Laptop for AutoCad 2016/2017

[m0k]

My dad will be a independent consultant soon and he has asked me to source him a workstation laptop for AutoCAD 2016

I personally have not used AutoCAD so i'm not sure what it needs to run well aside from a quad-core i7

 

If the price is right i dont mind spending money on upgrading the ram and adding an ssd myself.

just looking to hear some feedback on what system specs will really benefit in autocad

 

currently looking at this refurb: (i dont mind upgrading the ram and ssd on my own, this laptop can hold a second hdd in the optical bay)

https://www.dellrefurbished.ca/laptops/dell-latitude-e6530-15969.html?

 

EDIT:  BTW our budget is around $1000-$1200 CDN

 

 

okay after a little more searching i see that current NEW models of workstation laptops are really expensive, we may have to consider increasing our budget.

 

but please, looking to hear from actual autocad users, not just looking for the most expensive system

[Electronics Wizardy]

How about something like a dell 3510 or 7510.

 

Id get something newer than the laptop you listed if you can.

[m0k]

1 minute ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

How about something like a dell 3510 or 7510.

 

Id get something newer than the laptop you listed if you can.

the new workstation laptops are out of his budget (that dell you listed starts about $2k after taxes) (CAD$)

Whats your reason for going newer? i prefer not having to pay the ridiculous markup that system builders charge for more ram and an ssd

BTW our budget is around $1000-$1200 CDN max

[m0k]

okay after a little more searching i see that current NEW models of workstation laptops are really expensive, we may have to consider increasing our budget.

 

but please, looking to hear from actual autocad users, not just looking for the most expensive system

[AkiraDaarkst]

2 minutes ago, mok said:

the new workstation laptops are out of his budget (that dell you listed starts about $2k after taxes) (CAD$)

Whats your reason for going newer? i prefer not having to pay the ridiculous markup that system builders charge for more ram and an ssd

BTW our budget is around $1000-$1200 CDN max

Dell, HP and Lenovo mobile workstations are suited for AutoCAD use.  But does he really need a laptop, why not a desktop?

 

The reason why those mobile worksatations are suited for AutoCAD use is because they come with workstation grade GPUs that have better floating point precision than gaming GPUs.

[m0k]

Just now, AkiraDaarkst said:

Dell, HP and Lenovo mobile workstations are suited for AutoCAD use.  But does he really need a laptop, why not a desktop?

 

The reason why those mobile worksatations are suited for AutoCAD use is because they come with workstation grade GPUs that have better floating point precision than gaming GPUs.

Has to be a laptop because he will be travelling to anywhere the clients need him to be, whether thats onsite, another office etc. 
Most probably be using a docking station of some sort at home 

 

And yes i agree, im definitively not looking for any gaming laptop recommendations, the dell refub i listed comes with a i7 and a NVS 5200M (but this gpu is quite dated so im looking for some feedback on whether or not this gpu is good enough for CAD work)

[AkiraDaarkst]

2 minutes ago, mok said:

Has to be a laptop because he will be travelling to anywhere the clients need him to be, whether thats onsite, another office etc. 
Most probably be using a docking station of some sort at home 

 

And yes i agree, im definitively not looking for any gaming laptop recommendations, the dell refub i listed comes with a i7 and a NVS 5200M (but this gpu is quite dated so im looking for some feedback on whether or not this gpu is good enough for CAD work)

Well see if you can find refurbished versions of those laptops.

 

I see a Dell 15 3000 series laptop that costs about $949 in the US, not sure how much it is in Canada.

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/precision-m3510-workstation/pd

 

 

Nevermind, I see that it has a starting price of around CDN $1870.  WTF is with the markup....  maybe your dad should take a vacation in the US.

http://www.dell.com/ca/business/p/precision-m3510-workstation/pd?oc=xctop351015usca&ref=PD_OC

 

Edited November 20, 2016 by AkiraDaarkst

[m0k]

58 minutes ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

Well see if you can find refurbished versions of those laptops.

 

I see a Dell 15 3000 series laptop that costs about $949 in the US, not sure how much it is in Canada.

