Laptop Users

[BassPlayer2]

Hi LW fans, I'm trying 2 get some info on what type of laptop I should buy 4 Lightwave and Photoshop (I'm on a tight budget, I only have about a $1,000.00 to spend). I'm open 2 any responds, Thank U !! :cool:

[mattclary]

You should get the kind that comes in a tower and sits on your desktop or beneath it. I would rethink getting a $1000 laptop to do 3D.

[Earl]

With the steeper prices of Laptops, $1k isn't going to get you something that is ideal for LightWave. I run a Dell precision m50 laptop, which is great for LightWave, but I didn't pay for it (it would have been well out of my budget!) ;) Only problem with it is the video card: with a quadro 4 in it, the 2d display isn't as nice as the newer fx series (which they don't make for laptops yet).

But again, I can't think of seeing any laptops for $1k that were suitable for serious LightWave work..

but good luck finding one :cool:

[sculptactive]

I too have an M50 which is great for LW if you need to be mobile.

The new M60 has just come out which does have the FX card (NVIDIA QuadroTM FX Go700) but as Earl says its expensive. With laptops you get what you pay for and LW will probably be a joy to use on the M60, but it will set you back $5000 with all the bells & whistles.

[Earl]

I didn't realize they had a mobile FX already. That was quick. Thank god for capital budgets!

[BassPlayer2]

Thanks I appreciate all the help but I should have made myself clear, I have 2 systems @ home I builded myself, I just need a laptop for Modeling, I travel quite a bit.

[sculptactive]

BassPlayer2

Whether you are modeling in modeler or rigging in layout unless your model is for games and is a low poly model you will need a reasonable graphics card if you want to work in real time as opposed to making a cup of tea whilst the model tries to follow your mouse. You can get away with poor cards but it becomes a guessing game until you get to see it on a computer with a decent card.

[BassPlayer2]

Thanks again, I'm going 2 wait. I've been doing some reserch on Laptops - I'm getting a DELL DUDE !! Appreciate all the Help.

:cool:

[head worm]

I use an Alienware Area-51m for all my Lightwave work on the move now. It's superb. These are the Rolls Royce of laptops - beautifully made and built for power users. It's a desktop replacement rather than a notebook, which makes it heavy and low on battery time, but you can't have it all.

These machines always have the latest and top of the range bits of kit for laptops in them. I find Dell a little slower to catch up.

www.alienware.com

Head Worm
www.the-worms-of-art.com

[sculptactive]

head worm
Alienware Area-51m is a great laptop, but have you actually seen the specks for the Dell M60?

I have left of the processor speeds off because thats a debateble area, but that aside if money was no object I know which one I would choose. Alienware do well because they deliver value for money, Dell do well because they produce them first and if you want the best you have to pay for it.

Alienware Area-51m
15.0" inch UXGA LCD Screen
1024MB DDR SDRAM
ATI Mobility RADEON 9000
60GB 7200 RPM


Dell M60
15.4 WideUXGA LCD Display
2048MB DDR SDRAM
60GB (7200 RPM)
NVIDIATM QuadroTM FX Go700 128MB Double Data Rate (DDR) SDRAM

[badlydrawn]

hiya
i am using an old dell inspiron 8000 P3 850mhz with a ati m4 mobility (32megs) grfx card. and use quite a bit of LW 7.5. Its a pain, modelling anything a bit more complex then a few boxes and don't even get started on rendering : ) (currently rendering a scene thats been going on for a couple of hours already while i type). but thats what i have at the mo after my main computer decided to die on me. So, if your real tight on cash or just need a modelling computer on the go - sure go for it, u can do stuff on it, it would be a bit painful (i am taking into account the new p4mobiles are considerably faster then my system) but its possible. just make sure the grfx is decent, dont go for anything below 32megs, but try to get 64. hope this helps.

[DBN]

Hello Everyone,

I was thinking about the following Sony Vaio:

Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 2.80GHz
16.1” SXGA+ (1400x1050) TFT display
NVIDIA® GeForce4™ FX Go 5600
64 MB video DDR SGRAM

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

DBN

[sculptactive]

DB

Sony tend to be good value for money staight out of the box, however I have heard that the battery life is not great and when things do go wrong and you are out of warrenty sony parts are very expensive.

If it is your sole workstation then remember that it only takes 1GB ram and the VC is not as good as the QuadroTM FX Go700 128MB .

If its for mobile use its probably a good buy if you get a good deal and you handle it with care.

[cholo]

I use a Dell 600M 1.3 pentium M with radeon mobility 9000 64meg and it works even better than any of my desktop workstations as far as OpenGL is concerned. Render times are good but I don't render on a laptop anyway :)
I've always found professional gfx cards to be expensive and they simply don't deliver any tangible performance gains over their consumer counterparts. So don't even bother with quadro or firegl cards, better use that money for other features which will help your performance even more, like more processor speed, ram, HDD RAID, render farm, etc...

Hope this all helps.

[dablan]

BassPlayer2,
if you're set on a Laptop over a desktop system, I highly recommend the Dell systems.

I've gone through 4 laptops, and now on my 5th.
The last 3 have been Dells, and have been great!

Current is Inspiron 8500, 1G Ram, 60G HD, P4 2.5, and a 64MB GeForce card. It rocks. I do all training, books, and more on it.

Granted, it was expensive, but all the Dell Inspirons are great. The 15.4" widescreen is a huge bonus with LightWave. I've not had one single problem with the system or display.

Best of luck.
Dan Ablan
www.3dgarage.com

[BassPlayer2]

Thanks 2 every1 , I appreciate all the suggestions & comments. I,m getting a DELL !!! :cool: