help Laptop for AutoCad Electrical

[infinitymdm]

Hello all! I am an upcoming college student and will be studying Computer Engineering next year. As such, I am in need of a good windows laptop that can run AutoCad Electrical with relative ease. Here are my priorities, in no particular order:

 

-Powerful

Needs to be able to perform well in AutoCad Electrical.

-Lightweight 

Less than 4 lbs, please. 

-Good Battery 

At least 6 hours battery life, preferably more like 8.

-Good Build Quality 

I know I won't get MacBook quality, but I want something sturdy. 

-Decent I/O

As previously stated, I'm not getting a MacBook. At least 2 USB ports. 

-Touchscreen

I'd like to interact naturally with my devices. 

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions! 

 

Here is a link to AutoCad Electrical system requirements: https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad-electrical/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/System-requirements-for-AutoCAD-Electrical-2017.html

[Electronics Wizardy]

dell xps 15/5510

 

Thinkpad t460p

 

Dell e5470

 

Macbook pro 15

 

zbook studio

 

razerblade 14

[1Reshiram12]

5 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

dell xps 15/5510

 

Thinkpad t460p

 

Dell e5470

 

Macbook pro 15

 

zbook studio

 

razerblade 14

He makes it a point that he isn't buying a macbook...

[infinitymdm]

I probably ought to give a budget too. I'm trying to stay under 1300 USD. 

[Emberstone]

Just now, infinitymdm said:

I probably ought to give a budget too. I'm trying to stay under 1300 USD. 

Since I assume you're not really looking for the most powerful laptop on the planet, Dell's Inspiron 7559 starts at $799 and has these specs:

 

i5-6300HQ quad core processor

GTX 960M 4GB graphics card

8GB of RAM

15 inch 1080p display

 

A machine like this is capable of playing lighter games on high to maxed settings, and more detailed games on medium settings at 1080p. I know you're not looking to play games, but that will at least give you an idea of its performance. It's not an awful machine for its price. I'm not sure of its battery life, though.

 

 

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/inspiron-15-7559-laptop

[infinitymdm]

2 minutes ago, Emberstone said:

Since I assume you're not really looking for the most powerful laptop on the planet, Dell's Inspiron 7559 starts at $799 and has these specs:

 

i5-6300HQ quad core processor

GTX 960M 4GB graphics card

8GB of RAM

15 inch 1080p display

 

A machine like this is capable of playing lighter games on high to maxed settings, and more detailed games on medium settings at 1080p. I know you're not looking to play games, but that will at least give you an idea of its performance. It's not an awful machine for its price. I'm not sure of its battery life, though.

 

 

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/inspiron-15-7559-laptop

Thanks. I will take a good look. 

[Emberstone]

Just now, infinitymdm said:

Thanks. I will take a good look. 

Linus actually reviewed it! I forgot to link this video in my post.

 

(He said its battery life was in the ballpark of 10 hours.)

 

 

[infinitymdm]

As per @Electronics Wizardy's suggestions, I have been looking pretty hard at the new Razer Blade. I really like its specs. But it is a good bit over budget, and I'd like to stay in budget, although that is not my primary concern. So is there something out there with similar specs to the new Razer Blade, but for less? 

[Electronics Wizardy]

2 hours ago, infinitymdm said:

As per @Electronics Wizardy's suggestions, I have been looking pretty hard at the new Razer Blade. I really like its specs. But it is a good bit over budget, and I'd like to stay in budget, although that is not my primary concern. So is there something out there with similar specs to the new Razer Blade, but for less? 

No, you not just getting it fro cheaper. For that price id get a dell xps 15, or a dell 3510, or a thinkpad t460p

[Dackzy]

2 hours ago, infinitymdm said:

 Razer Blade

it only power throttles, because razer saw the 94c on a fresh run of overwatch, so you don't even get performance that is close to a 1060 and then we have their "QC" or lack off. People have gotten blades where ports didn't work, or where the keyboard didn't work. Also razer support is useless.

 

I think there were a thread a long time ago with a guy that sent his blade back so many times, he got one with a broken keyboard, then broken ports again and again. I think he just ended up keeping the one with "only" broken ports

[infinitymdm]

2 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

No, you not just getting it fro cheaper. For that price id get a dell xps 15, or a dell 3510, or a thinkpad t460p

I have been looking at the 3510, but I'm wondering about the GPU. I don't really know how well the AMD FirePro W5130M performs. What is the gaming equivalent? Is it somewhere between a GTX 950 and 960 or something? 

[infinitymdm]

2 hours ago, Dackzy said:

it only power throttles, because razer saw the 94c on a fresh run of overwatch, so you don't even get performance that is close to a 1060 and then we have their "QC" or lack off. People have gotten blades where ports didn't work, or where the keyboard didn't work. Also razer support is useless.

