which laptop will contain the following?:

[mojoman]

Hey All-

I am starting to look for a laptop that can run Maya, Houdini, and Matchmover and a couple other CPU\GPU intensive packages. I am having a hard time finding a brand that will make a laptop that will contain a speedy P4, with a Nvidia card, and loads of ram. I have tried Toshiba, Dell, and HP but have struck out. Before I look any further, can anyone point me a more direct direction?

-jon

This thing rocked with MAYA and all other apps.
It has a Quadro so it is very powerful----good deal. I am going to Finance school so I have to part with the graphics industry :( Get it while you can, I just put it up today

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6750309092

[vrljc]

Thanx for the offer, but I need a little more "oomph." Sorry, but I need @ least a gig of RAM.

-jon

[Valkyrien]

Thanx for the offer, but I need a little more "oomph." Sorry, but I need @ least a gig of RAM.

-jon

pssst

it has a gig of RAM;)

[BeckyWC]

here are a few suggestions:


http://www.sagernotebook.com/pages/notebooks/product.cfm?ProductType=9860

http://www.voodoopc.com/sellPage.aspx?productID=1006

I hope these two links are helplful.

[billrobertson42]

Dell makes the precision mobile workstations, they have nvidia quadros. You can add as much cpu and ram as you like. Try the m70.

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/precn_m?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

[Vertizor]

Are we avoiding mobile Boxx workstations and Alienware for a reason?

[mojoman]

Thanx for the offer, but I need a little more "oomph." Sorry, but I need @ least a gig of RAM.

-jon

LOL this has a Gig of Ram + if you buy the Ram from other than Dell you can get it cheap $300 vs. $1600!

This thing has enough oomph for people working in the movie industry (pixar and Weta).....it doesn't have enough for you?

[Shogmaster]

LOL this has a Gig of Ram + if you buy the Ram from other than Dell you can get it cheap $300 vs. $1600!

This thing has enough oomph for people working in the movie industry (pixar and Weta).....it doesn't have enough for you?

He's clearly going by the speed of the processor. He's thinking "1.4Ghz? That's slow!". ;)

[badbreff]

powernotebooks.com has amazingd esktop replacements and laptops. Plus the price won't burn a hole in your pants. I have known lots of people to get these and love them more than alienware and dell, I don't know anyone who had a BOXX though.

[mojoman]

He's clearly going by the speed of the processor. He's thinking "1.4Ghz? That's slow!". ;)

Right----thanks for the insight Shogmaster

M processor----rule of thumb, is to take the speed and multiply times 1.5- that means this thing is roughly equivalent to a 2.1 P4 (minus a bit of bandwith). That should be plenty of power for a laptop, especially when you take power consumption into consideration!

It makes me giggle to myself when I hear people paying out that extra $1500-$2000 for that extra little "oomph" of power they think they are getting on a non-workstation laptop for a higher end CPU when it really doesn't give you anything that I have ever noticed in my professional work.

Tip----take the extra money you'll save buying this laptop and buy a CINTIQ, now that is worth the $2000 not the 2 seconds you are shaving off your single frame render (when you can't even pan a high poly scene because you have a non-pro card)
Or the extra minute you saved off of a 30 minute cloth solve (but you can't play back the sim anyway because your graphic card can't support the number of polys on the cloth)

Most intense operations like multi-frame rendering should be doneon a renderfarm anyhow....1.4 centrino is just fine for everyday 3D tasks, if you are noticing a difference between the 1.4 and 1.7 centrino you are probably doing something incorrectly that can be done much more efficiently.....you shouldn't really be needing that much CPU power especially if you have a quadro in your system and a gig of Ram which is going to make a much more noticable difference.

I would think this 1.4 centrino w/quadro could beat the pants off of a non-workstation laptop, correct me if I'm wrong fellow veterans?----the professional quadro card is going to make much more difference than an ounce more power in the CPU :)

My two cents...

[DevilHacker]

Before I look any further, can anyone point me a more direct direction?Hey vrljc,
I don’t know why you are looking so hard…
Go with Boxx! Best Support, Best Prices, and overall Best Systems.
Here (http://boxxtech.com/products/configurator.asp)is a link to their “Mobile Workstations” page.
:thumbsup:
-Hope that you find what your looking for, DevilHacker

[mojoman]

Best prices?

Workstation for under $2000?

I'd like to see it

[DevilHacker]

Best prices?
Workstation for under $2000?
I'd like to see it

Just keep in mind the old saying:
You get what you pay for!
:thumbsup:

[mojoman]

Just keep in mind the old saying:
You get what you pay for!
:thumbsup:

LOL-

Ok....the new saying in the age of marketing is, don't waste your money.

I've been doing this for 7 years--one thing I can say is look for a good deal in computers, the newest wizbang stuff usually drops value about 1/2 after a year.

Not to mention that the new wizbang stuff might not be all that much better than the stuff sold a year ago!

Not all old sayings hold up in the new era---I've said enough here, and I'm biased in the sense that I have something to sell.....so I'm out....leave it to all of you to figure it out for yourselves.

:)

[sonn]

I have to agree with Mojoman. Boxx is way too expensive, specially for a student like me.

But then again, i've seen computers with a lot of "oomph" that don't function well.

So boxx might have the best computers. I myself am looking for a Laptop around 3000 and it made me chuckle seeing the prices in their website. they were "unconfigurable" :scream:

[Ed Caracappa]

Sorry to make you laugh! Feel free to give me a call. I'd be happy to try and help you out.
Ed

[vrljc]

Thanx everyone for the info. It has been about 2 years since I have bought a desktop and about 4 years since I bought a new laptop, so I have been outa the loop on the latest technologies. One thing that I have noticed is that most laptops now are using Intel's M processor instead of the P4. I know very little about this processor. From what mojoman wrote:

M processor----rule of thumb, is to take the speed and multiply times 1.5- that means this thing is roughly equivalent to a 2.1 P4 (minus a bit of bandwith). That should be plenty of power for a laptop, especially when you take power consumption into consideration!

Can someone elaborate on this a bit more? Such as the pros and cons of a laptop that has an M processor vs a P4. I want a laptop that will have a good battery life, yet I dont want to sacrifice my "oomph." If anyone has any insight into this balance of power vs battery life, that would be great.

I looked at the Boxx mobile stations and I am a little turned off by the prices I am seeing. However, I need a little more research into this computer before I make a decision.

Also, someone mentioned the Sager notebook. Never heard of them before, but they seem very customizable in terms of what you can put into it. Anybody have any experience with this brand of notebook?

As for the rendering, I am not planning on doing large scale renders, mostly simulations (particles with Houdini and matchmoving with Matchmover).

Finally, a price range I am seeking is anywhere between $2000-$2500.

Thanks!

-jon

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