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Installation & update
About program installation and update, hardware, operating systems, setup, etc.

Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (2020) for ARCHICAD work

Anonymous
Not applicable
Any thoughts on the new Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 for ARCHICAD work? I work on small to medium-sized projects (i.e. residential, singe units to multi-units, and interior commercial fit-out) but I model about 80% of the project (which everyone should).

Current laptop is an old 2015 13" Macbook Pro 2016, 16gb 3.4Ghz CPU duo-core.

Thanks in advance!
8 REPLIES 8
Laszlo Nagy
Community Admin
Community Admin
Could you post a link to a web page that contains the full specifications of the model you are considering?
i checked it on the web and I found this on Dell's site (I don't know if this is the model):

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/new-xps-13-2-in-1-laptop/spd/xps-13-7390-2-in-1-laptop

The specs look good, except that it has no dedicated graphics card, which could be worrisome. GRAPHISOFT does not recommend using ARCHICAD with integrated graphics chips (like the Intel Iris). This Help Center article

https://helpcenter.graphisoft.com/knowledgebase/87338/

states:
There are professional cards available for workstation laptops, such as the Nvidia Quadro and Radeon Pro, that slightly under-perform from their desktop counterparts. We have also good experiences with most of the dedicated Nvidia's GeForce cards, somewhat middling experience with AMD/ATI cards, and very bad experience with on-board (integrated) graphics cards.
Loving Archicad since 1995 - Find Archicad Tips at x.com/laszlonagy
AMD Ryzen9 5900X CPU, 64 GB RAM 3600 MHz, Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB, 500 GB NVMe SSD
2x28" (2560x1440), Windows 10 PRO ENG, Ac20-Ac27
Anonymous
Not applicable
ive got my eye on the new release of the dell xps 15 (2in1) or hp spectre 15 x360 (2in1)

https://www8.hp.com/us/en/premium/laptops/spectre-x360.html?jumpid=in_r12136_us/en/psg/premiumfamily...

the 15 has a new 10th gen cpu and mx150 gpu (2gb) or GTX 1050 Ti (4gb)
looks fantastic for presentations and light drawing updates.
Lingwisyer
Guru
Would not bother with the MX150.

AC22-23 AUS 7000Help Those Help You - Add a Signature
Self-taught, bend it till it breaksCreating a Thread
Win11 | i9 10850K | 64GB | RX6600 Win10 | R5 2600 | 16GB | GTX1660
Laszlo Nagy
Community Admin
Community Admin
I agree, I would go with the one with the GTX 1050 Ti (4gb) dedicated GPU.
Loving Archicad since 1995 - Find Archicad Tips at x.com/laszlonagy
AMD Ryzen9 5900X CPU, 64 GB RAM 3600 MHz, Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB, 500 GB NVMe SSD
2x28" (2560x1440), Windows 10 PRO ENG, Ac20-Ac27
theArchitect1988
Participant
stevejock1 wrote:
Any thoughts on the new Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 for ARCHICAD work? I work on small to medium-sized projects (i.e. residential, singe units to multi-units, and interior commercial fit-out) but I model about 80% of the project (which everyone should).

Current laptop is an old 2015 13" Macbook Pro 2016, 16gb 3.4Ghz CPU duo-core.

Thanks in advance!
Funny. This is word-for-word what I posted on a Reddit thread on reddit.com/r/Archicad (see https://www.reddit.com/r/ArchiCAD/comments/f2kf3p/dell_xps_13_2in1_2020_for_archicad_work/)

Nonetheless, would be interesting to see what everyone else thinks. The integrated graphics note is interesting. I would think that a dedicated external graphic card system would compensate for that. Small screen and all another screen would be a better set-up with the external graphic card.

Thoughts?
Lingwisyer
Guru
The eGPU option should work well for your intended use if you stick to the single desk. You will probably want to get the i7 to maximise life. The UHD+ screen seems a bit overkill and just eats into your battery life, but I do not see any downgrade options on the Australian site.

Still, the main advantage of using an eGPU is not to enable work, but to improve. Hence if you are just sticking to the single desk, and it is just for work, it would be significantly more cost effective to get a dedicated desktop computer and a tablet for site.



Ling.

AC22-23 AUS 7000Help Those Help You - Add a Signature
Self-taught, bend it till it breaksCreating a Thread
Win11 | i9 10850K | 64GB | RX6600 Win10 | R5 2600 | 16GB | GTX1660
Anonymous
Not applicable
Lingwisyer wrote:
The eGPU option should work well for your intended use if you stick to the single desk. You will probably want to get the i7 to maximise life. The UHD+ screen seems a bit overkill and just eats into your battery life, but I do not see any downgrade options on the Australian site.

Still, the main advantage of using an eGPU is not to enable work, but to improve. Hence if you are just sticking to the single desk, and it is just for work, it would be significantly more cost effective to get a dedicated desktop computer and a tablet for site.


Ling.
The laptop you’ll need to buy for Archicad, also has to be suitable for these other software. Therefore, I have decided to list here, the best laptops for ArchiCAD. This list applies to all versions of the software, including ArchiCAD 22, 21, 20, 19 and 18.
andywillers
Newcomer

Hello, Small screen for CAD, bit I guess you're using a second monitor. Also, there are a number of different specs for the XPS, which one are you thinking of getting?

You'll want one with dedicated graphics, i7 (or equivalent) and 16GB RAM atleast. SSD (pretty sure they're standard on the XPS) OR for more details go there