erikbroberg

Thank you. These DIY options are intriguing; however, due to lack of time, I don't wish to build one. Have you heard at all about the Alienware/Dell GPU accelerator? the reviews seem positive for the most par.t

Anyone with any advice? The Alienware GPU seems to have decent reviews since the kinks have apparently been worked out.

Hola, My postgraduate program has 'strongly' recommended that I get a 17 inch laptop with a desktop GPU (NTX 970 minimum) as we will be using HTC Vive and Maya nonstop. (Of course, I can get a desktop, but I move around too much. I have been looking recently at the Alienware graphics amplifier that goes with their new line of gaming laptops. Specifically, I have been looking at the 15 inch model which seems to be quite powerful with overclocking and 32 GB ram/ GTX 980m. I feel like this option ( a smaller laptop with the option to boost the GPU fits my goals; however, I am worried about the efficacy of the GPU booster). Currently, my thought process is consisting of the fact that laptops featuring desktop Pascal GPU's will not be available for a while. I spoke to MSI and they said there is some adapter that needs to be produced before they can add them to new machines. I am hoping that I can get the 15 inch machine and just boost the GPU with a Pascal when I'm running HTC. Is there any other options I'm overlooking to run a desktop GPU without getting a massive 17 incher? Also, there is some concern that these companies are going to update their laptops soon; but, Alienware says they have just updated them. Thank you in advance. Erik (i'd also like to avoid dragons and cheesy LED's whenever possible)

Hello, When I export my channels from v-ray as .exr files and open them with 'open exr' in PSD CC, they appear brighter and more washed out than just the TIFF file. Is this normal?

Thanks for the reply. I am aware of those two conditions and checked the normals of the light as well as played with the invisible settings. Turns out the issue was with the physical camera's shutter speed ratio to intensity parameter of the light. I don't totally understand this relationship, but apparently with a lower shutter speed and lower light value the light will show up as black even though it is lighting the scene. Quite strange to me, but I solved it for now. If someone knows the answer to this relationship that would be quite helpful! Thank you again.

bump. Anyone? I cannot find a solution on the forum or the internet. This should be quite simple. Thanks again.

Hello, My rectangular lights in V-Ray for Rhino are showing up as black even though they are lighting my space. I have 'invisible' checked and it is still happening. I am not sure why. Attached is an image. Thank you in advance if I am skipping a simple solution. Thank you, brobes05

So I've had the MBPR for a couple months now and yes its lightweight and cool looking (also everyone else has one); however it is just not strong enough for my needs. While bootcamped it does not support switchable GPU and gets around 1.5-2 maybe 3 hours battery life if I'm on Rhino etc or other 3d programs. Furthermore the fan throttles the whole time and it get hot as heck. Finally my programs crash if I'm running a large 'Indesign' project, or Rhino. VRay crashes it with big scenes quite easily as well. So my verdict is that I am returning this thing or selling it to someone who uses it for the mac side. For that it is a beast. I mean its the best laptop they make with 16GB ram, 1TB flash, etc... I think I'm going with that HP or back to the Precision. Lightweight is not a replacement for performance. MBPR is definitely a great option for speed in ultra portable but if you plan on running multiple processor hungry programs it simply can't perform.

Very true about those gaming machines What is annoying is that bootcamp apparently doesn't support switchable GPU. Although a tech an apple said you can manually achieve this- that is not the case. So it sorta defeats the purpose of making the mac into a windows machine.

So then what is the BMW? Hopefully the MBPR

Ahh shoot. The MSI looks like a great option that is identical to Boxx but with better cooling. I wish I knew about this yesterday as I just ordered the MBPRetina. I can always return it. I wonder about the longevity of this MSI and I see that the battery charge does not last long - about 2 hours when using demanding CPU programs. I am guessing in the next year to two years there will be some new options for portable solutions. What is unfortunate is that the MBPR when bootcamped will not switch GPU natively but rather manually. Thanks for the intel! Yes BOXX is very serious but have great support

What a pain! I hear with windows it is an option to adjust the resolution down while working on an autodesk program. I assume this is the same for all windows based computers? Hopefully autodesk will adjust soon. Hopefully it's easier to work with rhino and adobe. All windows based pc's have this same problem correct?

I order the MBPR; however, now I fear I overlooked a very vital aspect. Scaling! Will everything appear way smaller in the Autodesk, Adobe, and Rhino ?

Ok that makes sense. Can't thank you enough!

ACtually what Boxx does is stripe the two 256 SSD drives so they are apparently faster than a single drive. Does this make sense?