which computer should i get?

[rossdever]

i am going to be a freshman in college and be taking CAD. i have never used CAD before but have been watching these videos and they are very helpful. i am starting to look for a laptop to buy and need help. what is a good laptop to get that has room to run CAD and be as an everyday computer? what should my hard drive size be? and what processor would be good. if you could tell me what laptops i should buy that would be much appreciated.

[daft vader]

Never used a laptop for autocad but unless you are doing heavy 3D, I know from the past that autocad runs on just about any system go here for System Requirements http://usa.autodesk.com/autocad/system-requirements/

[ReMark]

Lenovo makes some excellent laptops.

 

I would recommend a 64-bit system and run Windows Home Premium as a minimum. An i3 or i5 Dual-core would be fine as AutoCAD can't really take advantage of a quad-core (you'll save a few $$$). 4GB RAM would be adequate for memory. As far as a hard drive go look for one that spins at 7200 rpm not 5400 rpm. 500GB capacity would be fine. Check on the Cadalyst magazine website. They just did a review of laptops for CAD recently.

[rossdever]

should i get a hard drive or use a solid state drive?

[nestly]

You didn't mention your budget, but yes, I'd recommend a SSD if you can afford it.

[ReMark]

A SSD might be good for loading your OS and programs on but a generic platter drive would be more cost effective for storage. What's your budget? This will determine how many bells and whistles you can really afford.

[nestly]

A SSD might be good for loading your OS and programs .....

 

Just curious, have you tried a SSD? Budget limitations are budget limitations, but I doubt anyone that's had a SSD for a boot/primary drive would ever want to go back to a spinning platter drive.

[Organic]

What college course are you doing? If it is not a graphic design/art/industrial design etc course I wouldn't bother buying a laptop just to be able to use CAD programs on it. Any program you are expected to have access to will be available on the schools computer lab systems.

 

As above, AutoCad runs fine on laptops. Not a fan of Lenono myself though, I prefer Toshibas.

[ReMark]

Storage is storage. A platter type drive is the most cost effective way of maintaining a large cache of files.

[irneb]

You didn't mention your budget, but yes, I'd recommend a SSD if you can afford it.

Storage is storage. A platter type drive is the most cost effective way of maintaining a large cache of files.

In general a SSD is a lot faster than a normal HDD. If budgets are tight, get the biggest and fastest HDD you can afford (as said before 7200RPM) - be warned a laptop for CAD is not going to have good battery life. Don't be surprised if you can't use it for more than 2 hours unplugged (and that's being generous)! If you want a slightly faster HDD than the usual 7200, but don't have the dough to dish out for a full SSD, look for a Hybrid SSD/HDD like the Seagate Momentus XT. I've got a friend with one of these in a Sager Notebook - he's extremely happy.

 

As for RAM, you should be al-right with 4GB (if you're going for lots of 3D stuff perhaps increase that a bit). Go for faster RAM if possible, preferably not less than 1333MHz (which should now be the default). Though the old rule still applies: more is better - just because it leaves for more possibilities. E.g. on my personal PC I've got 16GB, and with all the stuff I usually run (such as VM's and servers) there's only about 6GB left for ACAD.

 

Graphics cards is not necessarily a biggie (unless again 3D modelling is your forte). Just don't go for the built-in GPU's (like those from Intel), and make sure they don't "share" your RAM. It has to be a separate graphics card with it's own RAM. Something like a GeForce / Radeon should be fine, unless you got serious 3D stuff to do, don't even consider Quaddro / Fire** - they'd be a waste of money. Even if you have lots of 3D stuff, they're not necessarily worth the extra expense - you only start noticing their superiority once your model is absolutely HUGE, and then only "slightly" superior to a high-end Radeon / Geforce!

 

For screen size, try for a 17" or higher - CAD is a bit difficult on 15" and lower - especially if the resolution is not too high. I had a laptop from 6 years ago with a 17" @ 1400x900 which was reasonable, but not great - I much prefer my Office's screen of 20" @ 1680x1050, and then my new baby off 24" full HD:D. So you'll need to compromise for a laptop - larger is more usable, but smaller is easier to lug-around.

