mtnman2888

My gf is going to school for interior design and we are looking for a good laptop for her. It is going to have to run autocad and some other types of 3d software so it needs to have a good graphics card as well as a sufficient amount of ram and processor speed. I have been thinking of going with one that has a pentium core duo/centrino duo processor, what does everyone think of those? I figured that they were the best out right now but i could be wrong. We were looking at the sony vaio with these specs:

Intel Core Duo processor (1.66GHz)
100gb hard drive
1GB of DDR2 RAM

I was thinking of actually expanding the memory by another 1gb, maybe less to make sure it could handle everything. So what do you think, is this a good computer or are there better ones out there? She is just starting and will be in school for at least 3 years so we want one that can handle everything she will need while she is in school, nothing that will be outdated too soon. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

The_Other_One

Definetly go with Intel for this... They are better in general for mobile stuff, but as you probably know, they are typically the best with desktop computers for such apps... However, I don't know if duel core would really be very helpful fur such software or not. It realyl depends if it's made to utilize multiprocessors or not(as most software isn't...yet)

RAM, I would think a gig would be more than enough, but I've never really used any autocad software.

Video card probably won't make a HUGE difference as usally, with such software, much of the stress is simply on the main CPU... Probably should check the requirements on that, and see what the software calls for.

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TEKKA

Maybe try and get a better processor 1.8GHz-2GHz thats what i would do
all the rest seems Cool.

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Dylanj123

Well I just bought an Acer Aspire 5612 laptop with those specs but am yet to install my CAD program on it (I learn CAD at school) I got it for for very good price (AU$2350) and I think cheaper then any Vaio with those specs but hey if your money can strech that far I'd go with a 2GHz Dual Core PM, 1GB and 100GB hard drive and probally somthing like a Vaio, but if you want Bang for Buck go the Acer or Asus.
Dylan

mtnman2888

Thanks for the help guys! I just figured that the intel core duo processor was the best out there right now, i could be wrong. I don't really know that much about it but i've read just a little bit and everything sounds like it's the way to go right now. So the specs look good, the only suggestion is to maybe get one with a faster processor? Is 1.66GHz going to run everything smoothly or do i need a faster one? If anyone here is in interior design, do you use all 2d autocad or some 3d too? The reason i ask is i just went to autocad's website and to run the 3d version you need an intel processor of 3.0GHz or greater!!!! That's impossible for a laptop right now, i think. Oh well, thanks for all of your input, i really appreciate it.

ICANSEEYOU7687

Well if I was going to get a laptop based on graphics, id definately go with an AMD, I really wanted to get an AMD Turion 64 over the duo I just got, but the duo is a great extremely efficient processor by itself.

I dont believe autocad takes that much to run, but ive only seen it run a smaller model, so I cant really say.

Good idea on the ram, the DDR2 is definately worth it. The processor you choose is good, but I would put the extra money in for atleast a 1.86.

Also, make sure you upgrade the video card to to a 128 meg radeon or something, dont use the on board chipset graphics, make sure to get a card.

If you dont mind me asking, how much u is that sony you are looking at?

mtnman2888

Thanks for the input! The sony is $1399 US. Is the intel core duo really the way to go? If there is something out there, such as the amd, that is better or equal, then i would love to get the because the core duo is so expensive right now. I don't know much about processors so any insight will really help me out. Thanks again.

tweaker

Core duo is the best really, if you've got the money.

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ICANSEEYOU7687

well if yuo want the best, you should go with an AMD Athlon FX-60, which is dual cored too, but that will run you abuot 1000$ for the processor alone, haha, i dunno about you but thats out of my range.

I can't say that the duo is the best, but I could agree that it could be the best for your buck, power and the dual core efficiency without an expensive price tag.

But that price sounds about right. But you might also want to look at the Dell Inspiron 6400. Typically I try and stay away from dells, but I just recently ordered one of these for myself for college.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...=i6400hi&s=bsd

although when I ordered it, it had a few more rebates, still a decent price. Make sure you get a video card, and not just on board memory

Johnnyboy0056

alright, check it out. I took architecture for 3 years and have run rhino and autocad and a couple other no name programs for design. autocad has come a long way and the capapbilities are endless now.
i recommend u up the processor to at least 3.0 and the 1 gb ddr2 is def a good idea. the rendering speed will be greatly assisted by the ddr2.
u dont need the core duo, as autocad, even being a top of the line product, will not utilize the processor in a way to max out the performance of the processor. go with intel, and go 3.0 or higher (yes, they make it for laptops).

btw, where (which school) ur gf going to study?

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