Which Notebook should I buy? Duo or Quad?

sandmnd3

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Ok, I am trying to decide which notebook to buy. It will be used mainly for typical business applications, Excell, MS Word, Quickbooks, industry specific programs (mostly database and photo organizing). My issue is that I am also using a home design program with 3D rendering and I want the notebook to be able to handle the rendering easily as well as multi-task between programs.

I had an old AMD 3.0 Athlon desktop which I recently upgraded with a home built Intel i5 cpu, 1 gig NVidia Video Card (can't remember which one), 4 gig Kingston Hyperx ram, and a 7,200 rpm hd. The desktop now runs great and fast with the 3d rendering along with everything else.

I don't need the same exact performance as my desktop, unless I can get it without being too high cost and still have some battery stamina. So, it seems as I go up in the performance category, I have to give up on other attributes, such as battery life, size, etc.

So, my question is, which notebook will be enough for my needs? Would a good quality CPU, P8** or P9*** be enough, or should I get a quad, Q9000 or possibly an i7, such as the ASUS G51J. As well as enough dedicated graphic memory, like 512mb or 1gig.

I would like to have pretty good battery life, possibly 2.5-3 hours, and be in the $1,400 range or lower, obviously the lower the better.

Which brands and models would be good to look at?

Any help is appreciated.

Thank You
 

sandmnd3

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OOPs, I didn't read the 1st post with these questions:

1_What is your budget?
Semi-flexible between $1,000-$1,500, but prefer to be on the low end of that range, if possible.

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15 inch, 16 or 17 is too big, since I want it to be more portable

3_What screen resolution do you want?
Not important

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Both, mostly a portable replacement. :)
I have a newly built i5 (see specs above), I mainly need the laptop to handle the 3D rendering well, but I want it to still be able to barely fit in the safes at some hotels.

5_How much battery life do you need? 3+ hours would be nice

6_Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Not a priority

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
Photo/Video editing, watch movies, basic computing (Excell, MS Word, Quickbooks), run my business programs which are mainly database, multi-task well I often have many different programs and web browsers/tabs open, 3D rendering (Home design program).


8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?
typical - 250gig or more

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post the links to them.
Open for suggestions

10_How long do you want to keep your laptop?
3+ years

11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD R/W, Blueray would be a bonus

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.
I have had HP, they have been okay but have had a few problems, I'd prefer to try and different brand. I have been considering ASUS, since they seem to have a good "bang for their buck", with quality components, although I don't know about their reliability. I like the looks and touchpad of Sony.

13_What country do you live in?
USA

14_Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I have a need to get one asap, so I'd rather not wait for one to be put together for me, like a Dell or something, it would be nice if there was something that fit my criteria and was readily available.

Thank You in advance
 

sandmnd3

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Thanks Maziar. But, I talked with a tech who said he has seen his share of the HP DV series come back for repair. Does anyone else have experience with these models?

Also, do you think I definitely should go with the Quad for the 3D rendering, or could I still get good performance with a good Duo CPU and a good video card?
 

sandmnd3

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Ok, what about the difference between the i7 and Q9000. Would either of them work fine for 3D?
 

sandmnd3

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I don't have a specific Q9000 in mind, but I am having trouble finding a pre-configured, ready-to-ship DV6 Quad that I can get immediately. I have a seen a few Asus G51J's available, but I'd rather not spend the extra few hundred dollars.

Thanks again for your help and insight.