jlau6888 Posted September 3, 2009 Author Share Posted September 3, 2009 is OpenGL 2.1 good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlau6888 Posted September 3, 2009 Author Share Posted September 3, 2009 And you're spending your money on a laptop? That's just a waste of money in my opinion. If you're going to be doing a lot of 3D work, then invest in a good desktop PC with a 64 bit OS, a quad core processor to help with rendering and at least 8GB RAM. You'll be glad you did. And forget about getting a Mac. Everone I've talked to that tries to run Autocad on a Mac says it's not worth the hassle. It runs slow and doesn't perform well. As Styk said, stick with a Windows PC. Check my computer Details. The cost was just under $2,400 from XI Computers, and it blows away every other computer that I've ever worked on. Including our machines at work. It actually renders scenes faster than our render farm. The reason I am going with a laptop is because I travel a lot with work. I am looking at some of the Xi systems and like what I see and they aren't very expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankman Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 If you can get a laptop with those two features you should be fine. My Thinkpad™ laptops work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cad64 Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 The reason I am going with a laptop is because I travel a lot with work. Ok, then you should go with one like the XI laptop that ReMark linked to. It's very similar to my PC system and would probably work well for you. Just forget about trying to do 3D work with Autocad, Solidworks, etc. on a Mac. If you don't believe me, call XI and talk to Bill. He's a really nice guy and he can answer all of your questions and set you up with a laptop to meet all of your needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlau6888 Posted September 3, 2009 Author Share Posted September 3, 2009 Ok, then you should go with one like the XI laptop that ReMark linked to. It's very similar to my PC system and would probably work well for you. Just forget about trying to do 3D work with Autocad, Solidworks, etc. on a Mac. If you don't believe me, call XI and talk to Bill. He's a really nice guy and he can answer all of your questions and set you up with a laptop to meet all of your needs. After listening to all of you guys I trust what you say and take into consideration. Do any of you suggest gaming laptops as good machines for CAD work including 3D? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cad64 Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Gaming machines should work fine for Autocad, but you will probably end up paying more than you actually need to. That XI laptop is well within your $3k limit and should work beautifully. Like I said, call XI and talk to them. Tell them you're looking for a laptop because you travel a lot and tell them what programs you will be running and they will work with you and set you up with the right machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlau6888 Posted September 3, 2009 Author Share Posted September 3, 2009 Gaming machines should work fine for Autocad, but you will probably end up paying more than you actually need to. That XI laptop is well within your $3k limit and should work beautifully. Like I said, call XI and talk to them. Tell them you're looking for a laptop because you travel a lot and tell them what programs you will be running and they will work with you and set you up with the right machine. Thanks again guys!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 The only problem you might face with a gaming laptop would be with the graphics card. Most likely it will not be offer OpenGL support. High end gaming and CAD systems tend to price about about the same unless you get into water cooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f700es Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Why are you looking at a Mac? Is there a Mac only app you want to use? Are you familiar with OSX? Have a look at Alienware M17x Starts at $1,799 Intel® Core™2 Duo P8600 2.4GHz (3MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB) Single NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M, 1GB -Direct X 10 and Open GL 2.1 17-inch WideXGA+ 1440x900 (900p) 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz 250GB 7,200RPM w/ Free Fall Protection Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW) You can even upgrade to a Core2 Quad in this laptop! http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=dkcwqt1&s=dhs&~lt=alienware Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlau6888 Posted September 4, 2009 Author Share Posted September 4, 2009 Why are you looking at a Mac? Is there a Mac only app you want to use? Are you familiar with OSX? Have a look at Alienware M17x Starts at $1,799 Intel® Core™2 Duo P8600 2.4GHz (3MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB) Single NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M, 1GB -Direct X 10 and Open GL 2.1 17-inch WideXGA+ 1440x900 (900p) 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz 250GB 7,200RPM w/ Free Fall Protection Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW) You can even upgrade to a Core2 Quad in this laptop! http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=dkcwqt1&s=dhs&~lt=alienware After consulting you guys I have steered away from the Mac. I plan on talking to the guys at @XI about building one for me. I looked at the AlienWare laptops but dont like the way the system looks. Personally I don't like all the lights and bells and whistles. I am in it just for the performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Over the years I've purchased four desktop systems from Xi Computers. When one of them recently had a problem, despite the fact it was no longer under warranty, the tech at Xi offered to help troubleshoot the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlau6888 Posted September 4, 2009 Author Share Posted September 4, 2009 Over the years I've purchased four desktop systems from Xi Computers. When one of them recently had a problem, despite the fact it was no longer under warranty, the tech at Xi offered to help troubleshoot the system. That's the kind of customer service I like to get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankman Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 That's the kind of customer service I like to get. Wouldn't we all! I have great respect for Lenovo's tech support and speedy too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 If your going to buy a laptop for such applications as Solidworks you need to spend some real $. Other wise in a few months you will realize it's not enough, Thats excactly what happened to me. So I dug deep for AlienWare MX17 this was the single best investment I've made. I will not have to buy another one. Its a monster : ) $2,700.00 Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 2.8GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB) NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT WideUXGA (1200p) 8GB DDR2 667 MHz 320GB 7,200 RPM Hard Drive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garroiimer Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 Thanks for your discussion.the info is helpful for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevejohnson Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 well no need to double the general purpose unit because by simply including high speed graphic card it will work for u... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 The OP must still think long term. No good can come from buying a computer that is, from the start, lackluster. A good graphics card doesn't make up for a lackluster computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.