 

The new Sandybridge CPU's seem to be the most cost-effective - even if you save a % or 2 on the price here by going for the i3 / i5 instead of the i7. Multi-core is not much use in most instances - the only time any ADesk product uses more than one core is during Rendering, which is even for modelling experts the smallest time they spend using the prog. Remember in 3d modelling you usually spend 1-5% of your production time doing rendering, the rest is spent on actually creating the model (which uses only one core). Get a CPU with its single core GHz as high as possible - which is going to be a mean task on a laptop. Again, the Sandybridges seem to be your answer: The i7-2630QM runs normally @ 2GHz, but can step-up a single core (of 4) to around 3GHz when needed. If you can and don't mind even lower battery life, don't go for the mobile CPU's - rather go for the i7-2600(K) @ 3.4HGz (step-up to 3.8 or overclockable to 4.5HGz). Some would tell you to look for Xeon chips instead, but then you would be extremely lucky for the battery to last more than 15min, not to mention putting the thing on your legs will cause burns - for a marginal performance improvement (since they run all their cores at the higher speeds, while you only need one)! And of course your budget would be shot to hell!

 

Oh! And I'd advise you get a decent mouse! Touch-pad CADding is not too great! Get one which is larger than the usual mobile mouse - you don't want your hand to cramp-up.

[f700es]

Do not get an integrated Intel graphics card for CAD. Get either an nVidia or ATi based unit.

[f700es]

The new kid on the block: Dell XPS 15z

$999

Windows 7 Home Prem. 64-bit

Intel Core i5-2410M - 2.30 GHz up to 2.90 GHz

nVidia GeForce GT525M - 1GB

6GB DDR3 ram @ 1333 MHz

8X DVD+/-R

500 GB 7200 SATA Drive

2.0 MP Web Cam

 

EDIT:

.97" thick

5.54 lbs.

backlit keyboard

[irneb]

You didn't mention your budget, but yes, I'd recommend a SSD if you can afford it.

 

The new kid on the block: Dell XPS 15z

$999

Windows 7 Home Prem. 64-bit

Intel Core i5-2410M - 2.30 GHz up to 2.90 GHz

nVidia GeForce GT525M - 1GB

6GB DDR3 ram @ 1333 MHz

8X DVD+/-R

500 GB 7200 SATA Drive

2.0 MP Web Cam

 

EDIT:

.97" thick

5.54 lbs.

backlit keyboard

Are you sure it's the same one Dell knows about? 2.0MP Cam ... not even an option through Dell, they only state 1.3MP: http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-15z/pd.aspx

 

And just as a query, is that the 15.6" @1920x1080 or @1366x768? If the former, this is a decent laptop for that price! If the later, it's about average.

 

E.g. http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_customed&model_name=NP5160

 

Customize to 6GB RAM and 500GB 7200 HDD and you get it for $934 - that includes 15.6" 1920x1080 LED backlit, i5-2410M, Geforce GT 540M, Win Home Prem 32/64, 8x DVD +/-/R/RW. For an extra $65 you get the hybrid SSD/HDD of 500GB, or you could up the CPU a bit to the 2.5GHz baseline i5-2520M for $45.

 

You can also see on that page just the type of difference the SSD's prices are. E.g. upgrading the 500GB 7200 HDD to the closest matching 600GB SSD costs $1060. Usually you'd go with one smallish SSD to place all your programs on, and one large HDD to store all your data. But that's why I recommend the Hybrid - works out most cost effective and least complicated (setup-wise). If you can afford it, by all means go for those SATA3 SSD's.

[f700es]

I am sure I saw 2.0 MP webcam somewhere but that would not be a deal breaker for me I could not find the resolution so I am not sure.

Yes that is a good deal on the sager I am just not a fan. I worked with a guy that has an older one and while it was fine I was just impressed with it but to each their own. I did like that the Sager had a SSD/Sata hybrid drive option.

I like the way the Dell looks, like a PC macbook copy

[irneb]

Yep, the Dell does have its looks going for it. But I think that's where the slight extra cost comes in. Sager is usually not worried about the outside of the box as much as they try for the best innards. At least they're not as industrial as Boxx / Rock though!

[ProTmzn]

My Dell XPS m1530 from 4 years ago runs AutoCAD 2011 and civil 3D flawlessly. I would recommend dell with a decent video card. The uni I'm attending has a lab with dual 21 inch monitors that run autocad, so my laptop is only used at home and during the summer which I connect a 23 inch via hdmi.