Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler - Help with buying a LAPTOP

Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler | PC Support | Help with buying a LAPTOP

DVA1933
Senior Captain, B727-200

Joined on September 19 2004
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Posted onPost created on May 10 2010 01:08 ET by David Eugenio Gomez

Gentlemen, I'll be probably crossing the border to McAllen TX in order to buy some stuff I need and can't get in Mexico, among them a Laptop computer (laptops here are simply way beyond expensive!!).

So I've been looking at Best Buy, which seems like my best option to purchase one, since I don't have an American address to have stuff shipped from Newegg, and BestBuy seems alright, regarding prices.

I'll be using my laptop exclusively for college and intense Engineering stuff, basically no games at all:
- Internet
- MS Office
- The most popular CAD packages (CATIA, Solidworks, Inventor, Unigraphics, ProEngineer) which require some intense processing power.
- MATLAB

One of my priorities is that the laptop LASTS. I treat my things well, so it should be solid enough not to die on me at any time in the next couple of years for no reason... TOSHIBAs seem to be the strongest laptops out there right now.

So I have narrowed it down to this:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+Satellite+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i3+Processor+-+Quantum+Black/9703393.p?id=1218153394199&skuId=9703393

You guys think that's enough? Or should I be looking at another equipment with an i5 CPU? I don't think it'd need a video card since I won't be using rendering programs...?

Thanks a lot! cool

DVA7338
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Posted onPost created on May 10 2010 03:01 ET by Gurmeet Arora

David Eugenio Gomez wrote:

You guys think that's enough? Or should I be looking at another equipment with an i5 CPU? I don't think it'd need a video card since I won't be using rendering programs...?

David with all the programs (CATIA, Solidworks, Inventor, Unigraphics, ProEngineer) you have mentioned are you sure, you don't need a graphics card. Go to Dassault site and read the minimum requirements. If your graphics card is minimum 512 MB (1 GB for decent performance), don't even bother loading CATIA on it.

Also what are you doing with all these CAD packages. Most companies will usually be standardized on one. Usually it's CATIA or SolidWorks or if someone is into CNC operations, then probably Unigraphics as a add-on. So, you need 1 and not all.

Since you are looking for a long lasting investment get something that runs CATIA and it will mostly surely run everything else.
Get a good FSB (min. 800), a decently powerful and recent processor and then everything that comes along with it is OK. Look in the budget of 1100 - 1400 USD for a machine and downsize as you see fit. The fancy stuff you can add later, but the processor and the M/B that runs is critical.

Also, in my "personal opinion", stay away from Compaq and a strict NO for Toshiba if you are planning to use CPU intensive and graphics intensive programs. HP is OK, Dell is better and best is ASUS but with a heavy price tag. Rest you choose.

DVA7636
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Posted onPost created on May 10 2010 08:25 ET by Tracy Norris

David,

For what you're doing, I would go beyond a "laptop" and move into a "desktop replacement" (heavy-duty laptop with huge screen). Obviously some heavy-duty on-board graphics are a must. I've had very good luck with my HP Pavilion zv6000 that I bought in 2005 and it's still going strong. Runs pretty much anything I can run on my desktop biggrin

Other than having to once replace the hinges, it's never let me down.

ANY laptop, from any manufacturer will eventually break the torsion hinges if they are cycled enough frown

Tracy Norris

Senior Captain, L-1011-100

Posted onPost created on May 10 2010 09:34 ET by David Eugenio Gomez

Gurmeet Arora wrote:

Also what are you doing with all these CAD packages. Most companies will usually be standardized on one. Usually it's CATIA or SolidWorks or if someone is into CNC operations, then probably Unigraphics as a add-on. So, you need 1 and not all.

Well, at college I'll have to take Inventor and ProE next semester as regular Engineering classes. Then I'll take a CATIA training course next month, and next month I'll also start working for company that uses Unigraphics. Solidworks and Inventor will be used at college in a project that I'll be directing: the development of a MINI BAJA car (should be fun!).

Thanks for the opinions. And I forgot to mention, since I'm a hungry student, I can't really afford anything beyond $700 biggrin

That's why I was looking at these "lower end" laptops...

David Eugenio Gomez (DVA1933)

DVA3931
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Posted onPost created on May 10 2010 10:20 ET by Andrew Kaufmann

What does the school use? Or is their requirement that you have a computer powerful enough to run this stuff? Maybe you can get the same that they have with a student discount through the US...just a thought.

Andrew Kaufmann (DVA3931)

Posted onPost created on May 10 2010 11:53 ET by David Eugenio Gomez

They use stock Lenovo desktops with Intel Dual Core CPUs, 1 GB of RAM and Intel Graphics at school. It runs pretty decent actually.

