Upgrade Desktop or New Laptop

[Jason Matthews]

Hey guys! I have been debating between either getting a laptop or upgrading my current desktop to do 3D modeling, renderings, BIM, and other graphics. I would also be playing some games here and there. I away from my wife Monday through Thursday and when I am home I do not really want to be in the other room working. Here are the specs of my current machine and what I would be upgrading to.

 

Upgraded Desktop Specs:

Not changing out the P5W DH Deluxe motherboard

Not changing out the Quadro 1300

E6700 Core2Duo to 3.0 GHz Core2Quad

2GB of DDR2 to 8 GB of DDR2

Windows XP Pro 32-bit to Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit

Cost: about $650 +/-

 

Refurbished Dell Laptop Specs:

Studio 17 - 1747

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

i7-820QM Quad Core 1.73 (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)

4G DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz

500GB SATA HS (7200rpm)

1 GB ATI Radeon HD 4650

Wireless Bluetooth

9 cell battery

17.3 inch Multi-Touch HD (900p) Bright LED Display with TrueLife

8X DVD RW

Cost: $1,389.00 + Tax

 

What do you think about the laptop specs? Has anyone heard bad things from the Dell refurbished laptops? I priced the exact same computer and it came in over $1900. What would you do?

 

Thanks,