LAPTOPS & VIDEO CARDS

[STEVE ENGLISH]

I have just received AC11 (yipee) and need to replace my tired old Dell Inspiron 8000 laptop to run this and other key software such as excel, word, adobee photoshop, outlook, etc.

I have narrowed my serach down to 3 laptops;

Toshiba satellite pro P100-465 running Vista business with nvidea geoforce go 7600 card and 512mb dedicated video ram @ £1200

OR

Dell M90 running vista business or XP Pro with nvidea quadro FX2500 card and 512mb dedicated ram @ £1400

OR

Dell XPSM1710 running vista business with nvidea goeforce go 7950 GTX card with 512mb dedicated ram @ £1500

I prefer the look/spec of the toshiba but am anxious about the performance of the video card. Have any of you guys had any experience of any of these machines and particularly would you recommend the extra outlay for the quadro card over the Toshiba?

Any advice would be most welcome.

[Aaron Bourgoin]

what about a new Apple 17 MacBook Pro.

2.4Gb Core-Duo, 4Gb RAM, GeForce 8600M GT video card, 160Gb 7200RPM HD and 1920x1200 pixels - including support for a second monitor at native resolution.

The virtual machine applications now support 3D emulation. Put XP on this and have fun.

Price: £2,075.74
VAT: £363.25
Subtotal: £2,438.99

Ready to ship:
4 days
Free Shipping

[STEVE ENGLISH]

Sorry...forgot to mention i have looked at the apple Macbook Pro and think its awesome but we have a PC based network in the office with over 26 current stations and our IT company aren't too hot on apple...so its got to be a PC based solution i am afraid.

Thanks for the advice all the same!

[Anonymous]

STEVE wrote:
Sorry...forgot to mention i have looked at the apple Macbook Pro and think its awesome but we have a PC based network in the office with over 26 current stations and our IT company aren't too hot on apple...so its got to be a PC based solution i am afraid.

Thanks for the advice all the same!

So stick a Dell logo over the apple and launch in Windows with Bootcamp. Oh, you'll also need to make a sticker that says WinBook Pro for under the screen. If you also get one of those colored plastic shells you might even fool them. Of course the backlit keyboard is still a give away.

It's funny how many offices won't let people use Mac's because then "everyone will want one".

[Karl Ottenstein]

Matthew wrote:
So stick a Dell logo over the apple and launch in Windows with Bootcamp.

I'm at a horse show this weekend and was surprised to see the Windows XP screensaver running on a MacBook in the show office. Jarring sight, but totally reasonable with the new Macs as Matthew says. 😉

Karl

[henrypootel]

If your only choices are the 3 you have listed, then go for the Dell. The specs aren't too much lower than a Mac Book Pro, but a $500 saving is nothing to sneeze at.
If you do want a high-end machine, Alienware will give you the best, particularly in laptops. Archicad runs best on gaming machines, Alienware make gaming machines.
http://www.alienware.co.uk/product_pages/notebook_all_default.aspx
Also, the HP 'NW' series are very good high-performance laptops.
Otherwise, go with the Dell.

Any posts on this forum about recommendations for hardware are usually spammed by 'Why don't you buy a Mac' messages for about the first 10 posts or so, but then they get tired and leave. If you want to run Windows(which, despite what you might hear, actually is a very good OS), then buy a machine from a 'PC' vendor. They will usually have a long history of making their systems work well with Windows, give you a lot more options, and in most cases, they look just as pretty.

[Anonymous]

henrypootel wrote:
...then buy a machine from a 'PC' vendor. They will usually have a long history of making their systems work well with Windows, give you a lot more options, and in most cases, they look just as pretty.

I don't know about the "just as pretty part", some are OK, others are seriously ugly. I really liked some of the ThinkPad models. Panasonic has kind of a brutish appeal (ToughBook) and the Sonys have some style (but mediocre build quality from what I've seen). But I still haven't seen any PC laptops that I find as clean and well designed as the Macs.

Obviously Macs are not made with the primary purpose of running Windows. The main effect is that the keyboard isn't quite what most Windows users are used to and this is a deal killer for many. Another thing is that (at least for now) Bootcamp is still in beta and thus not fully supported (though I've had zero problems with it). And of course you have to buy (or own) Windows and install it yourself. These are not big problems, but clearly impediments to Windows users with no interest in running OSX.

The truth is that MacBooks for running Windows are for those of us who need to run both (I no longer need two laptops to do my work ), Mac users who occasionally need to run Windows, or Windows users who are curious to try out a Mac or just think the MacBooks are cool.

You have to forgive the occasional "Why not get a Mac?" comment (mea culpa) since Windows boxes were cheaper and faster for so long, it's hard to resist pointing out that this is no longer true.

[Aaron Bourgoin]

Any posts on this forum about recommendations for hardware are usually spammed by 'Why don't you buy a Mac' messages for about the first 10 posts or so, but then they get tired and leave. If you want to run Windows(which, despite what you might hear, actually is a very good OS), then buy a machine from a 'PC' vendor. They will usually have a long history of making their systems work well with Windows, give you a lot more options, and in most cases, they look just as pretty.

Henry,

i wasn't planning on leaving any time soon....

The problem with sopecifying Alienware gear or any other high end laptop is cost. If you look at the video card specs on the three machines in the original post, it would appear that their video cards are hand-me-down cards - older generation cards and not anything current.

Apple Laptops have the decided advantage from the price perspective. The machines released two weeks ago also allow one to tap 4Gb of RAM without acquiring another OS.

What are you on about with the apple spammer stuff, anyway?

[STEVE ENGLISH]

I get the message that MOST people think the Macbook Pro is the best solution and i would tend to agree EXCEPT that our IT people are not as conversant with apple as with PC based systems therefore our network support could be problematic and/or more expensive plus the machines are significantly more expensive than the 3 i originally listed. So 're-badging' a Mac as someone suggested is not a viable option.

The issue here really is the video cards - of the two Dell machines the XPS is essentially a gaming machine but looks smart (in all silver) whereas the M90 is essentially a CAD workstation but is not quite as smart looking. Looks aside i am more interested in what noticable difference there would be between the 3 different graphics cards.

I am sure i have read that anything more than 2mb dedicated video ram is useless to Arhcicad anyway.

I think its looking like the Dell M90 especially as they have some seriously hot offer on just now!

[Aaron Bourgoin]

Its 4Gb of System RAM. And yes you can access RAM over 2Gb under certain conditions. Windows systems require XP Pro 64-bit Edition to do this. Or VISTA.

Go for the M90 - looks like a newer video card and less expensive than the other Dell.