STEVE446

i have several issues going on. I've been a user for about 10 years. Currently i have a 17" Dell laptop with i5 and integrated graphics I got a couple of years ago after assurances from the CA techs that it would be fine to run Home Design Architectural. Well, it's not with the 2017 upgrade to Architectural. Just selecting an object causes the program to rebuild the entire 3D image which can take up to a minute or more making the program unusable. I've upgraded my drivers with little to no improvement. Now my internal power connector is acting up. It wont charge the batteries and i have to scotch tape the power cord in a certain position just to assure AC. So, i'm getting a new laptop. I don't want to spend over $1,000 so to get an i7 quad core and separate graphics processor with 4Megs I'm looking at a 15" laptop. Am I going to be unhappy with that screen size when I'm away from home? I expect to use my old laptop and a TV as external monitors at home. I'm also considering upgrading to Home Designer Pro from Architectural. Is it worth it for the additional features @ $295? Any other advice would be appreciated.

I'm designing a FLW 30'x30' fireproof house. I have a closet just about in the center of the floorplan behind a chimney. a perfect place for wire distribution throughout the first and second floor. I plan on putting all my electronics and Wi-Fi in there on clean circuits. Does it make sense or would it create electronic noise to put the main electric panel there also?