NON-DESIGN STUDENTS
A variety of laptop and desktop computers including Apple, Lenovo, Dell, Acer, Asus, MSI, Toshiba, Samsung, Sony, and HP computers can be purchased at a student discount through the Campus Computer Store. The different models available can be compared to the hardware recommendations page.
DESIGN STUDENTS
Dell Direct Purchase Program
The Office of Information Techology is recommending the Dell M3800 Mobile Workstation for all design students.
To visit Dell's student purchase portal and see more details, go to: http://dell.com/UTexas and then click on the "UTSOA's Recommended Systems" link near the top of the page.
Other options available through the Campus Computer Store.
Although the school uses primarily Dell hardware, we do not endorse Dell exclusively and have identified some appropriate laptops from other manufacturers that are available through the Campus Computer Store.
The Lenovo ThinkPad W540 is Autodesk certified. It is a 15.6” laptop weighing a little over 6lbs. Various models are available and you can compare them to the hardware recommendations page.
The HP ZBook 15 (15.6” screen, ~7 lbs.), & ZBook 17 (17.3” screen, ~8 lbs.) are Autodesk certified (the ones with the NVIDIA Quadro video card). Various models are available and you can compare them to the hardware recommendations page.
Below is a comparison of the competing laptops when configured comparably to the Dell M3800.
NOTE: These comparisons are not fully apples-to-apples because the HP and Lenovo options are ‘packages’ and not fully customizable like the Dell.
HP
ZBook 15 (model: F2P51UT)
Specs: 15.5" LED Notebook - Intel - Core i7 i7-4800MQ 2.7GHz. STK# 11241635 MFG# F2P51UT#ABA MFG:HEWLETT PACKARD - 16 GB RAM - 750 GB HDD - 32 GB SSD - Blu-ray Reader/DVD-Writer - NVIDIA Quadro K2100M, Intel HD 4600 Graphics - Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-bit - 1920 x 1080 Display - Bluetooth
- Slightly better processor (Windows rating 8.4 vs. 8.0)
- Same RAM (HP can upgrade to 32GB – Dell is max at 16GB)
- Larger hard drive + small SSD boot drive – more storage but also more complicated setup than single SSD drive
- Slightly more powerful GPU – 576 vs. 384 CUDA cores.
- Lower resolution screen (1920x1080) no touchscreen
- 3 year warranty, no accidental damage coverage
- Weight = 6.5 lbs.
- Blu-ray optical drive
- $2755.99 ($150 more than Dell M3800)
ZBook 15 F2P52UT
Specs: 15.6" LED Notebook - Intel - Core i7 i7-4800MQ 2.7GHz - Graphite. STK# 11241636 MFG# F2P52UT#ABA MFG:HEWLETT PACKARD - 16 GB RAM - 750 GB HDD - DVD-Writer - NVIDIA Quadro K2100M, Intel HD 4600 Graphics - Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-bit - 1920 x 1080 Display - Bluetooth.
- Slightly better processor (Windows rating 8.4 vs. 8.0)
- Same RAM (HP can upgrade to 32GB – Dell is max at 16GB)
- Larger hard drive – more storage, but slower and worse battery life than single SSD drive on Dell
- Slightly more powerful GPU – 576 vs. 384 CUDA cores.
- Lower resolution screen (1920x1080) no touchscreen
- 3 year warranty, no accidental damage coverage
- Weight = 6.5 lbs.
- DVD-RW drive
- 2295.99 (save approx. $300 vs. Dell M3800)
Lenovo
ThinkPad W540 (model: 20BHS17Y00)
Specs: 15.5" LED (In-plane Switching (IPS) Technology) Notebook - Intel Core i7 i7-4700MQ 2.40 GHz. STK# 11328512 MFG# 20BHS17Y00 MFG:LENOVO - 16 GB RAM - 256 GB SSD - DVD-Writer - NVIDIA, Intel Quadro K1100M, HD 4600 - Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit - 2880 x 1620 Display - Bluetooth.
- Slightly better processor (Windows rating 8.2 vs. 8.0)
- Same RAM (Lenovo can upgrade to 32GB – Dell M3800's max is 16GB)
- Smaller SSD Hard Drive (256GB vs. 512GB)
- Same GPU – less graphics memory – 1GB vs. 2GB
- Similar resolution screen (2880x1620), no touchscreen
- 1 year warranty, no accidental damage coverage
- Weight = 6 lbs.
- DVD-RW drive
- $1987.99 (save approx. $600 vs. Dell M3800)
ThinkPad W540 (model: 20BH002DUS)
Specs: 15.5" LED Notebook - Intel Core i7 i7-4800MQ 2.70 GHz. STK# 11284786 MFG# 20BH002DUS MFG:LENOVO - 8 GB RAM - 256 GB SSD - DVD-Writer - NVIDIA, Intel Quadro K1100M, HD Graphics 4600 - Windows 8 Pro 64-bit - 2880 x 1620 Display - Bluetooth.
- Slightly better processor (windows rating 8.4 vs. 8.0)
- Less RAM - would need to purchase upgrade (Lenovo can upgrade to 32GB – Dell is max at 16GB)
- Smaller SSD Hard Drive (256GB vs. 512GB)
- Same GPU and graphics memory
- Similar resolution screen (2880x1620), no touchscreen
- 1 year warranty, no accidental damage coverage
- Weight = 6 lbs.
- DVD-RW drive
- $2971.99 (approx. $370 more than Dell M3800)
In summary, with the Dell M3800 you get a more lightweight workstation with very good battery life. The HP and Lenovo options offer more ‘room for growth’ (higher max RAM, slightly faster and more power hungry processors) at the expense of an approximately 50% increase in weight. Additionally, the new Dell high-resolution touchscreen is superior to the other displays. Admittedly, that the ~$2000 Lenovo is a tempting comparison, however the HPs are less impressive.
The other key difference is warranty – the Dell comes with a 3 year "no-matter-what warranty", whereas the others come with a 3 year (HP) or 1 year (Lenovo) factory warranty. How much you value this warranty is an individual matter.
