Computer Purchase Help Requested

[Al]

Hello All,

I need to buy a new laptop for home and school. The #1 priority is that it can run SolidWorks 2011.
According to the software website, these are the specs required:

8gb ram
Nvidia Quadro/Quadro FX graphics card or ATI FireGL/FirePro
Intel i7 processor or AMD equivalent
Can run Windows 7 64bit

In a tower, this would all be a piece of cake to find. Unfortunately, I need this thing to be portable.

I know almost nothing about graphics cards. What I have found out is that some cards can fit in laptops. Unfortunately, many laptops have integrated graphics cards that cannot be removed/upgraded. The card is also a critical feature because certain solid modeling simulations can be calculated within the graphics card, which is leagues faster than using the CPU.

So far, Best buy has a Toshiba with decent qualities, but lacking in the graphics card area.

I also went to MilwaukeePC and they quoted a custom build. They built it around a Lenovo Thinkpad w510. I did a little research on this computer and recognized the chassis as being the same one people had when I was in highschool. btw- i graduated in 01. I remember those things falling apart back then, which makes me kinda not want one now.

[Gregor]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157540

[SSDude]

From working with 3d modeling software I would highly suggest getting the largest screen available in a laptop and the numeric 10 key keypad. You will appreciate having a larger workspace and the keypad when your dimensioning. 17" wide is available from Toshiba and others.
As far as the graphics card you will most likely have to do an upgrade to get the minimum required for SW2011

[SSDude]

What did MPC quote for a build?
Most of the laptops with the specs your looking for start north of $1500

[GTSLOW]

Man be ready to shell out some cash. That one from egg above sounds like it would be the bare min or may not even work. If that card will work I'm sure you could upgrade the processor and ram to your needs. Vs buying an 8gig/I7 rig.

[brotherbenn83]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157540

Considering that is half the ram and the wrong processor i would say that is a complete waste of a post.

[GTO Jeff]

Those are some heavy-duty specs for a laptop. A laptop with those specs is not mainstream and is going to be priced like the professional tool that it is.

Looks like the HP EliteBook 8740w is one of the few that can meet those requirements. Configured with the slowest available i7, 8 GB of RAM, lowest-resolution 17" LCD, and nVidia 2800 Quadro graphics it lists for $3,318. Upgrade any of those choices and the price soars, it's easy to option it out beyond $8,000.

[GTO Jeff]

Here's one at Newegg with the specs you are looking for. Hold on to your wallet, it's going to take a beating!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157538&cm_re=elitebook_8740w-_-34-157-538-_-Product

[Neal Steffek]

Hello All,

I need to buy a new laptop for home and school. The #1 priority is that it can run SolidWorks 2011.
According to the software website, these are the specs required:

8gb ram
Nvidia Quadro/Quadro FX graphics card or ATI FireGL/FirePro
Intel i7 processor or AMD equivalent
Can run Windows 7 64bit

In a tower, this would all be a piece of cake to find. Unfortunately, I need this thing to be portable.

I know almost nothing about graphics cards. What I have found out is that some cards can fit in laptops. Unfortunately, many laptops have integrated graphics cards that cannot be removed/upgraded. The card is also a critical feature because certain solid modeling simulations can be calculated within the graphics card, which is leagues faster than using the CPU.

So far, Best buy has a Toshiba with decent qualities, but lacking in the graphics card area.

I also went to MilwaukeePC and they quoted a custom build. They built it around a Lenovo Thinkpad w510. I did a little research on this computer and recognized the chassis as being the same one people had when I was in highschool. btw- i graduated in 01. I remember those things falling apart back then, which makes me kinda not want one now.

Just a heads up, the video card part we would need more info on. They have made those cards for years. What series or newer do you need?

As for memory, you can always add memory easy and cheap to any laptop. So don't let that sway you away form one you like if the memory is the only thing that the specs are not perfect for.

[SSDude]

http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/SystemRequirements.html

[Force4]

Your going to have to spend 1500+ for specs like that. I would just get a tower :/

[Al]

From working with 3d modeling software I would highly suggest getting the largest screen available in a laptop and the numeric 10 key keypad. You will appreciate having a larger workspace and the keypad when your dimensioning. 17" wide is available from Toshiba and others.
As far as the graphics card you will most likely have to do an upgrade to get the minimum required for SW2011

Too large of a monitor would be a bit of a hassle when it comes to portability. Then again, most laptops can be connected to a larger monitor when needed.


What did MPC quote for a build?
Most of the laptops with the specs your looking for start north of $1500

MilwaukeePC quoted me about $1700 for the Lenovo.


Just a heads up, the video card part we would need more info on. They have made those cards for years. What series or newer do you need?

As for memory, you can always add memory easy and cheap to any laptop. So don't let that sway you away form one you like if the memory is the only thing that the specs are not perfect for.
I know that. I also don't know how to decipher the numbering system for the cards.

http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/SystemRequirements.html
SW has a list of cards that will work on that website.


Your going to have to spend 1500+ for specs like that. I would just get a tower :/

A tower costs half as much for the same specs and that includes buying a 20+ monitor to go with it, but I need a laptop.

[SSDude]

MilwaukeePC quoted me about $1700 for the Lenovo.



