If that's a single core processor, it's not going to be that great for rendering and is probably going to struggle running 3 intensive programs at the same time.

4GB is fine and it's probably worth staying with that and using windows XP as opposed to Vista (or waiting for Windows 7).

The Quadro card is made specifically for 3d modeling and so is probably your best bet, but check out benchmark scores as some of the top of the range gamer cards do just as well as the lower range quadro cards, but are cheaper.

You want a card with at least 512MB and a good resolution as you will probably end up wanting to work of a separate and much larger screen.

hope this helps.

definite frown on the single core.
It wouldnt be worth the investment.

Dual core at least. Do they make quad core laptops?
I went the desktop route. More powerful, half the price. But thats probably dictated by your environment.

From what I understand, the video card determines how fluidly you can manipulate (rotate, pan, etc) the model around in real-time when you're working on it (wireframe, shaded views, etc), which comes into play when it gets more complex. Everything else, including rendering, is the CPU (that's why people are suggesting at least a dual core, because rendering will use both cores, effectively doubling your speed)..

Here are some links I'm aware of, on videocards, that might be helpful (just a start):

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-price,2323-6.html
only has gaming cards (eg not Quadro)
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/graphics-cards,1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Nvidia_graphics_processing_units
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_ATI_graphics_processing_units

Some cpu benchmarks:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
You will need to read what that benchmark tests to see how directly applicable it is to your apps, but it should give a rough guide as to which cpu's are faster.

Rendering + laptops has never really been a good combo, I built my own pc and used a laptop for studio. If you don't have the means then just max out the manufacturers settings within your price range and that's really all you can do.

I would recommend getting the best Dell that you can for the price and pay for the warranty. Dell's warranty allows you to replace the laptop for nearly any reason before it expires...here's a list of reasons from people I know who have received brand new laptops as a result of their actions

1. Thought her laptop was a trashcan and proceeded to throw up on it...received a new laptop within a week no questions asked and they wouldn't even allow her to return the old one.

2. Warranty was nearing its end and threw the laptop down the stairs...also received a new one within a week

3. Had an accident with a circular saw 6 months before the warranty expired...same result. Yay for power tools in studio!

When Dell replaces the laptop they send a comparable model to the current line so you end up with a better one in the end.

Now I know why Dell warranties keep getting more and more expensive. If you don't abuse your laptop, the warranty generally isn't worth it.

the dell warranty is great. spilled on my laptop and fried it a few years ago and received a better one within a week no charge

THANK YOU FOR THE INPUT!

So I'm going with 4gb, 250gb, 512MB NVIDIA Quadro video card


BUT I'M CONFUSED ABOUT THE PROCESSOR:

dual core = "core 2 duo"?

This is what DELL says about its "Intel Core 2 Extreme"

Upgrading to an Intel Core 2 Extreme mobile processor delivers all the benefits of the Core 2 Duo plus even higher benchmarks for taking on applications such as multi-threaded games with advanced physics engines and human-like artificial intelligence. Intel Deep Power Down Technology promotes added efficiency so the boost in power doesn’t adversely affect battery life.

what ya think? thank you

Core 2 extreme has a higher front side bus and higher level of cache. Now that just means that it's more powerful but they wanted to use paragraph of fluff to say that.

No worries, you'll be fine with that system. Just get that full warranty

I'm surprised people here are such suckers for these "warranties". I thought architects were smarter than that. They're really not even warranties as much as they are insurance against one's own stupidity.

Bottom line - don't puke on your computer, don't drink near it, don't use power tools near it, don't throw it down a staircase and you'll be fine.

^ it's nice to be able to receive a new, updated product a few years after purchase for free though. My guess is, such events as the staircase and circular saw were not so much accidents as intentionally claiming the warranty to get a new computer, and extending the life of their investment. Of course this is bad for a couple of reasons, but I can hardly blame someone for taking advantage of a good opportunity.

An Intel Core 2 Extreme is a Core 2 Duo processor that they make slightly faster and charge disproportionately more money for. Your computer will be good enough without it.

