Need New Windows Based Computer
I need a new Windows based computer because my CAD program only runs on Windows. I have to start somewhere. I haven’t looked anywhere yet. I don’t even know what to look for or ask about. Here i...
Forum Discussion
First, I can't recommend Dell laptops anymore. They have been having issues with the power adaptors and they don't seem to care about correcting the problem. The issue is that they put a chip inside the power adaptor and the laptop is suppose to detect that it is indeed a Dell power supply and allow it to work, however, this "smartness" goes stupid a lot and it won't charge the battery. I work for a University and I've personally had to order 28 of those power adaptors to fix issues. Which is about 1/4 of the laptops that I'm responsible for.
The two PC laptops I like are the Fujitsu (U772 is awesome) and the Samsungs.
For desktops, again, I've been trying to stay away from Dell because typically their power supplies are barely within spec and they are proprietary. Plus their cases cannot be re-used to build another computer when the Dell gets to old.
For SSD, I would recommend going with multiple drives, even smaller ones. Like 256 GB or 500 GB range ones and just have good backups. Keep a large external USB drive for backups (spinning disk is fine as you can have it not running while going down the road.
Are you looking at a desktop or laptop?
Also note that Macs can run Windows in two different ways. One way is just like any other PC laptop, it boots Windows and operates just like any other PC laptop. The other way is through a Virtual Machine using software like Parallels or VM Fusion. Under a VM it performs just as well except video performance is not as good as native. 3D games can be played, but not perfect. For CAD software, the VM would work fine. I have one client that uses Auto-CAD under Parallels on an iMac i5 based computer. Works great.
The two PC laptops I like are the Fujitsu (U772 is awesome) and the Samsungs.
For desktops, again, I've been trying to stay away from Dell because typically their power supplies are barely within spec and they are proprietary. Plus their cases cannot be re-used to build another computer when the Dell gets to old.
For SSD, I would recommend going with multiple drives, even smaller ones. Like 256 GB or 500 GB range ones and just have good backups. Keep a large external USB drive for backups (spinning disk is fine as you can have it not running while going down the road.
Are you looking at a desktop or laptop?
Also note that Macs can run Windows in two different ways. One way is just like any other PC laptop, it boots Windows and operates just like any other PC laptop. The other way is through a Virtual Machine using software like Parallels or VM Fusion. Under a VM it performs just as well except video performance is not as good as native. 3D games can be played, but not perfect. For CAD software, the VM would work fine. I have one client that uses Auto-CAD under Parallels on an iMac i5 based computer. Works great.
