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charlesellisonfx
04-06-2005, 05:56 PM
Hey everybody! I am now in the professional world of CG, and would like to purchase a PC laptop to basically run Maya and like programs. I have been using a dual G5 for the past year and have been pleased, but not blown away by it's performance, so I am certain that the laptop I would like to purchase needs to be a windows based platform. Here are a couple that I have thought about.

Dell Precision Mobile Workstation M70
Key features:
-intel pentium M 2.0
-256mb Nvidia Quadro FX Go 1400 Open GL graphics card

Dell Inspiron 9300
Key features:
-intel pentium M 2.0
-256mb Nvidia geforce go6800
-17in. screen

HP zd8000
Key features:
-Pentium 4 3.2(desktop proc.)
-256mb ATI x600

My main question is if anyone can tell me if getting a laptop with a desktop processor is reliable, and if it would be more efficient with a program like Maya. Also, would I really need to be concerned with using a gaming card as opposed to the quadro card. Which ever system I get I will make sure it is loaded with at least 1gb or ram, so hopefully this will help. Any feedback would be much appreciated.
zeroice013
04-06-2005, 11:45 PM
If you don't care about weight or battery life, look at the Sager 9860. Desktop P4 and choice of GeForce 6800 or Quadro 1400. I have one with a P4 3.4, 2GB RAM, GeForce 6800, 60GB 7200HD, DVD+-RW DL, and it is beautiful. Maya runs nice so far, but I haven't pushed it too hard yet. But I'm sure it should handle more complex scenes without a problem. I paid less than $3000 and it's only about $200 more for the Quadro. If you go for a gaming card, get the GeForce over the ATI.
charlesellisonfx
04-07-2005, 01:57 AM
If you don't care about weight or battery life, look at the Sager 9860. Desktop P4 and choice of GeForce 6800 or Quadro 1400. I have one with a P4 3.4, 2GB RAM, GeForce 6800, 60GB 7200HD, DVD+-RW DL, and it is beautiful. Maya runs nice so far, but I haven't pushed it too hard yet. But I'm sure it should handle more complex scenes without a problem. I paid less than $3000 and it's only about $200 more for the Quadro. If you go for a gaming card, get the GeForce over the ATI.

Thanks for the feedback. I have heard great things about Sager, particular as being an affordable alternative to the likes of Alienware or Eurocom, etc. I'll make sure to check out the config options. Thanks again.
Beamtracer
04-07-2005, 04:46 AM
Get a laptop if you need to be portable, but none of them will match the performance of a Dual G5 Mac desktop (or the top desktops on any platform, for that matter).

So, you'll be downgrading your rendering power by going to any laptop.

If rendering power is what you want, go with a desktop machine. Otherwise it's better to get a compact low MHz laptop for long battery life. The lower the MHz, the longer your battery life (all other factor being equal).
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