Laptops - Dell M70 /Fujitsu Celsius H230

WSXGA=3D1600x1024 UXGA=3D1600x1200

W =3D "Wide", so dvd movies will look better on it.

The ATI and Quadro graphics will likely give comparable performance, but=20 nVidia as a company has a much larger portion of the CAD market than=20 ATI, which has historically been a pariah for OpenGL cards/drivers. I'd=20 personally go with the nVidia.

In the "conventional laptop" arena, there are some other machines like=20 the HP nw series, Sager, and even some Toshibas.

I just recently bought a Boxx, but this may be out of the pricerange you=20 specify (about $4k US). Also not sure about how much extra they'd=20 charge to go to the UK (based in TX). It's built on a laptop chassis=20 that is almost half again as big as conventional laptop which several=20 mfgers are offering in different flavors. It's somewhere between=20 "workstation" and "laptop". It weighs about 13 lbs when most laptops=20 might go around 7, and has a 17" wide screen. Other mfgs that offer the=20 same chassis are Sager, Hypersonic, Alienware, Eurocom.

Hey Matt, Thanks for the heads up, I'd discounted Alienware as last time I looked they didn't have a UK office - but now they do and the MJ-12M 7700 model looks good at around =A32.5K for the options I need, it only has a

I discouneted Boxx (although a great spec.), Sager, Hypersonic and Eurocom because I couldn't find UK dealers which would make delivery very expensive and any RTB's a bit long winded.

The only HP's and Tosh's I found didn't have OGL graphics cards so that now leaves 3 options:

Dell, Fujitsu or Alien.

So, has anyone out there used these machines and can compare and is there anyone who has comparable benchmark results to compare.

I think I'm personally favoring the Dell or Alien, the only thing putting me off is the weight of 6.5kg.

Thanks,

Kev

matt wrote:

On the screen issues. My M60 has the highest res screen below, and if your eyes are real good, you might like that resolution for the amount of image you get on the screen.

Bo

Dell has reportedly announced it is coming out with a hi-end or professional line of desktop and maybe laptops given the success of the Apple, HP and other wide screen "desktop replacement" laptops.

I would guess this means the next rev of the M70 will be a 17" wide screen, and I believe it will have to be released within a month or so to catch the fall buying season.

Bo

Yes the Dell 15" WUXGA screen resolution is better than the Alien's 17" WSXGA but at this moment we can only speculate that Dell will offer that resolution at 17" wide and also at what proice point they will position the product.

Kev

Bo wrote:

Be careful with the Fujitsu. They seem to put in cheap motherboards. My company had 3 laptops blowout their motherboards within a month.

A) Dell M70

Intel M770

But I've just read a review of the

B) Fujitsu Celsius H230

Intel M770

Benchmark Solidworks 2005 APC Overall 1.47 Graphics 1.43 CPU 1.5 I/O 1.57

I have a couple (well 5 actually!) of questions you guys might be able to help with:

2) Is there any difference between ATI and Quadro graphics

4) Has anyone personally compared these 2 machines

Thanks,

Kev

WSXGA = 1650x1050 pixel resolution ~ 16:9 aspect ratio UXGA=1600x1200 resolution 4:3 ratio

I've not seen SWx on a 16:9 display so am not sure what it would look like. Some apps simply skew their display to fit the widescreen format and look odd. However with a 16:9 display the overall ergonomics (sp) of the computer may be a better fit based on your personal preferences (ie. keyboard layout and comfort)

Yes, I hadn't thought about that Does that mean for example a circle would appear on screen as an ellipse etc.

C|an anyone comment on their experiences of SWX on a 16:9 display.

Kev

I think in my mind I've already discounted the Fujitsu.

Down to Dell or Alien

Kev

The GoBoxx that I bought is essentially the same as the Alienware MJ-12m

By the way, my ship-in-a-bottle score was coming in at 26.5 on the GoBoxx (48 on the old Dell M50).

also, did you see a benchmark comparison between the Alienware and the M60? The AW was spec'ed $1000 (US) less than the Dell.

I have used Apple PowerBooks and Dell M60 & now M70s, and in each case, the reason I choose these suppliers, is I get a 3 year extended warranty, because sooner of later, hard use causes a key on the keyboard to stop working or a screen to flicker or go out or something else like that.

Dell has always been at my place with parts to replace whatever was wrong in less than 24 hours. I can't see buying 2 laptops to always have a spare, so paying the extra for Dell has seemed worth it to me.

Obviously, if a team of people had an Alien or Boxx, then there might be a reasonable choice of buying 1 extra machine so a spare was available, so it would cost less overall. Its a guessing game.

Bo

Well, I've used Dell laptops for the last 3-4 years and the only parts I've had to replace are 1 hard drive and 2 sets of batteries - So from that point round one to the Dell.

However, I'd like to see a benchmark comparison of the Dell M70 Vs the Alien. or even just the M70 in comparison to Matts Goboxx.

The Price/17" screen are mighty tempting on the ALIEN.

Anyone out there using one with SWX?

Kev

Search "Alienware" on the comp.cad.solidworks group and you will find earlier user's comments on use with SolidWorks.

I recall one shop saying they had something like 5-6 Alienware laptops and they ran fast and lasted without problems for a long time. I don't remember how long back that was, though.

Bo

Hmmm.... Faulty memory is a possibility.

I think it might have been Sager, and since Sager has NOT been mentioned in this thread, I think you will find some more valuable info if you search for Sager in comp.cad.solidworks.

Bo

Thanks Bo, I'll give it a go - tried searching alienware - not much came up

Kev

"33 results for alienware" in comp.cad.solidworks and there were the same for "Sager" when I checked.

Bo

A quick scan shows that they all look the same - nothing indepth about the Alien though AFIK.

Think I'd better check the spec's out in depth and then maybe call the guys at Alienware UK.

In the meantime if anyone's using an Alien Laptop for SWX I'd like to know what you think.

Kev

I am going through the same exercize except that I need a laptop to do occasional presentations only, so I need the high end specs but not the high end price, so I am looking for a UK custom built m/c with a Dell M70 spec (I have come to the conclusion after doing some research, that this is the m/c for S/W) Has anyone out there got any ideas