5 replies to this topic

[doctor killer]

Ok so my sister needs a more powerful laptop for her University Design courses.

Initially, I was suggesting her to buy a 15" MacBook Pro with a 2nd generation quad core i7 @ 2.2 GHz that has a 1GB 6750M graphic card but the price is...embarrassing for what I know you can get for...$2500...

Here I invite you to either defend the MacBook Pro for it's Design Software capabilities or to suggest a cheaper PC laptop that would give her an advantage over the MacBook Pro.

Here is a link to a laptop that I think may be powerful enough for the task:
http://www.canadacom...&item_id=039589 and I know that I will be able to match the price at NCIX.com


=============================================
Spec Me! Questionnaire
=============================================

1) What's your budget and in which Currency?
$2400 CAD (Canadian)

2) When are you going to buy your PC?
Before this weekend: before september 10th

3) What is your computer type?
e. Laptop

4) What's the main purpose of the PC?
15" laptop wrokstation ment for my sister who is studying in Design and will use the following programs
Photoshop,
Illustrator,
CAD,
In Design,
etc...

5) When do you intend to upgrade your PC?
N/A

6) Do you want to keep any component that you already own?
Nope

7) Do you prefer any brand or manufacturer (Intel/AMD, NVidia/ATI, Asus/Gigabyte,...)?
Intel + Nvidia
Open for an AMD graphic card if any suggestions


8) Are you going to overclock?
No

9) Where are you going to buy the components from? Do you have any preference over some store?
NCIX.com (Will match the price if nessary)

10) Will you be assembling the system yourself or will it come pre-built?
N/A

11) Do you have any configuration in mind?

At least the graphical power of a GTX 560...open to suggestion

12) Processor

c. Performance

13) Motherboard
15" Laptop

14) Graphics card
b. Single card

Unless SLI or crossfire can help in such applications...which I don't think so...


15) Storage
c. RAID (Indicate which RAID array)

Config one : dual HDD in RAID 0
Config two: 120 GB SSD + Storage HDD


16) Optical Drives
c. Blu-ray writer


17) Power supply
N/A


18) Computer case and cooling methods
N/A

19) Do you need any special connectivity?
USB 3.0
eSATA (optional since USB 3.0 is...faster)


20) Does the budget include any peripherals?
No...N/A: laptop only

21) Do you need an operative system?
b. No, you may already have one laying around (specify which one).
Windows 7 Pro x64


=============================================
End
=============================================

[dirtylarryuk]

Asus N53S series. Check different retailers as they have different stock of he Asus N series.

I just bought a mid range model 15.6" screen LED Blueray reader G540m GPU (same as 450 desktop) and I5 2.3 Ghz CPU Dual core with HT.

In the USA prices its around $700-800 max so its amazing value.

The I5 32nm sandy bridge cpu runs very cold so perfect for CAD use and won't eat the battery in 60 mins. does about 2-3 hours when doing complex stuff like games.

It uses the Intel GPU on the CPU when not doing anything complaex which further pushes up the battery life has 1x USB 3 and 3x USB2 connectors, Has decent speakers for music and films (made by bang and olfsen!)

And has a 2MP front facing Webcam to round off.

With the USB 3 connection you can buy a decent USB 3 SSD or HDD for backup (dont use blueray for backup takes forever to record and the disks cost a fortune).

for CAD work you can ask asus to fit a SSD of your choice to replace the HDD, so lots of the Sata 3GB older SSDs work in this sort of laptop and don't cost much and Asus will recommend a service center to fit and keep the 24 month warrenty on the laptop.

I specced up MSI ASUS ACER TOSHIBA DELL and many other brands and the Asus N53S murdered the others for hardware and cost.

Screen is 720p some of the 17"have 1080p but this is bad as the mobiles GPU struggle like hell with 1080p res ven the high end mobile GPU's. where as at 720p even the 540m (96 shaders) can play Crysis 2 on high no aaa at 30-40 fps and most other games well over 60 fps!

[mihapiha]

as a Mac-Fanboy I'd say a Mac would benefit you. But it doesn't necessarily have to be true. The CAD programs I know are made for Mac first and later adapted to the Windows OS.
Therefore I've been told the hardware support with Windows hardware is limited at best. 4 cores (HT doesn't help) + 2GB per core + 700MB VRAM graphic card is all you'd need for windows...

