Laptop Recommendation

[CanCad1]

Can anyone recommend an ideal laptop for running Solidworks 2007 / PDM Works 2007? This will be used 75% in the office and 25% mobile.

Thanks in advance pointing me in the right direction.

-sd

 

[rockguy]

Dell M-65 or M-90. If it were me I'd also purchase a docking station and an LCD (20" or larger) monitor for office use.

Rob Rodriguez CSWP
President: Northern
Vermont SolidWorks User Group

http://www.robrodriguez.com

(updated 8/12/06)
SW 2006 SP 4.0 / SW 2007 SP 0.0

 

[Beggar]

I agree with Rob. I used a Dell M70 and was very happy with it.

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[SBaugh]

If you want the system to last longer get the Dell M-90.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[ctopher]

Do a search here for "laptop", more info here.

Chris
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 10-27-06)

 

[Theophilus]

Also, check reviews in various places, such as cadalyst.com . Good place to see reviews and benchmark results for things like this, although I'm not sure they've done testing on laptops recently.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe trumps reason.

 

[SoilentG]

What the first three guys said. Dell M-60+. I have a friend who got a M-90 that has a 17" widescreen... he loves it. I used to run Pro/E2001 on a M-60. Loved it.

 

[alolesen]

I just got an M65 and I really like it.

 

[JMirisola]

I love my M90. It has the power to do what I need and is very stable. I've written four reviews on it if you want to read them. Three are here. The last one is here. You'll need to scroll down to them...


Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
CAD Administrator
SW '07 SP1.0, Dell M90, Intel 2 Duo Core, 2GB RAM, nVidia 2500M

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

 

[symjim]

I'd add the HP nw9440 to the short list. It is similar to the Dell M90, but a full pound lighter and it has a dedicated numeric keyboard.

A custom build will typically cost $200-300 more than a comparable Dell M90 config, but some one of the "Special Buys" (RB551UT) configs is a great value at $2349. (2.0 GHz Core2 Duo, 1GB RAM, FX1500M, 80GB 7200rpm SATA)

Be sure to add a second 1GB DIMM for $149. (Configuring the system with only 1 DIMM will slow performance.)

 

[MadMango]

Related to original poster's question, what is the practical assembly size (in part count) that can be worked-on with a top of te line (M90, etc) laptop? I have someone that works on 1500 to 1700 part assemblies, and is interested in getting a laptop.

[green]"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."[/green]

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[JMirisola]

The M90, and its various counterparts, aren't laptops per se, they are mobile workstations. They are loaded with, pretty much, the same hardware as your typical desktop box. The video cards might not be quite as robust, but they aren't bad either. Mine has the nVidia 2500m with 512MB of memory. While I haven't dealt with any assemblies of the size you're talking about, I haven't had any problems with system intensive things like photoworks or animator.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
CAD Administrator
SW '07 SP2.0, Dell M90, Intel 2 Duo Core, 2GB RAM, nVidia 2500M

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

 

[rockguy]

I'm not sure. I have an M-60 now with 1 gig of ram and a 1.5 ghz processor. It replaced my desktop which had 1 gig of ram and 2.66ghz processor.

I have found the M-60 to actually be faster than the desktop unit even thought the desktop specs are better. I do all my animations and PhotoWorks renderings on the M-60 without issue. Our assembly's are typically small (less than 100 parts) but we do have some assemblies in the 1200 part range. The parts are not all unique and there is patterning happening which increases the number of overall parts. I'm very happy with the laptop and really see no reason to ever have a desktop machine again for my usage. I should say if you're going to use a laptop for everyday work invest in a docking station and good LCD monitor.

The new core dou laptops (M-90 and M-65) are very fast from what I've read and for most SW usage I think would live up to the task. Of course the quad core systems are due out in quarter 1 of 2007 and then whatever you buy today will be old news.

Rob Rodriguez CSWP
President: Northern Vermont
SolidWorks User Group

http://www.robrodriguez.com

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/rob_rodriguez/

SW 2007 SP 2.0

 

[MadMango]

The nVida 2500m and Quad-core news are perfect. thanks.

[green]"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."[/green]

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