Which one for CAD ?

I read through these threads and still couldn't really find a satisfying answer, so i thought i'd make a post and see.

I'm debating the T60p or the T61 with the 140M. The computer is going to be used mostly for CAD since i am in the engineering field. comparing the two, which would be the better choice for CADing.. the V5250 or the Quadro 140M? Theres going to be a good deal of 3D rendering so any help would be really great!

I was going to wait for the 570M to come out, but God knows when that is, and my current laptop is running a 3ghz P4... only bad things come from that... overheating being the leader..

 

I say go with the V5250. Its more powerful than the quadro 140m, and i doubt you will need dx10.

 

The answer depends on how strenuous the CAD work you're doing is. What programs will you be using? AutoCAD isn't very demanding but SolidWorks/Pro-E/Inventor etc can be.

Short answer is that the T60p is going to perform much better for large or complex parts/assemblies. If you only work on simple parts and small assemblies you may be able to get by with the 140M.

I am also an engineer, and will be using my T60p (shipped yesterday!!!) for grad school work and my side business work as well. I've used laptops with consumer graphics cards for CAD before and they are really bad, some times to the point of being unusable.

 

The V5250 is much better for CAD work, as the NVS 140m has 2d optimized drivers, making it not even as good as a gaming card for CAD.

 

Got another question. How much more useful, practiaclly speaking, is the 570M compared to the V5250? I know its almost twice as powerful of a card, but i do mostly Civil design, so no moving parts, alot of AutoCAD and Civil and all that. Not as much solidworks, though i will be using it for personal.. "fun". And the rest is a little bit of 3Dsmax and Zbrush.. and the usual Photoshop and Adobe products. So do i really need a 570M? it seems like the V5250 would be more than enough with 3 gigs of ram and a 2.0 T60p. Thoughts?

 

The 570m would be much more future-proof, should you ever down the line decide to upgrade software, or start using more solidworks. However, for your current needs the V5250 should be enough.

 

do you think its more wise to wait? i have a radeon 9700... yea.. not really good for .. well much these days. But AutoCAD 07.. lags like quite alot in 3D.. ::wonder why::. I like the 60p design and from what i can gather, the T61s are having some problems since they are first gen.. and i assume the 61P will suffer from some of the same issues.. blue screen of death time and again and such. Also I configured a t60P for 1434.. 100gb hdd 7200 rpm.. t7200 512mb ram that i'm going to swap out for 3 gigs worth. and a 9 cell. i imagine i won't be able to get something liek that in a t61p for anywhere close to 1434.. so... any suggestions? get the 60p or live with the 9700 radeon till the 61P is out.

 

My T60p should be delivered today, I'll post my impressions when I get SolidWorks and Acad loaded tonight

 

definately post up what you think! i ordered a T60P two days ago and the expected ship date is.... 8/29..?!? WHAt??!?