Hobby Engineer Laptop

[lagomb88]

Hello Community,

Budget: $1,800, flexible though
2. Size: Larger than a netbook but less than or equal to 15 inches.
3. Screen resolution: Best I can in that size range
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Desktop Replacement Laptop
5. How much battery life do you need?: 2-4 hours
6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? Possibly but unlikely
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? Engineering programs:
-Creo 2.0
-Solidworks 2012
-Siemens NX 8.0
-GibbsCam, CS6
-Potentially 3d printing software such as the Makerbot software.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? Depends on what the best mixture is. I could go with a HDD for apps and a SSD for OS and a couple of apps on there.
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links: Xoticpc, lenovo or any recommended sites from the community
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? At least 4-5 years.
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD-RW would be nice but I mostly stream.
12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons: No real preference as I'm converting from a Mac to PC. I've read good things about Asus, Toshiba, Sager, Dell and Lenovo.
13. What country do you live in?USA
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed. The laptop is mainly to be used to improve my skills as an engineer as well as for some fun home projects. I doubt I'll design complex parts or have assemblies that contain hundreds of parts in them. I plan to go to Grad school as an engineering major. So hopefully a computer that can handle any software thrown my way for 3-4 years.

 

[zdbc13]

What you are describing is called a "workstation laptop'. They are characterized by I7 processors and professional video cards like the amd firepro or nvidia quadro. I googled that and found these ideas:

http/www.dell.com/us/business/p/precision-laptops?&ST=workstation%20laptop&dgc=ST&cid=75758&lid=1956536&acd=suuc7VAQb

http/www.notebookcheck.net/Top-10-Workstation-Laptops.65537.0.html

http/www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/thinkpad/w-series/w530/

http/www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/hp-elitebook-8560w.aspx

 

[bliq]

Check out the Dell Precision series. they are specifically designed for the mobile workstation market.

 

[lagomb88]

Do either of you believe it would be necessary to upgrade any of the hardware on any of these models to run the programs more efficiently? I've checked the software's websites and they each mention: RAM with more than 8gb and either the k1000m or k2000m. However, I'm not sure if this is necessary

 

[Pinhedd]

Hello Community,

Budget: $1,800, flexible though
2. Size: Larger than a netbook but less than or equal to 15 inches.
3. Screen resolution: Best I can in that size range
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Desktop Replacement Laptop
5. How much battery life do you need?: 2-4 hours
6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? Possibly but unlikely
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? Engineering programs:
-Creo 2.0
-Solidworks 2012
-Siemens NX 8.0
-GibbsCam, CS6
-Potentially 3d printing software such as the Makerbot software.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? Depends on what the best mixture is. I could go with a HDD for apps and a SSD for OS and a couple of apps on there.
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links: Xoticpc, lenovo or any recommended sites from the community
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? At least 4-5 years.
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD-RW would be nice but I mostly stream.
12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons: No real preference as I'm converting from a Mac to PC. I've read good things about Asus, Toshiba, Sager, Dell and Lenovo.
13. What country do you live in?USA
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed. The laptop is mainly to be used to improve my skills as an engineer as well as for some fun home projects. I doubt I'll design complex parts or have assemblies that contain hundreds of parts in them. I plan to go to Grad school as an engineering major. So hopefully a computer that can handle any software thrown my way for 3-4 years.

Engineer here.

The W530 that Zdbc13 linked is a very good workstation laptop used by many of my friends. Since you are using CAD applications you will want to get a professional graphics card rather than a gaming graphics card. Check out his links.

 

[lagomb88]

I have looked at the W530. Would you happen to know any of your fellow engineers specs on their W530? I'm looking to see which is the best mix of hardware. Thank you.

 

[zdbc13]

You have lots of choices with the W530. Of course cpu, memory, and graphics are the most important. You must decide on the balance vs. price. Memory is easy to upgrade later so you might emphasize cpu and gpu to start with. Also, storage depends on your needs. I'd start with the largest SSD you can afford and you can add storage later, it has 2 bays.

 

[lagomb88]

I guess that is where my issue comes to play in terms of price and balance. I want to have the entire set up finished at one time because I don't want to worry about adding additional hardware in the future unless absolutely necessary. I'm only semi tech savvy so I don't want to worry about causing any issues. I think my two models I've narrowed down too are the W530 and Sager NP9150. Here is what I've selected for each. Are these both overkill for just running these software on the side?

Sager 9150- $2697
Display: 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Matte Type Sager Screen (SKU - S1R316)
Dead Pixel Warranty: 60 Day No Dead Pixel Warranty (On any screen)
rocessor: Sager - 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3740QM (2.7GHz - 3.7GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP) (SKU - S2R202)
Thermal Compound: - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
Graphics Video Card: nVidia Quadro K3000M 2,048MB PCI-Express GDDR5
Ram: 24GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (3 SODIMMS)
Primary Hard Drive: 750GB 7200RPM [Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache] - Default (SKU - S5T306)
Optical Drive Bay: 128GB Crucial M4 Series Solid State Drive [SSD2 Serial-ATA III] in Optical Bay
External USB Optical Drive: External USB 2.0 Slim DVD±R/RW Drive
Memory Card Reader: Internal 9-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD/Mini SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo)
Wireless Network: Sager - Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module (SKU - S8R112)
Camera: Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
Operating System: ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Warranty: Sager 3 Year Parts & LIFETIME Ltd Labor Warranty w/ Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Customer Support

Lenovo W530 - $2723
Processor: Intel Core i7-3720QM Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.60 GHz)
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
Operating System Language: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 - English
Display Type: 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready with color calibration sensor
System Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro K2000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory
Color Sensor: Color Sensor Edit
Total Memory: 32 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (4 DIMM)
Keyboard: Keyboard Backlit - US English
Pointing Device: UltraNav with Fingerprint Reader for Color Sensor, Smart Card Reader
Camera: 720p HD Camera with Microphone
Hard Drive: 1TB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
Optical Device: DVD Recordable
System Expansion Slots: Express Card Slot & 4-in-1 Card Reader & Smart Card Reader
Integrated WiFi Wireless LAN Adapters: Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN

Accessories and options:
3YR Onsite Next Business Day + Accidental Damage Protection

I know I'm over my limit here but I want this laptop to run for the next 3-5 years preferably 5 and be able to run upcoming and present software efficiently.

 

[zdbc13]

The Sager above will perform better. I don't think more than 24gb ram is needed. It has better cpu and graphics, and an SSD. You'll love it.....