Need advice on choosing a mobile workstation

[Andy9]

Hello to everybody...it's a long first post but I prefer to be thorough rather than just ask silly questions. Also sorry my English if it hard to interpret at some point.

It has been over a year when I last used SW. Before that I started learning the software on my own will next to university and spent 3 years of learning all the basic modelling skills, some extra environments, rendering and had some try of simulations. I really enjoyed working with SW and I did it cause it was fun. It all came to the end when my laptop was not up to the task anymore as I was running multimedia laptop based on Celeron2. Now I really wan’t to get back to the business and take my SW skills to the next level and start working with it daily basis. That of course means I need a suitable working platform that doesn’t break my bank account too much.

There is a reason why I am asking some help - my knowledge of modern . computers is next to nothingI thought just picking a modern multimedia laptop would do but I have done my googleing and am now I am aware that buying a good multimedia laptop or gaming laptop is not the best choice of action if You want a serious tool for a task. The overall the sconclusion of researching ubject refers for a Dell Precision series laptops if You really want something that is up to the task out of the box. But things get more complicated when it comes to budget and actual needs of the performance. That’s why I have decided to put down my thoughts on my needs, budget and options to get some advice from more experienced users to avoid stupid mistakes (like buying a laptop with gaming graphics card that do well on regular tests but are actually worthless on CAD applications).

So let’s start off what I am planning to do within SW. For first first year I am planning to work with:


1.Recovering all the fundamentals and learn advanced modelling and assembly features.
2.Working with assemblies no larger than few hundred parts.
3.Doing lots of rendering.
4.Start learning SW Simulation.
5.Discover the possibilities of the software.


On second and third year I am planning to:

1.Work with different configurations and assemblies no larger than 1000 parts.
2.Using different environments as I need (mostly working in mechanical engineering, interior and product design field as well some special projects but nothing too specific)
3.Perform simple to intermediate strength analysis as well probably other simulation studies.
4.Do lots of rendering.

Type of platform:

Initially I was thinking of stationary working station as it is cheaper and more comfortable to work with as You can set up a really nice working environment for Yourself. The fact that I want and need to relocate I am forced to look for laptop though. It is more expensive but I would regret my choice if I were stuck at home or office just cause of the box.

Budget:

I am a working student and earning my humble average salary in Estonia which means budget is sensitive subject. I could spend for around 1000 euros (ca 1100 USD) but that’s eventually very tight budget. In other case I could spend up to 2500 euros (ca 2800 USD) if paying by instalments which means I have to buy from local dealer. Paying above that probably is not rational in my case as I am looking for platform to improve my skills and start with hobby projects as well not too big jobs.

Second hand vs Refurbished vs New

There are some really good prices on refurbished laptops on Dell site and Ebay but they are U.S. located and will not ship outside. That’s why I have to put this option aside as I live in Estonia.

Second-hand laptops really cut down initial investment and can probably perform the tasks fine but as I have understand if You want work within short working times and without stressing too much, being up to the latest processor technology, proper graphics card and solid state drive is the way to go. Additionally new laptops should be much nicer to work with rather than used ones and they come with proper manufacturer warranty.

Other uses:

My main use for this laptop is going to be of course SW but I am probably going to use other pieces of softwares as well like Photoshop, maybe some additional rendering applications, some CAM softwares, maybe even try out Autodesk Inventor and do some simpler photo and videoediting. What concerns SW then I am going to probably run 2014 or 2015 version.


Here are just some secondhand laptops I found locally. Prices are negotiable:

Dell Precision M4600, 15.6" HD (1368x768) Touchscreen, i7-2720QM 2900 MHz, 4GB DDR3 RAM, nVidia Quadro 2000M + Intel HD, 128GB SSD, 1 year warranty, in good condition - 649.00 €

Dell Precision M6500 Covet, 17" WUXGA (1920x1200) 100% RGB-LED, Intel i7-840QM 2260 MHz, 16GB DDR3 RAM, nVidia Quadro FX3800 1GB, 120GB SSD + 500GB HDD, 1 year warranty, ex-demo product - 899.00 €

Dell Precision M6500, 17" RGBLED 100% AdobeRGB, Intel Core i7-610E Processor, 8GB DDR3, 750GB HDD, NVIDIA® Quadro FX 2800M, in good condition - 900.00 €

Dell Precision M6500, 17"1920x1200 FHD, i7-Q840 (8CORE) 1,87GHz, 32GB DDR3, 2x1TB HDD RAID, NVIDIA QUADRO 2800FX, warranty still remaining, in very good condition - 750.00 €


And then there is a better solution - buying brand new unit from local dealer and pay for it as instalments. I have decided towards M6800 over M4800 as I like to work with larger screen (as well larger keyboard) and are willing to sacrifice some weight and battery life for it.

The initial (budget wise) configuration I was thinking of is following includes:

17,3" FullHD 1920x1080
I7-4700 QM
16GB DDR3
AMD FirePro M6100 2GB
256GB SSD + 1TB HDD
WiFi + Bluetooth
Backlit keyboard
webcam

The price of setup above - 2055,00 euros (2283 USD

Upgrades available:

i7-4800MQ + 50 eur
i7-4900MQ + 150 eur
i7-4930MX + 400 eur
Quadro K3100M 2GB + 150 eur
Quadro K4100M 4GB + 400 eur
Quadro K5100M 8GB + 800 eur
512GB SSD + 120 eur
1TB SSD + 290 eur
32GB DDR3 + 160 eur
WiFi + Bluetooth + 3G WWAN + 55 eur


I could go up from this spec and pay extra if it is worth it but it has to be justified and from this point it is really hard for me to make any good decision cause of my lack of knowledge. I assume that CPU is the most important thing to keep in mind when talking about overall performance but I am still in research stage of performance comparison of given models above.

