Build me a new laptop

[Pykie]

Currently about to chuck in my Samsung laptop that is around 3-4 years old and and been around the block.

Was interested in hearing the thoughts on those BF experts as to the best possible solution for my next purchase.

I use it mostly for work, but play FM etc occasionally on it, movies etc, I run CAD programs etc through it as well, screen size isn't a huge factor, more so after performance and bang for your buck. I'm happy to get aftermarket mods to improve performance etc, so any recommendations to the build are welcome. I upgrade every 3 or so years, I also dont want it to date overnight, so I prefer to go for more "top" than"bottom of the range" if that makes sense.

I'm a PC user and am reluctant to move over to Mac atm, more so at the fear of losing most of my programs etc already installed on this laptop.

Budget is $2K+ for the right build. Can obviously be less than that if people see some bargains atm, or the most cost effective bit of kit atm, but price isn't a huge issue for the right laptop, which I use on a daily basis and run 3 business' through.

 

[Keystone agony]

Id be interested aswell looking at upgrading in a year or so aswell.

Im a designer/drafter keen to run archicad/revit ect and maybe some 3d rendering programs aswell.

Id be looking more 1-1.5k~

Not a big downloader like something to watch AFL replays/live games on aswell. Dont care about videos or photos too much either.

 

[NetworkNerd]

Me personally I'd go for an ultra book but they don't normally have dedicated graphics cards.

If you keep an eye on ozbargain you can pick up something like this. It should meet your requirements for much less than your budget.

https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/234365

6th Gen i7 processor, 2gb graphics, 1TB drive, 15" FHD display.

All for 898. Lenovo so decent brand. If you want to spend a bit more swap out the 1TB drive for a 500gb+ SSD

 

[Gold Member]

I use it mostly for work, but play FM etc occasionally on it, movies etc, I run CAD programs etc through it as well,... which I use on a daily basis and run 3 business' through.

Im a designer/drafter keen to run archicad/revit ect and maybe some 3d rendering programs aswell.

I don't know how much of your day is running CAD/3d rendering but if it's a majority of your working week I wouldn't suggest any laptop is optimal.

A mate of mine does freelance graphic design and he does a lot of work for Puma. Some of the files he works on are massive Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator files and they can take 30+minutes just to open on his Macbook pro.

If your usage is heavy and it a turnover & productivity thing look at a custom x99 6 core/12 thread desktop with 32gb+ ram to crunch CAD work 20x faster and run an entry level ultrabook or tablet for portability...

http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/rmp_sg_whirlpoolpcs_multi_tasking_configs