Computer geeks assemble!
#21
My wife works for Dassualt. They load Solidworks and Catia on all her laptop images whether they can handle it or not. That's my random what do you know ****.
As for Video cards, I agree 100% with Y8s. If you are going to get pretty serious, buy a laptop with a professional card like a Quadro in it. Also, get as many cores and memory as you can squeeze in that bitch and if you really like quick iops solid state hard rive. Ofcourse, like Joe says, you can do this for a lot cheaper with a desktop.
As for Video cards, I agree 100% with Y8s. If you are going to get pretty serious, buy a laptop with a professional card like a Quadro in it. Also, get as many cores and memory as you can squeeze in that bitch and if you really like quick iops solid state hard rive. Ofcourse, like Joe says, you can do this for a lot cheaper with a desktop.
#23
One other thing to consider: don't spend extra money on extra cores. Most CAD platforms use one at a time. It's a software limitation imposed by the way the geometries are calculated. Extra cores will speed up rendering and stuff like that, but the biggest benefit is going to be multitasking and not CAD performance itself.
Multi-threading that stuff is a gorramn nightmare.
I'll be in the market for a laptop in the near future, can you hook a bro up with some awesomesauce Dell deals?
#24
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Not true at all. the Quadro / FirePro cards represent a significant (3-4x) performance improvement over the gaming cards. Gaming cards are optimized for foggy mist and pretty landscapes. CAD cards are optimized for geometry and polygon modeling.
Some analyses:
http://web.eurocom.com/ec/ec_GetBenchmarkB(20)
GeForce GTX 580 vs Quadro 5000 | NYC Max User Group
Some analyses:
http://web.eurocom.com/ec/ec_GetBenchmarkB(20)
GeForce GTX 580 vs Quadro 5000 | NYC Max User Group
There are differences. Are those differences enough to offset the additional cost of going with a "work" card over a "gaming" card is the question. With what you sound like stating your budget and such, you seem to not be doing the CAD professionally. At least not in a job where you depend on it. Which in that case a "gaming" card should be more then good enough. If you are going to get into doing CAD full time then I would make the recommendation of a "work" card over a "gaming" card.
#25
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My wife works for Dassualt. They load Solidworks and Catia on all her laptop images whether they can handle it or not. That's my random what do you know ****.
As for Video cards, I agree 100% with Y8s. If you are going to get pretty serious, buy a laptop with a professional card like a Quadro in it. Also, get as many cores and memory as you can squeeze in that bitch and if you really like quick iops solid state hard rive. Ofcourse, like Joe says, you can do this for a lot cheaper with a desktop.
As for Video cards, I agree 100% with Y8s. If you are going to get pretty serious, buy a laptop with a professional card like a Quadro in it. Also, get as many cores and memory as you can squeeze in that bitch and if you really like quick iops solid state hard rive. Ofcourse, like Joe says, you can do this for a lot cheaper with a desktop.
And why Dell?
I read Joe's response as in he was saying any card discrete card will be better then any integrated card. While yes the Quadro/Firepro cards are much better then normal gaming cards, they are much harder to find on a laptop. I think for Buffon as long as he has a decent discrete graphics card he will be more then fine.
There are differences. Are those differences enough to offset the additional cost of going with a "work" card over a "gaming" card is the question. With what you sound like stating your budget and such, you seem to not be doing the CAD professionally. At least not in a job where you depend on it. Which in that case a "gaming" card should be more then good enough. If you are going to get into doing CAD full time then I would make the recommendation of a "work" card over a "gaming" card.
There are differences. Are those differences enough to offset the additional cost of going with a "work" card over a "gaming" card is the question. With what you sound like stating your budget and such, you seem to not be doing the CAD professionally. At least not in a job where you depend on it. Which in that case a "gaming" card should be more then good enough. If you are going to get into doing CAD full time then I would make the recommendation of a "work" card over a "gaming" card.
#27
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If you're using solidworks in the fancy shaded solid mode, then a decent graphics card will come into play.
And thanks, shuiend, for better articulating what I could not find the words to say. If we are focusing specifically on the laptop market, then I am making the assumption (uninformed, admittedly) that you're not going to have nearly as much choice as one would if shopping for a desktop card, and that most (all?) of the discrete graphics chipsets available are going to be of the gamer-oriented variety. That being the case, a gamer-class discrete video card is going to be better than an integrated (in-CPU) graphics system for any kind of solid, shaded 3d work, be it Solidworks or Call of Duty XVI: Overnight Mall Security.
#29
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True Story: Pro/Engineer (now CREO) is significantly slower and crappier when working in wireframe mode than it is in solid mode.
also, before you all go around in circles again with me:
quadro is better for CAD than GeForce.
only about 5 laptops have quadro cards.
Dell, Lenovo, Fujitsu (overseas) and HP have a few.
Same thing with FirePro graphics. Dell and HP.
I have used the Dell Precision old school Quadro machine and now I use a slightly less old old school Lenovo T61p with a Quadro.
start here:
Quadro Workstation Solutions | NVIDIA
AMD Mobile Workstations from Dell and HP
Another option is going crazy with the cheez whiz. Find one of those laptops that has a PCI-E dock compatible with the Quadro cards. They are probably more rare than a Leprechaun riding a Unicorn with a horn made of Adamantium, but they do exist.
also, before you all go around in circles again with me:
quadro is better for CAD than GeForce.
only about 5 laptops have quadro cards.
Dell, Lenovo, Fujitsu (overseas) and HP have a few.
