Laptops and RealView

Are there any laptop systems out there that have the graphics cards
available to support RealView in 2004? I've looked at Dell (sorry bob z.)
and they don't seem to have the option. What else is there?

Richard Doyle

 

no problem, Mr. Doyle! (can't help but think of the french connection
8~)> )

are you sure about the dells, though? bob z.'s VAR was in here a couple
weeks ago and he had swx2004 loaded up on a dell m60 with the quadro video
and he had realview turned on. very impressive to say the least.

 

I use a M50 and the RealView graphics works great. The new M60 is
even better!
both support the RealView graphics. Before I ordered my M50 I had
talked to a development guy from SWX about his computer first.

From the SolidWorks Video Card section
System Card OS Driver Date SolidWorks Notes RealView yes
Precision M50 nVidia Quadro4 700 GoGL
Win2K 6.14.01.4201 07/28/2003 2004
WinXP 6.14.01.4201 07/28/2003 2004

Precision M60 nVidia Quadro FX Go700 RealView yes
WinXP 6.14.10.4424 07/26/2003 2004
Win2K 6.14.10.4424 07/26/2003 2004


The Dell Precision M60's 128MB NVIDIA Quadro FX Go700 graphics
accelerator delivers richly detailed images to the 15.4-inch
UltraSharpTM wide-aspect display, which allows users room for large
designs & assemblies, multiple windows or expansive tool palettes.
Graphics performance is a strong suit of the M60, with
workstation-class OpenGL hardware acceleration and certifications on
the leading computer-aided design including SWX2004.

Designers who manipulate large, complex models will appreciate the
M60's support of up to 2 GB of DDR-SDRAM and available 7200 RPM hard
drives, as well as an integrated gigabit1 (10/100/1000) Ethernet
controller for ultra-fast file transfers over a network. At the M60's
core is the Intel® PentiumTM M mobile processor, which supports
CentrinoTM wireless technology and has been shown to improve
performance over its predecessor, the M50.

 

On Dell's web menus, you need to choose workstations rather than laptops.
The M50, etc appear only in the workstation product group.
HTH
Bill

 

Thanks Bill, I found them ($$$).

Richard

 

no problem, Mr. Doyle! (can't help but think of the french connection

Thanks bob, I found the M60's under workstations. Completely stripped down,
nearly three grand. Mrs. Doyle ain't never gonna go for that!

Richard

 

Check out Dell's refurb'd workstation laptops. I have a new Inspiron 8200
in the office that I bought last year and softquadro'd and a refurb'd M50
that I bought about 6mo's later. THey both run the same but if if you can
get an M50/60 for the same money as an Inspiron, why not? I'm thinking
you'll easily drop a grand or more off the price by going refurb. And they
come with virtually the same warranty as new. Fear not...

BTW, Realview will be an option on any system running a Quadro 700 or above,
including the laptop "Go" Quadro's. (700 or above is the magic factor)

- Eddy

 

Eddy,
No fear when it comes to refurb, but they don't seem to have any in M50's in
stock right now. I've got some close friends with inside connections so
we'll see over the next few days.

I've seen plenty of dicussion on the "softquadro" here but never paid much
attention. Can you give me the specific cards in the Inspiron line that can
be hacked? Has the Inspiron been a good deal for you? (I'm running 2004 on
an old CPi 500Mhz right now, so any performance increase will be a plus).

Thanks for your reply.

Richard

 

I can't tell you every single Quadro"Go" chip that Softquadro will work on
but I know for sure, it will work on Gefore2"Go" and Geforce4-440Go. Also,
I read a post within the past few days of someone having success patching a
GeforceFX"Go" laptop. Look around - it was within the last couple days.

Yes, the Inspiron 8200 I have is an awesome unit. With respect to
Solidworks it runs every but as fast as my M50 (GF4-440Go Softquadro vs real
Quadro 500 Go). The units are practically identical but for some reason I
prefer to use the Inspiron. I guess it's just prettier because of the
two-tone wrist rests

BTW, I just checked Dell's outlet and they have a 2Ghz M50 with Quadro4-700
for $1671. Go get it.

- Eddy