Want a Dev Laptop
polycounter lvl 18
Alright kiddos, Ross wants a laptop:
-I need to paint
-I need to model
That's it.
I want the most cost effective, smallest option. If it can function like my 2nd last pc i'd be happy with that.
Any reccomendations? I don't know shit about graphics cards specs for laptops. I've never had a laptop.
-R
-R
-I need to paint
-I need to model
That's it.
I want the most cost effective, smallest option. If it can function like my 2nd last pc i'd be happy with that.
Any reccomendations? I don't know shit about graphics cards specs for laptops. I've never had a laptop.
-R
-R
Replies
It's fucking fast. I think it runs Max and Photoshop as well as my desktop PC, mainly because of 1GB RAM and a 128mb Radeon X700.
It's not exactly cheap, but it is ridiculously fast. I found that over here in the UK it was priced roughly the same as things with equal or lower spec, so you're not paying over the odds.
You could probably find something a fair bit cheaper which does what you need, though.
Asus z71v Barebones.
I have one and have had it for 2 months now.
2 gigs of ram
1600x1050 screen res 15.4"
nvidia 6600 go with 128mb of ram (handles a couple million triangle models in max, and 10-20 million in zbrush)
SATA HD capable (I have 80 gb with 8mb cache)
Wireless A/B/G
DVD burner
2 main batteries
1 optical bay battery (goes in instead of the DVD burner for an extra 2 hours, real use, in max or bf2)
1.6 ghz processor (overclocked to 2.13 and runs GREAT, nice and cool)
tons more
I got it all for 1850 USD. The two extra batteries were 220 bux, so it would have been 1630 without them.
I love it. It runs bf2 like a champ, it eats HL2 and doom3 for breakfast. High poly models are awesome. This is THE baddest machine I've ever owned.
It's also only 1.4" thick and weighs 6.6 lbs (which is pretty light for a notebook)
I can't recomend it enough.
-R
If I was just browsing the internet, I could probably get about 16 or more hours. I use RMclok to undervolt and it saves a ton of power and heat, especially with the overclocking. I'd be able to undervolt even more if I wasn't overclocked.
Yeah the batteries can be bought after the fact, but I didn't want to risk waiting and then them not having them in the nebulous future. I usually keep the second battery in all the time, and take the third battery with me whenever I go out.
Also I think the whole color on LCD is crap argument is pretty piss poor. Yes I agree it's different. But not enough to make a difference. The differences in how each artists percieves color is far greater than the difference between a nice LCD and a nice TFT. If it looks "just right" to you on a TFT, it might look horrid to me on my TFT. And if your work is gonna get compressed or transfered to a TV to be displayed, it's gonna change the colors so much it's not even funny.
I love working on my laptop LCD, it's bright, super crisp, and great color. It might not be perfect, but I've never had someone be able to point out when a piece of art was made on an LCD vs a TFT.
Maybe *maybe* if you were a photo retoucher (scooby!) then the difference would matter, but for texture work, NOPE!
Plus it's the best looking laptop out there. And you can tell everyone you own a Ferrari and you won't be lying. Mouse it ships with is awful though, so you need to get a new one (then again, I guess you just use a tablet).
Problem with poop's suggestion, is it's 32 bit. If you just want to model and paint I guess it's no problem. Was an issue for me, though, as last time I heard Epic was saying the UE3 editor required 64 bit to run. Even if it goes slow with an X700 I'd like to be able to at least run it. My own levels won't be so detailed anyways haha.
It's a bit heavier than most, but it's not meant to be carried all over the place.
But yeah, performance is great. The 1600 resolution on the sreen is nice and sharp. Got Maya and Photoshop running just fine.
2 Ghz Pentium M
17" widescreen 1920 x 1200
1 GB RAM
GeForce 6800 256MB DDR RAM
60GB 7200 Hardrive
9-cell battery (approx. 3.5 - 4 hours battery life?)
Wi-fi b/g with Bluetooth (gotta have that for my cellphone)
DVD drive
I bought a HP pavilion zd7000 about a year ago.
runs HL2 better than most new pcs (runs a 256mb gforce5), battery goes for 2 hours, HOOOOOOGE screen, and so on. Can't reccomend it enough. Eats graphics for breakfast! Especially running on 1gig of ram and a P4 3.2HT.
I'd like to add: prefect TV out, via a very competent media cable, accepts any memory card or stick (very handy). Does firewire (never use it) and has 5, count them, 5 USB 2 slots. Including one that can be powered seperately. Builtin speakers to rival any portable audio system by Harman/Kardon!! Burns DVDs in about 20 mins. Wifi. The list really does go on... The new HP pavilion must be even better!
win win win!
JBoskma you are wrong, laptops are native DVI. perfect colours on this baby.
Eats graphics for breakfast!
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wait, you mean I have to feed my laptop!?
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Eats graphics for breakfast!
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wait, you mean I have to feed my laptop!?
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YES! you paint a picture or do a model and then your laptop EATS it and its gone FOREVER!!!!!!
I got the P4 630 HT (3ghz) with 2gb of RAM and the wideview screen upgrade (gets 1680x1050 res). Came with a free upgrade to a 256 ATI Mobility Radeon X600 as well as a second 12cell battery.
my heart rate is still high, the most I ever spent on a system before today was $1400.
If this laptop doesn't work out, I'm coming to get you, I have people in Japan.
Pentium M 1.6ghz
512MB RAM
GeForce 6800 Go 256MB
Some onboard sigmatel audio thing
17" widescreen
Intel PRO Wireless 2915 ABG (I think)
And there's other crap in there too, but that's the general gist. Gets my recommendation, since I love it.
Hey Hawken, I just placed an order for the zd8000 it had the best price/performance ratio I could find, even better than dell with my company discount.
I got the P4 630 HT (3ghz) with 2gb of RAM and the wideview screen upgrade (gets 1680x1050 res). Came with a free upgrade to a 256 ATI Mobility Radeon X600 as well as a second 12cell battery.
my heart rate is still high, the most I ever spent on a system before today was $1400.
If this laptop doesn't work out, I'm coming to get you, I have people in Japan.
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good man, you won't be
My only gripe is that the trackpad can be a little sensitive sometimes, but you can turn it off easily. This thing also weighs a tonne when it's all bagged up with the drives and cables, but I plan on getting a tiny laptop for emails on the move... unless the psp gets a keyboard...
My only complaint is that they don't offer good driver support for the custom configurations (like I got). If you go to their site, you can look up the drivers for the preassembled models, but they don't offer a list of drivers for components (so us custom guys can update). And ATI doesn't do the driver support for the X600 (they tell you to contact the manufacturer).
The screen is beautiful, especially if you upgraded to the monitor to their extra bright version (like I did
One suggestion I would have is to get the additional battery though if you didn't (and expect to not be plugged in much). The battery life is just a hair over an hour. I've read bad things about buying third party battery packs on Ebay.
Oh, and you may have read that they are heavy, and while this is sort of true, it's really just as heavy as old laptops. It's funny, because people used to rave how light weight the old laptops were, now it's considered heavy