New system to run UG 1

[pdprime]

Hi, im procuring a new system for a client for use with UG. They are after a portable solution so i am looking at the so called 'desktop replacement' laptops.

the specs im looking at are:
P4-2.4GHz FSB800, Hyper-threadding (desktop chip)
Intel 865PE motherboard chipset
512MB PC3200(DDR400) RAM
40GB 4200rpm HDD
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro Graphics with 128MB DDR RAM

Is there anything else i should look at? Faster hard disk? bigger processor?
I am able to get up to a 60GB 7200 rpm HDD but this is very expensive and i dont know wether it would be worth it in terms of productivity.

Any recommendations on manufacturers of laptops is appreciated also.

Thanks!
Chris
-Systems Consultant

 

[looslib]

Check out the certification page at UG's web site. Only a few laptops are certified. UG does not certify components, so if you have a processor, graphics card, motherboard combination, unlesss assembled by a certified manufacturer in that exact combination, any hardware problems and UG tech support will tell you they won't help you with a hardware problem.

Certification page is:

http://support.plms-eds.com/online_library/certification/index_ug.html

(that is all one line)

Having said that the Radeon series is not certified.
The 2.4Ghz speed is too fast for a laptop. Our new T40's only have 1.6Ghz.
512MB ram is too small, we have 1GB ram.
80GB disk.
Graphics is ATI Mobility 9000 FireGL.


"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli
CAD/CAM System Analyst
Ingersoll-Rand

 

[Berserk]

The faster tne better. As long as you check how long the battery would last.
As for the memmory and the video card, I agree with Ben.
1 GB memmory and an ATI FireGL.

 

[pdprime]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Ive done some reading adn it seems the the FireGL is based on the Radeon chipset anyway; the 9600 Pro being the Directx9 version and the FireGL the OpenGL optimised one.
The budget i have simply doesnt stretch far enough to get FireGL or Quattro in a notebook.

On a side note i think the T40 series is a Centrino (uses Pentium-M CPU's) based notebook which has a different speed scale to the current desktop processors (which is used in this desktop replacement notebook im looking at). From benchmarks ive seen a 1.7GHz Penitum-M (not Pentium 4-M, they are different) will compete well with a Pentium 4 2.6 desktop chip (see Intels site)!
This is to do with the instruction pipeline length and the new branch prediction algortims in the Penitum-M series.

 

[looslib]

CAD programs are not programmed to drive Directx graphics cards, they all use OpenGL. Why go for the power if you won't be able to see the results?



"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli
CAD/CAM System Analyst
Ingersoll-Rand

 

[demco]

I bought a Compaq Evo N800W, refurbished, directly from Compaq, for under $2000. It has all the specs Ben mensioned above, and is a killer machine. The prices of Dell and Compaq refurbished machines make high end machines affordable for 1-2 seat upgrades.

-Derek
DL Engineering Services

specializing in CAD Design Consultation Services

http://www.dl-engineering.com

 

[Berserk]

If you know your way around computers, maybe you can try this on your video card (If you are not getting the professional version)

http://www.guru3d.com/index.php?page=rivatuner&menu=8

It gives instructions on how to modify a GeForce to a Quadro and some instructions on radeon based cards.