Advice with a Laptop purchase, anyone?

[Bullit]

Well how much are you willing to spend?

At start i would say, get a Laptop with an i7 CPU(they have Quad Cores) and a Geforce(seems Softimage is picky about ATI).

This a good website to research components http://www.notebookcheck.net/

Go to CPU and GPU comparisons.

[Jettatore]

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:expandcategory?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=F2A3EC7C45634AE8AB0F26CCAC867854&tab=4#tab-container-5

[Bullit]

It is probably too expensive for what it offers.

[Saurus]

I always feel GPU is the most important part of a laptop for CG. Here's a great site that lets you choose your laptop GPU, then choose CPU, screen size, price, etc that has that GPU.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Search.8222.0.html

***Opps...Looks like Bullit already provided you the link.

[olson]

It is probably too expensive for what it offers.

You get what you pay for in a ThinkPad. Also XSI is picky about gaming cards in general, has nothing to do with ATI. Cheers!

[Jettatore]

I'm fairly certain it's still on sale actually, well worth the price, the features are unmatched by any other laptop.

[tuna]

Ive had my Dell Precision M4400 for almost a year now as my main XSI workstation, it has been excellent. (I'm not a fan of 17" laptops), it will come with basically the same specs as that 17" Lenovo. (3ghz dual core or 2.5ghz quad core, 8gb ram)

I guess it depends on how often you will be carrying it.

[Devils1stBorn]

This sounds like a good start. Be back with results

[Devils1stBorn]

I took a look at the Lenovo W Series. Great tool. From the tablet to the extra display. Wish the I7 was available with it. This machine has my attention. I can't seem to customize the purchase?

[Jettatore]

You should be able to customize the purchase. Just keep in mind there are two models. Near identical, the regular W7 and the DS version, one has dual screens, the other is the same model without the second pop-out screen. Both have on-board color correction hardware and built in Wacom tablets and outstanding construction builds. Not to mention they come with Quadro cards. Price difference seems to be about $500 for the extra screen. i7's aren't currently an option with this model laptop but there are 2 quad-core options available.

Here's the customize page for the DS version.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/systemconfig.runtime.workflow:LoadRuntimeTree?sb=:00000025:0000236D:&smid=F10AD59D781A47888400957242FCF7F8

Here's the customize page for the regular, non-DS model.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/systemconfig.runtime.workflow:LoadRuntimeTree?sb=:00000025:00001A58:&smid=95F811B4EF37447BAA6A66969FB312CF

[Bullit]

well worth the price, the features are unmatched by any other laptop.

It doesn't have i7 and unmatched features doesn't mean necessarily it is worth the price, imagine if it is gold plated :) .But to each his own it is your money afterall :)

[Jettatore]

Did you even look at the US pricing for the unit? Starting price is $1,600 with below features.

17" color correct Pantone screen, with onboard calibration system. Built in Wacom. Insanely good build quality/construction. Core2Duo 2.53GHz (can go higher if you like). Your choice of Windows, with free Windows 7. A 512MB Quadro mobile card, one of the very best mobile cards available period. 4GB of RAM, easily upgradeable yourself and cheaper if you go with less and do it yourself. Slots for 2x internal HDD's with an onboard RAID controller. 9 Cel Lithium Ion Battery. And the list goes on.

The reviews of the unit have been phenomenal.

For that price and those features, it's one of the best deals possible and it's likely one of the best laptops on the market for graphic professionals.

[Bullit]

*Pricing: Does not include tax, shipping and handling, or recycling fees. Reseller prices may vary. Savings referenced off regular Lenovo web prices.

The pantone calibration, side screen, raid is apparently only in DS model.
I find that entry model okay . But it could be less without that wacom.

[Jettatore]

"The pantone calibration, side screen, raid is apparently only in DS model. "

That is simply and completely incorrect.

[Bullit]

Well it is what it says in the page you linked.

[Jettatore]

No, no it doesn't say that.

"ThinkPad W700 mobile workstations offer X-Rite® PANTONE® color calibration for greater image accuracy, more precise color matching, and a consistently true display."

"ThinkPad W700 mobile workstations offer a 120mm x 80mm Wacom® palm-rest digitizer and pen, ideal for digital content creation and CAD/CAM applications. The digitizer can be configured to map to the entire screen or a user-defined area, and is compatible with a wide range of applications, from Windows® Paint to Adobe® Photoshop®."

Dual Screen below (this is the primary difference between the W700 and the W700ds)

"The ThinkPad W700ds features a second, retractable 10.6" screen that expands the display area by 39 percent. Dual-screen functionality enables users to work in multiple applications simultaneously without switching views or compromising their workspace. Enhance your productivity and enjoy a more desktop-like computing experience with the dual-screen W700ds mobile workstation."

You can even configure the regular W700 with raid in the shopping cart if you go back and look.

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.