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/precision-m3510-workstation/pd

yeah i have no idea what dell.ca is doing. its $400 more than what the exchange rate says it should be. AND its only has 4gb of ram. what a joke lol

 

ill keep looking for last years models or refurbs. thanks

[AkiraDaarkst]

5 minutes ago, mok said:

yeah i have no idea what dell.ca is doing. its $400 more than what the exchange rate says it should be. AND its only has 4gb of ram. what a joke lol

 

ill keep looking for last years models or refurbs. thanks

I understand that people have budget constraints and that it is not always possible to spend all you want to get a decent computer.  However discuss with your dad and look at it from another point of view:  if your dad is willing to up his budget a bit, perhaps spending a bit more on buying a workstation with proper specs might save him from having to buy another machine a couple of years down the line.

 

Also, Dell, Lenovo and HP workstations (at least I am hoping) should be easier to upgrade or add components than MacBook Pros.  I'm sure you can buy memory from somewhere else to add to the workstation without having to pay the likely marked up costs of custom configuring the laptop at the manufacturer's site.  Same with storage.

[m0k]

29 minutes ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

I understand that people have budget constraints and that it is not always possible to spend all you want to get a decent computer.  However discuss with your dad and look at it from another point of view:  if your dad is willing to up his budget a bit, perhaps spending a bit more on buying a workstation with proper specs might save him from having to buy another machine a couple of years down the line.

 

Also, Dell, Lenovo and HP workstations (at least I am hoping) should be easier to upgrade or add components than MacBook Pros.  I'm sure you can buy memory from somewhere else to add to the workstation without having to pay the likely marked up costs of custom configuring the laptop at the manufacturer's site.  Same with storage.

yea will do.
also since its going to be for work im sure he can claim it as a business expense and recover some of this initial cost later

[Pendragon]

18 minutes ago, mok said:

snip

He can claim it's a business expense and write it off tax. Also, flying to New York round trip + laptop is sometimes cheaper than buying it in Canada. LOL. Alternatively, you can have a friend grab it for you in the states and just bring it over here. 1200CAD will not get you much, it's about the starting price of budget gaming laptops here which will be fine for CAD work. Something like a 7559 or Y700 with a quad core i7 + 960m will be fine in AutoCad unless it's VERY SPECIFIC programs that require quadros. 

[Wizard]

It depends so much on what type of CAD/BIM work is he doing and if he will be rendering finished projects there...

Is he going to be using 3D?, is he going to be rendering?, any type of BIM software?, or just CAD making 2D plans?.

[m0k]

1 hour ago, Wizard said:

It depends so much on what type of CAD/BIM work is he doing and if he will be rendering finished projects there...

Is he going to be using 3D?, is he going to be rendering?, any type of BIM software?, or just CAD making 2D plans?.

He's an electrical engineer, his work is something along the lines of designing power systems. 

 

No idea what that means but from what i remember it just looks like elaborate circuit designs for factories and power plants etc

[19_blackie_73]

8 minutes ago, mok said:

He's an electrical engineer, his work is something along the lines of designing power systems. 

 

No idea what that means but from what i remember it just looks like elaborate circuit designs for factories and power plants etc

Most important thing in my experience is cpu power. So try to get one with a full quad core with hyperthreading. Graphics isn't that important, so as long as it has sth half decent in it, you should be fine. Even sth. like a 960m should be fine.

[Wizard]

If he uses Autodesk Inventor (or plan to use) with his Autodesk Electrical, get at least something along the lines of a quadro m1000m or a low tier firepro if you can.

The CPU will be the most important thing though so don't get anything below a 6700hq, a Dell 7559 will be fine.

As it is blackfriday week you can get something along the lines of a Lenovo Thinkpad P50 for 1000 US $ (I don't know conversion to cad $) with 8gb ram (you can upgrade it later)! (http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/p-series/p50/), I wouldn't doubt this is a really nice laptop for cad and it is a tank that will last you long!
 

@Pendragon , do you know if they got this deals on Canada?

[Dackzy]

9 minutes ago, Wizard said:

If he uses Autodesk Inventor (or plan to use) with his Autodesk Electrical, get at least something along the lines of a quadro m1000m or a low tier firepro if you can.

The CPU will be the most important thing though so don't get anything below a 6700hq, a Dell 7559 will be fine.

