I need to decide on a laptop quick!

[eijiahnat]

Hello,

Looking for a laptop for my architectural course!

1_What is your budget?

2000 at most

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

15 inch or preferably 17

3_What screen resolution do you want?

Full 1080 HD

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

desktop replacement

5_How much battery life do you need?

3 hours and above

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)?

low

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)

Architecture and design focused programs: like AutoCAD, 3d studio viz, rhino, grasshopper, CS5, vectorworks

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?

250GB with 7200 rpm

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



10_How long do you want to keep your laptop?

at least 4 years, i'll consider another when i continue with postgraduate!


11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?


DVD ROM/Writer clearly.

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.
My school uses pc so a mac wouldnt do me good. Wouldnt prefer asus, acer and that sort

13_What country do you live in?
ASIA

14_Please tell us any additional information if needed.
graphics is very important and so is reliability(as in the durability of the laptop) ooh and those fancy backlit keyboards are nice!

Help guys, please suggest viable options, running out of time!

 

[Maziar]

Welcome to the forums !
Lenovo W520 w/Full HD display is a decent choice

 

[eijiahnat]

Welcome to the forums !
Lenovo W520 w/Full HD display is a decent choice

Its perfect! But i can't seem to find the information on the Malaysian website. Do you have any other recommendations? Afraid that its not a model available here. Thanks!

 

[cbrunnem]

your going to want a quad core cpu and a work station gpu such as a quadro or firegl. sandy bridge gpus preferable

 

[eijiahnat]

your going to want a quad core cpu and a work station gpu such as a quadro or firegl. sandy bridge gpus preferable

then i suppose the 2nd gen intel i7 would be sufficient? the lenovo w 520 will suffice. do you have any model suggestion?

 

[Maziar]

If you can't find it,you may want to look at Dell XPS 15 w/Full HD RGB display

 

[eijiahnat]

Best answer selected by eijiahnat.

 

[eijiahnat]

thanks! i think i'm going to go the dell, its a tad cheaper than lenovo and i'm satisfied with the specs. Just some minor customizing. Can anyone explain the difference between the two i7 processors, 2630 and 2720? Its a rather pricy jump! I know the 2720 is used in macbookpros, but is it worth the change? Also do you guys reckon i change the graphics card myself? its a 2gb nvidia GT540. would it suffice? Thanks a lot maziar, loving your quote im a persian not a muslim.

 

[Maziar]

Stick with 2630QM,it offers the best price/performance ratio
And GT 540 is a good mid range card.
As for MBPs,well you really can't compare them.The 2.2GHZ MBP offers a slightly faster CPU/GPU,better build quality/keyobard and touch pad but it costs way much more than XPS 15;furthermore,it lacks 1080p display.

And thanks,I knew some people would understand the true meaning of it,because not all people know what I mean

 

[cbrunnem]

you should spend the extra money for a workstation graphics card. for what you are doing it will be really worth it. here is a list of them http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html
that is not all of them but you will get the idea of what to look for.

 

[eijiahnat]

you should spend the extra money for a workstation graphics card. for what you are doing it will be really worth it. here is a list of them http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html
that is not all of them but you will get the idea of what to look for.

Do i check the professional box to get a list of the workstation ones? really in the dark about this.

 

[Maziar]

Well,laptops with work station cards usually cost more.One of the cheapest models was the W520 which I mentioned.
HP Elitebooks also offer this cards but they aren't cheap

 

[cbrunnem]

yes you do. if you can afford one then you cant afford one but if you can afford one it is a HUGE upgrade from a gaming gpu. huge files are so much easier to work on and do not freeze or studder while manipulating the files.

 

[eijiahnat]

yes you do. if you can afford one then you cant afford one but if you can afford one it is a HUGE upgrade from a gaming gpu. huge files are so much easier to work on and do not freeze or studder while manipulating the files.

Thanks mate, i guess i'll stick with it for awhile before i upgrade it. My patience should be able to tolerate it for awhile! THANK YOU SO MUCH! to you and Maziar, finally sorted things out. Will keep you posted on which i chose. That's not for me to decide now, its up to the people who are paying for it! Ciao!

 

[Maziar]

Hope you enjoy what you get. Ciao!