Specific laptop advice sought.

OK. Thanks folks for taking time to read this. I have a good friend who is going on the road for ~2 years. He does CAD for a living. Price limit $2,000 USD or less. He needs great graghics, large & clear screen. He wants at least a 17" screen. Reliability is paramount. Should be able to withstand long periods of use & not have heat issues. Battery duration not that big of a deal, maybe 2-3 hours or whatever. Mostly it'll be plugged in. And satellite & wireless connectivity, maybe bluetooth also. All this should be geared towards CAD. And average to good stereo speakers, dvd burner & any ordinary stuff I forgot. I don't know if a laptop with these qualities can be had for <$2,000 USD. What brand & model laptop should he get? Let me know. Thanks.

 

Hi zapjb,

No specific models to suggest, just some general advice.
Find out what CAD program and version your friend is using.
Go to their website and find out the minimum and recommended system requirements.
Find out the type of CAD work he will be doing. Just simple 2D stuff?
Full 3D with solid modeling and ray traced renderings? Physical model simulations / animations?
CAD work can require a lot of RAM, so max it out with RAM. Laptops have very limited amount of RAM slots, so if you decide to not max it out with RAM, then don't let them fill up all the slots with smaller RAM cards.
Watch out for the CAD's video card requirements. Most of the CAD 3D software rely on OpenGL for faster 3D previews.
If he is just doing simple 2D stuff, then a less powerful laptop may get him by.
Still max out the RAM.

 

the HP nx9420 is the closest u can get to the features u want and still be under $2000.

teh dell inspiron 9400 is also good but u have to customize it.

edit: forgot manufacturer for first laptop model

 

Hi! ur best place to probe about this is

notebookreview[dot]com- go to forums here
notebookforums[dot]com

 

My friend will be doing mostly simple 2D stuff. So hopefully that will drop the price. Please suggest a brand & model. Thanks