I need a new computer...

[AKmud]

Hi all, I’ve had my table for two weeks now and have quickly realized I need a new laptop for design work. My wife has a MacBook Pro but it’s a 2011 model and is on its last legs. I’m not really wanting to drop another $2k for another Mac. What should I be looking for when it comes to a good, fast laptop? I’ve been reading that 8GB RAM is kind of minimum for 2D design. What about processor speeds and graphics cards? Any recommendations for a particular unit would be greatly appreciated. I’m hoping to keep it under $1k if possible.

It’s kind of like the “which CNC table should buy” thing I guess...

[weldguy]

Oh man, you can buy a good laptop for well under 1k these days with more than enough for what we need for 2d vector drawings. I personally use a Microsoft Surface Book but there kinda pricey. 8GB ram is easily enough and most come with at least that these days, for sure you will want a SSD rather than a standard HDD (lighting quick boot up) but aside from that any current processor and graphics card will be fine.

[beefy]

When it comes to CAD work check out the graphic card requirements for the specific CAD you are using.

Depending how the software works the graphics card may be just as important as the cpu, ram, etc.
Having said that I'm using Coreldraw 2019 on quite a basic computer that I picked up for free when some office was upgrading. No problems yet.

[AKmud]

That's good to hear. Thanks for the replies. I've heard Dell has some "ready to ship" laptops. Time to do some shopping...