I know all about Razer's abysmal customer support. That's why I'm trying to make this decision 6 months in advance. So I can RMA it if I do get a bad device, be it from Razer or from any other company. 

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, infinitymdm said:

I have been looking at the 3510, but I'm wondering about the GPU. I don't really know how well the AMD FirePro W5130M performs. What is the gaming equivalent? Is it somewhere between a GTX 950 and 960 or something? 

 Its about the same as a rx465m or a radeon r7 250, so think a bit slower than a 950m.

[infinitymdm]

I've been given a lot to consider. So, I decided to put it somewhere that is easier to see and understand. It's this wonderful thing called a spreadsheet. Here's the link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ixGPwGJr4IFngEfNk5yWkNH-qZ3sxqa8WSTM2MKqSBw/edit?usp=drive_web

[Pendragon]

1 hour ago, infinitymdm said:

snip

Easy choice.

Does AutoCad Electrical work with GTX cards? Yes? Grab a P650RP6

No? Grab Dell Outlet Precision 7510 with a 6820HQ and M2000M 

Want a sick deal? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-M7510-15-6-FHD-i7-6920HQ-32GB-256GB-256GB-SSD-M2000M-Warranty/291845176746?_trksid=p2045573.c100506.m3226&_trkparms=aid%3D555014%26algo%3DPL.DEFAULT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150817211709%26meid%3De859aff31b7746d284854712f3d8812b%26pid%3D100506%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26#viTabs_0

[infinitymdm]

2 hours ago, Pendragon said:

Grab a P650RP6

On doing a quick search on Google and Amazon, I have found that the model number P650RP6 turns up a large number of different laptops. Is there any one of these which you are referring to in particular? 

[Pendragon]

5 hours ago, infinitymdm said:

On doing a quick search on Google and Amazon, I have found that the model number P650RP6 turns up a large number of different laptops. Is there any one of these which you are referring to in particular? 

https://lpc-digital.com/product/sager-np8152-special-clevo-p650rp6/

[infinitymdm]

11 hours ago, Pendragon said:

Easy choice.

Does AutoCad Electrical work with GTX cards? Yes? Grab a P650RP6

No? Grab Dell Outlet Precision 7510 with a 6820HQ and M2000M 

While the 7510 is certainly a powerhouse, it is just too heavy to carry around on a daily basis. The P650RP6, however, I could consider, although it is quite heavy and bulky as well. 

[infinitymdm]

11 hours ago, Pendragon said:

Easy choice.

Does AutoCad Electrical work with GTX cards? Yes? Grab a P650RP6

No? Grab Dell Outlet Precision 7510 with a 6820HQ and M2000M 

While the 7510 is certainly a powerhouse, it is just too heavy to carry around on a daily basis. The P650RP6, however, I could consider, although it is quite heavy and bulky as well. 

[Wizard]

3 hours ago, infinitymdm said:

While the 7510 is certainly a powerhouse, it is just too heavy to carry around on a daily basis. The P650RP6, however, I could consider, although it is quite heavy and bulky as well. 

If you are not gaming just grab a Dell Precision 5510!, that's a beautifull laptop, excellent build quality, customer support, light, and powerfull.

With a XEON, 256 GB NVMe SSD, and the bigger battery it's us$1776, but until the 26 (so hurryup) you have 12% cashback buying from ebates. (You can upgrade the RAM and SSD later).

So the final price is $1562,88, I know it's above your $1300 budget but the xeon is worth it. You could, however, choose a SATA SSD or an HD, the lower battery, and a 6820HQ buying from ebates to fit your budget.

[infinitymdm]

1 hour ago, Wizard said:

With a XEON, 256 GB NVMe SSD, and the bigger battery it's us$1776, but until the 26 (so hurryup) you have 12% cashback buying from ebates. (You can upgrade the RAM and SSD later).

So the final price is $1562,88, I know it's above your $1300 budget but the xeon is worth it. 

Does that config have a dedicated GPU? Or is it integrated graphics? 

[Pendragon]

1 hour ago, infinitymdm said:

Does that config have a dedicated GPU? Or is it integrated graphics? 

Or get the XPS15. 

[Wizard]

3 hours ago, infinitymdm said:

Does that config have a dedicated GPU? Or is it integrated graphics? 

It has the quadro M1000M, for Autocad Electrical and Inventor, is a really nice GPU.

For gaming sadly it isn't good, is like a 940-950m.

[infinitymdm]

1 hour ago, Pendragon said:

Or get the XPS15. 

I'm looking at it pretty hard now. Looks very nice. Any drawbacks I should know about? 

[Pendragon]

3 hours ago, infinitymdm said:

snip

4k is shitty. But it's always shitty on a 15in screen. 

 

Sometimes you get a unit where the heatsink is warped and you need thermal pads and thermal paste to fix it. But that's it. Not many drawbacks.