3ds/audio laptop

[schmoron13]

hi everyone,

 

I know we get this thread every other day, but I've researched the threads and I can't find what I'm looking for. I'm starting my second year at grad school (architecture) and I need to get a high end laptop. My main usage is as a portable Max rig (7.5) and heavy lots of video editing (Vegas). Of course, the adobe line and ACad gets heavy usage. Now I was set on an IBM THinkpad t42p but the problem is I also do pro-audio, so I really prefer firewire to usb (audio interface). The other reason for firewire is to hook a mini-dv to the laptop.

 

In terms of "requirements," I need the following

1gb ram

5400rpm hd (7200rpm preferred but not mandatory)

firewire

15" screen (wide prefered)

128mb video card (not shared)

good warranty service (3 years and quick turnaround)

prefer a lighter laptop

 

 

I have a p4 (3.06HT) desktop, so I can use that at home, but in terms of max, I'd like a powerfull video card. I've heard that Nvidia is better, but the only system I could find with the above-mentioned specs was Sony Vaio line, and they use a turbo-cache technology, which if I understand it correctly, is just a glorified integrated system. I have an ATI radeon 8500 ( i know) in my desktop and it works OK.

 

 

The frontrunners at the moment are:

Thinkpad t42p

-has great specs and reputation, but has no firewire

 

Acer Ferrari 4000

-has all the specs I'm looking for but I've never heard of acer, and don't know how well their support is. Also, they use an athlon 64bit processor, and I'm not sure how well Max, and my audio/video stuff will work with it.

 

Sony Vaio FS series

- firewire and slim design is a great touch, but a 4200rpm hd and integrated graphics (Nvidia geforce 6200) is a major concern. Don't know how well their support is.

 

Alienware and boxxtech look interesting, but I'd prefer to avoid a P4, and want something less than 10lbs if possible. Can I get by with a P-M or an Athlon 64 or should I suck it up, hit the gym and go for a p4?

 

I'm looking at spending about 2k, but a little more (including warranty) is not a big deal at this point. If I can spend less, all the better. I have an external HD with 250gb (7200rpm WD) so extra hd space is not a concern.

 

HEEEEEEEEELP!!!

[schmoron13]

I'm looking at Sager's site and their machines look great. Does anyone have any experience with their machine, and if so, how well they support their products?

[ecastillor]

i just bought ah hp zd8000 series...

 

http://hardware.gamespot.com/HP-Pavilion-Zd8000-C-16336-x-1-3

 

made mine with 2gb ram,256 video, p4....

 

superb machine...has the firewire, 17" widescreen, with a whole bunch of knick knacks....

 

only thing, it heats up a bit due to the video card and processor....

 

its fast but not as fast as a desktop with the same specs....also poor battery life I must say, but considering is a monster of a machine, its understandable....

[AJLynn]

Everybody in my program buys Dell, even though they all ask me for advice and the first thing I say is "don't buy a Dell". Then I went and bought one myself. I'm actually happy with it so far, it's a refurb'ed Precision I got a great deal on on Ebay, with a Quadro 500 - it speeds up Max a lot (and isn't that much better for everything else). But with $2k budget I'd recommend looking at the higher end laptops with Quadro or FireGL cards, or getting a refurb on Ebay and using the other $1k to pimp your ride.

 

Where are you going to school?

[ecastillor]

after asking some Dell owning friends and relatives, and reading Elliots story's nightmare from Dell hell, I Decided to go with HP.....

 

http://www.cgarchitect.com/vb/showthread.php?t=11291&page=2&highlight=laptop

[schmoron13]

thanks for the response guys,

 

ecastillor,

 

I looked at HP's laptops and loved them until I read some horrible reviews at laptopreview.com (i think that's the site). THe main issues are that for non P4, they either heat up a lot or are just not pro-quality (graphic and audio purpose-wise).

 

AJLynn,

 

Syracuse has a deal/coop with dell for an m760 with the following specs:

Chosen specifically for School of Architecture, but available to all students! Intel Pentium M 760, 2.0GHz Processor, 2MB L2 Cache, 15.4" WSXGA+ Display (Max Res 1680x1050), 1GB DDR SDRAM 2-533MHz 2 Dimms, 80GB, 5400RPM Hard Drive, Video: NVIDIA Quadro FX Go1400 256MB Open GL Graphics, 24X CDRW/DVD Combo Drive, Internal 56k Modem, Integrated 10/100/1000 ethernet, Intel PRO/Wireless 2915 WLAN 802.11 b/g Mini-PCI Card, Windows XP Pro SP2 NTFS with Media, 90 Watt AC Adapter, 9-Cell Primary Battery. Warranty: 3 Year parts and labor Complete Care (includes accidental damage) warranty, and Cuse Care. Imaged for SU Network. $2399.00

 

the price is awesome, but again, I've had horrible experiences with dell and it's a monster (weight)

[schmoron13]

i just found this thinkpad and it looks promising. It doesn't have firewire, but aside from that, it's perfect:

 

IBM ThinkPad T42p

Pentium M 755 2.0GHz Processor

1024MB (1GB) RAM

60GB 7200rpm Hard Drive

14.1in SXGA+ (1400x1050) TFT LCD

128MB ATI FireGL T2 Video Graphics Adapter

Ultrabay Slim 24x24x24x/8x CD-RW/DVD

Intel PRO 802.11b/g Wireless(MPCI)

Bluetooth/Modem (CDC)

1Gb Ethernet (LOM)

UltraNav

Secure Chip

9 cell Li-Ion Battery

Windows XP Professional

IBM 3 Year Warranty

 

it's $2200 + 40 for shipping, but since the reseller is located in new york (and i'm in cali for the summer)... NO TAX

 

any thoughts?

[AJLynn]

I think that looks like a really good laptop and I will envy you if you get it. If you really need Firewire you can get a Cardbus card for it from Newegg but most of the peripherals they're making these days come in USB2 - if you don't already have Firewire devices the only thing you'd be likely to need it for is digital camcorders. Speaking of which, a DVD burner would help.

[schmoron13]

AJLynn,

 

which one did you think is a good machine? I'm interning at Autodesk this summer, and right now, I'm working on a thinkpad t40, and it's handling most of the my projects well enough and it's sooooo easy to carry around, but again,...firewire. using a cardbus card, is there latency compared to a laptop with a built in firewire?

[AJLynn]

I was saying the T42P looks like a good machine. WRT the cardbus card, I don't think you'll have any complaints, if you don't mind needing an extra card that might stick out the side of the computer. Cardbus is pretty fast, IIRC it's a 32-bit bus at 33MHz, with 132MBPS bus bandwidth, which should handle a 1394 adapter roughly as well as PCI does (and a notebook with a Firewire port is probably using PCI for its adapter). But I'm sure there are web sites that have beaten this subject to death and can give you real numbers.

[schmoron13]

i called up the reseller about the 42p and they were not helpfull at the least. I'll have to call up ibm and see if i have to swap out anything to stuff the firewire in there.

 

Also, autodesk ordered me a new laptop (guessing it's a 42p) so i'll have a chance of putting it through it's paces as soon as it comes in (hopefully this week).

 

Anyone heard of 1beyond laptops? they look hardcore, but again, scared of the lack of name recognition. With all the rendering I'm bound to do, I'd rather not have a nightmare with tech-support and exchanges.