2-in-1 laptop/tablet for use with AutoCAD LT?
October 21, 2020 11:25 AM Subscribe
I'm asking this on behalf of my sister, who is an interior designer and needs a new laptop. She's looking for something that can run AutoCAD LT and Photoshop smoothly, but is also highly portable and has a removable touch-screen.
Neither of us know that much about the 2-in-1 market so I offered to put it out to the hivemind. So far my sister has looked exclusively at Microsoft Surfaces - specifically a 13.5" or 15" Surface Book 3. Both of these are fairly expensive at $2500 and $3200 respectively, and neither of us know if this is the best option for her.
Given that she'll be running AutoCAD (which, as I understand it, takes a pretty powerful computer), I'm assuming she'll want something with an i7 processor and as much RAM as she can get, yes? If you use AutoCAD or other intensive programs on a 2-in-1, can you share your experiences with what you've got and/or what you'd recommend? Besides the Surfaces, what other options should she consider?
If there is other information that would help with making this decision, I'm sure I can provide. Thanks for your help!
Neither of us know that much about the 2-in-1 market so I offered to put it out to the hivemind. So far my sister has looked exclusively at Microsoft Surfaces - specifically a 13.5" or 15" Surface Book 3. Both of these are fairly expensive at $2500 and $3200 respectively, and neither of us know if this is the best option for her.
Given that she'll be running AutoCAD (which, as I understand it, takes a pretty powerful computer), I'm assuming she'll want something with an i7 processor and as much RAM as she can get, yes? If you use AutoCAD or other intensive programs on a 2-in-1, can you share your experiences with what you've got and/or what you'd recommend? Besides the Surfaces, what other options should she consider?
If there is other information that would help with making this decision, I'm sure I can provide. Thanks for your help!
One nice thing about the Surfaces, is that Microsoft has optimized the heck out of running Win10 on them, and the majority of CAD vendors spend time making sure they work well there.
posted by nickggully at 12:10 PM on October 21, 2020
posted by nickggully at 12:10 PM on October 21, 2020
I have a Lenovo flex 5 15" (Flex 5-1570), as mentioned above, and I run Vectorworks (a different CAD program) on it all the time. It does not like running Vectorworks and screen sharing on Zoom at the same time, but otherwise runs well. Loading takes a minute, and it occasionally hangs for a moment when I ask it to do something especially intense. Also does fine with Photoshop. I picked it up at Costco a couple of years ago for a little under $800, no regrets. They don't have it now, but if you shop around you can get a fairly good deal.
The screen doesn't detach, but it flips around so that the keyboard is underneath, and you can treat it like a particularly thick tablet. This trick is also good for freaking people out if they are not expecting you to fold your laptop that way, although not as good as the trick of appearing to rip your laptop in half, which, trust me, gets a reaction.
It does get hot when running Vectorworks or doing other intense processing.
Don't know if she cares about this, but it's also easy to connect it to an external monitor and have two displays going, which I like to do while drafting
I've used the stylus for drawing in ArtRage and Autodesk Sketchbook, and I've been happy with the results. If that's a thing she is interested in, she'll want to pick up an artist's glove, which will allow her to rest her hand on the touchscreen without giving it input.
If you have more questions, feel free to memail me!
posted by Adridne at 4:30 PM on October 22, 2020
The screen doesn't detach, but it flips around so that the keyboard is underneath, and you can treat it like a particularly thick tablet. This trick is also good for freaking people out if they are not expecting you to fold your laptop that way, although not as good as the trick of appearing to rip your laptop in half, which, trust me, gets a reaction.
It does get hot when running Vectorworks or doing other intense processing.
Don't know if she cares about this, but it's also easy to connect it to an external monitor and have two displays going, which I like to do while drafting
I've used the stylus for drawing in ArtRage and Autodesk Sketchbook, and I've been happy with the results. If that's a thing she is interested in, she'll want to pick up an artist's glove, which will allow her to rest her hand on the touchscreen without giving it input.
If you have more questions, feel free to memail me!
posted by Adridne at 4:30 PM on October 22, 2020
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posted by Short End Of A Wishbone at 11:52 AM on October 21, 2020 [1 favorite]