Computers & Electronics

Looking to buy a new laptop

  • Last Updated:
  • Aug 4th, 2014 10:59 pm
Newbie
Dec 7, 2013
27 posts
40 upvotes

Looking to buy a new laptop

I am looking for a laptop for school that can run autocad, photoshop, arcgis and illustrator. I don't have any brand preference.

Let me know if you have any recommendations or a model you are currently using.

Budget: 800-900
Weight: lightest as possible, long walks around campus.

Thanks
11 replies
Deal Addict
Nov 21, 2008
1399 posts
301 upvotes
North Vancouver, BC
Asus N56JN. Great full HD display, powerful processor, pretty fast graphics. Form factor is small and light enough to pack around.
Deal Fanatic
Jun 17, 2013
5120 posts
1501 upvotes
Montreal
Why the heck are people recommending a mac? He said arcgis people..it's not even supported for mac. Sure you can dual boot but if your 90% in windows what's the point?
Newbie
Jul 17, 2014
97 posts
133 upvotes
Toronto, ON
Firstly, is there any particular budget you're trying to stick to? For your purposes, I would go with a windows-based system with a great graphics card. Nvidia is a great graphics card. I bought my Acer Aspire with an nVidia geforce graphics card and while I'm not sure I would recommend the brand, the computer runs Photoshop, etc just fine. Check the reviews on Newegg.com.
Member
Jul 23, 2009
267 posts
53 upvotes
If you are going to be using those applications heavily, look into a business line laptop with a professional GPU rather than consumer grade GeForce. Those are optimized for those applications.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Aug 21, 2014
1041 posts
134 upvotes
Toronto, ON
Lenovo W series. HP elitebook, Dell Latitude
Deal Fanatic
Jun 17, 2013
5120 posts
1501 upvotes
Montreal
Maverick98 wrote: Lenovo W series. HP elitebook, Dell Latitude
+1 for the elitebook
Deal Addict
User avatar
Aug 21, 2014
1041 posts
134 upvotes
Toronto, ON
ThinkPad Edge E440 or 540.

I currently use a E430 with i7 3612QM, 2GB GT630m, 16GB RAM, 1TB Hdd

I run all the programs you mentioned (except for arcgis) and no slowdowns so far. Also, I do some casual film making (Premiere Pro) and it renders video clips really quickly.
Newbie
User avatar
Jul 28, 2013
78 posts
38 upvotes
Toronto
For your needs and the budget you have, I'm sure you know you'll have to make some compromises. Most consumer laptops have Intel U processors and would not be optimal for CAD work. Take a look at the ThinkPad T/L/E series, as you can customize them to your liking.

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