They do requiere that I have a laptop, though.

David Eugenio Gomez (DVA1933)

DVA7956
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Posted onPost created on May 10 2010 17:35 ET by Scott Bradley

I'd think about buying a computer that is just about the same that everyone else has. That way your laptop doesn't stick out and become a target for theft. When I was in school I certainly had nothing worth stealing; and let's fact it, a slide rule didn't fetch much on the black market. wink

Scott Bradley

Captain, A320

AFV289
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Joined on May 05 2010

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Posted onPost created on May 10 2010 18:17 ET by Markus Joppich

Hi,

700$ is a tough budget. With that, you're pretty well for MS Office and Internet. CAD, Matlab and that stuff needs some performance. Usually you don't get performance on mobile devices (at least not for that price. The Lenovo W701ds got a high performance, is way out of your budget and one could argue whether it's mobile ... or not).

Like Scott proposed. Maybe a stationary computer plus some lower end laptop (as it's required), might be a good solution. Depending on your infrastructure, you could access your computer at home to do calculations (remote desktop), while your notebook is just your front end. However, you won't be able to realise that with a 700$ budget. (Does your college has a high performance computing department where you could use their cluster to calculate some stuff?)

I'd go for a Lenovo if you want something with Windows. At least here in Germany they got pretty good deals for students and have a very good warranty policy (best imho). If you need to have a Unix environment, i'd go for MacbookPros. But they're a bit more expensive than your 700$ budget. However, try to reach the 1000$ budget, as I'd go for a business notebook. They're usually better equipped and last longer than those consumer notebooks. So anyway, whether Lenovo or Apple, try to save another 300$ and get a solid thing smile

Hope that helps a bit ...

P.S.: Also think about the size. 16" is heavy, and at least at university it's definitely too big for daily use. 13" is the way to go. Friends of mine got 15.4" books and they can't use it during the lectures because they can't use it while taking notes with paper and pencil ...

Markus Joppich

First Officer, A330-200

DVA7620
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Posted onPost created on May 10 2010 18:33 ET by Neil Sarna

i have a Dell studio xps 17 and it runs better than my desktop considering its a desktop replacement laptop.....it only cost me about $600

Neil Sarna (DVA7620)

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Posted onPost created on May 11 2010 03:47 ET by Markus Joppich

From the name I think it might be 17" notebook", Neil?

A general rule is, the bigger it gets, the less it'll cost. So usually 17" is cheaper than 15", and that is cheaper than 13" (if equipped with same stuff). But the bigger it is, the less portable it is.

If he's looking for a notebook, I suppose he's looking for a mobile device. And a device is not mobile if it needs to be charged every three hours and/or is larger than 14" (maybe 15"). Of course, if you can live with a mobile 17" for college/university and daily mobile usage, go ahead. Dells notebooks aren't too bad, even though one hears customer service is a bit ... - well, i'd then definitely have a look at the bigger Lenovos first.

The point is, atm we only know David needs some notebook for college, that gives some performance and is <700$. David, maybe you can tell us something more about the daily use?

Markus Joppich

First Officer, A330-200

Posted onPost created on May 11 2010 12:34 ET by David Eugenio Gomez

Das ist ja eine sehr interessante Ansicht, Markus banghead

At first, I was aiming at a $1000 laptop to replace my current desktop for Engineering purposes, exclusively. Namely CAD programs and strong calculations software like MATLAB. Then I realized I didn't have that much money, yet I need a laptop pronto!

I don't really use computers for anything else. Just chatting on MSN, surfing the Internet, working with MS Office... I used (before, when I had time) to fly on FS9 and play a couple of other games. Yes, I move around a lot, but our campus is very small, really. And I have a car (no need to take the bus at all, which in fact, is suicide in Monterrey LOL).

At college, they do NOT have high performance computers. They use stock Lenovo PCs which run CAD programs very decently, as well as MATLAB, even though they're designed to run Office and that's it.

Therefore, I thought an i3 processor with 4 GB of DDR3 RAM would do.

Regarding screen sizes, I believe a bigger screen like 15.6 would be better for design programs, wouldn't it? Meaning, they give me more resolution to work with, and more detailed images.

David Eugenio Gomez (DVA1933)

Posted onPost created on May 11 2010 12:55 ET by David Eugenio Gomez

Found this one:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+Studio+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i7+Processor+-+Black+Chainlink/9718877.p?skuId=9718877&id=1218158729960

Seems faster than the i3 CPU one, lighter and with a decent battery. However, it comes with a ATI Radoen HD 4570.

