Im a mechanical engineer needing a laptop primarily for using softwares like AutoCAD Inventor, ProE, ANSYS, etc. In addition to that, I do a bit of video editing in after effects too. I really need a laptop to cater to those need within a tight budget of under 70000. Touch screen capability would be a nice addition.
Best Laptop for CAD purposes under 70K
powerhoney
Cyborg Agent
*www.digit.in/forum/laptops-netbooks/156722-questionnaire-laptop-notebook-purchase.html
Ronnie012
Earthling
Get an Apple MacBook Pro, Unbelievavle processing power and speed and smooth ui. I saw one of my friend (a graphic designer - uses 3d tools a lot and creates videos) using it.
Apple MacBook Pro Mac MD101HN/A Laptop Rs.71205 Price in India - Buy Apple MacBook Pro Mac MD101HN/A Laptop SIlver Online - Apple: Flipkart.com
Or a MacBook Air
Apple MD760HN/B MacBook Air (Ci5/ 4GB/ 128GB Flash/ Mac OS X Mavericks) Rs.64064 Price in India - Buy Apple MD760HN/B MacBook Air (Ci5/ 4GB/ 128GB Flash/ Mac OS X Mavericks) SIlver Online - Apple: Flipkart.com
Apple MacBook Pro Mac MD101HN/A Laptop Rs.71205 Price in India - Buy Apple MacBook Pro Mac MD101HN/A Laptop SIlver Online - Apple: Flipkart.com
Or a MacBook Air
Apple MD760HN/B MacBook Air (Ci5/ 4GB/ 128GB Flash/ Mac OS X Mavericks) Rs.64064 Price in India - Buy Apple MD760HN/B MacBook Air (Ci5/ 4GB/ 128GB Flash/ Mac OS X Mavericks) SIlver Online - Apple: Flipkart.com
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1) What is your budget? under 70K
2) What size & weight consideration (if any) would you prefer?
Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
3) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
Mostly CAD softwares like AutoCAD, ProE, ANSYS. A bit of video editing with after effects mostly and very little gaming.
5) Any typical configuration in your mind you're eying for ?
A decent CPU preferably i7 and a decent GPU.
4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like: Dell, HP
b. Dislike:
seamon
Superhuman Spambot
A mac book pro is highly recommended if gaming is not a priority. It is the industry standard for designing and stuff. Have a look at your nearby apple store.
The problem about choosing mac is that softwares like ANSYS or not available or very difficult to get for a MAC platform. That's why I have to stick with windows.
seamon
Superhuman Spambot
You can boot into windows in a mac using boot camp.
Otherwise Go for Lenovo Y510p or ASUS G56JR(80k) if you can make it there.
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G56JR will be twice better than Lenovo Y510p when using CAD programs and that too for just 10k INR more. This is because the GPU in G56JR(GTX 760m) has twice the number of cuda cores than the one in Y510(GT 755m). Although the frequency of shaders is higher in GT 755m, CAD programs usually benefit from more shaders than frequency(AFAIK).
Ronnie012
Earthling
Softwares like AutoCad, ProE, Unigraphix are not supposed to be run on laptops but high end desktops, better still Workstations. But then your budget will move to over 1 lakh. So as a solution, most individual designers opt for Apple Macbook Pro,ensuring smooth, lag free performance.
I have seen designers working on HP and Dell laptops but i wouldn't recommend one. But since you are saying Apple has software issues, you could check this out
HP Envy 15-j111TX Laptop (4th Gen Ci7/ 8GB/ 1 TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) Rs.69999 Price in India - Buy HP Envy 15-j111TX Laptop (4th Gen Ci7/ 8GB/ 1 TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) Glass Fiber With Silky Soft Touch Aluminium Finish Natural Silver Online - HP: Fli
I have seen designers working on HP and Dell laptops but i wouldn't recommend one. But since you are saying Apple has software issues, you could check this out
HP Envy 15-j111TX Laptop (4th Gen Ci7/ 8GB/ 1 TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) Rs.69999 Price in India - Buy HP Envy 15-j111TX Laptop (4th Gen Ci7/ 8GB/ 1 TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) Glass Fiber With Silky Soft Touch Aluminium Finish Natural Silver Online - HP: Fli
ASUS G56JR sounds great although I'm not sure about the extra 10k.
