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    best specs for CAD

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by woodcreekstud, Apr 5, 2009.

  1. woodcreekstud

    woodcreekstud Newbie

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    I am deciding between 3 notebooks right now.

    one has a P9500 with a Radeon HD 4850, 4gb ddr2

    the other has T9550 with a GeForce 9800M, 4gb ddr2

    the last one T9600 with a FireGL V5700, 4gb ddr3

    I will be using it for Revit, Rhino 4 and Adobe. what is best and will they all do?
     
  2. Blackjab24

    Blackjab24 Notebook Consultant

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    You should look for a notebook with a Quadro in it, they're specifically designed for CAD programs..
     
  3. jackluo923

    jackluo923 Notebook Virtuoso

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    The last one is the best. All of the laptop will run all of the programs.
    BTW. FireGL is the professional series from ati. It's competing against Quadro and is also specifically designed for CAD programs.
     
  4. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    Most CAD rendering requires CPU power alone, so the faster the processor the better. The graphics does come into play and can be a huge factor in certain rendering software. Quadro's and FireGL'S are preferred for this line of work

    All three of those laptops can run any CAD program however the third one will be best because its graphics card is optimized for OpenGL

    K-TRON
     
  5. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    I presume the last one is the Thinkpad W500 - it's a great laptop, and the T9600 is the fastest of the processors you listed. The FireGL has workstation-optimized graphics drivers, so it'll be the best for CAD apps.
     
  6. woodcreekstud

    woodcreekstud Newbie

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    what about quadcores? Are the CAD like programs going to be able to utilize all 4 cores? Also i will be using the programs simultaneously so will quad cores be better or under utilized?
     
  7. jackluo923

    jackluo923 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Quadcore + lots of ram + good graphic card = awsome CAD computer
     
  8. stevezachtech

    stevezachtech Notebook Evangelist

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    I totally agree, you should go for the more advanced and faster processor in order to have a proper setup for CAD...
     
  9. Clutch

    Clutch cute and cuddly boys

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    I know the Sager NP8662 has the option of a Quadro card and it can have a quad core.