Same thing with FirePro graphics. Dell and HP.
I have used the Dell Precision old school Quadro machine and now I use a slightly less old old school Lenovo T61p with a Quadro.
start here:
Quadro Workstation Solutions | NVIDIA
AMD Mobile Workstations from Dell and HP
Another option is going crazy with the cheez whiz. Find one of those laptops that has a PCI-E dock compatible with the Quadro cards. They are probably more rare than a Leprechaun riding a Unicorn with a horn made of Adamantium, but they do exist.
#33
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My Dad does a lot of CAD work and we've got back and fourth on this. His last machine was a Dell with a Quadro and it was great. He cheaped out this time around and picked up a W series ThinkPad with an Intel HD integrated card and it blows chunks. I've got a 6 year old dual core IBM T61 Thinkpad with a Quadro and it kicks the **** out of his W.
If you plan on getting serious about the 3d modeling stuff, you want to spend the money once and do it right. If you can't afford new, I got my Dads previous Quadro equipped Dell @ DFS Direct Sales > Dell Refurbished Laptops`Used Laptops`Used Notebooks`Dell`PCs`Desktops`Monitors`Parts DELL Deals . You will have to dig through A LOT of **** listed on that site, but the deals are pretty good. It's all 1-2 year old lease return machines that have all kinds of random *** configurations, so you will need to dig. I outfitted an entire non-profit with hardware from that site, plus 15-20 additional machines over the years. I had 1 problem machine that they replaced no questions asked.
If you plan on getting serious about the 3d modeling stuff, you want to spend the money once and do it right. If you can't afford new, I got my Dads previous Quadro equipped Dell @ DFS Direct Sales > Dell Refurbished Laptops`Used Laptops`Used Notebooks`Dell`PCs`Desktops`Monitors`Parts DELL Deals . You will have to dig through A LOT of **** listed on that site, but the deals are pretty good. It's all 1-2 year old lease return machines that have all kinds of random *** configurations, so you will need to dig. I outfitted an entire non-profit with hardware from that site, plus 15-20 additional machines over the years. I had 1 problem machine that they replaced no questions asked.
#34
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Well after looking for months I came to a compromise. I got the Acer TimelineX 3830tg.
Specs
I5 processor 2.4GHz (2.9GHz boost)
NVidia GeForce 540 1GB of dedicated RAM
4GB of RAM
500 GB of storage
6 cell batterry
13.3" HD screen
Windows 7
For $470 Shipped to my house.
I looked at many other brands such as Dell and the prices were out of my budget if I wanted to get a graphic card. I think this laptop should serve me well. I've used my shitty notebook and for what it is I really cannot complain. I hope this notebook does well.
Specs
I5 processor 2.4GHz (2.9GHz boost)
NVidia GeForce 540 1GB of dedicated RAM
4GB of RAM
500 GB of storage
6 cell batterry
13.3" HD screen
Windows 7
For $470 Shipped to my house.
I looked at many other brands such as Dell and the prices were out of my budget if I wanted to get a graphic card. I think this laptop should serve me well. I've used my shitty notebook and for what it is I really cannot complain. I hope this notebook does well.
#37
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“I've come across very excessive players - playing for 10 to 14 hours a day - but for a lot of these people it causes no detrimental problems if they are not employed, aren't in relationships and don't have children”
Really!? Gaming isn’t getting in the way of the otherwise robust lives of unemployed virgins living in their parents basements? I am shocked!
#38
It works! 6 cores at 4.5ghz. Awesome. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 video card benchmark result - Intel Xeon Processor X5690,ASUSTeK Computer INC. P6X58D-E score: P10673 3DMarks
#40
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Y8s, you seem to have the answers. I'm in about the same situation. However, I'm looking for a desktop, not a laptop. Looking to keep it under $700. If it's a good deal, I'll get a second one for the wife at the same time.
I surf the web, post on and moderate forums, and play the occassional (older) game. I also use Solidworks on a regular basis. It's a home machine, so needs to handle the usual pics/home videos, but storage space has never been an issue. I can't imagine ever coming close to filling up a 1/2 TB HD, so whatever is cheap, but I want 7200rpm for good transfer speeds.
Requirements for Solidworks is to be able to make assemblies (model steam engines) having roughly 20-30 individual parts and have them move together reasonably smoothly. I rarely do any rendering or fancy finishes on the parts.
Gaming is limited to mostly older titles. No FPS, no high framerate stuff. Things like the Civilization series. So, whatever can handle the Solidworks will probably more than suffice for whatever gaming I do.
I want enough processor & memory to handle the Solidworks. Say, an i3 processor with 6-8 GB of RAM?
Any suggestions?
I surf the web, post on and moderate forums, and play the occassional (older) game. I also use Solidworks on a regular basis. It's a home machine, so needs to handle the usual pics/home videos, but storage space has never been an issue. I can't imagine ever coming close to filling up a 1/2 TB HD, so whatever is cheap, but I want 7200rpm for good transfer speeds.
Requirements for Solidworks is to be able to make assemblies (model steam engines) having roughly 20-30 individual parts and have them move together reasonably smoothly. I rarely do any rendering or fancy finishes on the parts.
Gaming is limited to mostly older titles. No FPS, no high framerate stuff. Things like the Civilization series. So, whatever can handle the Solidworks will probably more than suffice for whatever gaming I do.
I want enough processor & memory to handle the Solidworks. Say, an i3 processor with 6-8 GB of RAM?
Any suggestions?