About boot camp, how does a macbook air running windows fair when compared to a Y510p?
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I have a desktop for very heavy stuffs already. I need a portable solution when I'm not home. And even if I pick a Macbook Pro, it still would'nt fit in my budget ryt?
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seamon
Superhuman Spambot
ASUS G56JR sounds great although I'm not sure about the extra 10k.
About boot camp, how does a macbook air running windows fair when compared to a Y510p?
Softwares like AutoCad, ProE, Unigraphix are not supposed to be run on laptops but high end desktops, better still Workstations. But then your budget will move to over 1 lakh. So as a solution, most individual designers opt for Apple Macbook Pro,ensuring smooth, lag free performance.
I have seen designers working on HP and Dell laptops but i wouldn't recommend one. But since you are saying Apple has software issues, you could check this out
HP Envy 15-j111TX Laptop (4th Gen Ci7/ 8GB/ 1 TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) Rs.69999 Price in India - Buy HP Envy 15-j111TX Laptop (4th Gen Ci7/ 8GB/ 1 TB/ Win8.1/ 2GB Graph) Glass Fiber With Silky Soft Touch Aluminium Finish Natural Silver Online - HP: Fli[/QUOTE
I have a desktop for very heavy stuffs already. I need a portable solution when I'm not home. And even if I pick a Macbook Pro, it still would'nt fit in my budget ryt?
That HP laptop is TRASH! STEER CLEAR!
Windows on a mac book will obviously be not as good as on Lenovo Y510p.
I personally hate macbooks due to sub-par hardware and therefore don't have much experience using them.
It's a insipid belief that Windows are slow and not "smooth".
I beg to differ. What a windows PC needs is a SSD(one 128 GB msata SSD does not cost much). I have been using it for 6 months now and not once was I able to make my Lenovo Y500 "hang" or even lag. This is with:
1.Adventures of Van Helsing running in the background.
2.80 GB worth of games being copied to ext. HDD.
3.Adventures of van Helsing II downloading in the background and...
4.Surfing with 20+ tabs in Firefox.
Even doing this much stuff simultaneously was not enough to make my monster of a laptop even flinch.
If you can afford it then go for ASUS G56JR and upgrade it later with a mSATA SSD to use as a boot drive, you won't regret it.
Yh. Apple with the entire mac lineup is just way too overhyped. N yup sure. The Asus seems really good. N btw, is it better to wait for a month or so for any new launches as there are a lot of rumors about new laptops coming soon?
kunalgujarathi
Cyborg Agent
I advice sincerely to all the people who don't know any D of designing, please don't give vague opinions!
MacBook Pro with i5 2nd gen,800p resolution is piece of junk!
To correct you all MacBook Pro is not industry standard,Mac & Mac Pro are!
An OpenGL and CUDA compatible PC is required for CAD purposes!
OP MacBook is useless unless u at least get Retina display a 3rd gen i5/i7 and a graphic card!
My advice if you are comfortable with PC set up a rig
-A decent i7-4770k/i5
-Good Quadro/FirePro Graphics
Or else get Lenovo W530 or Dell Workstation!
A decent 1080p + 3rd gen i7 and quadro will suffice you!
You will have to import them or check ebay/amazon!
[MENTION=248727]seamon[/MENTION] : GTX 760 won't be used for higher CAD softwares!
It will switch it to integrated graphics!
Also 1080p is a mandatory standard for CAD!
So be sure to get that!
If you are using Photoshop or basic Autodesk Softwares,Y510p is decent choice!
