RickR Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I need to spec a laptop to run VW. Maybe 1/4 of my time so performance is big but not the only factor. More regular drafting than rendering. Most work is small files but then comes a big one with lots of references... Windows, but not looking forward to 8. Jim: rumors of a big jump in VW speed are around. Are we talking V2015? Any advance suggestions? (yes I'm looking at the KB articles) Quote Link to comment
Jonathan Pickup Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 (edited) The graphics card is so important. I currently have an HP Envy Laptop with quadcore i7, 8 gb RAM, 750 HD, but the important part is the 2GB NVIDIA graphics card. I have had RADEON graphics cards, but i dont like them (not for a laptop). Edited June 30, 2014 by Jonathan Pickup Quote Link to comment
Vectorworks, Inc Employee PVA - Admin Posted June 30, 2014 Vectorworks, Inc Employee Share Posted June 30, 2014 (edited) Modern (released since 2012) graphics cards designed for gaming will work the best. There are a number of cards that are marketed as "Workstation" cards but these are generally just more expensive versions of the gaming cards. Any modern graphics cards that come with 2GB of dedicated memory should at least be within the realm of working well in Vectorworks. While I cannot specify the version that will require/take advantage of superior graphics hardware, it will be sooner rather than later. Windows laptops are a little harder to spec properly, as often manufacturers will just stick an integrated Intel card in it, which have not been performing better that what I would call "acceptably" in our tests here. Even the Intel Iris graphics are weak in comparison to even the basic Nvidia GeForce or AMD Radeon series cards. However, in tech support we recently got the laptops listed in my description (Lenovo Y510p) and their GeForce 750M cards work very well. If you have a few laptops that you are looking at, you can post or email in the specs and we can have a look. As for Windows 8... well... It works, I do not like the UI changes but I have adapted to them. Windows 7 will still be viable for at least another handful of years, the choice of OS (if you are given one when buying the laptop) is up to personal preference really. Performance-wise there is not a huge difference as far as Vectorworks is concerned. Edited June 30, 2014 by JimW Quote Link to comment
grant_PD Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 xi computer will custom make a laptop for you. I secretly think they are old dell/alienware cases, but the point being that you get a laptop that has the hardware you want, and the real software (not windows oem bloated os). Quote Link to comment
Vectorworks, Inc Employee PVA - Admin Posted June 30, 2014 Vectorworks, Inc Employee Share Posted June 30, 2014 xi computer will custom make a laptop for you. I secretly think they are old dell/alienware cases, but the point being that you get a laptop that has the hardware you want, and the real software (not windows oem bloated os). Avoiding the standard Dell/HP/Lenovo/large scale manufacturer bloat entirely or removing it afterwards are both highly recommended. They can make your life surprisingly miserable. I wipe the hard drive of any new PC I get and install Windows fresh if possible to avoid these problems. Quote Link to comment
IanH Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I just bought an HP Envy 15" TouchSmart for my son/family PC and I'm very impressed with it especially considering the price. Sounds like it may be similar spec to Jonathans. I had not realised that the i7 was a higher spec i7 MQ than the slower U or M versions found in many laptops acording to a review I read. Relieved to see though that my 3 year old MBP still gets significantly higher frame rate in Minecraft although its not a scientific comparison. With that, its worth noting that the HP power energy mode setting is significantly faster than the windows power save energy mode, the former is very keen to kick in the i7 turbo boost. Makes quite a racket and heat though so i turned HP mode off. Not tried the HP mode that detects it resting on your lap and runs cooler to prevent skin burns... The only negative is that bluetooth is intermittent from new, so its all packed up ready for a replacement. Quote Link to comment
C. Andrew Dunning Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 xi computer will custom make a laptop for you. I secretly think they are old dell/alienware cases... Depending on the model, they're either Clevo or MSI cases. I went a similar route of a custom machine (with, probably, a similar parade of options), but ended up going with a Mythlogic Pollux system based on a Clevo case. Not the lightest thing in the world, but I've been pretty happy, so far. No choking on any rednerngs, yet. i7 4800MQ NVidia GeForce GTX 780M 16GB RAM SSD & HDD Windows 7 Pro 64 Quote Link to comment
RickR Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 I appreciate the input. I've been a Dell fan for a while, more from service and support than from hardware. My current system is a M4500 w/Nvidia Quadro FX 1800M. I've had some weirdness but has been workable. Apparently it's a few notches slower than VW recommended. Some screen draws can get pretty slow. Any of these systems run in the $2000 neighborhood?. I'm looking at the Dell M4800 as it seems the current version of what I have, but is an i5 w/AMD FirePro M5100 w/2GB GDDR5. For $500 more I get an M6700, i7 w/Nvidia K3000M or something like that... Quote Link to comment
grant_PD Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 http://www.xicomputer.com/products/welcome.asp?Content=notebooks&homepage=click Quote Link to comment
IanH Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 The only negative is that bluetooth is intermittent from new, so its all packed up ready for a replacement. Just incase anyone stumbles on this, the bluetooth problem is an odd one where USB bluetooth 4.0 device goes into unrecognised USB device once a bluetooth mouse is connected then machine is rebooted. Oddly, it remains unrecognised even after disc is reimaged back to factory install - removing the mains and battery seem to be the only remedy. However, after a second machine had exactly the same problem, a contact at HP investigated further and tracked it down to the Intel Bluetooth 4.0 driver as shipped being the problem. Unfortunately the HP and Windows driver update programs both fails to detect a suitable replacement however the HP website does contain an update that when manually installed will restore functionality. Most odd that a onboard device can be knocked out and failure persists through a factory reset reimaging. Quote Link to comment
AlexR Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 If I'm not rendering, strictly working in 2D, is the current iris integrated graphics on the 15" MacBook Pro acceptable? I've gathered that the current integrated GPU performance is equivalent to the last generation, dedicated 650 GPU. Quote Link to comment
Vectorworks, Inc Employee PVA - Admin Posted October 6, 2014 Vectorworks, Inc Employee Share Posted October 6, 2014 Should be alright for 2D work, yes. They're comparable to the Nvidia and AMD spec in previous versions, but in practice they are often still slower. Quote Link to comment
AlexR Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Thanks. I'm just trying to decide how big of a cheapskate I really am when it comes to non-mission critical drawings. I think I'll go with the dedicated GFX. Quote Link to comment
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