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She can't afford a MacBook Pro, what is the best alternative?

thebassoonist

thebassoonist

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 25, 2007
500
1
Davis, CA
Hello!

I have a good friend who needs to buy a laptop for college. She is a junior and has made it this far, saving up her money. She's becoming a landscape architect, and will be using AutoCad 2007 and various Adobe software. She loves my MBP and it's her ideal computer, but unfortunately she can only spend around $1000 on the computer.

You guys will know the most about this, so that's why I'm asking. Here's the laptops I've found that have minimum or slightly higher requirements of AutoCad 2007. Which one would be the best and are there any others that you personally and would recommend, or know of and would recommend.

The one things that's really important to her is the screen size. She'd like a 15.4". The 17" is too big for her to take around campus (she is quite a small person) and she needs a fairly big screen.

Dell XPS M1530 (2.0 GHz dual core, 2 GB ram, 160 GB 5400 RPM, 128 MB NVIDIA dedicated graphics)

Dell Studio 15 (2.16 GHz dual core, 3 GB ram, 320 GB 5400 RPM, 256 MB ATI dedicated graphics)

HP dv5t (customized: 2.0 GHz dual core, 2 GB ram, 250 GB 5400 RPM, 256 MB NVIDIA dedicated graphics)

The other thing too, I suppose, is that she could buy an older, used MBP but I don't know if that would actually be cost effective as she'd have to buy Parallels (?) and Vista (or XP?).

Thanks in advance!
 
MacGeek7 said:
Don't forget about the MacBook - then with student discount it'd be around $1,000.
Click to expand...

Doesn't give the screen size the OP wants...

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
MacGeek7 said:
Don't forget about the MacBook - then with student discount it'd be around $1,000.
Click to expand...

Yes, but AutoCad 2009 requires "128 MB open-GL or Direct 3D capable graphics card." At least I think that's what it meant. The specifications had a lot of different options, depending on XP or Vista and if you were doing 3D work, which I think is what people use AutoCad for. But I must say I'm not sure.

Here is the specs from the AutoCad website:

For 32-bit AutoCAD 2009:

* Intel® Pentium® 4 processor or AMD Athlon®, 2.2 GHz or greater
or
Intel or AMD Dual Core processor, 1.6 GHz or greater
* Microsoft® Windows Vista™, Windows® XP SP2 operating systems

For Microsoft Windows XP SP2:

* 1 GB RAM
* 750 MB free disk space for installation
* 1024x768 VGA with true color
* Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 6.0 (SP1 or higher)

For Microsoft Windows Vista or 3D modeling:

* Intel Pentium 4 processor or AMD Athlon, 3.0 GHz or greater
or
Intel or AMD Dual Core processor, 2.0 GHz or greater
* 2 GB RAM or greater
* 2 GB free hard disk available not including installation
* 1,280 x 1,024 32-bit color video display adapter (true color) 128 MB or greater, OpenGL®, or Direct3D® capable workstation class graphics card. For Windows Vista, a Direct3D capable workstation class graphics card with 128 MB or greater is required.

For 64-bit AutoCAD 2009:

* Windows XP Professional x64 Edition or Windows Vista 64-bit
* AMD® 64 or Intel EM64T processor
* 2 GB RAM
* 750 MB free disk space for installation
* AutoCAD 64-bit cannot be installed on a 32-bit Windows operating system
 
Take a look at Lenovo. A Thinkpad T61 15.4" can be had for under $1000 from the official site. The Quadro NVS 140 graphics card that it comes with should perform like a mobile 8400, likely better as it is suited to CAD work.

If you ask on http://forum.notebookreview.com you might get directed to some deals on at the moment and some more solutions.
 
Why not go with a used MBP? You can get a 2.16ghz for around $1200 if you find the right deal. And she is a junior. College is one year away.

Edit: Ah yes, parallels. Well, she can get away without windows at college. There isn't a real NEED for it, unless the school has specific windoes only programs.
 
A used or refurb MBP is a good idea.

Either that or I would get the Dell XPS.

Is your friend going to be doing any 3D Studio Max things? If so, you'll want Windows for that. But yeah, Macs can run Windows too.

