What is the best laptop for autocad 2012 under $1000?

[Deneyeone]

I am a new student this semester and want to purchase a laptop for all of my schoolwork. One of my instructors recommended a Toshiba but the laptops I looked at at best buy seem to all have small screens. I want a bigger screen, any ideas?

[ReMark]

A few people here have commented on the Lenovo laptops. Have you checked any of them out?

 

What screen size did you have in mind?

[Dana W]

I am a new student this semester and want to purchase a laptop for all of my schoolwork. One of my instructors recommended a Toshiba but the laptops I looked at at best buy seem to all have small screens. I want a bigger screen, any ideas?

 

Start with printing off the system requirements as published by AutoDesk dot com for your program, and then look for a laptop with the specifications that will do the job in your price range. You can't cut corners on the system requirements without suffering for it later. If you drop a grand plus on a computer, you're gonna want to use it for a long while too.

[ReMark]

Here's a Lenovo Thinkpad T520 selling for $1050 after an eCoupon.

 

The one downside is a 5400 rpm hard drive. Other than that you get a Win7 Pro 64-bit system with 4GB of 1333MHz DDR3 RAM and a 1GB graphics chip.

[Deneyeone]

Thanks for the response. Due to a deluge of homework in Algebra and a writing class I do not want to spend much time looking. I really wanted to hear from people using autocad on a laptop. Autocad requires 2gb hard drive space and 2gb random . That is for indtallation and use . That being said, we will eventually be using 3d and inventor and do not know if I need to install all of it now and how many shared files they use. Would like the largest screen I can get withoput spending 3k on a mac.

[Deneyeone]

Just checked out the lenovo t520 ,looks good on the video. It has a 15.6" screen. Am going to look at some 17" before I decide.

[Tankman]

Thinkpads are #1. Think 14" screen if you require longer battery life!

 

My older Thinkpads are both runnin' AutoCAD '07 and Solidworks, never any problems.

However, I'm not rendering. 2D and a little 3D from time to time.

[ReMark]

17's can be quite heavy if you are lugging them around (to/from school). 8+ pounds.

[f700es]

Look at Dell's XPS 15z and 14z

[TIDESNTUNDRA]

Once again I come up with a question and there is already an answer. Just a quick add to this thread, my IT guys in the basement are telling me that I should get a laptop that has an independent graphics chips and something about Intel Core i7 if I can splurge on it. Any additional advice?

[rkent]

I just bought an HP Envy with very nice specs and it is running 2013 autocad and inventor very well. I don't work with large files so I don't know about performance on big files. it was $1250, so above your budget but you could lower some of the options.

[Dadgad]

I just bought an HP Envy with very nice specs and it is running 2013 autocad and inventor very well. I don't work with large files so I don't know about performance on big files. it was $1250, so above your budget but you could lower some of the options.

 

I am working on an HP as I write this, had another one before this.

In my company we have had less than stellar luck with HP longevity.

My latest laptop acquisition was a DELL XPS15 Z, which is pretty nice.

HP just released their new IVY BRIDGE lineup, and they do look interesting.

[paisis123]

Just keep in mind on the task that you are trying to accomplish.

 

Heres a list of common tasks and the requirements

1. Large Drawing files - You need a Fast HDD or an SSD to load them up faster and easier

2. Manipulating Multiple drawings at once - You need a Fast CPU in order to handle all the calculations

3. Rendering - You need a muti-thread CPU at a decent clock rate to have optimal performance

4. 3D design - You need a good GPU that can handle the 3d manipulation and rendering

5. Simple 2D sketches - A good amount of RAM and CPU power is all that is needed

6. If your needs require more then one option of 1-6, then buy accordingly

 

I Built my PC with 2 purposes. 1. a Gaming PC 2. A mobile workstation and media center.

Once you build and acquire goal in mind, then you have something in which you wont be disapointed

[paisis123]

I would not consider a laptop with less than 17 inch screen for CAD work.

You can get a 17" with 8Gig RAM for around $800 that will be fine for AutoCAD.

 

I Agree, the Best bang for your buck is 8 GB of RAM, though i find 16 over kill. and the 24 gbs i have at my job is surprisingly good enough....