CAD/CAM/ Gaming Notebook Advice

[nicfarrell81]

1_What is your budget? Around $2,300

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? 17+

3_What screen resolution do you want? The best

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Yes

5_How much battery life do you need? 2+/3 hours

6_Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? Call Of Duty on High, Flight Sims on high, FPS on high

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.) AutoCad, SolidWorks, 3d studio max, Movies, Music editing, video editing

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need? Would like dual storage, SSD+HDD

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. http/www.xoticpc.com/, http/www.sagernotebook.com/index.php, http/www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/673380-REG/ASUS_G73JH_A1.html#specifications

10_How long do you want to keep your laptop? Should last for a few years

11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? Don’t care, I wont buy blue rays.. Love torrents

12_Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons. HP Envy

13_What country do you live in? USA California


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TOSHIBA Qosmio X505-Q890 NoteBook Intel Core i7 740QM(1.73GHz) 18.4" 6GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD + 64GB SSD HDD BD Combo NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360M $1,799.99
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114906

HP Envy 17: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-840QM processor, 17.3" diagonal Full HD HP Ultra BrightView Infinity LED Display (1920x1080), One 6 Cell (standard) and One 9 Cell (over-sized) Lithium Ion Battery, SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW, 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5850 Graphics with EyeFinity, 8g DDR3 RAM,160GB SSD $2,169.24 shipped w/10% student discount

ASUS G Series G73JH-A3 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 17.3" 8GB Memory 1TB HDD 7200rpm BD Combo ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 $1,899.99
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220737&cm_re=asus_g73jh-_-34-220-737-_-Product

Acer Aspire AS8943G-6190 LX.PUH02.280 Notebook PC - Intel Core i7-720QM 1.60GHz, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, Blu-Ray/DVDRW, 18.4" Full HD, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $1,399.99
(I hear the wifi card sucks big time but for this price I can get the intail card and replace myself)
http/www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6429088&CatId=4938


Its time I buy a new laptop. I am deff a power user and knowledgeable in the field, Im just having trouble deciding which notebook I want to buy. And this is where you good people come in, input, advice, unsolicited comments are all welcome.

I will be using this laptop for everything from AutoCAD, SolidWorks, light video/photo editing, gaming (call of duty). Mostly I will use it for CAD/CAM but I am against buying a workstation laptop because of the price, and I do want the flexibility for gaming.

I would like an i7 quad with the option for dual HDD, I want to run an ssd+HD combo for max speed and storage. A large display will make CAD a lot easier, backlit keyboard is ‘almost’ a must, dedicated 1gb graphs.
I am a student now, an old man (29) going back to college, but the size/portability of the notebook doesn’t trouble me. I am leaning towards the Envy 17, EyeFinity is awesome and the laptop looks to have everything I could ask for and more. The Envy 14 is also nice, with its slim line battery it will outlast any of these models even with an i7. The only thing putting me off is the screen size, @14.5 I don’t know if it will make a great CAD or gaming laptop. Anyway any input???

 

[buwish]

Yes, for your use an i7 is a must. Out of the ones you have found, I'd recommend going with the Asus, as it will end being the most reliable in the end. Plus, the added power of the 5870 will surely help you out.

Have a look at this:

http/www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

 

[nicfarrell81]

I do like that GPU, two downsides to the Asus, first is no EyeFinity support, not really a deal breaker for me though.

I want to get the i7-840qm. It will provide better performance with single threaded apps like AutoCAD. The problem, I also want an SSD because that will improve the system even more so. I can config the Asus w/i7-840 and stay on budget but the ssd would have to wait.

With the Envy I can get it all, (less expandability though). SSD's will come down in price but the Envy offers the Intel 160 ssd + 640gb 7200rpm with the i7-840qm for as much as the Asus with no ssd. Is the GPU really that much better?

 

[nicfarrell81]

I sent an email to Xotic PC to see if they can give me a good enough discount to sway me away from the Envy... If its a good discount maybe I'll get a Sager.

 

[nicfarrell81]

humm.. now Im looking into the Sager NP8760 base. I think I do like the Asus over the Envy, although the Envy has usb 3.0 and the Asus doesn't. But the asus can max ram higher which will be good for CAD. I dont think either have an expansion slot or do they? I do PLC programming and the ability to RS232 would be nice.