Laptop Requirements for Interior Design Students Please read the answers to the following questions before choosing a laptop. These specifications are based on the current version of the Autodesk 2012, and Adobe Master Collection 5.5 (April 2011). 1. What brand of laptop do I need? The tier 1-3 pdf files below are quick quotes from Dell to give you some idea of the approximate cost and specifications for laptops. You don’t have to purchase a Dell; I suggest asking friends and family who have had good experiences with laptops. 2. What video card is best? Because Autodesk (Revit and AutoCAD) uses mental ray technology (by NVidia) and Adobe's Master Collection takes advantage of NVidia’s cuda technology you need to look for systems that support those cards. NVidia cards are certified to run with Adobe's Premiere Pro Mercury play back engine. 3. What is the difference between tiers? You will notice that as the tier levels increase, so does the cost. You can get by with the tier 1 units, or the lighter side of tier 2 in the short term, but if you have higher aspirations of getting into more complex models and animations, you will want to consider heavy duty side of tier 2, or go all out for tier 3. 4. Is this the only laptop I will need in my college career? With constantly changing technology and specifications, students who have purchased tier 1 and 2 laptops have found that they need to replace them in two years. In some cases, students who have over-used their tier 3 laptops have had to replace them in three years. 5. What can I do to protect my laptop? a. Obviously: Treat your laptop like a baby. Take very good care of it; make sure it is always secure from falling, protected from liquids, and safe from viruses. b. Always use the appropriate carrying case- not your backpack. c. Use your laptop for building models and proofing renderings in Revit or StudioMax Design. Use a desktop station from one of the designated top-end BSU labs for full rendering. 6. Why do we need such a powerful laptop? You will be proof-rendering Revit drawings and creating animations in your sophomore through senior years. In fact, your laptop needs to be at its best when you begin your senior year; you will be building your portfolio in your senior studio and will need an excellent machine to do your best work. 7. What is the difference between 64 and 32 bit laptops? The terms 32-bit and 64-bit refer to the way a computer's processor (also called a CPU), handles information. The 64-bit version of Windows handles large amounts of random access memory (RAM) more effectively than a 32-bit system. 8. Do I have to purchase a PC? I suggest a PC. At this point, Autodesk programs require a PC. If you choose a Mac, you need to have the hard drive split so you can operate half as a PC and the other half as Mac. One problem with this situation is that you have to re-boot to go between the Mac side (Adobe Products) and the PC side (Autodesk Products). 9. Is this all of the specifications? These configurations are incomplete; you will need to fine tune them to fit your needs beyond the basics listed. These configurations mainly show the relative cost (April 2011) for the main components based on the 3 tier model. Best, Dale Potts
Dale Potts interior design | p: 765-285-2265 | office: at 204 | ball state university | http://dlpotts.iweb.bsu.edu/arch263/
The Dell Online Store: Build Your System
tier
Page 1 of 2
1, 32 bit Low-end
Windows® . Life without WallsTM . Dell recommends Windows 7.
Dell Latitude E6520 New! $1,666.00 Starting Price
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Dell Latitude E6520 - New! Date Catalog Number
4/14/2011 2:28:14 PM Central Standard Time 5 Retail 555
Catalog Number / Description
Product Code
Qty SKU
Id
Latitude E6520: Latitude E6520
E6520
1
[225-0376]
1
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-2520M (2.50GHz, 3M cache) with I52520M Turbo BoostTechnology 2.0
1
[317-5994]
2
Operating Systems: Genuine Windows® 7 Professional, 32-bit, no media
W7P3NE
1
[330-6322][4211643]
11
Energy Star/E-PEAT Gold: Energy Star 5.0 Enabled / EPEAT Gold
ESTAR
1
[331-1245]
40
LCDs: 15.6" HD+(1600x900) Wide View Anti-Glare LEDbacklit with Premium Panel Guarantee
HDW
1
[318-0341][3201910]
10
Graphics: nVidia® NVS™ 4200M 512MB DDR3 Discrete Graphics for Dual Core
N42DC
1
[320-2083]
6
Modem: No Modem
NOMODEM
1
[331-1221]
14
Memory: 4.0GB, DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM, 1 DIMM
4G1D3
1
[317-4722]
3
Internal Keyboard: Internal English Dual Pointing Keyboard, Numpad
ENG
1
[331-1207][3311233][331-2169]
4
Camera / Microphone: Noise Cancelling Digital Array Microphone
MIC
1
[318-0342]
17
Systems Management: Intel vPro™ Technology’s Advanced Management Features
VPRO
1
[331-1579]
21
Primary Storage: 250GB 5400rpm Hard Drive
250G54
1
[342-2382]
8
Primary Optical Device: 8X DVD with Cyberlink Power DVD™, no media
DVN
1
[318-0329][3180437][421-4370]
16
System Recovery:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/print_summary_details_popup.aspx?~lt=print&c=us...
4/14/2011
The Dell Online Store: Build Your System
tier
Page 1 of 2
2, 32 bit- Low-end Windows® . Life without WallsTM . Dell recommends Windows 7.
