Laptop for drafting with AutoCAD 2013 - Graphics card?

[snakebite729]

Hi all,

 

I am looking at buying new laptops for the guys at work.

We will be running AutoCAD 2013 (upgrading mid 2014 to AutoCAD 2015, then every 2 years thereafter) and need something that won't freeze up every 5 minutes.

As the budget is about $2500 each, with most custom laptops I either have to sacrifice processor speed, RAM amount/speed or graphics card quality/speed.

What would your recommendations be?

Thanks in advance everyone.

[Dadgad]

Definitely check out XI Computers, as they are kick ass cad machines,

check out their reviews on CADALYST, always very highly rated.

[ReMark]

And you expect these machines to last how long?

 

Re: Xi Computers.

 

Well if you were to choose the 15.6" PowerGo 15/7 configuration you could bump the RAM to 16GB, substitute a 250GB SSD for the 5400 rpm platter drive, go with the Core i7-4900MQ2.8/3.8GHz CPU, and a 2GB nVidia Quadro K2100M with GDDR5 VRAM for approximately $2,346 U.S. Now if you were thinking of going with 17" screens your price would be higher.

 

What are your "must haves"?

Edited November 4, 2013 by ReMark

[Dadgad]

And you expect these machines to last how long?

 

Re: Xi Computers.

 

Well if you were to choose the 15.6" PowerGo 15/7 configuration you could bump the RAM to 16GB, substitute a 250GB SSD for the 5400 rpm platter drive, go with the Core i7-4900MQ2.8/3.8GHz CPU, and a 2GB nVidia Quadro K2100M with GDDR5 VRAM for approximately $2,346 U.S. Now if you were thinking of going with 17" screens your price would be higher.

 

What are your "must haves"?

 

I went on their site earlier, after reading the first post, and I thought that when specing it, the price was no different for the 17"?

 

They also offer a leasing plan which might be worth investigating.

[ReMark]

If you can buy a 17" for the price of a 15" why bother offering a 15"? Maybe they make up for it with the upgrades.

[Dadgad]

I could be wrong, but I was window shopping through all the nice options, and getting

a dream build price, and was surprised when that seemed to be the case.

[ReMark]

Yes, it appears you are correct as far as the PowerGo 15/7 goes. They get you on the video card upgrade. You can only get the 4GB card if you select the 17" display. The upgrade price on the card is $449.

[tzframpton]

Hi all,

 

I am looking at buying new laptops for the guys at work.

We will be running AutoCAD 2013 (upgrading mid 2014 to AutoCAD 2015, then every 2 years thereafter) and need something that won't freeze up every 5 minutes.

As the budget is about $2500 each, with most custom laptops I either have to sacrifice processor speed, RAM amount/speed or graphics card quality/speed.

What would your recommendations be?

Thanks in advance everyone.

Since 94% of all laptops come from a handful of companies, it's best to stick with the basic components and then go from there as most laptop "guts" are all essentially the same. It's the bells and whistle's you might dig through for the best bang for your buck. $2,500 is a great budget when talking USD. In fact, $1,500 might even give you all the power you needed if you went conservative in some areas. Here is what my prerequisites include for a $2,500 "gaming" laptop:

 

• Core i7 (3rd Gen min. but 4th gen preferred)
  
• Gaming Card (GeForce 600M or 700M Series)
  
• 16GB RAM minimum installed, upgradable to 32GB
  
• SSD main hard drive
  
• Hi-res laptop screen (full HD if possible) for best screen real estate when not hooked up to monitor(s)
  
• 10-key keyboard
  

 

And don't be shy on checking refurbs. Lots of refurbished units are just "old models" that go right from the assembly line to the refurb bin so they're still brand new.

 

If you went with a true "workstation" laptop then you'll be spending $2,500 at minimum, but certainly more in most cases.... up to about $3,500 I'd guess. I'm a fan of HP's, but again it really doesn't matter. Here are some example spec sheets to go by:

 

HP 8770W - Workstation Class:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/pscmisc/vac/us/product_pdfs/HP_Elitebook_8770w_Datasheet.pdf

 

HP 8570p - Gaming Class:

http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/14304_na/14304_na.pdf

 

Hope this helps!

[ReMark]

I'd only go conservative ($1500) if you were planning on keeping the laptops for no more than two years.

[f700es]

HP Envy 15t-J100 Quad: $1,469.99

4th gen i7-4900MQ

nVidia GF GT740M 2gb

15.6" HD lcd (1920x1080)

16gb DDR3

1tb hybrid hard drive

 

Dell XPS 15: $1,899.99

4th gen i7-4702HQ

nVidia GF GT750M 2gb

15.6 HD lcd (3200x1800) touch enabled

16gb DDR3

1tb hdd w/32gb mSATA SSD

 

Asus has a nice line of laptops as well.

[tzframpton]

f700, great specs right there buddy. Good find and the prices are phenomenal for what you're getting. Still.... a good SSD is a life changer in performance - I'd say that's a 100% priority.

[f700es]

Those are 2 I would look at if I was buying a dedicated CAD laptop with $2K to spend. I agree on the SSD and standard drive as well. At least both of these have the hybrid drives for some speed improvements.

I would wager a $1000 machine would work as well if just AutoCAD is being used. There is no real reason for the i7 as an i5 would work just as well for AutoCAD use. Since you get no real advantage in AutoCAD with the higher end cpu. But for other programs then it might be needed.

[tzframpton]

I'll agree to the i5 statement for plain AutoCAD usage. Still waiting on my laptop to come in so I can run it through some tests. It's also an i5 and I'm positive it'll be more than up to the challenge.

[f700es]

Oh yeah please give us a review when you get it.

[Tuns]

I'd go with f700 on this. HP Envy is a hell of a lot of bang for your buck. Of course it still feels a little cheap because it's an HP, but it's very powerful for the number on the price tag.

[ReMark]

If you are going to use an AutoDesk vertical product to do your structural drawings and there is a good chance you'll also be heavy into 3D work I'd go with the i7 and as much RAM (32GB?) as you could possibly afford.

[tzframpton]

....and as much RAM (32GB?)....

Overkill at this moment in time. I have 16GB @ work and home and serious 3D Revit models as well as rendering has never pinned the RAM. I think 7GB-9GB max is all I've seen it bump up to. 13GB once for a full on render export. However, in 2 years, who knows.

 

[Tuns]

What about an Alienware? They say that they are gaming laptops but they should handle AutoCAD easily without any issues. They're also within the OP's budget range.

[tzframpton]

I guess.... but it's not really marketed for work-use. Just gotta do a price comparison with all available options. Unless Alienware has a product line that's more suited for work-use that I'm unaware of.

 

Also, support is a big thing too. Can't forget about that.

[ReMark]

Don't buy for today's needs....by for tomorrow's. Software requirements do tend to change and one must take into account what other programs will be running concurrently with your CAD program.