Looking for suggestions/recommendations for hardware components (memory, chip, video card etc) of a laptop to be used in the field (and back in the office with a docking station). Starting out on my own and have used just desktop computers in the past. Will be running autocad civil 3d as primary software application. any help is appreciated!
paul ferguson
welcome Paul, of course budget will be your primary controlling factor. If you can afford it I recommend the dell Dell Precision M3800 at about $2100 and a docking station for when you are at your desk. This machine has a 3.3Ghz Quad core proc, a ssd hard drive, 16 gb of ram and a Nvidiaå¨ Quadroå¨ K1100M video card with 2 Gb of video ram. She's a real screamer.
Randy
Panisonic toughbook
I'll second Randy's recommendation. I had a Dell Precision M4800 outfitted like that at my last job and it was awesome. Previously I had a Lenovo W500 with 8 Gb of RAM which was nearly as good.
Toughbooks are great but pricey.
The Panasonic Toughbook is built for field conditions. I love the Dells, but the heat in Mississippi kills them pretty quick. They are just not designed to be sitting out in the sun on a 100å¡ /100% humidity day.
The screens on the toughbooks are easier to see on a bright sun shiny day too.
If you are actually going to use this thing outdoors on a regular basis, as for a data collector or something, then the extra money spent on a toughbook will be money well spent. But that isn't the way it goes most of the time.
thanks for the recommendations. I intend to take into the field for situations requiring analysis not easily done with a data collector. I do not intend to use as a data collector.
We have a couple of Lenovo Thinkpads that have worked well. I've had mine for a few years now with no issues. I use it in the field to create stakeout and have a docking station with an additional widescreen monitor for office use.
I got a couple Thinkpads on Ebay, both T61 (about 8 years old). one with 4gb ram and a blank 320 hard drive, using it now... $100. the other with 2gb ram, no drive $75... it is still on the shelf.
We used to use these all day long for Acad and general mapping with XP.
they are tough.
I don't know about the newer models.
paul ferguson, post: 335000, member: 10166 wrote: Looking for suggestions/recommendations for hardware components (memory, chip, video card etc) of a laptop to be used in the field (and back in the office with a docking station). Starting out on my own and have used just desktop computers in the past. Will be running autocad civil 3d as primary software application. any help is appreciated!
paul ferguson
Ditto on the Dell Precision... 'cept running M6800 16 GB and Nvidiaå¨ Quadroå¨ K3100M video card with 4 Gb of video ram. Yep, a she's a screamer too. Running 2016 Civil/Infrastructure...
EDIT: Trimble offers a PC version of Access for the Toughbook...just in case you ever do any collection with it.
I bought a laptop from these people. It has a three year Dell factory warranty. You may not think you like factory refurbished, but I like it because someone already bought a computer and found a problem. They sent the computer back and a technician ran the machine through all kinds of test and made sure it works. Also, a little scratch/ding/dent isn't a big deal to me, because I am rough on equipment (not on purpose, but accidents happen). I don't know the exact specs you need, but I have one similar to this and use Civil 3D 2015 with no problems. This is the first machine I have purchased with a Solid State Driver and it is well worth the money - I can start from a dead battery and be drafting in a minute, maybe two minutes tops.
From a previous post:
I bought one of these yanked out the 1tb hdd and installed a 256gb ssd (Kingston) and it is a rocket ship! Boots in under 10 seconds!
B-)
I love laptops. all of mine run 24/7 as data backups and serving torrents, wifi relays, etc.
the biggest problem with them is heat, heat kills hardware, especially hard drives.
most are designed to use minimal power so the battery lasts longer, so many have no case fans.
most have vents on the bottom, that restricts air flow, and then putting a laptop on your lap blocks those vents.
My Sager has case fans for the CPU, GPU, and hard drives... but there are still intake vents on the bottom. It eats the battery alive, so when I use it mobile I use an inverter.
I use cooling pads on the HPs and also the Sager. some pads have USB powered fans, some do not. Anything helps.
I have docks for my Thinkpads, they allow the air to flow.
Docks are Great. I plug in extra monitors, mouse, networking cables, USB drives, power supply, etc. Just grab it off the dock and go, no messing with cords and cables.
