Laptop for Civil 3D

[djolegaf]

Dear all,

Last days I am in search for a ''new'' laptop (I will buy refurbished one), so I would appreciate your assistance in choosing proper configuration for Civil 3D. I would like to highlight that I am, sort to say, ''mid level'' Civil 3D user (not working with huge models). Anyway, I am calculating between these two models:

- Lenovo Gaming 3 15IHU6 i5-11300H 16GB RAM 512NVMe FULL HD IPS 120Hz RTX 3050 Ti WIN 11 or

- Lenovo IdeaPad Legion 5 15ARH05 Ryzen 7 4800H 16GB RAM 512GB NVMe 15.6 FULL HD IPS 120Hz GTX 1650 WIN 10

My plan is to (no matter which one I choose), upgrade RAM to 32 GB, and to add more GB to SSD, but I am wondering shall I choose stronger CPU (AMD with 16 threads comparing to i5's 8 threads, ignoring fact that Intel is slightly better in single thread tests) and lower grade GPU (GTX 1650), or to choose Intel CPU (better in single thread tests, but generally weaker than AMD) and to go with better GPU (GTX 3050 TI).

Thank you in advance for all replies.

Djordje

[m_kingdon]

This topic comes up fairly regularly and the information posted is often useful.

However, I do think some users overkill their recommended specifications.  In most cases, AutoCAD isn't the most demanding of software, my 6 year old laptop still runs Civil 3D fine.  Unless you plan on running Twinmotion or Maya, any decent laptop will do. 

You should check the recommended specifications first:
https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/System-requirement...

AutoCAD doesn't use multithreading much so prioritize clock speed over thread count.  Although I think newer versions of AutoCAD are beginning to lean harder on multithreading tasks.

My current laptop for Civil 3D work is a Lenovo Legion 5 Pro.  As well as decent specs, it also has a big 16" screen which is very useful!  When picking a laptop, don't overlook the screen.

[djolegaf]

Thank you for quite clear and logical reply. However, my concern coming from fact that with my actual laptop (HP Omen with 16GB RAM, I7-7700HQ and GTX 1050 Ti 4GB RAM), which covers ACAD hardware recommendations from the link, I have quite poor performance, sometimes even in 2D CAD using ACAD/Civil 3D 2018 and above. Of course, it depends of task/drawing, but for example, viewing more complex surface or simple corridor in 3D is very slow. I red somewhere that latest CAD versions start using multithread, and also in my NVidia settings I have optimisation for AutoCAD, so from there is my question: to prioritize CPU or to find balance between CPU and GPU?
Additional question: will buying workstation with Quadro T2000 be better choice then to go with gaming GPU?

[m_kingdon]

Interesting.  My old laptop also had a i7-7700HQ but I never encountered any serious performance issues.  Maybe newer versions of Civil 3D are more performance optimised?  How complex are your drawings and are you keeping your drawings clean?

There is a good thread about keeping Civil 3D running fast here:
https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/civil-3d-forum/settings-to-make-civil3d-faster/td-p/10333895

I believe people have started switching to the gaming graphic cards and found they work just as well as the Quadro series.  I personally think the Quadro series is overpriced.

Again, I don't think there is any magic regarding hardware configurations for AutoCAD.  A fast CPU, a decent GPU, RAM and SSD hard drive, the usually array of decent specs.

[fcernst]

I recently went with a Dell 17” Alienware 64GB Ram.. I like it

It’s heavy…It has some cool looking copper colored manifolds.. and I like how the keyboard lights up in different colors.. and the Alien is there staring me down at Startup…