Anyone using a Small (12" or less) Notebook for SolidWorks

may I suggest dont do that ? im using 15.4" lappy and its very painfull.... always makes me regrets not taking the 17" one.... anywhoo.... my lappy only comes with a standard Intel graphic accelerator.. and it can handle my assy just fine.

alphawave wrote:

I'm not using a ultra portable - but I do use a Dell M20 and its fine. I take to to business meeting and clients for on site discussions on projects and its never failed yet. It has the appropriate tested graphics card for sw2007 and once using the driver from the sw site and not the loaded dell version it is fine. The installed dell driver was no good with lines etc missing and moire patterns on the screen.

I think the graphics card is the item you have to get correct and I believe its a risk stepping away from the tested list. So its a question of finding a the smallest laptop that has a graphics card on the SW list. Hope that helps in narrowing down your list of candidates.

Jonathan

As far as Graphics cards go, I know HP has been working with Solidworks to make machines run their software better.

Maybe take a look at HP's web site.

Dell's M65 has received good marks from several users but is 15", but I've not seen an M20, nor any 12" Laptops w/SolidWorks myself.

The CLOSEST I have seen is the 13" MacBook from Apple running BootCamp/WinXP Pro and SolidWorks, which was nominally priced less than the Dell M65, & seemed to run just fine (MacBook models starting at $1100, $1300 & $1500).

Myself I use a Dell M60 (now 3 years old on SWKs 2006) in the 'office' and my Apple MacBook Pro 15" when 'outside' using BootCamp/WinXP Pro, and it handles what I do with dozens of parts in my assemblies OK. I can't claim that my choice is the best. I add a RadTech BT mouse and sometimes a small PC keyboard from Addesso so I don't have to do some workarounds for PC keys.

My personal preference is to arrange things so I don't get bogged down. Connecting XP to the Internet has sooner or later caused slowdowns & glitches for me, so I've kept my online work on MacOSX. Other people don't want to be bothered with 2 OSs, but to me, it is now just another piece of software, and I am never "down". Whatever works.

Let us know what you find at 12".

Later - Bo

snipped-for-privacy@SPAMuko2.co.uk wrote:

MacBooks can now be ordered online with Windows XP Pro SP2 installed on Parallels or BootCamp with your Mac order from

This SIMPLIFIES the whole process immensely. Two PC laptops in one box. Not perfect, but I haven't heard of anything that is yet...

The Blurb:

"TORRANCE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MacMall

Bo

Bo wrote:

Here is a review of a m20

seems its in the same case as Latitude D610

It has a 14" screen.

Jonathan

The Lenovo ThinkPad 60P is available with a 14" screen. It is certifed by SolidWorks and weighs under 5 lbs. (Note: Only the "P" models have certified FireGL graphics)

The Lenovo ThinkPad 60P is available with a 14" screen. It is certifed by SolidWorks and weighs under 5 lbs. (Note: Only the "P" models have certified FireGL graphics)