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Forums >> Revit Building >> Technical Support >> laptop spec recommendations
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Does anyone have recommendations concerning what technical specs to look for in a laptop used primarily to work with Revit Building 9? At this time, I'm considering laptops with: Intel's Core Duo processor (T2500- 2.0GHz); 17in display; 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 graphics card; 2.0GB DDR2 SDRAM AND 100GB hard drive. Any recommendations or suggestions regarding these specs? Is anyone using the Core Duo processor and if so, is this chip well adapted to running Revit? Thanks for any and all suggestions.
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You could buy the top of the line laptop produtcts and Revit 9 on larger projects will still run slow. 2GB of ram is around the range that you would want. As for a CPU I would go with the best Dual Core you can get. I am running a 3.4 Dual and it runs really slow at times. 100 GB hard drive should be excedingly enough. I am using the Pentium D and would recomend it or the competing AMD. Also to stay on the cutting edge I would look at getting a Dual Core 64 bit proccesser so you have it, but just put a regualr 32 bit OS on it. If you go that way I would lean towards getting an AMD they are a little ahead when it comes to the 64 bit CPUs. No matter intel or AMD I would go with a 64bit Dual core with the highets clock speed you can get for the money. Revit eats away your CPU put more into your CPU than your Ram. As for you Graphics card I would go with one that supports 2 monitors, thats the best way to go with Revit. Let me know if you have any questions. Getting a laptop that can run Revit efficiently will be a tough task.
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Broncos, thanks very much for your help. Is there a specific graphics card you would recommend?
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Autodesk's website recommends a Pentium 4 for running Revit, so that is what I have on our 3 desktops and two laptops. Maybe someone here has something to say comparing the P-4 with the P-D, but my understanding is that Revit does not take advantage of the dual-core technology of the D.
JOHN
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John Acosta ARA, Architect Mountain Architecture, Big Bear Lake CA |
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First of all, before I say anything, I would opt for either a Dell notebook workstation or one from BOXX Technoligies. BOXX builds only workstation computers for the audio/video/graphic imaging/CAD industry. Their support is second to none, and I thought Dell was great.
That said, I broke from Dell about a year ago and purchased the BOXX 2300 mobile workstation. At the time, Dell didn't offer the configuration I needed in a mobile solution, since my laptop is my only computer for office/work. Today I could go either way. I waited 6 months for the dual cores to arrive and at the time my previous notebook (Dell Inspiron 8500) couldn't pull the rendering tasks, even though it did fine with AutoCAD and Revit. 3 weeks after I received my computer, the dual cores became available.
Presently, I have the GoBoxx 2302, P4 670 EM64T 3.8Hz, (2) 100GB 7200 RPM HDD, RAID 0, Nvidia Quadro FX1500 Graphics card, and 3GB RAM. This is a great computer and flies thru renderings. However, today I would not consider anything but a dual core solution. Intel just released their second generation dual cores, which are embarrasing the AMD dual cores. Also, the current max RAM available is 2GB on dual cores. Also, nothing but an OpenGL graphics card, so that means the Nvidia Quadro. Revit does not support any ATI cards, but this does not mean they won't work and many are using ATI successfully.
I question if a single 100GB HDD is adequate. Revit file sizes are enormous as 75MB - 100MB file sizes are not uncommon. I have only 60GB remaining on my (2) 100GB drives. Also, performance decreases as the drives fill up. These laptops are expensive and when you think you are maxed out, then spend more. If Revit is critical to your profession, you won't regret it. Unfortunately, my unit was $6,000 and will service me for about 2 years max. The Dell will probably be less $$$.
In this order: RAM; Graphics card; CPU; HDD RPM (7200RPM) and capacity. RAID 0 not neccessary.
Also, these are monsters and hot monsters at that. 14+ pounds and I can keep my coffee warm by placing on my desk near my left wrist. No Joke!
Post edited on 2006-08-05 19:35:03
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Sorry to disagree but dell blows. Having 3GB of ram will end up being an issue because you are probably splitting it over 3 Dimms and you want to use 1,2, or all 4 dimms not 3. That will end up prohibiting your proformance. AMD still have better 64 bit CPUs than Intel and the Duals are comparable, AMD is so far ahead on this they have released a quad core, Intel is still a ways out for that. You put ram on the top of your list and that is just plan wrong. 2 GB ram is good enough and is about all you can do for a laptop. Put your money into a better CPU. Dell is not that great I have bad experiences with them, I rather just build my own. You say you are running large projects large enought to be taking up 200 GB of hard drive space, im surprised your computer hasnt complelty boged down. Running big revit files on Tablets and Laptops is a real drag. It was also said that Revit doesnt use the Dual Core, but very few software packages do, the advantage to a dual is so revit can take 50pct and then things like your fire wall and other windows add ins can run on the other 50pct. This really helps revit alot. You are pretty much giving revit a CPU all to its own which is a huge advantage. I question why you are going for a laptop for Revit, if you are going to be doing alot of things other than just exploring your draft mens work on your laptop i would discurage getting a laptop. Build your own Desktop is the way to go for a powerful revit computer.
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I can't disagree that laptops are inferior in performance to desktops due to size constraints and heat. However, many Revit users are using the 3GB switch to enhance performance and the current version of WindowsXP will recognize only 2.8GB. So, currently, anything over 3GB is wasted and BOXX won't even ship a workstation with 4GB. However, that is irrelevant with dual cores since they can only accept 2GB. I have 2 @ 1GB and 2 @ .5gB to reach the total of 3GB. The 2GB limit you refer to is limited by windows/chipset, not the fact it is a notebook.
With regards to the diminished capacity of the HDD's, 60GB free gives me pretty solid performance, but I wouldn't want to go much lower. I back up everyday to a 500GB external HDD and migrate alot of legacy files over to keep a certain percentage free. The problem is that I travel a lot and need most files for reference. Unfortunately if you want 7200RPM HDDs, your limit is 100GB. Also, I use several metering programs to act as a constant gatekeeper to the internals.
Revit can take advantage of dual core technology, but like 64bits, not many programs out there right now can benefit, but you will be positioned for the future.
As for DELL, we probably can agree to disagree. However, if you are interested, read reviews in cadalyst and other mags to see that Dell is always one of the top, if not the top, performers in the workstation arena. The Dell mobile workstation is the fastest out there. I have always purchased my Dells with the 3 year on site next day service. Over the past 5 years, every service call has been responded to by a tech person in my office by 10:00 AM the next day. If you don't like the Dell name on your equipment, you can always go with their 'Alienware' line. These are the same Clevo units that Boxx uses.
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