Looking for laptop that can handle 3D HD Rendering (for civil engineering) and gaming. Budget range: $1700-$2000.
I will buy a laptop on the next in one or two months before my college year starts (on february-march). I am a civil engineering student that want to work with the laptop doing some structural analysis, desing, and high definition 3D renders of building projects.
I need the laptop not to overheat if I left it rendering for some hours. Secondary, I like gaming and want to play some games on the laptop!. Also I am from Argentina so this is a one shot oportunity for me that I can't refund.
What would you suggest?
LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE - Country of purchase: USA.
- Budget range: $1700. (I can get as high as $2000~ but it has to be justified).
- Purpose (netbook, ultraportable, mainstream, gaming, desktop replacement, etc.): Design and 3D HD image rendering (CAD/Revit/3Ds max); engineering calculation software (SAP2000); and last but not least gaming.
- Screen size preference: 15" or 17" .
- OS preference (Windows/Mac/Linux): Windows.
- Gaming requirements (list example games and desired fps/settings): Bioshock Infinite, Crisis 3, BF 4, Tom Clancy's The Division, Fallout 4 (not necessarily ULTRA HD, but high fps at med settings).
- Other performance requirements (video editing, CAD, etc.): AUTOCAD CIVIL 3D/3DS MAX/REVIT/CSI SAP2000/CSI PERFORM-3D.
- Portability requirements (constantly carried, frequently moved, mostly stationary, etc.): constantly carried between home, university and work.
- Brand preferences and reasons (already owned accessories, familiarity, business compatibility): I live in Argentina so I would prefer a brand that I can found globaly if I have to repair the notebook at some time (Dell/Asus/MSI/HP/Gigabyte/BGH/ACEetc.. the global ones, don't want lenovo after the superfish/LSE).
- Any particular style that you like (examples are great): no preference, I just don't want it to be too thick and heavy.
Which of the following qualities would you prefer? (Choose one or two) - Long battery life -vs- Low weight -vs- High performance: High performance.
- Build quality -vs- Low price: Build quality.
List any critical features: 2 or more USB Ports (at least one 3.0), at least a 1920x1080 screen (1920x1200 or higher pref. ), should be able to connect to a UHD external monitor, backlit keyboard pref. Best CPU possible for the price.
Which features would you pay a premium for? (eg. high resolution screen, great keyboard/touchpad/audio, low noise/heat):
low heat,
low noise,
portability,
long durability, long battery life. Question: if I decide to go for a workstation, does NvidiaQuadro M2000M handle gaming?, I would really love to get one with at least a M3000M but those are outside of my budget range I think.
Thanks in advance for any advice given on the matter!
EDIT: Format.
submitted by
Niim to
SuggestALaptop
How does SAP2000 calculate stiffness matrix of a frame element?
I've been struggling this week with using the finite element modelling software SAP2000 and I was wondering if anyone knew the answer to a nominally easy (but specialized) structural engineering question.
I'm trying to use SAP2000 to validate a relatively simple numerical FE model. Thus far the two software are returning different results and I've found that the source of the discrepancy is in the calculated stiffness matrices. However I can't understand how SAP is generating its value. To investigate, I've modelled a simple cantilever frame element and the stiffness of the member seems incorrect: the stiffness calculated by SAP is slightly less than half of what is calculated using K=3EI/L3 (the more complex 6*6 frame element matrix is also wrong). Certainly the software isn't broken so the issue must lie in my model, and knowing how the stiffness is calculated would allow me to work backwards to find my problem. Unfortunately, going through the CSi Analysis documentation gives a theoretical overview of what the stiffness matrix represents but not the equations used to calculate it.
For reference, I'm not hugely experienced with SAP2000, but I've absolutely modelled more complicated structures than these previously without this problem. If anyone has some more experience with this software, it would be very helpful for me.
submitted by
StructQ to
AskEngineers
