Hi,
I hope this is the correct place to post and I apologize if it it not
My wife is an architect and is interested in learning SketchUp I bought her a pro License on Cyber Monday and she is currently practicing ( she has used CAD for years) she is using an older laptop which is ok for starting but will not be able to handle anything very complex.
I am looking for a new laptop for her and have these general specs in mind. 32GIg of RAM 4-6 Gig Graphics card 6 core processor around 4Gz. Also I am unsure whether it should be a workstation or just a good quality high end laptop.
I’ve always used a desktop and am not that familiar with laptop specs. One model I have been considering is a Dell XPS 9560-7001SLV we need a windows PC as all our other software is windows based.
I would appreciate any comments thank you
Don
you didn’t mention screen size … nevertheless here is a link to an earlier post I made describing my setup…
you spec is quite highend… it will not have a problem with SketchUp…
re workstations… I am not convinced they have any tangible benefit for everyday use considering the premium… but others may argue differently…personally, I would stick to mainstream machines and avoid the bleeding edge or niche hardware…
The less often spoken risk is that extreme machines may allow you to do high load calculations but few others will be able work with your files, you get spoiled and sloppy with the power at your fingertips…
I have a GTX1070 in my notebook… the next generation GTX 2000 series is about to be released for mobiles with significant graphics performance benefits in VR visualisations but frankly the current second top tier notebooks are fine and the new cards you may have 2-3 months wait…
hope that helps
@Don2712 You are so great to get your architect wife set up so she can work her magic! If you haven’t already taken a look at the minimum hardware & software requirements to run SketchUp Pro, please visit this link in our Help Center: SketchUp Hardware and Software Requirements | SketchUp Help. Also, this link to another Forum post our resident guru SketchUp veteran Jody wrote that is oh-so-helpful: Hardware Recommendations - Community Feedback. Happy Sketching!
Other issues to consider -
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many laptops have issues with the Intel gpu (even when you have a dedicated gpu) being forced to run internal and external monitors while the dedicated gpu runs the software - lots of posts on this forum from laptop users with driver issues, etc.
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desktops are cheaper than laptops with the same spec, better upgrade options
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when working with larger models and rendering, a desktop has many advantages, better storage options, direct connection of dedicated gpu to large monitors