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

[Anonymous]

Side issue - I have been using one of the late 2011 MAC 17" MacBook Pro with the following upgrades:

Swapped the HD for a 256 SSD
Added 4GB memory for a total of 8
Added a 23" LG monitor to add to the available real estate
Added a 1TB external for backup

The system is very responsive. Upgraded to V16 and the graphics seem to be OK. Awaiting the arrival of V17 and will post when I can compare. Since I am a sole practitioner, the unit does everything needed. I have a need for a couple of WIN Apps so am using Parallels - installed AC V10 since it only works for me on the win side to open old files and is really fast. It shows that we have a lot of better stuff, but simpler is good too.

[Anonymous]

I'm an ArchiCAD newbie. In fact, I just downloaded the free trial of AC17.

I have the same question as the original poster, except I'm wondering if this laptop would be suitable to run AC17 as secondary (traveling) machine:

HP ENVY 15t Quad TouchSmart Laptop, Intel® Core™ i7-4700MQ 2.4GHz

Processor & Memory:
4th generation Intel® Core™ i7-4700MQ 2.4GHz
16GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)

Drives:
1TB 5400RPM Hard Drive
No Internal DVD or CD Drive

Operating System: Microsoft® Windows 8 (64-bit)
Windows 8 is Beautiful, fast, and fluid
Personalized: Make your Start Screen your personalized home for the things you care about. Organize and customize it the way you want
Connected: Now everything is in one place to share. Integrate your online favorites – Facebook, Flickr, Hotmail, etc. – with content from your PC., such as photos and contacts
Touchable: The new Windows 8 has been redesigned for touch but still works great with a mouse and keyboard

Graphics & Video:
15.6-inch diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit Display (1366x768)
Intel® HD Graphics 4600

Communications:
802.11b/g/n WLAN
Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone

Audio:
Beats™ audio

Keyboard:
Standard Keyboard

Ports:
4x SuperSpeed USB 3.0
1x HDMI
1x Headphone out/ Microphone-in combo jack
Multi-Format Digital Media Card Reader

Power Supply:
6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery
65W AC adaptor

Additional Information:
Coolsense Included: Yes
Dimensions: 14.94" W x 9.87" D x 0.74”~1.18” H
Weight (Approximately): 5.62 lbs.
ENERGY STAR Qualified

I do almost all my work on my desktop and would only use this when I'm away from the office, so the screen size isn't that big a deal.

Any opinions?

Thanks,

Dorothy

[Barry Kelly]

I am no expert but the hard dive is a little slow which won't help.

Also it sounds like it has an integrated video on the mother board (Intel® HD Graphics 4600) which might be an issue.
Graphisoft say "We do not recommend the following low-end video cards:
•NVidia Quadro NVS series (not to be confused with the FX series)
•ATI FireMV series (not to be confused with FireGL series)
•Intel on-board (motherboard-integrated) video chips"


And the main killer will be the screen resolution.
The 15" screen might be usable but at 1366x768 resolution you won't see all the tool bars and the work space will be tiny.
Graphisoft say "Resolution of 1024 x 768 is required. Resolution of 1280 x 1024 or higher is recommended"
So it will work (if the graphics card is up to it) but it will not be pleasant.

Barry.

[henrypootel]

I agree with Barry - hard drive is very slow, on-board graphics card is bad, and resolution is low enough as to make ArchiCAD nigh-unusable.

The hard-drive should be upgraded to at least a 7200RPM disk, or a solid-state if possible. Drop back the RAM to 8Gb and use the money you save to put in a 240Gb SSD instead.

You are also going to want a discrete graphics card as well - Nvidia Quadro 600 seems to be the sweet spot at the moment, but if that's too pricey or not available, then a GeForce 650 or thereabouts should do the trick.

The screen would be OK if you are always planning on plugging it into an external 21 or so inch monitor, otherwise, try and upgrade the resolution on the laptop panel. 1440x900 would be the bare minimum I would say, but 1920x1080 would be better.

[Steve Jepson]

Dell M6700

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Update-Dell-Precision-M6700-Notebook-Nvidia-Quadro-K5000M.89984....

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone, hello especially to the ones in the know who have been helping Gus and will hopefully help me...

