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Video Card for Laptop

Question asked by Kirst Feddersen on Jul 13, 2008
Latest reply on Jul 17, 2008 by Dave Solly

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I am looking to buy a new laptop for Running solidworks 2008. I am looking for the best performance from a laptop, so that I can avoid having to get a desktop, I travel quite a lot. I am considering the Hp 8710w or the Dell Precision 6300. I have an HP and am pretty happy with it, but the Dell seems quite a lot cheaper for the same specs. Also wondering about the Nvidia Quadro FX 3600 Vs the 1600. I am looking at purchasing a system with a Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHZ with 4GB of Ram. I am planning to run Win XP as I have not heard anything positive about Vista. Will XP handle the 4GB ram?

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give.

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Michael Ferree Jul 14, 2008 8:08 AM
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What is your budget on the laptop? Would you want to run a 32 bit or 64 bit OS?
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- Kirst Feddersen @ Michael Ferree on Jul 14, 2008 8:19 AM
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  Budget is around $3,500. I do not have any experience with 64 bit OS, but am open to suggestions. I understand that a 32 bit system will only use 3 GB of Ram. Will Solidworks use any more Ram under a 64 bit system?
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  - Michael Ferree @ Kirst Feddersen on Jul 14, 2008 8:46 AM
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    The 3GB of ram "restriction" is removed when you move to x64. We use Precision M90 laptops with Win XP x64 for SolidWorks. The last laptop we purchased for SolidWorks had a FX3500M. We see less crashes and faster processing with X64 machines. I don't remember what the end sticker price was on the laptop but I believe it was lower than $3,500. Hope the info above helps in your quest for the perfect machine.
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    - Mike Mitchell @ Michael Ferree on Jul 14, 2008 1:40 PM
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      We have HP 8710w's with nVidia Quadro FX 1600M graphics cards. We put 4 GB of RAM into the systems and are running XP 32 bit and SW2008. We are running dual monitor mode. We've only had them about 2 months now, but they have been working well so far. They're a little bit heavy, but we figured that for the <20% work travel and trips from home to work could be traded off for mobile computing power/performance.
      
      For the graphics cards, check out nVidia's website. The only difference I could find b/w the 1600 and 3600's performance was the memory interface and bandwidth. We do not have overly complex shapes or graphics intense products, so it was hard to justify the more expensive 3600. I will say that I ran Photoworks on a sample part, and I'm guessing the 3600 might render a bit faster.
      
      Speaking of Dell's laptops, which we had considered as well, when we did some research, the HP's were considered to be "better". Maybe the reason for the higher expense...
      
      Good luck!
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      - Dave Solly @ Mike Mitchell on Jul 17, 2008 7:58 AM
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        I use a HP 8710W and fine it too be a great little machine, the only problem is its weight when I go anywhere, but other than that it is good.
        Currently running dual 24" LCD on it off the docking station
        Runs Vista business x32 with 3Gb ram
        
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Video Card for Laptop

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