Buying a notebook computer

[Howie]

It's been years since I've bought a PC and this would be my first notebook PC... I am COMPLETELY bewildered by the offerings out there, so many to choose!

Can you guys help me out with shopping for a notebook?

Budget is around $2k, not needing anything super quick or a mobile 3D monster. Basic use is net, email, vids and occasional 3D design (no complex renderings). Haven't decided if that means i want a intel gfx card or one from ati/nvidia.

HELP!?

[wi11iam]

nvidia card.

[swooc]

You'll probably want to focus on having more ram. I probably will go for a nvidia card also just cause i prefer their drivers over ati's. But i don't think it really helps 3D rendering that much as oppose to having more ram. I'm not sure if notebooks can handle it, but i would get a minimum of at least 2 gigs of ram.

[Dny]

go to www.dell.com.au and build up a system with reasonable specs.
then compare this quote with other manufacturors with similar specs.

[3r1k]

Asus F3jC(1700) / A8JP(1800) / A8JS(2400)

[noodleman]

get it overseas.....so much cheaper

[sangers]

is overseas cheaper for macs too?

[SouLjAh]

u can get decent macs for under $2k that can run both operating systems. however u can get a normal one for under $2k though, seems like u dont need much so a basic core duo one should be fine. should have wireless etc and hopefully be able to run vista. i am using a qosmio g30 atm, and its pretty good but a bit bulky. its more of a desktop replacement that u just take around the house. also have dell lattitude d820 which is so much lighter and compact! i use it to carry around. has decent specs etc, was under $2k mark with extras and warranty etc.

[Howie]

About the nvidia/ati question, I meant to ask with my requirements, do I even need one at all? Would the onboard gfx (intel chipset?) do the job?

I am looking to run SolidWorks (an 3D engineering CAD package). Basic parts design, not huge number of modelled parts on the same assembly. I can run this on my home PC, a AMD Athlon 2000+XP with 512mB of ram with nVidia GeForce mx440-something-or-rather...

[fueltank]

I reckon you should be fine.
3D modelling doesn't require much grunt. It's until you start rendering it bogs down.

[wi11iam]

asus laptop FTW!!!

[FunkyR]

When u run windows on the new macs is the performance near or identical to a dedicated PC laptop?

[chuck]

If run in bootcamp its just a PC with apple badges, ie same peformance. if run using parallels inside OSX its 95% speed but lacks full 3D support which affects gaming, but doesnt affect my use of Windows at all. Its kind of like I run windows as just another application, but these days I use OSX pretty much all the time.

[MrThanh]

When u run windows on the new macs is the performance near or identical to a dedicated PC laptop?

the newer macs run intel hardware, so performance is roughly the same as similar specd laptops from other manufacturers, although the X1600 in the 15.4" macbook pro is seriously underclocked compared to the same card in notebooks from other manufacturers (nothing ATI tool wont fix in windows though).

at the moment, im using windows a lot more than osx, simply because the software that i use a lot runs a hell of a lot faster in windows than it does in osx. stuff like M$ office, macromedia studio 8 and photoshop are still pretty slow in mac since they aren't universal binaries.

i have to boot into mac first though to get the fan speed running full blast, then restart and boot into windows... otherwise, it runs extremely hot.

[swooc]

Solidworks isn't really a power hungry software. It is definately not as demanding as something like 3dsmax. You said it yourself your desktop can run it perfectly fine. Anything with specs higher than your desktop i would imagine running solidworks flawlessly even when rendering.

Also go for a pc notebook as opposed to a macbook. You only want to go the mac route if you really need to use osx and the other benefits of using a mac. Besides, only the macbook pro is decent and those are too damn expensive. I rather buy a pc notebook that has just as good or even better specs for a good price then to buy into marketing hype.