Ideal First Portable Workstation For A Student

[IrescueU911]

I am not sure if this is the place to post this, but Ill ask anyway and get chastised if wrong..lol. I am a beginner and would greatly appreciate advice from experienced AutoCad users. I am gearing up to take AutoCad courses (Architectural emphasis) amongst many others. I cant afford to shell out $3000k so I am looking for a bargain used/ refurbished computer. They are out there. Most recently, I had somebody offer me an Alienware from 2011 with an I7, GeForce gtx680m card, 600Gb HD, 4GB Ram running on Windows 7. After listing their $2k four year old computers for $1500 and realizing nobody wants them... they sell for a lot less. I'm having people offer me such machines for around $300-$500. My other option is to go with a computer from the Certified Hardware web page on Autodesk's site.. such as a HP Elitebook 8760 for around $800-$900.

My questions for the experienced; I'll be using AutoCad 2013 to start if that helps. 

First off... Will an Alienware Work? I know it's not a workstation per se. I dont game other than flight sim... but I do that very rarely. The main purpose of this computer will be for it to be used as an educational tool. What issues might I have with using an Alienware vs. a bonafide portable workstation?

I feel uncomfortable shelling out more than $500 for an used computer. Old batteries.. Hardware incompatability issues as software updates to newer versiosn, etc.. I'd imagine gamers run their machines HOT for hours on end. Thats gotta take a toll on the electronics.

What's the best sized display? 17" sounds like it would be nice... but a little large for taking notes in class. I dont care about weight. Im big and can handle it. 15" sounds small for design work. Never did it.. just guessing. I like IPS displays.. any reason not to seek one out? I cant think of any.

Whats the ideal amount of RAM? 4GB seems to be what Ill find. I can upgrade if needed. 

Any other recommendations?

Thank you very much!

[pendean · Accepted solution]

System specs that work the best:
- i5 or i7 processor clocked natively at or near 3ghz (not boosted there) or faster.
- SSD drive: 256Gig min
- A video card that does not steal from system ram, but has its own.
- 8gig ram minimum. More is better.

[IrescueU911]

Thanks Dean. Im looking at a Zbook 15 with an i5 right now. i5 is cheaper. Im guessing it will run a lot slower than an i5, but it will save me a lot right now. I suppose I can upgrade it some day when I have more cash. 

[JDMather · Accepted solution]

I have been using an Alienware 18" for around 4 years.

I use it for 

AutoCAD (rarely)

Inventor (daily)

SolidWorks (daily)

Creo (occasionally)

I couldn't do CAD on a screen less than 17" and no numerical keypad.

[IrescueU911]

I ordered a newer used Zbook 15, 500GB hard drive, i5, K610m (1GB Memory), 8GB Ram. Im just a student using it for studying CAD, not daily work, so I figured saving the extra cash going with the i5 would work.

I am going to add an ssd. How do you guys run your machines? Do you put the software on the SSD and use the hard drive for data?