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    Acer for CAD?? - aspire 1714

    Discussion in 'Acer' started by stuartR, Oct 2, 2004.

  1. stuartR

    stuartR Newbie

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    Ive been looking at the acer range of laptops and they seem to be a good option for me. I'm after a desktop replacement for CAD (photoshop,3DS Max,Autocad,ect)

    so what I need is:-
    -fast processor (P4 3Gh+ HT, or Athlon64??) -high FSB and Cache-
    -lots of ram (1Gb and 2Gb for future)
    -good graphics (64mb+ Nvidia of ATi???)
    -fast harddrive (7200mhz )

    what I'd like is:-
    -DVD RW+/-
    -17" screen
    -light and long battery life!!

    I've been looking at the Aspire 1802 and 1714, i've yet to rule out the 1513 as the screen size is not imperative.

    Question is I'm not sure whether to got for the 1714 or to get another and upgrade the harddrive and ram later but this is extra cost and hassle.

    The 1710 series looks great for this kind of CAD work but it's heavy.
    Anyone got one for their experiances with the models.
    It's not to be moved about really but it may become an option in the future -If its possible!-

    Also can anyone advise an alternative laptop within the price range.
     
    stuartR, Oct 2, 2004
    #1
  2. Venombite

    Venombite Notebook Virtuoso

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    I believe the 1710 series is probably the cheapest 17" notebook in the market. Although this unit weighs like a tank, it has everything you want. There was another user on the site that was also looking at the 1710, mainly because of the cost, $1100US I believe.

    Other notebooks you may want to consider:

    HP ZD7000 Series (17" Widescreen, 10lbs, Nvidia Go5700)
    HP ZX5000 Series (15.4" Widescreen, approx 8lbs, ATI 9600)
    Sony A Series (15.4" or 17" Widescreen, approx 8.6lbs, ATI 9700, Pentium M CPU)
    Sager NP series

    These are just a start for 15.4" & 17" models, there's a lot more out there. It mainly depends on what your price range is.

    The only notebook that will give you a 17" screen with long battery life, would be the Sony A Series. This uses the Pentium M CPU and therefore will give you increase battery life, approx 3hrs. Any P4 or AMD 64 system with a 17" LCD will not be able to give you that kind of battery life.

    -Vb-
     
    Venombite, Oct 2, 2004
    #2