This is recommended for Civil 2019.?ÿ I think that Dell is light on Ram.?ÿ As well as the video card. I would suggest, for any rendering or drawing program, don't buy a laptop that isn't recommended for gaming.?ÿ In fact, look up best gaming laptops, as that are the kind most suitable for that type of work.

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That will me more than sufficient for common uses. 4Gb on the graphics card is nice touch. The RAM is the one place you could upgrade. If you get into things like LIDAR scanning and photogrammetry you will always be wishing for more no matter how much you have.?ÿ?ÿ

I'm not sure whether "4GB AMD Graphics" means integrated graphics or a dedicated graphics card. I would highly recommend that you make sure it is a dedicated graphics card and not stealing ("sharing") it's 4GB from the system RAM. I assume it's dedicated but you never know anymore with sneaky sales tactics, especially with computers.

Also, my preference lies with various Microsoft Surface devices. But if I were to go outside that box, I'd be looking very seriously at the Dell XPS laptops.

I bought a new Dell Precision 7720 laptop a couple of months ago that I am very happy with.?ÿ I went with a Xeon processor as I heard it was better for CAD work (not sure if it's true).

I gave my 9 year old an Inspiron last Christmas. He complains about it being too slow.?ÿ We had to send it back once because something broke, the warranty service was very smooth which aided in my decision to purchase a workstation from them (though it was gone for a few weeks).

You will probably be okay with that setup as long as the graphics card and computer RAM are sufficient.?ÿ I lost a hard drive this summer and it was painful, please consider an automatic cloud backup system

We have all HP desktops and laptops. Current laptop is HP ZBook, 15". In hindsight 15" is absolute min, will go for 17" next. Suggest larger SSD, 512GB as you'll be running the OS, software, and .dwg's off that - we've found that 256GB soon fills up. Also check as there are different types of "mount" systems for the SSD, one offering a lot better speed.

Make sure you, or somebody else, sets it up to autobackup to the HDD (we use daily scheduled ROBOCOPY).

Posted by: Richard Imrie

We have all HP desktops and laptops. Current laptop is HP ZBook, 15". In hindsight 15" is absolute min, will go for 17" next. Suggest larger SSD, 512GB as you'll be running the OS, software, and .dwg's off that - we've found that 256GB soon fills up. Also check as there are different types of "mount" systems for the SSD, one offering a lot better speed.

I have a 15" laptop and I agree that it is small for working on, but 17" is too large for portability, IMO. The fix for that is the dual 24" monitors on my desk.?ÿ

Note that the OP has also spec'd a 2TB hard drive. So the 512 Gb SSD should be more than enough. I have a 256Gb SSD on mine - I use a 64GB SD card to keep data on which is regularly backed up to the office network. When the 64Gb SD card gets full (it's about 85% right now) I'll swap in a 128Gb card and soldier on.?ÿ

In the field I've been using my Surface Pro I7 with great success.?ÿ The small format is a great advantage in the truck or on a plane.?ÿ I keep a 28" Samsung display in the truck for out of town hotel CAD work.

On the other side, I do ok with my i7, 3.5 ghz quad core, 2 GB video, 16 GB ram, 1 tb ssd and Carlson Point Cloud.?ÿ I would not use it exclusively, but when at home or on the road it does the trick

Troll Craigslist for a gaming laptop.?ÿ The gamers seem to NEED the next hottest thing like?ÿa revolving door.?ÿ Find something with an m.2 SSD main drive 512 MB minimum and a NVIDIA 1060 6GB min GPU and 16GB min RAM.?ÿ My Alienware is?ÿcrushing CAD way more than my XPS did mainly because of the GPU.?ÿ I picked it up for?ÿless than?ÿhalf of new because it was 3 months old.?ÿ the Asus I bought yesterday is even faster.

Posted by: Cameron Watson PLS

Troll Craigslist for a gaming laptop.?ÿ The gamers seem to NEED the next hottest thing like?ÿa revolving door.?ÿ Find something with an m.2 SSD main drive 512 MGB minimum and a NVIDIA 1060 6GB min GPU and 16GB min RAM.?ÿ My Alienware is?ÿcrushing CAD way more than my XPS did mainly because of the GPU.?ÿ I picked it up for?ÿless than?ÿhalf of new because it was 3 months old.?ÿ the Asus I bought yesterday is even faster.