I am going to deal with rendering so GPU performance going to be important for me. M6100 seems to be good value but I can’t really make any justified comparison between that and given Quadros. I must say though that I am not running race with deadlines with my work for first year but I want it to be capable of running with tolerable performance for next 3 years.

I was thinking of going for 1TB HDD as it should be able to fit all my work files as well personal stuff and act as a “library”. I was thinking of 256GB SDD for operating system, SW and other often used softwares plus work files i am working often. I assume that 256GB should be doing the job even if I am going to top around ¾ of it. Though there is a chance to upgrade 512GB but i am not sure If i need it (I can relocate solidworks files between HDD and SDD depending which one I am working on).

RAM - based on my research in Solidworks forum threads I believe that 16GB of RAM is enough in my case.


Additionally there are some HP options from same dealer as well, but in some reason I believe that Dell is the way to go. Prove me right or wrong:

HP ZBOOK 17,17,3" FHD 1920x1080, i7-4800MQ, Quadro K4100M 4GB GDDR5, 16GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, Thunderbolt, Windows 7 - 2 472,00 €

HP ZBOOK 17, 17,3" FHD 1920x1080,, i7-4800MQ, Quadro K5100M 8GB GDDR5, 16GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, Thunderbolt, Windows 7 - 2 599,00 €

HP ZBOOK 17 G2, i7-4910MQ, 17.3" Full-HD (1920x1080) IPS LED DreamColor UWVA (Anti-glare) Quadro K5100M 8GB GDDR5, 32GB DDR3, 512GB SSD + 1TB HDD + 1TB HDD, Thunderbolt, Windows 7 Pro - 3 120,00 €



So this is the concept of my problem if you may. I am looking for any recommendations or suggestions on it. Thank You.

 

[JMirisola]

First, given that you have a multi-year plan, I would buy new. This will give you the piece of mind of knowing how the laptop has been used, that it's never had a virus, so on and so forth. Next, I've used Dell laptops for years without any major issues. I currently have a Dell M4300 at home and use a Dell T1700 at work. Excellent machines. However, I had the opportunity to test drive an HP Zbook and was duly impressed. Excellent graphics and speed, lightweight and a great value for the money. If the warranties line up, I'd go with the best HP you can afford. You don't know how your plans may change.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWE
My Blog

 

[PatCouture]

From what I see you will be doing with the Workstation this is the order of importance on what I would spend money on.

- CPU Intel I7. Spend as much as you can.
- Ram, 16 gig will serve you well.
- Screen resolution. (Personnaly I don't mind a 15" laptop as long as the resolution is min. 1920 x 1080.) I understand wanting a 17" laptop but since money is an issue I would consider a 15".
- SSD, The improvement over an HDD for operating system and software is amazing.
- Graphic card (Spend what's left. The best are quadro cards but since money is an issue I would look if ATI offer better bang for the buck) (My suggestion K2100 or K3100 max.)

I'm starting my third year with a Eurocom Neptune (

http://www.Eurocom.com)

and the price is good. the downside is the weight and quality of the keyboard but I find it still a great alternative to Dell.

You can't go wrong with Dell, unfortunately I've seen bad comments on the HPs so I would be more carefull with those ZBOOK

My 2 cents

Patrick

 

[RatsepAndre]

JMirisola

I have now dropped the idea buying second hand unit and am only looking into getting new workstation. I have read some good and some not so good stuff about HP workstations as PatCouture also mentioned. I am reading more about ZBooks reviews but since they come similar price with Dell in my country I am sticking the idea of getting Dell firsthand. Reliability and quality is important for me and Dell offers probably all I need for my work.

PatCouture

Thanks for bringing out your list. I am now taking it as a base for looking a workstation. Maybe I should really concentrate on CPU speed rather than worrying about differences beetwen GPU's performance and rather high price tag that comes with top Quadro units. What concerns the size then your comment for 15,6 inch makes sense. If thinking it over then I am going to spend at least half of the time on external screen anyways and smaller laptop is much easier to carry around. If I can get a better deal on it I will go with it. At the moment it seems that the dealers I am sourcing offer M4800 and M6800 at very similar price range. If the price is same I assume I go with bigger model.

Thanks for also mentioning Eurocom. I wasn't aware of them. They offer good value and nice customizing options.


Just want it to bring out two reviews for MSI if someone is also looking for different options. MSI is known of their gaming laptops but has also released workstation models that seem to do very well in terms of SolidWorks performance and are not bad in design either (even though they look little too much for workstation).

MSI WS60:

http://michaellord.me/2015/03/26/solidworks-on-msi-ws60-cad-mobile-workstation-msi-ws60-solidworks/

MSI W72:

http://michaellord.me/2015/05/19/solidworks-on-msi-wt72-cad-mobile-workstation-msi-wt72-solidworks/

 

[PatCouture]

I'm not sure if this is still true but not so long ago Eurocom were using the Platform from MSI to build their laptop. I'm from Canada, as does Eurocom. That's why it made sense for us the buy from them. Your situation may be different.

Patrick

 

[Theophilus]

Not sure if you're still looking, but I've had my eye on this deal for a couple of months from Lenovo:

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/w-series/w550s/

One great thing is that you can specify Windows 7, along with many other options, along the way. I wouldn't bother paying their inflated rates for an SSD at this point, but would consider putting one in myself (for half the price and twice the capacity) after receiving the machine. Excellent battery options for this one, too.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

A people governed by fear cannot value freedom.