Dell Latitude E6520 New! $1,946.00 Starting Price
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Dell Latitude E6520 - New! Date Catalog Number
4/14/2011 2:32:04 PM Central Standard Time 5 Retail 555
Catalog Number / Description
Product Code
Qty SKU
Id
Latitude E6520: Latitude E6520
E6520
1
[225-0376]
1
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2620M (2.70GHz, 4M cache) with I72620M Turbo BoostTechnology 2.0
1
[317-5996]
2
Operating Systems: Genuine Windows® 7 Professional, 32-bit, no media
W7P3NE
1
[330-6322][4211643]
11
Energy Star/E-PEAT Gold: Energy Star 5.0 Enabled / EPEAT Gold
ESTAR
1
[331-1245]
40
LCDs: 15.6" UltraSharp™ FHD(1920x1080) Wide View Anti-Glare LED-backlit with Premium Panel Guarantee
UFDH
1
[318-0341][3202361]
10
Graphics: nVidia® NVS™ 4200M 512MB DDR3 Discrete Graphics for Dual Core
N42DC
1
[320-2083]
6
Modem: No Modem
NOMODEM
1
[331-1221]
14
Memory: 4.0GB, DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM, 1 DIMM
4G1D3
1
[317-4722]
3
Internal Keyboard: Internal English Dual Pointing Keyboard, Numpad
ENG
1
[331-1207][3311233][331-2169]
4
Camera / Microphone: Noise Cancelling Digital Array Microphone
MIC
1
[318-0342]
17
Systems Management: Intel vPro™ Technology’s Advanced Management Features
VPRO
1
[331-1579]
21
Primary Storage: 320GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
320G72
1
[342-2380]
8
Primary Optical Device: 8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio and Cyberlink Power DVD™, no media
DRN
1
[318-0330][3180466][421-4370] [421-4539]
16
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/print_summary_details_popup.aspx?~lt=print&c=us...
4/14/2011
The Dell Online Store: Build Your System
tier
Page 1 of 2
2, 64 bit- Medium-High Windows® . Life without WallsTM . Dell recommends Windows 7.
Dell Mobile Precision M4500 $2,894.00 Starting Price
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Dell Mobile Precision M4500 Date Catalog Number Catalog Number / Description
4/14/2011 2:38:50 PM Central Standard Time 5 Retail 555 Product Code
Qty SKU
Id
Processor: I7740QM Intel® Core™ i7-740QM Quad Core 1.73GHz 6MB
1
[317-5616]
2
Operating System: Genuine Windows® 7 Professional, 64-bit, no media
W7P6NE
1
[330-6322][4211611]
11
LCDs: 15.6" Full HD (1920 x 1080) Wide View Anti-Glare LED Display with Premium Panel Guarantee
FULLHD
1
[320-8840]
10
Graphics: NVIDIA® Quadro FX 1800M Graphics with 1GB dedicated memory
1800M
1
[320-8835]
6
Memory: 8.0GB, DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
8G2D3
1
[317-3636]
3
Internal Keyboard: Internal English Keyboard
ENG
1
[330-0820][3301652]
4
Precision ON: No Precision ON
PWSOFF
1
[421-1795]
26
Camera / Microphone: No webcam with microphone
MIC
1
[313-9328]
17
Precision Mobile M4500: Precision Mobile M4500
M4500
1
[224-8093]
1
Primary Storage: 500GB Hard Drive, 7200 RPM
500G72
1
[342-1259]
8
Primary Optical Device: 8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio and Cyberlink Power DVD™
8XDVRW
1
[313-6461][4214540][421-4822]
16
Primary Battery: 9-cell (90Wh) Lithium Ion Battery
9C90
1
[312-0248]
27
AC Adapter: 130W 3P, A/C Adapter
130AC
1
[330-0834][3301525]
15
Wireless LAN (802.11): Dell Wireless™ 1501 802.11b/g/n Half Mini Card
DW1501
1
[430-3831]
19
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/print_summary_details_popup.aspx?~lt=print&c=us...
4/14/2011
The Dell Online Store: Build Your System
tier
Page 1 of 2
3, 64 bit- High-end Windows® . Life without WallsTM . Dell recommends Windows 7.
Mobile Precision M6500 $4,709.00 Starting Price
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Mobile Precision M6500 Date Catalog Number Catalog Number / Description
4/14/2011 2:44:47 PM Central Standard Time 5 Retail 555 Product Code
Qty SKU
Id
Processor: 840QM Intel® Core™ i7-840QM Quad Core 1.86GHz 8MB
1
[317-4995][3309154]
2
Operating System: Genuine Windows® 7 Professional, 64-bit, no media
1
[330-6322][4211611]
11
LCD Options: 17" Wide Screen WUXGA LCD Panel w/ integrated WUXCAM camera and microphone
1
[313-8684][3139605][320-1127] [421-1201]
10
Graphics: 1.0GB NVIDIA® Quadro® FX 3800M Graphics
FX3800M
1
[320-1125]
6
Memory: 12.0GB, DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM, 4 DIMMS
12G4D3
1
[317-2658]
3
Internal Keyboard: Internal English Backlit Keyboard
ENGBL
1
[330-1652][3305876]
4
Primary Storage: 500GB 7200rpm Hard Drive with FFS
500G72
1
[341-8656]
8
Secondary Hard Drive: 250GB 7200rpm Hard Drive with FFS
250G722
1
[341-9831]
23
RAID Configuration: All Hard Drives, Non-RAID, 1 or 2 drive total configuration
NORAID
1
[341-7876]
26
Primary Optical Device: Blu-ray Disc™ with Roxio and Cyberlink PDVD™
BRAY
1
[313-7491][4210538][421-1189]
16
Primary Battery: 9 Cell Battery
9C
1
[312-0222]
27
AC Adapter: 210W/240W switchable Slim 3P A/C Adapter
210ACS
1
[330-1838][3304127]
15
Wireless LAN (802.11): Dell Wireless™ 1397 802.11b/g Mini Card
DW1397
1
[430-3085]
19
Modem: No Modem
NOMODEM
1
[313-6453]
14
W7P6NE
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/print_summary_details_popup.aspx?~lt=print&c=us...
4/14/2011
