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Great laptop for 3D

ngon master
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wirrexx ngon master
Hiiii guys, hope everyone is doing great!

so to my problem. Ive just moved to Berlin where im going to study Game art and Animation at Games Academy. Firstly, im from sweden, a country where i find that the most PC parts are rather cheap. And also laptops.

Now to my problem, the laptops here are expensive!!

And i can only afford about 1200 euro, which is about 15-1600 usd i think.

Any tips on good workstation/gaming station i should go for, oh cant do questionmark on this MAC. So every question will probebly lead to confusion.

1. Need a laptop 1200 euro /1600 usd
2. gaming/workstation
3. Anything else i should think off, please do tell me!

for ps, maya, 3ds max, xnormal, steamgames etc etc

Replies

  • passerby
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    passerby polycounter lvl 12
    might be able to get a good laptop for that but put the same money into parts for a desktop, and you will end up with a hell of a lot more power for your money
  • Kwramm
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    Kwramm interpolator
    passerby wrote: »
    might be able to get a good laptop for that but put the same money into parts for a desktop, and you will end up with a hell of a lot more power for your money

    quoted for agreement. If you manage to build your own PC it shouldn't be very expensive. I never felt that Germany was very expensive for building PCs. However buying brand PCs (e.g. Dell, HP) seems to be more expensive there than in other countries.
  • Desperad0
    Also agrees. With that money, unless you move around a lot, it's worth better to get a desktop. I have an ASUS gamer laptop costing around that much. It's been upgraded with SSD, and it runs 3D programs quite well, but it can't be upgraded to the same level as a desktop could. It is also too heavy to be carried around without getting back and feet pain. The only reason I got it is because I know I would be moving around between several countries in the near future while learning 3D.
  • ahtiandr
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    ahtiandr polycounter lvl 12
    Just wanted to add that I have ASUS G74S laptop and I have been using it through whole my university study and all my portfolio pieces are done with it . Runs pretty fast even faster than my desktop with almost same specs. It is heavy but if you are planning to move quite a lot between countries then it is a good choice. And there should be new versions of it with better specs

    PS. Zbrush 14 mil polys with no lag
  • MattQ86
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    MattQ86 polycounter lvl 14
    The last laptop I bought had an overheating problem. Long story short it now resides in my desk drawer. Fuck laptops.

    P.S. 50 million polys with no lag
  • EarthQuake
    Desktops are good and all, especially if you're going to work from a stationary position 100% of the time. However, if you need to be mobile, you need a laptop, and if you really genuinely need a laptop, a desktop is not equivalent and comparing laptop vs desktop specs is waste of time.

    For a proper workstation, if you're going to do all of your work sitting at a desk, then get a PC. If you need something to do some work out and about every once in a while, get a tablet or a low spec 13" laptop and a good desktop workstation for real work.

    If you need to do 3d art in various places, like in your dorm, out with friends, and in the classroom, there is no substitution for a good laptop. So really, I would look hard at where you plan to use it and what % of the time you really need to be mobile.

    All of that said, it would really help to know what size laptop, how heavy, how much battery life, and any other features that you want. Laptops vary from like 10 inch low end models, to 19 inch crazy beefcake workstation replacement models, and without knowing what you're after, its not easy to give a recommendation.

    Generally, for 3d art you want:
    A. Fast cpu, I7 etc
    B. Good GPU (this will be expensive, large, heavy, hot, and kill your battery in a laptop - generally)
    C. Good quality display with good viewing angles and accurate color reproduction
    D. A decent size screen with enough resolution to work comfortably within a 3d app

    Depending on exactly what you need to do some components are more important. Doing a lot of work in zbrush and baking high res textures? High end CPU and lots of ram will be very important and GPU will have very little importance.

    Building levels in something like UDK? GPU will be just as important as CPU/RAM.

    Doing mid/low poly modeling, mobile spec type stuff? Onboard GPUs like Intel 4000/5000 that come with I5/I7 will be plenty, any recent CPU will be plenty.
  • wirrexx
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    wirrexx ngon master
    Well i have a great pc. But ill be needing to move around and work with mobility. UDK and Cryengine are the main programs to assembly props and building level, but 3ds max and ps for doing the assestz. I myself do not like laptops. Unfortunately its needed this time. At home (sweden) i use i7-÷930k. 32 gb mem. 1600 mhz. Gtx 580 3 gb, 1tb 5400rpm and 128ssd. Works good for gMing and working. Thanks for the tips guys
  • Kwramm
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    Kwramm interpolator
    When I moved to the UK I got myself a small-ish media center case which I could take as hand luggage. Not as powerful as a full workstation but better than a laptop. Of course there's downsides to expandability. E.g. no 2nd NIC, no dedicated soundcard, limited # of USB ports, and so on.
  • Desperad0
    wirrexx wrote: »
    Well i have a great pc. But ill be needing to move around and work with mobility. UDK and Cryengine are the main programs to assembly props and building level, but 3ds max and ps for doing the assestz. I myself do not like laptops. Unfortunately its needed this time. At home (sweden) i use i7-÷930k. 32 gb mem. 1600 mhz. Gtx 580 3 gb, 1tb 5400rpm and 128ssd. Works good for gMing and working. Thanks for the tips guys

    Asus is good. Thew new Razor looks real nice too.
  • wirrexx
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    wirrexx ngon master
    Kwramm wrote: »
    When I moved to the UK I got myself a small-ish media center case which I could take as hand luggage. Not as powerful as a full workstation but better than a laptop. Of course there's downsides to expandability. E.g. no 2nd NIC, no dedicated soundcard, limited # of USB ports, and so on.
    thats a great tips!!
    hopefully i can find some good ones here. as i mentioned in sweden i found a media center with gtx 760, i5-4670, 8 gb ram and with all goodies for 1 000 euro/1000 usd!!
    and it weights less then 1 kg and smaller then ive ever imagined!
  • Kwramm
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    Kwramm interpolator
    you still need a monitor though ;) I managed to cram a small 17" in my samsonite suitcase, well padded with clothing and that was filling the suitcase. Then again I had a full time gig and only played / worked a bit on the weekend.
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