AutoCAD Plant 3D - System Requirements for Laptop

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I'm in the process of purchasing new work laptops that will be used primarily for AutoCAD Plant 3D 2017 and i had some concerns about the system requirements.
According to the official specifications (see below), the software doesn't require a substantial GPU power...from what i understand.
Is this correct and will i be fine with an Intel HD GPU and a decent CPU, or will i need to look for something more serious like Quadro M1000M, AMD FirePro M4190 and so on?

I don't want to make an expensive mistake by purchasing the wrong laptops so any feedback on this will be highly appreciated!

[dgorsman]

You *should* have a discrete video card.  The on-chip video hardware is fine for games, streaming content, and so on but not so much for engineering applications.  In fact it can cause some slow down in marginal systems as it takes a share of some of the system RAM.

This doesn't necessarily have to be a Quadro/FirePro (mobile) workstation card; most recent gaming cards should do fine.  When purchasing "mobile workstation" laptops from the big vendors like Dell or HP you don't always have that choice though.

[Anonymous]

So your suggestion would be to definitelly go for one? Even if it's not a Quadro or FirePro?
I'm currently looking at HP and the choice is between Intel HD 530 and Quadro M1000M, pretty much. The price difference is about 400 euros so that's why i want to be certain i make the correct choice. 

[dgorsman · Accepted solution]

Yes, even though that's a very low-spec'd card (a 2000-series would be better) you should have a dedicated video card even on a laptop.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! Then i'll go for a laptop with a dedicated GPU.
I wish that the official system requirements were more specific on this part...