Need Advice on Laptop for Aerospace Engineering Grad School – Concerns About Overheating

Hi everyone,

A little while ago, I posted asking for advice on a laptop for graduate school. I'm a working aerospace engineer starting a master's program in aerospace engineering and will be accessing software remotely, such as Abaqus, Ansys, and MATLAB. I need a laptop with the specs to handle this workload reliably.

Based on specs alone, I’ve narrowed it down to the Dell 16" 13th Generation Gaming Laptop with an Intel Core i9 processor, priced at $1,599.99 at Best Buy. The specs seem more than sufficient for my needs, especially since I’m not planning to game on it.

However, after reading reviews, I noticed frequent complaints about overheating and issues with the charger. Since my primary use will be at a desk near an outlet, I’m wondering if these issues might still be a problem in my case. Occasionally, I’ll take the laptop to a coffee shop or hotel when traveling for work, but it will mostly stay in a controlled environment.

I’d appreciate any feedback from those familiar with this laptop or similar models. Should I be concerned about the overheating and charger issues even if I’m not pushing it for gaming? Or would it be better to look at alternatives? Any recommendations for laptops in a similar price range that would meet my needs would also be very helpful.

Edit: Would a Alienware - m18 R2 be a better computer for my application?