But I'd check with the homepage of your particular CAD program...

[doctor killer]

So the final idea will be to buy a 15" Lenovo with a i7-2720 (Quad 2.2 GHz) basic with 4GB RAM (will buy 16GB 3rd party cheaper than they advertize their ram upgrade...)
Screen is anti-glare and full hd (1080p) running on a Quadro 2000M

What do you think about that: I was wondering what would be the difference for her between Quadro and GeFroce...saw some benchmarks that clearly showed that some CAD tools actually perform a lot better on a Quadro card even if it's physically slower....

Any comments/suggestions before I make the order?

[dirtylarryuk]

doctor killer, on 13 September 2011 - 07:18 PM, said:

So the final idea will be to buy a 15" Lenovo with a i7-2720 (Quad 2.2 GHz) basic with 4GB RAM (will buy 16GB 3rd party cheaper than they advertize their ram upgrade...)
Screen is anti-glare and full hd (1080p) running on a Quadro 2000M

What do you think about that: I was wondering what would be the difference for her between Quadro and GeFroce...saw some benchmarks that clearly showed that some CAD tools actually perform a lot better on a Quadro card even if it's physically slower....

Any comments/suggestions before I make the order?

Its a driver trick but it is true the geforce are nerfed hard for pro apps.

Check Benchmarks for mobile AMD cards as they are not always nerfed in pro apps.

Don;t forget do make sure she gets a SSD

[doctor killer]

dirtylarryuk, on 14 September 2011 - 01:44 AM, said:

Its a driver trick but it is true the geforce are nerfed hard for pro apps.

Check Benchmarks for mobile AMD cards as they are not always nerfed in pro apps.

Don;t forget do make sure she gets a SSD

That's right: I saw some benchmarks where all of the GeForce cards are powned by Quadros... so Quadro it actually is!

Currently, the hard drive setup is on 2x320GB 7200 RPM HDDs in RAID 0...we'll see what it looks like...and I will eventually suggest a SATA 3 6.0 Gbps SSD (+550MB/s R)...not on this budget right now...anyway now they basically give those (I actually got a 120 GB AGILITY 3 a month ago for $190: very impressive...and it runs on SATA 2...I can't immagine the actual real speed of the thing when the Ivybridges CPUs are out there!)

Also: 16 GB of ram is on the way on an other order (way too expensive to buy their RAM...)

Ok so this is the order details, notice the

[CAPCOUPONSCAOFFER]: 	-$417.80

from doing 30 sec google coupon search...

The prices are in CAD (Canadian Dollar):

Quote

1
ThinkPad W520 - 1 Yr Depot Topseller Warranty
Ships within 10 bus. days**
$3,163.00
$2,089.00

$3,163.00
$2,089.00




Processor

Intel Core i7-2720QM (Quad-Core) Processor (2.20GHz, 6M Cache with Turbo Boost up to 3.30GHz)

Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)

Operating system language Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 - English

Display type 15.6" FHD (1920x1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare display, with Wireless WAN Antenna

System graphics NVIDIA Quadro 2000M Optimus Graphics technology (2GB)

Total memory 4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM) *Ordered 16 GB from NCIX

Keyboard Keyboard - US English

Pointing device UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) Fingerprint Reader, Smart Card Reader

Camera 720p HD Camera with Microphone

Storage subsystem Primary SATA RAID 0

Hard drive RAID HDD, 320GB, 7200rpm

Optical device RAID via Bay Adapter

System expansion slots Express Card Slot, 4-in-1 Card Reader & Smart Card Reader

Battery 9 Cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery

Power cord 170W Slim AC Adapter - North America, Latin America (2pin)

Bluetooth Broadcom Bluetooth 3.0 with antenna

Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters ThinkPad 1x1 b/g/n

Language pack Publication - US English


45J7915 DisplayPort to Single-Link DVI-D Monitor Cable $23.99 $23.99

Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Tax: $236.06
[CAPCOUPONSCAOFFER]: -$417.80
Total: $1,931.25

Edited by doctor killer, 14 September 2011 - 02:58 AM.