Laptop for ArchiCAD 17?

[Gus]

May, 2013

To anyone out there who knows a lot about ArchiCAD 17 and laptops,

My laptop's motherboard died a few days ago.
I've been searching for a replacement.
Following is a quote and specifications for a laptop I was considering purchasing to use with ArchiCAD 17.
Is there anyone out there who might be able to tell me if this is a good choice or not? My brain is getting quite scrambled with all these product sheets and different advice websites.
Is there anything missing or not adequate for one reason or another?
I would really appreciate any advice anyone might have.

Thanks.

Michael


Specs:

Inspiron 17R Special Edition Inspiron 17R Notebook (Inspiron 7720)
Inspiron 17R Notebook (Inspiron 7720)
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM (6MB cache, up to 3.4Ghz)
8GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory
17.3" Full High Definition (1080p) LED Display with Anti-Glare
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M GDDR5 2GB
Intel® Centrino® Wireless 2230, 2x2 bgn + Bluetooth
1TB 5400RPM SATA HDD + 32GB mSATA SSD w/ Intel Smart Response
Intel® Centrino® Wireless 2230, 2x2 bgn + Bluetooth
English Backlit Keyboard with Multi-touch Touchpad
Windows 8, 64-bit, English
Integrated 10/100 Network Card
NB & DT w/Webcam
48 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Battery
8X Tray Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Skullcandy Speakers with WaveMaxx 4.0
Power cord, 125V, 3.2 Feet, US
Win8 Documentation, English
Microsoft Office Trial
Shipping Material, Direct & Retail
McAfee Security Center, 15 Month Subscription
Cyberlink Media Suite Essentials DVD
90 days Premium Phone Support + 1 Year In-Home Service after Remote
Wireless Display Application
Retail Software - All WIN8
PCmover Home – Free
Digital Delivery Enablement
A7TRBO1401_019/BTS/C1
PocketCloud Companion, Standard, Digital Delivery
Inspiron 17R Special Edition Palmrest Label

Stealth Black Anodized Aluminum
No Adobe Reader Selected

Subtotal: $1,057.43
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Tax: $57.18
Total Price w/Discounts: $1,114.61


Also:
Here are two links I have found that help with deciding these things but I am still having trouble:

http://archicadwiki.com/VideoCardsForArchiCAD16?action=show&redirect=Video+Cards#Recommended_Video_C...

and

http://www.graphisoft.com/support/system_requirements/index.html

[Laszlo Nagy]

It is a pretty good computer.
Processor, display size and resolution, graphics card type and memory size are all good.
A few recommendations in order of importance:
1. SSD drive for system is good too. I would buy a larger one though if you can afford it. Preferably somewhere around at least 80-120 GB because lots of program install themselves onto the system drive and 32 GB fills up very fast. I have a 60 GB one and I find it not large enough.
2. Memory size. I would strongly recommend 16 GB of it. It is the other most important thing that, if not enough, can slow your machine down. Memory size is much more important than processor performance, because today's processors are very powerful, ArchiCAD is very well optimized, but if you don't have enough RAM for all your applications, your system will slow down dramatically.

Otherwise it seems like a good system, even for ArchiCAD 17. Lots of performance enhancements have been made for ArchiCAD 17 so it is not slower than previous version, only needs a bit more RAM.

[Gus]

Thank you so much for that advice. It is comforting to hear. I will see if I can get this customized with 16gig and more solid state. Huge help!

[Gus]

Does this one look better?
I know that the ram and solid state drive are better but is the "gaming" 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M video card on this one going to work as well as the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M GDDR5 2GB on the previous one I posted?

Alienware M17X R4 with Soft Touch
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.4GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
32GB (4 X 8GB) Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
17.3-inch WideHD+ 1600 x 900 60Hz WLED
2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M
256GB SSD SATA 6Gb/s
Quasar Blue
Windows® 7 Professional, 64bit
Stealth Black with Soft Touch Finish
Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software
Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 With Bluetooth 4.0
Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter
Alienware Documentation
Microsoft® Office trial
Shipping Material - Black
NO VIRUS PROTECTION REQUESTED
90WHr 9-Cell Primary Battery

Subtotal: $2,101.12
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Tax: $115.56
Total Price w/Discounts: $2,216.68

[Gus]

This seems like it may be the most balanced Laptop for ArchiCAD 17 I have found so far. Any thoughts?

$2,279.00
ThinkPad W530
Part number: 2436CTO

• Intel Core i7-3740QM Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.70 GHz)
• Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
• 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) LED Backlit AntiGlare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
• NVIDIA Quadro K2000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory
• 128GB Solid State Drive, SATA3
• 16 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (4 DIMM)
• Keyboard Backlit - US English
• UltraNav with Fingerprint Reader
• 720p HD Camera with Microphone
• DVD Recordable
• Express Card Slot & 4-in-1 Card Reader
• 9 Cell Li-Ion TWL 70++
• 170W Slim AC Adapter - US (2pin)
• Bluetooth 4.0 with Antenna
• Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 AGN
• Mobile Broadband upgradable
• Publication - US English

[Laszlo Nagy]

The ThinkPad is 15.6". Which means only one hard drive. And 128 GB will just not be enough for everything. This is why a 17.3" is a better choice, I think because it has room for 2 hard drives.

The Alienware's screen resolution is only 1600x900. I would recommend the 1920x1080 resolution. The higher resolution, the beter for ArchiCAD so with all the palettes you still have lots of room to work in.
It is not included in the list you attached but it also has a 1 TB hard drive.
I see that you can configure the Alienware with 1920x1080.
This is a gaming laptop which means it usually have strong processor, graphics card, lots of RAM, SSD + hard drive, good audio.
These are also good for ArchiCAD, which usually requires a high end machine.
Acually, my laptop is also a gaming laptop simply because that was the type of laptop that offered the specs I needed.

[henrypootel]

That thinkpad would be perfect - just bump the SSD up to 240/256Gb.

The specs on the alienware are good too, but there's still nothing that comes close to thinkpad in terms of reliability and support.

Their screens are beautiful too, and the keyboards are pretty universally acknowledged as being amazing.

definitely worth the extra cash I would say!

[Anonymous]

Ive have been wondering if any one has reading the very good reviews that the new Intel Haswell Processor has been getting?

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/05/a-look-at-haswell/


In particular the main improvement has been the built in dreaded Intel HD graphics - according to the reviews they are almost as good as some of the low end discrete graphics. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who is planning on buying a low end laptop / desktop and trying archicad out on it.

[Anonymous]

As a user of a M6600 (previous model) i highly recommend this:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=04&fb=1&l=en&model_id=precision-m6700&oc=swct674n&s=bsd&vw=classic

[Anonymous]

I bought that Dell special you started with for home - pretty unbeatable at that price point.
The screen size is great and no compromise from work.
Have not had any issues so far except that the build quality is less than my Mac (at double the price!). The keyboard flexes in the middle when in use...
and it is a big and heavy beast...