I was about to hit the go-button to order a new Dell laptop today - and it would have been either this one:

Dell XPS 15 (16GB RAM / 512 GB SSD)
------------------------------
/ Intel® Core™ i7-3632QM processor (with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.20 GHz)
/ Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, Deutsch
/ 40 cm (15.6") FHD-WLED-Display with 1.080p, Truelife und Skype-certyfied HD-Webcam
/ 16 GB1 DDR3 SDRAM, 1600 MHz
/ Solid-State-HD (SSD) mit 512 GB
/ Blu-ray combined drive (Blu-ray read, DVD/CD write)
/ 2 GB nVidia GeForce GT 640M
/ 2.6 kg
/ € 1.849,00

or this one:

Dell XPS 15 (8GB RAM / 750-GB-SATA + 32-GB-mSATA-SSD)
------------------------------
/ Intel® Core™ i7-3632QM processor (with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.20 GHz)
/ Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, Deutsch
/ 40 cm (15.6") FHD -WLED-Display mit 1.080p, Truelife und Skype-certyfied HD-Webcam
/ 8 GB2 DDR3 SDRAM, 1600 MHz
/ 750-GB-SATA-HD (7.200 U/min) + 32-GB-mSATA-SSD-HD
/ Blu-ray combined drive (Blu-ray read, DVD/CD write)
/ 2 GB nVidia GeForce GT 640M
/ 2.6 kg
/ € 1.349,00


It's not that money grows on the trees in my garden, but I have been working with the now-crashing computer for 7 years and probably will work as long with the new one, so I think to buy the "stronger" version of the XPS would be a wise decision. But then I stumbeled over the remark above in this thread that it WOULD be a REASONABLE alternative to have a gamer computer. I never considered gaming hardware before. Graphic cards have been an issue ever since I work with ArchiCAD (that's a while...) and it makes me nervous every time I buy a new computer. So does it now. I checked every list and advice and since the nVidia GeForce GT 640M built in the XPS 15 was recommended above in this thread, I felt it would be safe to order. But I have to admit I'm still working on ArchiCAD 11 (considering upgrade, but not next few days!) so there is a little bit of adventure left.

If a Gamer Laptop IS an opportunity, and if I do spend as much money as 1800+ Euro, then why not have this one:

Alienware 14
------------------------------
/ Intel® Core™ i7-4700MQ prozcessor (6MB Cache, bis zu 3.4GHz w/ Turbo Boost Technology)
/ Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, Deutsch
/ 35 cm (14.0") FHD W-LED-Display (1920 x 1080), reflexionsarm
/ 16 GB2 Dual-Channel DDR3L bei 1600 MHz
/ 750GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
/ Slot-Loading Blu-ray reader with Dual Layer (BD-ROM, DVDRW, CD-RW)
/ NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 765M Grafikkarte mit 2GB GDDR5
/ 2.77 kg
/ € 1.899,00


The smaller display doesn't bother me much because I have an external, bigger display at my workplace anyway - it only matters if I travel. And when I travel size and weight matter also. So basically the questions I'm struggling with are:

1/ Do both of the graphic cards:
- nVidia GeForce GT 640M
- NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 765M
work with the ArchiCad versions I'm planning to use in near and not-so-near future (ArchiCAD 11 and ArchiCAD 17)?

2/ What is the difference between the two HDs - and which is the better one to have for my purpose?
- Solid-State-Drive (SSD) 512 GB (XPS 15)
- 750GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s (Alienware)

As my computer shows me a blue window every two days and I say a little prayer every time before I start the system, I'm trying to solve that problem soon! I'm grateful for every help, advice or recomendation! Thx!

[Ernest Atanasiu]

You should take a look at ASUS N56VZ series (15" full HD screen) or the N76VZ series (17" full HD also).

It has beter build quality than Dell.

I have a N76VZ and it's great.
Intel® Core™ i7 3610QM
DDR3 1600 MHz SDRAM, 2 x SO-DIMM socket for expansion up to 16 GB SDRAM
17.3" HD+ (1600x900)/Full HD (1920x1080)/Wide View Angle LED Backlight
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M with 2GB/4GB DDR3 VRAM

[Anonymous]

AC runs very well on modest machines by today's standards.
Keep the €500 and save a bit more - upgrade to the latest AC, the productivity enhancements will save you more time than the machine will.

[Steve Jepson]

uisanata wrote:
...It has beter build quality than Dell.

I can vouch for the flimsy case of the M6600, however, what's inside is rock solid. Also, it may feel flimsy but I am not so sure it makes anything more than a cosmetic difference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6cdnnJAdHw