Drastic changes within the past year - Computer Question

[wings]

Here are the base specs of 2 of the Xi laptops I am looking at.

 

Xi Power Go:

- 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7 up to 2.8 GHz, 8MB Smart Cache

- Mobile Intel® HM76 Express Chipset

- 15.6”/17.3" Full HD 16:9 Wide screen (1920x1080) LED-Backlit Display with Super Clear Glare Type

- Switchable GPU by NVIDIA® Optimus™ Technology

- NVIDIA® GeForce™ GT 650M GPU / Intel® GMA HD GPU, PCI Express x8

- 2x 204Pin SODIMM, To 16GB 1600 MHz Dual Channel DDR3 (CPU Dependent)

- Up to High capacity 7200RPM SATA, SSD Opt.

- Built-in 2.0 Digital Video Camera

- Built-in Gigabit Ethernet LAN, Wireless 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth

- DVD/CD-RW Double Layer, optional Blu-Ray optical drive

- 1x HDMI 1.4a output Port (with HDCP), 1x CRT Output Port

- 1x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0, 1x eSATA Port

- HD Audio and THX TruStudio Pro Sound System

- Integrated touchpad with Multi-gesture and Scrolling function

- Full size isolated keyboard with numeric pad

- Full Range 90W AC Adapter AC-in 100~240V, 50~60Hz, DC output 19V, 4.74A

- Removable 6 cells smart Lithium-Ion battery pack

- Standard Carrying Bag is included with this Model

- OS Support: Microsoft® Windows 7, Windows 8

17.3" FULL HD, basic specs:

- Physical: 16.26"(W) x 10.93"(D) x 0.93" ~ 1.63"(H)

- Weight: 7.05 lbs. with Battery pack

15.6" FULL HD, basic specs:

- Physical: 14.72"(W) x 9.83"(D) x 0.64" ~ 1.63"(H)

- Weight: 6.17 lbs. with Battery pack

 

Xi Power Go 154:

- 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7 up to 2.8GHz 8MB Intel® Smart Cache

- Mobile Intel® HM77 Express Chipset

- 15.6" LED-backlit LCD, Full HD (1920 x 1080),16:9, Anti-Glare

- Brightness controlled by keyboard hot keys

- NVIDIA® QUADRO K2000M, 2.0GB DDR3 VRAM

- Supports Dual Channel DDR3, up to 32GB (CPU FSB Dependent)

- Two 2.5" SATA HDD drive bays (RAID 0 or RAID 1 support)

- Integrated Intel® N2230 WLAN 802.11b/g/n + Bluetooth 4.0 combo card

- Integrated Bigfoot Killer Network LAN IC Chip onboard

- SD/MMC/MS/XD 4-in-1 Card Reader

- SuperMulti DVDRW drive included

- 1x VGA, 1x HDMI 1.2 Output & 1x Mini Display Ports, Supports 3 additional

(2xDVI+1xVGA) Monitors in addition to the built in 15.6”

- 2x USB 2.0, 3x USB 3.0, 1x eSATA

- Built-in CMOS Camera 3.0 Mega Pixels

- Blue Backlite Chiclet 102 keys keyboard (Function Keys Guide)

- HD Audio Realtek ALC888S, 2 Speakers: 2W x 2 + 1 Subwoofer

- AC Adapter 180W, 19.5V/ 9.5A DC, 100~240V AC, 50~60Hz universal

- Removable 9 cells smart Lithium-Ion battery pack

- Physical: 15.59" (W) x 10.51" (D) x 1.77" (H)

- Weight: 7.10 lbs. (w/o battery and power adapter)

- OS Support: Microsoft® Windows 7

 

The website does allow additional configuration of each machine, but honestly I am not completely sure what I am looking at with some of these things. Just be reading the description of the video, I am not sure if it's a "card" or on board "chip". In the description of configuring the machine, they do say "card", but that could just be the base terminology.

 

Any thoughts on the above to run cad as is, or if some tweaking may need to be done?

[ReMark]

They both have graphics cards in them. The GeForce GT 650M is considered mid-range. There were two versions. One had the slower DDR3 VRAM while the other had the faster GDDR5. I think both were configured as 2GB cards. At one time the Quadro line of cards was considered to be a step above the GeForce I believe.

[PotGuy]

I believe CAD users should be as knowledgeable about their computers as dedicated gamers. But that's just my personal opinion. I'm pretty much a fan of self-reliance.

 

Did someone call?

[PotGuy]

18"s? Compact little unit!

My workhorse HP Pavillion has a 20 1/4 inch screen, not bad for a laptop,

but the best way to schleppe it around is with a forklift or a wheelbarrow!

The 180 watt charger alone weighs a kilo.

But when you're sitting in front of it actually working, it makes all kinds of sense.

 

If your back isn't broken!