New member and would appreciate help with laptop purchase.

[Stephan Pawloski]

Hi guys, I'm new to eCabinets and have a couple of questions regarding computers. I generally do all of my business and personal computing on a Mac, it's been years since I bought a PC. For the fact that I need this program to be portable I am looking at PC laptops and plan to integrate my business materials onto the PC, keeping the Mac for website building, personal use and other general items.

So, after reviewing the eCabinets system requirements I'm looking at either:

The Asus X53Z-RS63 with:

AMD quad-core A6-3420 processor
AMD Radeon HD 6520 Graphics
8GB RAM
750GB hard drive
Integrated 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Fast Ethernet
Pre-loaded with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
$550 dollars

Or 

The ASUS X53U-BS21 with:

AMD Brazos E450 Processor
4GB RAM
320GB hard drive
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6320 Graphics chipset
Integrated Wi-Fi and Fast Ethernet
Pre-loaded with Windows Home Premium 64-bit operating system
$450 dollars

Because this will be predominantly an eCabinets machine I'd appreciate any guidance here since I don't know much about these processors or graphics cards, etc and don't want to buy something that will give me headaches when doing kitchen projects.

Thank you, 
Stephan

[Will Williamson]

You can not go wrong if you start here
http://www.ecabinetsystems.com/ecabinet ... system.htm

[Will Williamson]

I'm sorry I did not notice you were at the recommended system already. Good luck with the $500.00 laptops. Do a search on here the subject has been tossed around many times

[Rick Deskins]

Just, FYI. Some users have been able to use virtualization software to run eCabinets on a Mac.

http://www.thermwood.com/forums/viewtop ... =3&t=11051

[Stephan Pawloski]

Hi Will, I have spent some time searching this site already, but much of the information is out of date when compared to what's available in stores today. I take it by good luck you're implying that it will be substandard? Is the processor speed too slow? I was told that the quad core laptop I posted can actually achieve 2.3GHz, which is above system requirements, correct? As I said before, sincere help is appreciated.

[Stephan Pawloski]

Just, FYI. Some users have been able to use virtualization software to run eCabinets on a Mac.

http://www.thermwood.com/forums/viewtop ... =3&t=11051

Thanks Rick, I did consider that route but feel I would be better served with a proper PC instead of degrading the Mac with the virtualization software. Much appreciated though.

[Rick Deskins]

I would personally recommend:

CPU: Intel i5 or i7
Ram: 6 to 8 GB (you can always buy something with 4GB and upgrade to 8GB)
dedicated nVidia or AMD Video Card with non shared memory

Some cpus have intergrated graphics with shares the RAM. So you might have 8GB in the system, but 6 GB for the OS and 2 GB for the video card. Intergrated graphics is not the best thing for eCabinets. You definitely want to find a laptop that has a dedicated video card.

[Will Williamson]

I went back and reviewed Thermwood recommended laptop system. There is nothing obsolete about that system. But you will not find it setting on a shelf somewhere. You can either buy it from dell or have someone build a laptop using those components. These specifications reflect an industrial model laptop as compared to a homeowner, gamer system. I do not have the background to critique your particular laptop. I have though over the years watched guys go out and buy these off the shelve laptops and in a short amount of time, realize they have completely wasted their money. Look at the computer info at the bottom of the member comments. A lot of members have their computer configuration. You will notice a lot of variety and not many people have the recommended system at all. Not even the Thermwood techs. That is why I said good luck. If this system you are looking at works for you let us know. My tech says these off the shelve models are getting better all the time.

[Stephan Pawloski]

Thanks guys for the help, I didn't realize that the integrated video card could affect it like that. I'll start looking at better suited systems with this info in mind.

[Stephan Pawloski]

Thanks again guys for the help, including those that sent me a pm with suggestions. I increased my budget and bought an HP with an i5 processor, lots of ram and a decent graphics card with dedicated vram. Currently installed is windows 7 premium, but apparently since I bought a new computer this month I can upgrade to Windows Professional 8 for a small fee. Should I do this in regards to compatibility with eCabinets?

[jason galbraith]

Stay with win7 for the moment.In fact make it a long moment, until the Thermwood techs get their head around win 8. Also with Microsofts tendency for every second OS being crap I'd probably wait until the successor to Windows 8.

[Stephan Pawloski]

Thanks Jason for the advice, 7 it is.