If you haven't bought yet, and are still deciding, you can check out the last link I posted (CPU benchmarks) for some numbers as to your particular Core 2 extreme model. (Remember that the benefit of multiple cores will depend on how you're using the computer.)

Here's another good article:
Tom's Hardware: How Many CPU Cores Do You Need?
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/multi-core-cpu,2280.html

camhard,

that's why the price for the extended warranty has gone from about 10% of the purchase price a few years ago to as much as a third of the purchase price. that really hurts the people who'd use it honestly. what you call "extending the life of their investment" I'd call fraud. plain and simple.

TABLETPC

bump since i'm looking at the studio dells right now...with xp

I think you'll be fine with a computer for waaaay less than that amount. when you start a progam the try to scare you into getting whatever new dell they have. The schools are in contract with dell btw. I said screw it and kept my toshiba with 2.5gb and good hard drive. I've had no problem with any CS3 stuff, autocad or rhino. haven't done maya yet, but just assume I'm can bump up my memory a little or get a newer computer with more. They are getting really cheap these days, for some powerful laptops. I don't believe that crap about the architectural computers, all out profs just have macbooks, or regular lap tops. an personally, I don't like the Dells, they come with too much stuff, that just slows it down. I did se students that had probs with their new dells in rhino, not being able to view the 4 views etc.. and their computers were more powerful than mine, which had no probs. Good luck. Just get a strong comp from best buy, Pentium for sure, the best processor you can get.

i just picked up a toshiba l505-s6946 and 3g memory and 250g hd... vista ran like crap on it and the windows 7rc ran like crap..i can't find drivers for it to install xp either...so i'm going to return it and see an xp machine somewhere and just buy a larger monitor for grad school

if anyone is still checking this thread...i would like to hijack it
yes "they try to scare you" and they have scared me-
my school says it is MANDATORY to buy dell with intel duo quad core, quadro fx 3700 card 160 MB memory etc etc in the dell precision 6400- this is like 2500 dollars. not doing it.

but now I have no laptop, Im all scared of buying something else-- do I really need all that expensive sh.it?
Im afraid to get a mac since rhino 4.0 says it doesnt run on a mac.
like the OP I need autocad rhino maya adobe suite 3ds max. all the usuals.
ok, sorry, to stop rambling, my main question is:
I was going to get a geforce card instead of a quadro, how has this worked out for anyone? which laptop do you have with a geforce? can someone recommend something, dell or acer maybe?
is it okay to get the duo core instead of the quad core for these programs?

^^ $25000 is definitely over-the-top ridiculous. I'm starting my fourth year of arch school and did fine with my 2GB, 1.6ghz Intel Pentium M, 90 GB HD Dell Inspiron. the specs are on the low side but I did fine all the while without even realizing what a crappy laptop I had. It just shows you one can get by with minimum specs while in arch school. I recently bought myself a $1500 HP 8530w unit with 2.5ghz core 2 duo, 8GB RAM, 250GB 7200rpm HD and Nvidia Quadro FX 770m graphics card, which is like 5 times better than the old unit I had.. so I know the quality of my work will increase by folds.

Its just stupid buying the latest/newest specs available which is what your profs/school is advising. They know nothing about what you actually need besides the latest and most expensive is always the best. Prices are always marked way up for just released chips/specs and always drop within a few months. Most times one will never notice any performance difference between the best option and a lower one available even though the price difference may be $500+ for a single chip.

My advice is to pick up a unit with decent specs, but a unit which will allow you to upgrade things yourself when prices go down considerably in a few months... To start with, just get a core 2 duo (2.9ghz or lower since 3.0+ extreme is still fairly new and costs $300+ more with no noticable difference), get a 4GB RAM, HD size according to your needs and a graphics card like the Nvidia Quadro series.

^^ oh and make sure the graphics card is compatible with the software you'll be using. Some so called 'expensive/top-of-the-line' cards out there have lots of driver and compatibility issues which would make it pointless if they don't end up working.