Portable laptop for CAD/Design software

[petesamprs]

One of my friends is in the second year of a masters architecture program. She is looking for a laptop that is relatively portable but that she can use to run her resource-hungry design software.

I realize that the size/performance tradeoff exists, but what's the best balance right now? Money isn't too much of an issue, but what do you suggest at the $1000, $2000 and $3000 price points.

thanks.

 

[Busithoth]

I think my T42p could meet her requirements. (T43p, if she wants to hit the $3000 price point)
the upgraded video card (ATI Mobility FireGL T2) isn't cutting edge by today's standards, (there's a newer one released) but it's solid, and the overall craftsmanship is top-notch.

 

[roguerower]

If she goes to a school which will cut her a discount, i'd highly recommend the Dell Precision M70. Its got a 256mb QuadroFX 1400 in it. Awesome card for rendering and stuff, plus its decent at games. I play FEAR, HL2, Far Cry, and BF2 on mine.

 

[petesamprs]

rogue - what does the M70 have that the XPS M170 doesn't? An XPS M170 with a 6800 Ultra seems like a better deal for an otherwise similar setup (about $500 cheaper).

 

[roguerower]

The two systems were created for two completely different purposes. The M170 was created w/ gaming in mind, thats the reason its got the 6800 ultra or 7800gtx in it. It can kick most desktops @ss in games. The M70 however, was created to be a workstation w/ CAD/rendering in mind. It has a QuadroFX video card, Nvidia's version of the ATI's FireGL, which is optimized for OpenGL which is mainly what CAD uses. It is certified with most CAD and rendering programs. Neither the M170 or the M70 has Core Duo in it, and they both use 533mhz RAM. The big difference where you're gonna see things is the video card, the processor, the hard drive (speed and size), and the amount of RAM in the system. I have the M70 for engineering in college, and I have no complaints. Deals w/ all the abuse of college life and keeps ticking. Decision is yours.

P.S.-The Quadro is also decent at pc games too. I get roughly 3k on 3dmark05 at stock.