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Low-end Laptops and Revit Architecture 2010

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Message 1 of 11
dlacomb
1092 Views, 10 Replies

Low-end Laptops and Revit Architecture 2010

I hope this will generate some feedback.

Has anyone had any significant issues with running Revit products on a low-end laptop? I ordered an Acer Aspire AS5739G-6959 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T6600(2.20GHz) 15.6"; 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 320GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M laptop ($649 total). I was looking for something under $750, more to just explore Windows 7 64-bit and do some basic office work on a cheap machine - not really intending to do anything w/Revit other than open and review drawings from time-to-time, maybe with some minor edits. Anything work related would be on my Dell workstation.

I'm curious, anyone have experience with Acers? I did look at a few others such as Asus and HPs, but once you get to 4G memory and dedicated graphics cards, the price bumps up closer to $900-$1000. Worse case I'll just use it for basic stuff or let my wife use it for email or movies.

Edited by: dlacomb@uamail.albany.edu on Feb 9, 2010 9:36 PM Edited by: dlacomb@uamail.albany.edu on Feb 9, 2010 9:36 PM
10 REPLIES 10
Message 2 of 11
omc-usnr
in reply to: dlacomb

I think you'll find the screen size the biggest problem, even for minor stuff. The menus with acad now take up so much screen that you can't see your work on anything under 17".

Acer used to put oput a good machine, not sure about it's current rep.

Reid
Message 3 of 11
dlacomb
in reply to: dlacomb

Kind of figured that, but I can still go and use my older Dell laptop with 1920x1200 resolution. See everything, but kind of small.
I was trying to stay away from a 17" as it's a bit big to carry around. I'll give Revit a try when it arrives and we'll see what happens.
Message 4 of 11
Anonymous
in reply to: dlacomb

On Tue, 9 Feb 2010 18:37:18 -0800, dlacomb@uamail.albany.edu <> wrote:

>I hope this will generate some feedback.
>
>Has anyone had any significant issues with running Revit products on a low-end laptop? I ordered an Acer Aspire AS5739G-6959 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T6600(2.20GHz) 15.6"; 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 320GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M laptop ($649 total). I was looking for something under $750, more to just explore Windows 7 64-bit and do some basic office work on a cheap machine - not really intending to do anything w/Revit other than open and review drawings from time-to-time, maybe with some minor edits. Anything work related would be on my Dell workstation.

Well, I use an older Dell Precision M4300 laptop for work, and its specs are
almost exactly the same. It will be fine for your intended purpose. The only
thing I would do is get a 7200RPM drive - 5400 drives do slow things down quite
a bit, particularly firing up Revit.

Matt
matt@stachoni.com
Message 5 of 11
bhoefer2
in reply to: dlacomb

Will an i3 be significantly better for Revit and AutoCAD than the M4300 or Core2 Duo? (is the M4300 a "Pentium 4")

With Revit and AutoCAD is it best to stick with Intel?
Message 6 of 11
Anonymous
in reply to: dlacomb

On Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:50:24 -0800, bhoefer2 <> wrote:

>Will an i3 be significantly better for Revit and AutoCAD than the M4300 or Core2 Duo?

No. The i3/i5 are both dual-core CPUs that are about the same as the Core 2 Duo,
but not faster enough to make a huge difference. However, based on a smaller
manufacturing process, they will run cooler/more efficiently than a Core 2 Duo
and are great CPUs for laptops.

After the i3/i5, you get to the quad-core i7, such as in the Precision M6500
series.

BTW, the M4300 has a Core 2 Duo.

>With Revit and AutoCAD is it best to stick with Intel?

A this time (and for the foreseeable future) - Yes. AMD just doesn't have
anything that competes with Intel in the mobile processor space, particular at
the higher end of the scale required for CAD and 3D work.

Matt
matt@stachoni.com
Message 7 of 11
bhoefer2
in reply to: dlacomb

Well since the fan in my HP Paviloion dv8000 (with Core2 Duo) seems to be dying, maybe the i3 makes more sense than another Duo. I wonder if higher temps of the Duo caused fan to run more and wear out???

PS: Thanks for the info, Matt
Message 8 of 11
Anonymous
in reply to: dlacomb

Isn't the 4300 a pretty low end Core 2? I figure the i3 to be a medium
class chip with i5 medium high and i7 top of the line. Sort of like
scion, corolla, avalon, lexus with good brake pedals?

On 2/21/2010 11:45 AM, Matt Stachoni wrote:
> On Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:50:24 -0800, bhoefer2<> wrote:
>
>> Will an i3 be significantly better for Revit and AutoCAD than the M4300 or Core2 Duo?
>
> No. The i3/i5 are both dual-core CPUs that are about the same as the Core 2 Duo,
> but not faster enough to make a huge difference. However, based on a smaller
> manufacturing process, they will run cooler/more efficiently than a Core 2 Duo
> and are great CPUs for laptops.
>
> After the i3/i5, you get to the quad-core i7, such as in the Precision M6500
> series.
>
> BTW, the M4300 has a Core 2 Duo.
>
>> With Revit and AutoCAD is it best to stick with Intel?
>
> A this time (and for the foreseeable future) - Yes. AMD just doesn't have
> anything that competes with Intel in the mobile processor space, particular at
> the higher end of the scale required for CAD and 3D work.
>
> Matt
> matt@stachoni.com
Message 9 of 11
dlacomb
in reply to: dlacomb

Finally got the Acer fired up and running. Not a bad little machine, seems relatively fast. I loaded up Revit Arch2010 and Architecture2010 (64-bit for both) and it seems to be very workable for a few of the files I opened. My only complaint is that the resolution could be a bit higher, but the menus/ribbons in both programs fit fairly well on the screen. Ribbon panels a little big which eats up some screen space, but I think it will still work for me. I'll experiment a bit more and post a screen shot so you can judge screen real estate for yourself.

Dave LaC
Message 10 of 11
dlacomb
in reply to: dlacomb

Here's a screenshot of Revit 2010 on my Acer. Not bad for the screen resolution.
Message 11 of 11
ToanDN
in reply to: dlacomb

Set the taskbar to autohide so that you can earn some more screen real estate.

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