Recommended laptop specs for running ProE or Auto CAD?

Question

I am going to get a new laptop and I want to run ProE and auto cad. Can anyone tell me the minimum specs required for using these applications? And what processor should it have? Is the core 2 a good processor?

Answer 1

as others have said AutoCAD is a resource hog

so get as fast a processor as possible, check if the version of AutoCAD you are using can make use of the mulit core processors.. if it can then a slightly slower dual core may be better than a slightly faster single core. if it can't then get as fast a single cpore processor as possible.

memory 2Gb minimum (dual channel fine.. theres no point trying to increase above the maximum memory the processor and OS cn support.. on a 32 bit OS thats no more than 3Gb.

get a laptop with dedicated graphics memory (make certain its not shared), CAD is graphics intensive and unless you are using dedicated graphics processor and memory then it will run slow. whetehr the graphics chip is nVidia or ATC doesn't matter

get one form the reputable brands cheaper brands will use cheaper parts and in your desired applications they will ten to c**p out.

get as big a screen as possible. I find 1600x1200 on a 20" screen is the minimum.

get a laptop with an exterrnal expansion bus (and or external dislay output (often a 15 pin D socket)

get an additional keyboard and mouse...... trying to use the inbuilt keyboard & muse will drive you spare if you are serious about using this for CAD

but most of all consider.. is it possible to do the work you need to on a laptop

do you want a portable desktop replacement, or do you want a laptop

Answer 2

The last laptop we had running Pro E at work was a Dell Precision laptop (M70 at the time but replaced now) which had a 2.2GHz Dual Core Intel with a 256MB nVidia chipset in it and 2GB of RAM.

Pro E ran very well on this so it might be worth taking a look at the Dell Precision range as they are commonly used for this application and then compare to other similarly specced laptops. The Core2 processor is excellent and better than the one in the older laptop I mentioned.  

Answer 3

A duo core with 2 gig ram absolutely minimum...

Auto Cad is a very system resource heavy program, so the better the laptop the better and smoother it will run.

Answer 4

Nvidia Quadro FX card. It'll help you on those renderings.

C2D, doesn't really matter what. A mid-range C2D won't bottleneck. 2/3GB memory, or 4GB in 64-bit. Should last a few years.

Companies that offer a Nvidia Quadro card:

Lenovo

Dell business

HP business

Answer 5

laptops-

http://ruggedlaptop.com/