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Stercus Accidit

Sat pro 120

p1.83ghz
ram 1 gb
60gb h/d
dvd rw
15.4 trubrite screen
3 yr parts warranty
ms office 2007 oem
norton anti virus

1288€

Is this good or too good?

Considering I know what none of these specs mean should I bother getting this or a cheaper machine, it only has to use auto cad and handle alot of detail on screen.

I dont want to throw away several extra hundred euro on things I will never need.

My head hurts I hate computers.

killbillvol2

Not much detail there but it looks very pricey. Where did you get that quote?

Loads of people will now tell you to buy a Dell but I like Toshiba laptops. Give us a bit more detail and you could definitely get a better machine for that money

AlmightyCushion

Way over priced.

RoyalMarine

for that price you should get AT LEAST 2gig of ram, dual core intel, 160 GB hard drive, and a great graphics card.

if your looking for advise on something that will do day to day functions and use auto cad, honestly go look at the dell vostro.
its under the small business section on www.dell.ie and you dont need a business to buy one.

aim for about €800 for what you want.

1300 euro would buy you an amazing laptop from dell.

when you think you found something you like, come back here and post up all the specs and we will give you more information.

Stercus Accidit

Yikes, thanks all, may well have dodged a bullet by the sounds of it.

Details, um, I want to use cad, photoshop, internet!

A bit of memory for storage, I dont store mp3s or movies so not a massive ammount.

Whatever it takes for cad to run smoothly.

I'm terrible at this I assure you, I'll try to look at other machines,

Is there a good supplier website I could check? Like a small one or is it better to look at dell.ie, toshiba.

Theres a start, which manufacturer is better value for money?

Do acer do laptops, I have a decent acer pc.

Edit: This laptop any good?

Tom Dunne

Motosam wrote:

Whatever it takes for cad to run smoothly.

I think you need to tell us what this requirement is. I don't know the first thing about CAD - does it need a decent 3D graphics card, will basic integrated graphics do.

Motosam wrote:

Theres a start, which manufacturer is better value for money?

That's like asking which car is better value for money. It all depends on your needs/budget.

Motosam wrote:

Do acer do laptops, I have a decent acer pc.

Edit: This laptop any good?

Yes and ok, though see above.

Stercus Accidit

If someone asked what car is good I could give an answer, I could give a very good answer but Laptops, I havn't a clue, Its why I'm asking.

CAD needs good graphics I think, I hear it needs good ram, bar that I wouldnt know.

I'm being honest here, beyond that I have no Idea what I'll need, Its frustrating I know but I can be of little other help.

I want a machine that will do the job well and is value for money, the job is CAD and photoshop and a bit of graphics publishing, sorry I can't provide any clue of what these require.

I'm open to suggestions and will base my purchase on what I hear in this forum, I assume anyone that posts here knows what they're on about.

Seriously even the vaguest answers will help, I know that little about these things.

Obelisk29

I'm no expert, but I think the important thing here is getting a notebook that will work well with autocad.

Most half-way decent laptops (and costing less than the one you picked) will handle Photoshop and desktop publishing but autocad has quite different requirements.

I think a lot depends on whether you are doing 2 or 3D work.

Here's a link to the system requirements for Autocad2008:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=8446045

... but there's lots of versions of autocad, targetting different markets. Here's a link to their product list:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=8909451

The couple of people I know that use autocad (for engineering design work) use Dell Precisions - great machines, pricey but if they're right for the job!

Hope this helps.

killbillvol2

Some of the other lads on here will configure a Dell for you that'll run everything you need. I don't like Dells but I'm in a minority!

I'd suggest ringing BMS at 01-4505277 and telling them what you need. They specialise in Toshibas but do other makes as well. They won't bull**** you either. They have an excellent reputation built up over many years so they're not going to steer you in the wrong direction for the sake of one sale. Then you can compare their option and the Dell advice you get here.

Acers do make laptops. They make excellent paperweights.

ze4400

As Obelisk29 pointed out, there are many different CAD packages that have different system requirements, but to be honest seeing as you're just beginning a CAD course and will most likely be drawing in 2D, almost any half decent spec will more than suffice. By half decent i mean 1gig of ram, a 256 mB graphics card, any dual core processor. Also if you can do without a laptop, it's much easier to draw on a desktop PC, the bigger the screen the better. Keep an eye on the dell deals mega thread (link below) for a bargain. Good luck!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?forumid=346

Stercus Accidit

Satellite Pro L40-12S
PSL43E-00K00NEN
€790.00
Vista HB
Cel-M 1.86 512
SuperMultiDL 15.4
WXGA 1280x800 2GB 2(1free) 10/100 3 Intel® GMA 900

?

This is it I think

Good? Extra 512 ram for 69€

Tom Dunne

Motosam wrote:

Good? Extra 512 ram for 69€

Nope. Utterly appaling for CAD - it's a Celeron processor. You need to be looking at Centrino Duo, or at least a Core Duo processor. 2Gigs of RAM to be comfortable.

TerrorFirmer

Where are you getting these unbelievably crap prices from?? It's like going back 3 years in time...

Stercus Accidit

A computer guy, yikes,

I'm back to square one then,

who do I talk to that knows what CAD requires and also can point me in the direction of a decent machine or retailer?

Anyone on here able to recommend anything? Or anyone?

DanGerMus

If you're only using Autocad which is 2d you do not need a fancy graphics card. same for photo shop. you will get away with a decent processor and 512mb of RAM. But to have it perform well get 2GB ram. Ram will become more important the more detailed the drawings get. As for the processor anything mid range will do once the programme loads up you'll be fine. I've used desktops with celerons and 512 mb that ran 2006 just fine, not great but ok. Took a while to load up the application, but once they get goin they're fine.

A precision is overkill for 2d CAD. They're designed for people doin 3d work with things like Autodesk Inventor which is graphics intensive.

Id advise you to get a large screen though that is really really important for any kind of cad work.

The 17" dell Vostro looks like it would do you fine. or something similar.

vir7ual

Toshibas with XP come in 15.4" screens, if you want a 17" screen with a toshiba they come with Vista.

if you're looking for a toshiba id personally go with the tecra A series with 2gigs of ram but they only come in 15.4" screens.

Toshiba's with 17" screens are the Sat Pro P100/P200 series. these come with Vista and 2gig's of Ram.

Also that Satellite Pro L40-12S is €655 and €710 with 1gig of Ram. Dont know where you got that price but its a tad over priced.

At the end of the day its down to your budget or do you have one. If not then go for a mid-top range spec, as top of the range are over priced at the start.

Tom Dunne

Motosam wrote:

who do I talk to that knows what CAD requires

A question - you say you want to run CAD. Are you doing it at work, or a course? If so, could you ask at either places what kind of specs you need.

Also do you need it for 2D or 3D stuff? Things would be a lot simpler if you could find this information out.

My own opinion is a Dual Core processor, with 2Gigs of RAM and a 17" screen is what you are looking for. Whether it's Dell (usually cheaper) or another manufacturer, it doesn't really matter. It's the specs that count.

Stercus Accidit

I usually work in 2d, budget wise I can get whatever I need I've a few grand set aside, I'd like to get a high specced mid range machine then?

One with xp preferably, where now is the best place in Dublin to get this machine. I'm sure they could further advise me.

Stercus Accidit

Tosshiba Tecra a9 51s, 879+vat, just over 1grand,

t7100 processor, 2x 512 mb ram, 1.8 Ghz, 80gb HD, 4hour bat life approx

Any good?

This is from BMS.ie

AlmightyCushion

That's expensive.