I'm an architecture studen and I ordered a M1330...

Nearly fully specced, and it should arrive after the weekend.

My problem now is, should I return it? The system requirements of the software I'll be using are quite heavy, the M1330 is just about powerful enough and also light weight, exactly what I want.

Is every single 8400M GS card affected by the heat-crash issue? I was thinking about returning it and spending about the same money on a high-spec Studio 15, but that one will have way lower CPU power at a higher price. And I really want the mobility of the M1330.

So... I really want the M1330, it's the perfect laptop for me, but having it fail during a critical project would... suck. Advice? I already ordered the items for performing the copper mod, but I heard that'll only prolong the life of the GPU to around 3 years, by then my warranty will have expired, which isn't good, I don't want to spend another $2000 to get a new laptop.

I want the laptop to stay together for 5 years, that's how long the education is. I might want to get something new after 3 years, but I really can't say.

My specs are as follows:
T9300
8400M GS
4GB RAM
320GB HDD

Down here I bolded some things that might prove a problem:

The system requirements for 32-bit AutoCAD 2009 are as follows:
•Intel® Pentium® 4 processor, 2.2 GHz minimumor
www.autodesk.com/autocad 6
Intel or AMD dual-core processor, 1.6 GHz minimum
•Windows Vista® or Windows® XP Professional or Home Edition (SP2) operating system
•512 MB RAM
•750 MB free disk space for installation
•1024x768 VGA with true color
•Internet Explorer® 6.0 or later browser
•Available on CD (worldwide) and DVD (select countries and languages)
Additional system requirements for 64-bit AutoCAD 2009 include the following:
•Windows XP Professional x64 Edition or Windows Vista 64-bit (cannot be installed on a 32-bit Windows operating system)
•AMD 64 or Intel EM64T processor
•1 GB RAM, or 2 GB for Windows Vista 64-bit
•750 MB free disk space for installation

The system requirements for Microsoft ® Windows Vista® operating system or 3D modeling (32- and 64-bit AutoCAD) are as follows:
•Intel or AMD single-core processor, minimum 3.0 GHz
or Intel or AMD dual-core processor, minimum 2.0 GHz
• 2 GB RAM minimum
• 2 GB free hard disk, not including installation
• 1280x1024 32-bit color video display adapter (true color) - It wont work with 1280x800 or what?
128 MB minimum; OpenGL®- or Direct3D®-capable workstation class graphics card (Windows Vista installation requires a Direct3D capable workstation class graphics card with 128 MB minimum) - Is this also an issue? Do I need a more powerful GPU?


Thank you so much for any help or advice! I really like this place, it's friendly and full of mature people, inspires me to be as helpful as I can, when it's possible for me.

Edit,
Are there other laptops of the same size and weight that will run the above apps in this price class? The Sony ones are a bit over priced.

 

You meet the requirements. Not sure what is up with that resolution, must be a typo. As for how long it is going to last, it really depends on how well you take care of it. After five years those specs will be quite ancient, so I wouldn't expect it to be a powerhouse. The card may or may not fail, there hasn't been enough information from nVidia to definitely determine what cards will fail.

 

The Sony SR isn't actually that overpriced compared to what Sony was charging before. You could get a pretty decent SR for $1,399 at Newegg even before they were being shipped.

 

Yeah, I know it'll be ancient and I guess AUTO CAD 2010 will be released, so I might even need a new laptop next year already :/. Thanks for the help and info, appreciated.

The largest trouble is that I'm from Europe, it's more expensive here and secondly the CPU/GPU is really at the limit for what I need, but thanks for the tip, I'll check out Sony's Europe homepage again.

I'm believing I'll end up with keeping the M1330, copper modded and undervolted I can pray for at least 3 years. I was thinking about extending the warranty to those 3 years as well.

 

I'd go for a warranty if you are certain you want to keep it that long. If it does fail in the later years, you might be likely to just get a replacement machine. I never buy long warranties because I have a high turn over on my notebooks.

 

Yeah, I think that when it arrives I'll call Dell and tell them I feel like returning it, unless they can give me a good deal on an extended warranty, I got some pretty good arguments to come with because of the defect card in it.

I can't make my own configuration on Sony computers in Sweden, it's actually only Dell that allows us poor Europeans to do that, but I just looked at the highest specced VAIO Z-series available here, at $4000. What blows me away with that computer is the 4h battery time, way better GPU and this... 13,1-tums WXGA++ ( 1600 x 900) LED LCD. At 2kg (4lbs).

It's got a NVIDIA® GeForce® 9300M GT, does anyone know if this card also defect?

**** I love high resolution.

I'm actually gonna go to the local Sony Centre and check if they got some better offers at laptops. If I can get a LED screen like that I'm willing to pay extra, but not ... that much.

 

I run AutoCad 2008 on my 1530 and it doesn't even break a sweat. I'm sure the 1330 you have spec'd would be more than adequate and very portable.

 

Good to know .

I started seriously considering the Sony VAIO Z. I do have the money, but do I really want to spend it on a laptop that will suck in a few years, or do I want to save it in order to spend it with my girlfriend? X_X.

Wow, I'm really horrible even thinking like this.

 

I have exact the same specs other than my 200gb 7200rpm harddrive, and i m an archi student, it runs autocad 08, archicad 12 and illustrator all at once fine, but make sure you have plenty of harddrive space when doing so

 

Return the one that you ordered and order one without a discrete video card. It sounds like it should run fine on Intel integrated.

 

Hi, I would try to get the warranty extended and then relax and enjoy. Dell knows about the video card problem and if it happens to you, it will be fixed without a problem as long as you are under warranty. Also, Dell has made noises about extending any affected laptop's warranty for a year if they have a video card meltdown within the year after your regular warranty expires. Keep it and you will have no regrets. Sony is overpriced; too bad as they do have nice stuff. Besides, the Sonys here in Canada do not have the hdmi port.