The reviews seem ok. Would this be a better investment altogether, than the Toshiba with i3?

David Eugenio Gomez (DVA1933)

AFV289
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Joined on May 05 2010

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Posted onPost created on May 11 2010 13:41 ET by Markus Joppich

David - at least I got a point of view that's underlined with facts. Anyway, if you get specific on what you are nagging, tell me, and I'll explain my point in detail. I am just trying to mention some things to consider. Laptops aren't cheap ...

Matlab and those CAD programs are usually capable of using multiple cores. So with a quad-core i7 you probably would gain some performance advantage anyways. Furthermore the new i7s are known for good performance.

The proposed Dell looks quite nice. At my university I see them a lot. What's the point on the AMD graphics? I am not sure whether your programs support CUDA, so unless you need CUDA, I don't see a point?

Markus Joppich

First Officer, A330-200

Posted onPost created on May 11 2010 13:50 ET by Tracy Norris

David, I found it! Pretty cheap too! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_1 wink

What's scary is that I got started in programming on one of these! eek

Tracy Norris

Senior Captain, L-1011-100

Posted onPost created on May 11 2010 13:52 ET by David Eugenio Gomez

Yeah, I was just saying I hadn't considered some of the things you pointed out in your first post wink

It seems that, for some reason, Dell doesn't support i7 720 CPUs without a dedicated video card, in this case, their HD4570.

David Eugenio Gomez (DVA1933)

AFV289
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Joined on May 05 2010

Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen DE

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Posted onPost created on May 11 2010 14:13 ET by Markus Joppich

Dedicated graphics is important and much better than all that internal stuff (of course takes more engery ...).

But also have a look at Lenovos. They're not that stylish, but worth its money smile

*needs to get back to homework ...*

Markus Joppich

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Posted onPost created on May 24 2010 13:31 ET by Ralph Templeman

you would be better off getting a desk top with alot of ram and storage space. they are cheaper than the laptops just use y our laptop for college. and the desk top for flight simming.

Ralph Templeman

Captain, A330-300

Posted onPost created on May 28 2010 18:21 ET by David Eugenio Gomez

If anyone was wondering...

My new laptop arrived today biggrin

and I did get this one: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+Satellite+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i3+Processor+-+Quantum+Black/9703393.p?id=1218153394199&skuId=9703393

All I can say right now is, it's AWESOME rawk

It can run anything I've thrown at it, CATIA, Inventor, MATLAB, etc...

It's a little heavy, but the screen's size is quite decent, runs cool, and the battery is great. Despite being a little overweight, it's all I needed!

P.S. No, this is not an FS laptop, it's only for work...

David Eugenio Gomez (DVA1933)

Posted onPost created on May 28 2010 22:56 ET by Tracy Norris

If you don't use it to run FS then is ANYTHING really important? LOL wink

Tracy Norris

Senior Captain, L-1011-100

Posted onPost created on May 29 2010 11:19 ET by David Eugenio Gomez

HAHA!

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Posted onPost created on May 31 2010 16:50 ET by Steve Orloff

Dave,

I know you've only had a couple of days of use with it, but how do you like it? I'm needing a laptop for my engineering courses next year, but I'm unsure on what to get.

Posted onPost created on May 31 2010 20:09 ET by David Eugenio Gomez

Well Steve, so far it's flawless, and runs anything I've thrown at it, even CATIA which is very very very intensive. MATLAB loads in 20 seconds, and other CAD software also runs great.

It's extremely good for the money, very cheap. The battery lasts a lot (5 hours or so), the laptop itself is very solid, and the speakers are very nice too!

The only cons I've found... it's a little heavy and the screen size is a pain (there's very few backpacks or covers for 16'' laptops), and the built-in software takes up a lot of RAM.

What kind of programs will you be using? Are you majoring in Mechanical?

I'd recommend this laptop any day of the week, if you don't mind the work out you get out of carrying it around college LOL.

David Eugenio Gomez (DVA1933)

Posted onPost created on June 02 2010 20:09 ET by Steve Orloff

I'll be majoring in either naval architecture and marine engineering with a secondary bachelors in aerospace, biomedical, or aerospace - we don't have to declare majors until the end of sophomore year. They haven't exactly told us which programs, so I'm shooting a bit in the dark and looking for a laptop that will be able to power its way through a variety of tasks.

It's good to know that so far the reviews have been positive. U of M has a history of requiring students to do quite of bit of outside the box thinking, so I'm looking to run (at a minimum): Cyberlink power director, Adobe acrobat suite, MS office, and other engineering programs as they arise.

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