I am a practicing architect who had to navigate multiple laptop purchases while studying at A&M. My recommendations would be the following:

- First of all, I would strongly recommend a business-grade laptop such as the Lenovo Thinkpad T/W Series or Dell's current equivalent. They are built substantially better than consumer-grade laptops, and if cared for, should easily last 3-4 years minimum. Note that you may need to purchase through their business site; these are often not advertised to consumers. If they ask for a business name, just use you or your son's name. The key thing to note is research the model lineups carefully; ideally you want something where individual components can be upgraded or replaced (particularly the SSD and RAM, along with the keyboard and touchpad; avoid anything with these components soldered). When I was in school, I had a Dell Latitude for undergrad and then purchased a Thinkpad T-series when starting grad school.
- These aforementioned lineups will have workstation models available with graphics cards which have been certified by Autodesk. I would check against their list when selecting components.
- Unless if absolutely necessary, I would avoid gaming laptops. They are both bulky and heavy, making them a pain to carry or to use in other classes (particularly crowded lecture halls with small lap desks). In my experience, the build quality is also often questionable.
- If the selected laptop has upgradable components, it is in some cases far less expensive to buy a laptop with a bare bones NVMe SSD and RAM and then upgrade these yourself, if you're handy with that kind of stuff. Note that you will need to hold onto the original components in case of a warranty claim.
- Whatever you get, buy a 2-3 year protection plan with accidental damage protection and onsite service. Even if your son does not run into a situation involving true accidental damage, this provides coverage in the event that a component is failing and the manufacturer tried to pin it on usage. Onsite service is key to minimize downtime.

At A&M, it was fairly common for students to start out with a more basic laptop for their first year or two, and then upgrade when entering upper level studios. However, based on your post, it sounds like OU expects students to have a full spec unit on day 1. If you are looking to save on any components, the SSD is often an easy one to upgrade later.