I also don't feel it is necessary to invest +10k for Asus G56JR as 755-760 there is a very meagre performance difference!
MacBook Pro with i5 2nd gen,800p resolution is piece of junk!
To correct you all MacBook Pro is not industry standard,Mac & Mac Pro are!
An OpenGL and CUDA compatible PC is required for CAD purposes!
OP MacBook is useless unless u at least get Retina display a 3rd gen i5/i7 and a graphic card!
My advice if you are comfortable with PC set up a rig
-A decent i7-4770k/i5
-Good Quadro/FirePro Graphics
Or else get Lenovo W530 or Dell Workstation!
A decent 1080p + 3rd gen i7 and quadro will suffice you!
You will have to import them or check ebay/amazon!
[MENTION=248727]seamon[/MENTION] : GTX 760 won't be used for higher CAD softwares!
It will switch it to integrated graphics!
Also 1080p is a mandatory standard for CAD!
So be sure to get that!
If you are using Photoshop or basic Autodesk Softwares,Y510p is decent choice!
I also don't feel it is necessary to invest +10k for Asus G56JR as 755-760 there is a very meagre performance difference!
I do have a decent rig and I was looking for a laptop just for portability when I'm away from home. N those workstation laptops that you mentioned, how much would they cost?
seamon
Superhuman Spambot
tools - Why are Apple Macs used so much in the graphic design industry? - Graphic Design Stack Exchange
Designers everywhere use macs due to their simplicity and responsiveness, but since I hate macs, I won't take apple's side. GO PC!!!
Nope. Just a few tweaks and the GTX 760m will start rendering CAD programs.
The GTX 760m will twice better for CAD softwares than GTX 755m. This is because of parallel processing which depends on the number of shaders and not much on the frequency. GTX 760m has 768 shaders whereas GT 755m has only 384 shaders. CAD softwares are not games.
The difference between GTX 760m and GT 755m may be meagre for games but it is heaven and hell difference in case of CAD programs.
This is also the reason why AMD cards run CAD programs so much better. They are made in such a way as to have more shaders running at a low clock speed.
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Workstation laptops with professional GPUs such as Nvidia Quadro or AMD Firepro start around 1.5 lakhs and go all the way upto 5 lakhs.
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wait for MSI. It is just around the corner.
Then I guess I'll wait for a month and come back for the buy.
N about GPU usage by CAD softwares, most CAD softwares, especially analysis and simulation packages do not make use of the normal gaming class GPUs. They only support a very few workstation class GPU's by default. Is there any workaround for this problem?
seamon
Superhuman Spambot
You can force the GPU to render the CAD program by:
1.Using Nvidia Inspector AND/OR Nvidia Control Panel to create a profile for that program and to tweak the settings to match another similar program which supports the GPU.
2.Disabling IGPU in BIOS or in windows.
Also, if you need a professional GPU in a laptop such as Nvidia Quadro then you HAVE to import the laptop, there is no other choice.
For instance this is from a website of the best custom laptop maker in USA:
XOTIC PC | Sager NP8268 (Clevo P150SM-A) - 15.6" Gaming Notebook
This is a custom laptop in which you can add a Nvidia Quadro card(see the graphics card section).
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In this laptop, you can get a basic version now and add the most powerful professional mobile GPU(Nvidia Quadro K5100M) later. Yep, you can add components just like a PC. You have to flash a new BIOS however(It is pretty easy).
That sure is really tempting. But if I import, after all the duties, it would be way over my budget na
. Plus, no warranty in case anything happens.
seamon
Superhuman Spambot
That sure is really tempting. But if I import, after all the duties, it would be way over my budget na
16.85% of total price is the duty for one laptop.
If you have someone in USA then you can get it imported free of cost.
You will have to live without warranty when using that laptop.
Also, all its parts(except motherboard of course) are easily replaceable as it is a custom laptop.