[Greg86]

I am looking at getting a new laptop. I will be running multiple programs such as Autocad 2010, Google Sketchup and the Adobe Suite CS4(Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash, etc.) at the same time. Which one do you suggest getting?

HP DV7T
Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T6600 (2.2GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Memory: FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 2GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Hard drive: FREE Upgrade to 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
Graphics card: 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 4530
Display: 17.3" diagonal HD+ High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1600 x 900)

or

HP DV7T Quad
Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB)
Memory: FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 3GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Hard drive: FREE Upgrade to 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
Graphics card: 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 230M
Display: 17.3" diagonal HD+ High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1600 x 900)

On Adobe's website it says a minimum of 2GHz is required to run the CS4 Suite. Will the processor on the DV7T Quad (1.6GHz) be able to run the CS4 Suite? Also should I get more than 4GB in memory since I will be running Windows 7 64bit?

or

Dell Studio 17
Operating system: Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Processor:Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Quad Core Processor @ 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Memory:4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
Hard drive:500GB SATA HDD (7200rpm)
Graphics card:1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650
Display:17.3” HD+ (900p) Bright LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera

On the Dell laptop I have the option to get "4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz" of what Dell is calling Performance Memory. Should I get this? What is it used for?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Edited by Greg86, 08 December 2009 - 05:58 PM.

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Those programs are painfully big. Have you clarified first and foremost that all of those programs work under Windows 7 and a 64-bit environment? Because if they don't, it's pointless buying anything with Windows 7 on it.

The other thing you might want to think about: Do you have to have a laptop? An i7 powered laptop will still be slower than a simple dual-core desktop. No laptop you buy will outperform any desktop. For what you want to run simultaneously, 4Gb of memory may not be enough.

[Neil Jones]

Those programs are painfully big. Have you clarified first and foremost that all of those programs work under Windows 7 and a 64-bit environment? Because if they don't, it's pointless buying anything with Windows 7 on it.

The other thing you might want to think about: Do you have to have a laptop? An i7 powered laptop will still be slower than a simple dual-core desktop. No laptop you buy will outperform any desktop. For what you want to run simultaneously, 4Gb of memory may not be enough.

[Greg86]

A laptop is not mandatory, I can get a desktop. What are some specs (prorcessor, hard drive size, memory, etc.) I should get if running these programs on a desktop?