The Community for Architects, Landscape & Lighting Designers

VW on a PC laptop

Does anyone have any advice for what system and hardware requirements work well for VW 2012 or even VW 2011?

I am thinking about purchasing a new laptop, but I can't necessarily buy the top of the line. Any suggestions for processor type/speed, RAM, video card?

I've checked past discussions and the VW K-Base, but no answers yet.

Thanks.

Tags: PC, laptop, requirements, system

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Permalink Reply by Don Marquardt on October 26, 2011 at 7:33pm

Lee, depending on the scale of work you do and the likely size of the files, a regular laptop might work ok. I used an Entertainment HP Pavilion DV600 for a couple of years just fine (suburban residential homes, remodeling, additions and urban work. Typical file up to 100k mb). It died, got a Dell XPS 17" with 8GB memory, Intel i5, Win 7 pro, Nvidia Ge55m (a moderate graphics card, but most advice seems to be that gaming cards are inappropriate and more processing memory is what you need, huge screen, for about $650 refurbished /new from Dell direct, about $1000 retail. Very fast, huge screen, plenty of space. Great for presentations, big enough to work away from my desktop, built in webcam and altec lansing speakers. VW 2011 and 2012.

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Permalink Reply by Lee Calisti on October 26, 2011 at 7:53pm

Don, hey thanks. I don't need a laptop for day to day work or renderings. I just need it because I often find myself working out of my office somewhere, coffee shop, on campus where I teach part-time, or a client's house/office.

My budget is limited. I wonder if the Intel i3 processor would work? Or if I should trade the processor for the screen size. In other words, get a faster processor (i5) and a smaller (14 or 15") screen to keep cost down. If I get it from the local Staples store, they don't offer customization. So it would come with whatever graphics card comes with it.