which windows?

[Michelle]

I need pc laptop and want to know the best windows to get. i've used windows 2000 w/ VWv.8 and I felt its performance was compromised compared to my mac version.

[joe newell's ghost]

try XP

I find is works very well with the VW I have (8.5.2) and other people have said it seems very stable with 9+ as well.

Of course theres stuff that ain't the same but you can work around it all if you are a confidant and experienced windows person.

[P Retondo]

Michelle,

I think you will find that most new "Wintel" computers are shipped with WinXP. I've used both XP and 2000, they are basically the same and work very well with VW (I assume you are using VW 8.5 or later). Your performance problem probably had more to do with your respective computers' hardware than with their operating systems. I would recommend getting the fastest processer and largest amount of RAM you can afford if performance is an issue. I also recommend getting a Pentium processor. The Celeron has had some problems with it's backside cache, and I've heard some people report problems with the AMD. I've always stuck with Pentium and have had no problems.

[Matthew Giampapa]

If it is going to be a Windows machine, just make sure that it does not have WinME (Millennium Edition) installed. You are much better off getting a model with Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

Actually VectorWorks 8 has a habit of taking 100% of CPU usage under Windows. If you are going to use the laptop unplugged, you may want to consider getting VectorWorks 9 as your battery will last a lot longer.

Matthew GiampapaNNA Technical Support

[P Retondo]

Michelle,

You wanted to know if a 1.6G / 512 MB RAM laptop would be a good choice. It depends on how complex your work is, and how much performance you want to have. That is certainly an adequate computer. If you can afford to go up to the 2.0G version, some of the more intensive 3D tasks will go better. The only function I've needed speeds greater than a 1.6G processor for is the rendering of complex 3D models.