So yeah, I'd say go with the used or refurb MBP since she likes it so much and add more programs and add-ons as you go along.
 
Umbongo said:
Take a look at Lenovo. A Thinkpad T61 15.4" can be had for under $1000 from the official site. The Quadro NVS 140 graphics card that it comes with should perform like a mobile 8400, likely better as it is suited to CAD work.

If you ask on http://forum.notebookreview.com you might get directed to some deals on at the moment and some more solutions.
Click to expand...

I second this suggestion....
 
I also second the recommendation for a Lenovo ThinkPad -- I've got an R61i and they are very durable machines. A T61 with discrete graphics, or a T61p, will fit the bill very nicely, and the Quadro graphics on the T61p will run autocad very very nicely.
 
peapody said:
Why not go with a used MBP? You can get a 2.16ghz for around $1200 if you find the right deal. And she is a junior. College is one year away.

Edit: Ah yes, parallels. Well, she can get away without windows at college. There isn't a real NEED for it, unless the school has specific windoes only programs.
Click to expand...

Oops, sorry, a junior in college.
 
If she cant get the MBP, I would just get a Dell...$1000 cant really buy you a newer MBP. You could find an older used MBP if you watch eBay.
 
I've got a Lenovo T61 thinkpad. It is my corporate issue notebook. As such I show it little mercy. It is VEry TOUGH.

Much tougher than any macbook will ever be. But then again, it unfortunately runs XP.

So I would see if you could get your friend into a refurb MBP 15in.

But then again if her need is to primarily run 1 app, the PC platform buys you more hardware per dollar.

I'm torn, but in the end, I think I'd go with the Mac if she knows and loves Mac, and I'd go with a Lenovo that meets the minimum specs if she doesnt really care.
 
Have her either get the Macbook or look on ebay for an older powerbook or something that you could wipe clean
 
thebassoonist said:
Yes, but AutoCad 2009 requires "128 MB open-GL or Direct 3D capable graphics card." At least I think that's what it meant. The specifications had a lot of different options, depending on XP or Vista and if you were doing 3D work, which I think is what people use AutoCad for. But I must say I'm not sure.
Click to expand...

noone should ever use AutoCAD for 3D, 'tis a terrible feature of a useful program

also, are you sure she'd be using AutoCAD? from my limited experience of it, it's not that good @ curves, and the reason one uses AutoCAD is for speed...as it produces line drawings (something microsoft paint can do, just not as quickly)

but if she does have to run autoCAD on her laptop, a keypad (fn key on macbooks doesn't count) is more important than screen size
 
Genghis Khan said:
noone should ever use AutoCAD for 3D, 'tis a terrible feature of a useful program

also, are you sure she'd be using AutoCAD? from my limited experience of it, it's not that good @ curves, and the reason one uses AutoCAD is for speed...as it produces line drawings (something microsoft paint can do, just not as quickly)

but if she does have to run autoCAD on her laptop, a keypad (fn key on macbooks doesn't count) is more important than screen size
Click to expand...

I have used AutoCad a good bit and you could get by without a keypad but i would definitely say that it would help out. I am in Civil Engineering and there are some 3D programs that we use that she may need to use also. Many of these design programs are not Mac compatible. This should be taken into consideration when buying the laptop. I am currently in a position where I am going to have to install Windows on my Mac to be able to run the programs. I was planning on doing that with bootcamp rather than spending money on Parallels. This could be an option also.
 
Dont get a Mac if you are architect, because autocad is a Windows only app, so get a nice cheap PC, dont waste money to get a mac if you are using windows.
 
Genghis Khan said:
noone should ever use AutoCAD for 3D, 'tis a terrible feature of a useful program

also, are you sure she'd be using AutoCAD? from my limited experience of it, it's not that good @ curves, and the reason one uses AutoCAD is for speed...as it produces line drawings (something microsoft paint can do, just not as quickly)

but if she does have to run autoCAD on her laptop, a keypad (fn key on macbooks doesn't count) is more important than screen size
Click to expand...

External, wireless, connects via bluetooth and is available for around $40. These keypads are available at many online stores. I use mine for a much difference purpose, but I need it while at the same time you can pry my (to be purchased at future refresh) Macbook Pro from my cold dead hands.
 
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