As it is blackfriday week you can get something along the lines of a Lenovo Thinkpad P50 for 1000 US $ (I don't know conversion to cad $) with 8gb ram (you can upgrade it later)! (http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/p-series/p50/), I wouldn't doubt this is a really nice laptop for cad and it is a tank that will last you long!
 

@Pendragon , do you know if they got this deals on Canada?

that a good deal, but the dGPU and CPU option for 1k isn't that great. Y

 

ou could get a Y700 with the same CPU, but with a 960m and mod the bios so it becomes a Quadro M2000M or download the GTX plug in for AutoCAD so it workse with GTX cards, but ofc the P50 is way way better built and have way better support and better keyboard.

[Wizard]

3 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

that a good deal, but the dGPU and CPU option for 1k isn't that great. Y

 

ou could get a Y700 with the same CPU, but with a 960m and mod the bios so it becomes a Quadro M2000M or download the GTX plug in for AutoCAD so it workse with GTX cards, but ofc the P50 is way way better built and have way better support and better keyboard.

THERE IS A GTX PLUGIN FOR AUTOCAD?!?!?!, my old 580 will absolutely love that! (I really need to update my GPU), THANKS  .

[Dackzy]

5 minutes ago, Wizard said:

THERE IS A GTX PLUGIN FOR AUTOCAD?!?!?!, my old 580 will absolutely love that! (I really need to update my GPU), THANKS  .

yep, cannot remember the name of it, because I have only used it once, I think that the 16/17 version has built in support for GTX, not sure though.

[m0k]

so my dad sent me specs of his current desktop pc at his workplace:

 

Processor: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-1620 v2 @ 3.70GHz 
Memory: 16384MB RAM

Card name: NVIDIA Quadro K2000

 

Needless to say hes gonna have to spend a pretty penny to get a fluid autocad experience on a laptop. 

 

I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for black friday deals on a good laptop for his CAD work. Feel free to come back and let me know of any deals 

 

Thanks

[Pendragon]

21 hours ago, Wizard said:

@Pendragon , do you know if they got this deals on Canada?

Canada doesn't get deals. I go to the US for that. LOL. 

 

20 minutes ago, mok said:

so my dad sent me specs of his current desktop pc at his workplace:

Ohhh his specs aren't that beastly. If his workloads doesn't specifically require Quadros, a budget gaming laptop will be on par. 

[Dackzy]

2 minutes ago, Pendragon said:

Canada doesn't get deals. I go to the US for that. LOL. 

 

Ohhh his specs aren't that beastly. If his workloads doesn't specifically require Quadros, a budget gaming laptop will be on par. 

even if it requires a quadro, you could mod the bios, a M2000M is really just a slower clocked 960m and I have seen people making the 960m in a XPS into a M2000M (I might be doing that)

[Pendragon]

3 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

even if it requires a quadro, you could mod the bios, a M2000M is really just a slower clocked 960m and I have seen people making the 960m in a XPS into a M2000M (I might be doing that)

I've never seen this! That's actually insane. Interesting. Something to investigate I guess. That would be interesting. Wonder if you could do it the other way around. Cause I can't OC my M2000M. All the sliders are locked. Would be cool to see it turn into a 960m and OC the shit out of it.

[Dackzy]

8 minutes ago, Pendragon said:

I've never seen this! That's actually insane. Interesting. Something to investigate I guess. That would be interesting. Wonder if you could do it the other way around. Cause I can't OC my M2000M. All the sliders are locked. Would be cool to see it turn into a 960m and OC the shit out of it.

I have no idea how exactly they did it

[Rey02]

You don't actually "need" a Quadro card for Autocad if you are using it only for 2D plans... Believe me I used Autocad for years in a Dell Inspiron Mini 1018 with 1gb of Ram only for simple 2D plans... *Yes, it was very slow but it worked*

And now i'm using a Hp 2000-299wm laptop with 6 Gb of ram with Autocad 2016 for more complex plans... Because my Dell Workstation died

If he is only going to be doing simple plans, maybe a gaming laptop will work?

But if he is also doing Bim projects, thats a different story...

 

Sorry, my English is horribe...  

[Wizard]

4 hours ago, Dackzy said:

even if it requires a quadro, you could mod the bios, a M2000M is really just a slower clocked 960m and I have seen people making the 960m in a XPS into a M2000M (I might be doing that)

Do you have any guide for this??, It would be awsome to see how it works!