laptop for LT2014, video card compatibilty

[Anonymous]

I'm putting together a new laptop for use with Autocad LT 2014 in the field. The Dell M6800 17" seems ideal: i7 processor, 8G RAM, SSD drive; except it comes preconfigured with the AMD FirePro M6100 video card and the card cannot be swapped out. The new AMDs have not been tested for comaptility yet, at least that I can tell; I'm wondering if anyone has any practical experience with these cards and autocad, or thoughts about other options.

[pendean]

Ask Dell about AutoCAD compatibility: they are a major provider for many AutoCAD-centric firms and users and great at honest help.

FYI I've never had LT issues with any video cards to date, and I'm up to LT2014 as well.

IMHO 8Gig RAM is too low for a new system: I would also opt for Win7 pro 64bit and not Win8, and a 256Gig SSD drive minimum, 512Gig if you can afford it since neither WIndows, nor AutoCAD/LT, nor any other app is getting smaller.

FirePro is generally a great Vid Card for AutoCAD, with or without compatibility drivers, but if you want to pin your hopes on Autodesk getting around to approving all the latest and greatest you might have to wait for LT2015 or LT2016.

[Anonymous]

I didn't realize they worked with autocad firms that much, but now I notice that you can get some autodesk software preloaded on the Dell machines, so it does look like a more in-depth discussion with one of their reps is in order.

I don't need (necessarily) an Autodesk approved video card; I'm just hoping someone has some hands-on experience with this particular card.

I'm ponying up for the 512G SSD. 8G RAM is the same issue as the video card, it's pre-configured like that and apparently that's not negotiable, at least at this time. (They claim they change the pre-config options every few weeks.) I find that odd - I can get 12 or 16G on laptops that are considerably inferior in other ways. This is supposed to be their premier mobile workstation, I would think they would want it both most flexible and most powerful.

Regardless - I do very little 3D work, so I'm expecting that the 8G will handle my workload. If that's not the case I may have to look elsewhere entirely. Thanks!

[pendean]

I'm suspect of the 8Gig limit "no change" option: it can't be a premium 'workstation' if it only have 8Gig. Again here I would talk to a live Dell staffer about options.

Happy Cadding.