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I agree. I have been using a 17" Asus gaming laptop for 2 years and it can deal with everything I need it to, including large laser scanning jobs. It looks ridiculous though and can be a bit bulky for transporting.

Posted by: John Putnam

In the field I've been using my Surface Pro I7 with great success.?ÿ The small format is a great advantage in the truck or on a plane.?ÿ I keep a 28" Samsung display in the truck for out of town hotel CAD work.

Can I ask a question about this? I believe the Surface Pro has an unusual?ÿ 3:2 resolution and if your monitor is , I assume the more common 16:9, how does this work out? Can you have both screens active, each at it's own resolution, or does the Surface Pro have to be off? Apologies for the change of subject.

Posted by: cf.67

Posted by: John Putnam

In the field I've been using my Surface Pro I7 with great success.?ÿ The small format is a great advantage in the truck or on a plane.?ÿ I keep a 28" Samsung display in the truck for out of town hotel CAD work.

Can I ask a question about this? I believe the Surface Pro has an unusual?ÿ 3:2 resolution and if your monitor is , I assume the more common 16:9, how does this work out? Can you have both screens active, each at it's own resolution, or does the Surface Pro have to be off? Apologies for the change of subject.

You can use an external monitor with a different resolution and still use the Surface screen at the same time. You just need an adapter cable depending on which Surface model and monitor you have.

Thanks Wendell - Good to know

I guess I should have said "aspect ratio", not "resolution", but I think you knew what I meant even if I didn't.

Posted by: cf.67

I guess I should have said "aspect ratio", not "resolution", but I think you knew what I meant even if I didn't.

Yeah, it really doesn't matter, as long as the video card in whatever computer you are using supports the resolution of the monitor you want to use. I believe that the Surface Pro 3 and above all support 4K, but don't quote me on that.

wondering what sets the surface products apart from others??ÿ I'm not that up to speed with the tech details but they seem a premium price for the specs (I don't know the ins and outs just looking at ram numbers, SSD size etc).

My experience has been a combination of performance, quality and support. I've had a Surface Pro 3, Surface Pro 4, and now a Surface Book 2. All three of them were built with amazing quality. The fit and finish is amazing and the screens are to die for. The touchpads are smooth and have all the gestures you can imagine. Stuff just works.

I don't think you can say that the Surface line products, when they are first released, are the latest and greatest technology. I would say that they are a half generation or so behind -- but IMHO this is a good thing. The components have been out in the wild for a few/several months and bugs have been fixed. This makes them stable. And it's the same reason I rarely buy a car the first year of a new generation. Also, they didn't just throw some components together, they researched and tested for the perfect combination of components that would fit in that particular package. They also innovated some cool new innards (like the cooling system) and external features (like the hinges). They basically created a new segment of computers and then expanded on that.

I did have an issue with my first Surface Pro 3. But I contacted support and they overnighted a new one to me, complete with a prepaid shipping box to send back the old one. They did put a temporary hold on a credit card until they received the old one, but that's totally acceptable, since I had two of them at the same time. I can see how someone could take advantage of it otherwise. Keep in mind that I hadn't purchased the "Microsoft Complete" premium support package either, and yet they still took good care of me.

The Surface Book 2 that I currently enjoy is freaking amazing. Aside from all the cool hardware and the nifty hinge, probably my favorite feature is the battery -- or should I say, "batteries". Everything you need is contained within the screen portion of the SB2, which detaches from the base and works as a well-powered tablet. When plugged into the base, you have the advantage of the dedicated graphics card, keyboard, touchpad, and massive battery. I mean, what else are you going to do with all that space if the major components are in the screen? I can power this bad boy up in the morning, unplugged, and work all day and still have around 30-40% battery left at the end of the day. I do a lot of graphic-intensive work (Photoshop, Illustrator, Camtasia), so that makes it even more impressive.

Microsoft also gives Surface devices special attention in regards to OS updates. We regularly get firmware updates and we have special tools available to us -- there's a Surface app available in the Windows Store that tells you all about your Surface, and there's a Surface Diagnostics Toolkit that will scan, diagnose and fix issues. I run the diagnostics after each major update.

My SB2 is my primary computer. I plug it into the Surface Dock when at the office so I can use some external peripherals and that awesome 34" ultrawide monitor. But I can pop it into my backpack and haul it anywhere. It is a bit heavy, but the Surface Pro line is much lighter and more portable.