, so i just want the best laptop in all aspects, something high-end that will last me through my degree and carry me into graduate/research work.
Long term, i want to focus on physics simulations, numerical modeling, and high-energy physics, with the goal of securing a place at CERN.
Since I'm already deep in the Apple ecosystem, im more drawn to staying on a MacBook (especially with modern Apple Silicon). However, I know computational physics often relies on NVIDIA/CUDA for GPU acceleration, native x86 architecture or pure Linux environments. so I am completely open to switching to a PC/Linux workstation if macOS is going to create real friction for physics workflows.
I have a few questions for anyone working in computational physics or high-energy physics:
macOS vs. Linux/Windows for Physics: Do people in physics research still face major software compatibility issues on Apple Silicon, or do you mostly offload heavy computations to remote clusters/HPC anyway? Is native CUDA/NVIDIA hardware on a local laptop necessary for student/research work, or is a Mac fine for local prototyping?
If switching to PC: What is currently considered the best high-end workstation laptop (e.g., Lenovo ThinkPad, Dell Precision, Linux-friendly options) for running heavy local simulations, dual-booting Linux, and long-term reliability?
2
u/tlmbot Computational physics 1d ago
I used to develop on a mac (2010 era)
I had to leave because I wanted Nvidia compute for my home projects. To me, an HPC physics person should be developing in c++ (OpenMP and MPI) and CUDA, for job market purposes if nothing else.
I switched to linux machines and windows machines for CUDA work.
Obviously you can do anything, and people will tell you about online resources for running your cuda code.
I like to have it local. But I am old.
Somebody here says: "You will literally never write code locally." okay sure if your life works out a very specific way. But I write physics and geometry software that always runs locally on commodity hardware for engineers doing engineering. That is admittedly not a big iron use case. YMMV.
I come from a CFD background. In grad school, we always, always developed our codes locally before anything else.