There's your answer. MPC can build a good machine with what you want for less than the big house manufactures are offering.:thumbsup

[GTSLOW]

Mpc is the cheapest?? Id jump on that asap!

[Al]

I am wary of the MPC computer being a Lenovo ThinkPad. They have a habit of falling apart.

[Gregor]

Considering that is half the ram and the wrong processor i would say that is a complete waste of a post.


So you pick up a extra stick of ram to make it 8 gig. But yeah missed the processor part of the post. Was looking more at the video.


Wowser that's one expensive laptop.

[Force4]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Studio-XPS-16-1645-i7-720QM-2-8Ghz-6GB-500GB-BLACK-/160510433552?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item255f2ad910#ht_3722wt_1139

Not the exact specs you want but much cheaper then 1700. Radeon 4750 graphics, will easily run solidworks.

[Taetsch Z-24]

Depending on the field your getting in to... Lenovo, pricey as it is, it is the only way to fly.
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=B004765D5705496FA8CB7EE99E68D075&action=init

The only thing I am sorta worried about, though Nvidia is unclear on it, is the graphics card... Though you could email\call Lenovo and ask them, they also do custom builds for people.

Do not get a damn computer at best buy!

[ND4SPD]

PM me, I might be able to help you out. Lenovo is by far the most reliable manufacturer out there. I have had three of them and all three are still going and have never had a failure of any kind.

[British_Ben]

I am wary of the MPC computer being a Lenovo ThinkPad. They have a habit of falling apart.

???

As far as I know, Lenovo (used to be IBM) is one of the highest quality and most reliable laptops money can buy.

I would be more wary about someone from MPC taking a screw driver to it to "customize" it for you. :stare

[Al]

Are there any other stores out there besides mpc and best buy?
Maybe a manufacturer store?

[British_Ben]

I would take a look online. You'll get much better pricing. If you are dead set on buying local, I would do all my research online and walk into Best Buy/MPC and buy the exact one you want with the exact accessories you want without being hassled.

Other options include going through ND4SPD or DK Systems in Oak Creek if they can put together a laptop for you (not sure on either).

If I were in your shoes, I would be finding one on Newegg.com that fits my needs and balances price with quality. Newegg has awesome customer service and usually has great prices.

Any one of these would be quite good, but would need a stick of ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006740+600003982+600082333&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=32&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

(This link contains Intel Core I7 notebooks with Quadro FX 2800M GPUs)

Learn about your mobile nVidia Quadro GPUS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia_Quadro#Mobile_applications

From a quick read of that wikipedia entry, I can tell you that you probably do not want a Quadro NVS GPU because it looks to be geared towards multi-display setups rather than raw graphics processing performance. So, the FX series of Quadro GPUs seems to be better suited.

Looking at Solidworks site, I do not see any mobile Quadro mobile GPUs officially supported, so you may want to verify that before you move forward. (http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/videocardtesting.html)

[Teufelhunden]

Al, PM me your cell# or email address. I can help you out and give you some real world advice. For the last several years I was responsible for all our hardware and software needs in the engineering dept. Unless your dad is buying, you probably don't want to overspend on this laptop. Your course work won't require you to FEA work at home nor will you be working with large assemblies requiring all the horsepower you listed. PM me if you like.

[Al]

PM sent

When running solidworks, I have been dealing with assemblies with 300+ parts, but most of the parts are bolts and other simple shapes. I am also not running parts with complex geometry. Next semester though, I will be taking multiple mold design classes. Molds typically have fewer parts, but the shapes are much more complex than the stamping dies I am working on now.


To set the standard of what I have been working with, we are running dual-core 1.7GHz, 3gb ram, and nvidia quadro fx 3700 on Windows XP. The computers are smooth when it comes to graphics and rotating the parts, but they typically pause for a second when you click any of the commands. I wonder if that i7 Toshiba with 8gb and a gaming card will be at par with it.

At school. there are people running laptops that can be bought at local stores. I am going to ask one person to open a large assembly of mine and see how smoothly it operates. If this test goes well, then I will feel comfortable with the Toshiba I have been eying. If not, then I will surely look for a higher-performance computer.

[ND4SPD]

Are there any other stores out there besides mpc and best buy?
Maybe a manufacturer store?

Yeah, mine

[GTSLOW]

PM sent

When running solidworks, I have been dealing with assemblies with 300+ parts, but most of the parts are bolts and other simple shapes. I am also not running parts with complex geometry. Next semester though, I will be taking multiple mold design classes. Molds typically have fewer parts, but the shapes are much more complex than the stamping dies I am working on now.


To set the standard of what I have been working with, we are running dual-core 1.7GHz, 3gb ram, and nvidia quadro fx 3700 on Windows XP. The computers are smooth when it comes to graphics and rotating the parts, but they typically pause for a second when you click any of the commands. I wonder if that i7 Toshiba with 8gb and a gaming card will be at par with it.

At school. there are people running laptops that can be bought at local stores. I am going to ask one person to open a large assembly of mine and see how smoothly it operates. If this test goes well, then I will feel comfortable with the Toshiba I have been eying. If not, then I will surely look for a higher-performance computer.

I'm sure that cpu and additional ram will help. But correct me if I'm wrong you'd still be best with a quadro series card not a gaming card?