dream machine m1530 vs m4300

[salmoon]

Hi All,

I am a design engineer though this is my first personal laptop and earlier I didnt think a lot about graphic cards and Operating System compaitbilty with CAD application (invetor & solidworks mailny).

Yesterday, I got my dellXPS M1530(with Vista Home Premium). I intend to use it for CAD & personal work.

Specifications of dell XPS M1530:

Intel CORE 2 DUO T8300 2.40GHz,800,3M
Graphics Card 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M GT
Memory Dual Channel 4.0GB (2x2048 ) 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Hard Drive 320GB SATA (5400rpm)
Battery XPS Primary 9-cell 85WHr Li-Ion
Display 15.4" WXGA (1280x800) with Truelife
2.0mp camera
Dell Travel Remote control
Dell Black 5-Button Bluetooth Travel Mouse

My colleague told me it is not good for CAD user, so I need your advice that should I keep this laptop (if it'll work fine with CAD) or replace with precision M4300 (will cost £150 extra, without camera & bluetooth mouse and with smaller hard-disc too).

M4300 (OS: Windows® XP )specs are-

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8300 (2.4GHz,3MB,800MHz)
FX360M Graphics(256MB dedicated memory)
MEMORY 4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM Memory (2*2048 )
HARD DRIVE 200GB SATA (7,200RPM) Hard Drive (Free fall sensor)
9 Cell 85/WHr Smart Li-Ion Primary Battery
LCD 15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) Wide Aspect Ratio display

As I've only one 5 days to return it so please guide me as at present I dont have various CAD applications (except autoCAD2008 ).

[ReMark]

Your friend probably recommended the M4300 due to the faster spinning hard drive (5400 vs. 7200 rpm) and the OpenGL graphics card (nVidia FX360M). The hard drive I can understand as the seek time may be somewhat faster too. The graphics card...well, that's a toss up at this point. If you plan on keeping current with your software over the next four years then be forewarned, AutoDesk is moving away from OpenGL and embracing DirectX. There's a "white paper" on the subject at the AutoDesk website. Since graphics chips (not cards) are used in laptops it isn't as though you can swap one for the other at a later date if you so desire. Once you've made your choice you're pretty much stuck with it.

[salmoon]

What difference will the graphic card make. I mean if I'll use current card NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M GT (which is not listed in Solidworks website), what kind of trouble will I face...

[ReMark]

Trouble? It's more a matter of performance when it comes to 3D. You should read the white paper and decide for yourself.

For those of you who graphic performance plays a key role in the selection of a video card I urge you to read the white paper referenced in the link provided below. Pay particular attention to pages 3 and 15.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet...12&id=10361428 (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=10361428)

[salmoon]

Thanks ReMark I've gone through the whitepaper. As both card are OpenGL (?) , so which with laptop should I go?

[ReMark]

Did your friend happen to elaborate on his comments? Other than hard drive speed, at this point, I don't see that much of a difference between the two as regards working with AutoCAD. What made you select the first laptop? Price? Features? Other?

You mention Inventor, Solidworks and AutoCAD. I'm a bit confused. Which program(s) do you use on a daily basis? Will you be doing any 3D work now or in the future?

[salmoon]

I am going to start 3D with inventor and solidworks both(as a beginner) though I am using autocad for last 6 years (2d / 3d).

So the question is - the difference in combination of OS(vista or XP) and Graphic card (8600M GT or FX360M ) is really a major issue(in short why should I spend extra £150 on M4300 with smaller HD & lesser feature)?

[ReMark]

Graphics card issue aside, the difference in the OS is still measurable. Although AutoDesk products are moving towards better compatibility with Vista, even after SP1, the OS is still slower than XP Pro (the version most CAD users prefer). There are ways to speed things up in Vista but you'll have to read up on this. I recommend you visit PCWorld and see their recent (March 2008) article about Service Pack 1 for Vista and pay particular attention to the "tweaks" they suggest.

The link:

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/143608/test_results_does_sp1_fix_vista.html

[salmoon]

if no issue with graphic card than I would prefer XPS M1530 due to extra features. Am I right...?

[ReMark]

Price is always a consideration whether you use the "extras" or not. It sounds like you won't be really pushing this system so go ahead and buy the M1530. One should always research carefully beforehand. Sometimes we make the choice...sometimes it is made for us. May you have many good experiences with your new purchase. Happy computing.

[salmoon]

Thanks ReMark :)