Upgrading HP laptop to use image editing software

I have an HP Pavilion dv6305 laptop. At work, we use lightly demanding 3d image editing software (Geomagic Studio). I am trying to write a proposal for upgrading the laptop.

The software's recommended specs are:
Processor-
Pent 4 1GHz or better, dual processors considered optimal
Memory-
2 GB
Video cards -
Either Nvidia Quadro, Nvidia Geforce, or an ATI Fire GL series

What my laptop has right now is-
Processor- AMD Turion 64 x2 TL-50
Memory- 512 MB
Nvidia GeForce Go 6150

The manufacturer website says max memory is 2GB if the computer was built for XP, but the Vista model supposedly supports up to 4GB.How can I figure out what my computer supports?

I've never upgraded a laptop before, so I am looking for advice on what parts to buy (i.e. which stuff needs upgraded!--obviously memory, but what about the video card and the processor?) and what they usually run around for in cost ($$). Sorry if this is too newbie-ish!

 

I guess a TL-60/TL-64 (Trinidad/not sure about Tyler) should be a good upgrade. A fast CPU should help you manipulate images, apply filters quicker, etc etc.

RAM, you can try 2+1=3GB right now, because I guess you've got a 32-bit OS, so no point in upgrading to 4GB. Only a 64-Bit OS can make use of 4GB or more. You should try the jump to 3GB as it is always good not to use the HDD for cache.

You should also consider upgrading your HDD to a 160GB Seagate 7200.3 or similar, as a fast HDD will be useful in loading large images quicker. Plus the Seagates are super cheap.

Memory, HDD should be cheap. CPU - depends, better to buy from ebay.

GPU can't be upgraded as it will be soldered to the motherboard.

 

Your system can be upgraded, but in your situation, the image editing software will probably require a decent graphics card, so you may want to look for something with at least a geforce 8600GT, or a Quadro NVS 570 or better.

Andy is right on the upgrade part.

K-TRON

 

Could a better system be purchased for under $800?

Based on the upgrades you described-
Turion 64 X2 TL-64 Processor $150.00 or less (ebay)
1GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 533 Laptop Memory $15.00
2GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 533 Laptop Memory $45.00
Seagate 7200.3 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s HD $100.00

This would only be a little over $300

Are there any cons to using a 64 bit OS

 

I am not sure if a better system can be obtained for $800. If you have a $800 budget, and you can sell the hp for like $500, than you can get a much more powerful system.

If selling the Hp is not in the cards with the company, upgrading may be the only thing you can do.

K-TRON

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834107023

Would this be a good PC to upgrade to or is it not substantially better than the laptop I have now?

 

that computer is not a major upgrade from the computer you have now. You'll see an increase in performance, but I doubt it will be of significance.

 

Then what would be a significant enough upgrade to go for?

 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9053098&type=product&id=1218012529416 ?

 

Could this laptop also play older 3d games like Counterstrike Source?

 

Is the graphics of that Acer from Best Buy adequate for his 3D image work?

"Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD graphics
With up to 1759MB of memory with Intel® Dynamic Video Memory Technology "

It sounds like it is integrated, not a "board," and its borrowing memory from RAM - is that right?

Windows premium is 64-bit, right?

 

That's something I wondered too. When I looked it up online, it seems like the GMA 4500MHD is only equivalent to entry level dedicated GPUs..

 

I saw these at Walmart today-
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4471

Does anyone else have any experience with them? If I sold my current laptop and was able to pocket 500$ (hopefully more than that), then this would be in my price range. Would this be an acceptable laptop?

I was given the install disc to try at home, and I am currently able to run Geomagic Studio v.8.0 on my old PC which only has 512 MB RAM, Pent 4 3.00 GHz processor, and a GeForce FX5500.

Thoughts?

 

The Dell Studio 17 will be much faster than your desktop in just about every way.
A core 2 duo 1.6Ghz processor or so will have more power than the 3.0GHz Prescott CPU you have.
The studio 17 will have basically everything better than your current desktop, except for maybe the harddrive. Most desktop drives are considerably faster than their notebook counterparts, but in all other ways the studio 17 is a faster system. The HD3650 ATi card is considerably more powerful than your current fx5500, so you should not have to worry about any slowdowns.

Just uninstall any dell junk ware they install when you receive the system. This will help the system run at ts highest level of performance.

a dedicated graphics card is always better than an integrated one.
I think the weakest dedicated card is the 8400GS at the moment and it is much more powerful than the 4500MHD from intel.

K-TRON

 

Cool, thanks. Ihave a 20% coupon for dell outlet, so I think I'll go that route with this, I appreciate all the help

If I upgraded the Studio's HDD for a 7200 rpm one, would I notice a significant change in computing?

 

The latest generation 7200rpm drives are faster than the last generation 7200rpm drives and the 5400rpm drives, so if you select a 250gb or larger 7200rpm drive you are guaranteed pretty awesome data thoroughput.
Most of these 7200rpm drives can do 65-75mb/sec in hdtune, which is great for a laptop drive.

K-TRON

 

So something like the WD Scorpio or Seagate Momentus?