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Suggestions for chemist

post #1 of 4
7/24/05 at 3:19am
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Hi, I'm a chemistry graduate student in search of a new laptop with a budget of around $1500 and I cannot decide what would be a good purchase for my needs. I work in a lab and do a lot of 3d molecular modeling and some calculations occasionally that use up a lot of cpu power.

With regards to mobility, the longest I'll probably ever use it unplugged would be around 2 hours. Weight is slightly important because of a lot of traveling around campus. I would also prefer a system without integrated graphics. So far I've leaned towards the Sony FS660 and Apple powerbook. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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post #2 of 4
7/24/05 at 10:53am
If you're doing a lot of 3D modeling, you're going to want to look for two things:

-A 64-bit processor (The AMD Turion)
-A workstation card

The performance you'll get from either the Apple and the Sony won't be comparable compared to the benefits you'll gain from the Turion and a FireGL/Quadro card. Dell has some nice ones, as do various smaller resellers. For Dells, though, there's the M20 and the M70. I'd take heed to what I say (nobody seems to), because the Turion beats out the Pentium-M for rendering purposes, and the FireGL and Quadro cards are both designed specifically for modeling.
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post #3 of 4
7/24/05 at 1:39pm
I have 2 suggestions.

1) there is an HP out there with a FireGL 5500 or something like that, don't remember the model #, but worth checking out


2) or for the fun of it, Asus Z71v is highly recommended because it will eat both the PB and the Sony for breakfast performance wise (save you money too probably) BUT.....if you get it from Discountlaptops.com its going to be labled "Chembook" haha....got it.. "CHEMbook" ...ok i know i am a dork...at least my mom thought that was funny
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post #4 of 4
7/24/05 at 1:52pm
the hp is the nw8240

HP Compaq nw8240

Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Intel Centrino 770, 2.13ghz, 533 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 cache
Mobile Intel 915PM Express Chipset
DDR II SDRAM, 533 MHz, 1024 MB
60 GB, 7200 rpm
DVD+/-RW Multibay II
15.4'', 1920 x 1200 WUXGA+WVA TFT resolution (16 million colours)
128 MB video memory from ATI Mobility FireGL V5000
356 x 264 x 28 (at front) mm
2.6 kg w/weight saver, 2.8 kg w/optical
Intel® Wireless LAN 802.11b/g, Bluetooth
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