Parent needs some laptop advice

[bruinsrme]

Hi Everyone,

 

My son will be attending NE Institute of Art starting next month. One of the programs he will be using is 2009 3Ds max.

 

Of course the $4800 alienware profile sheet was handed to me. In return I handed it back to him with "nice try".

 

The program doesn't look overly demanding with the understanding having the minimum will result in long wait periods while rendering.

 

If you could please share some recommnedations in hardware configurations.

 

I was also considering an external monitor while he is in his apartment. Any recommnedation there would be appreciated as well.

 

Thank you,

Scott

[SandmanNinja]

I have a ViewSonic 22" that I got for $300 Aussie Dollars (VA2226w). ViewSonic makes a very good monitor, and the thin profile won't take a lot of desk space.

 

Not sure about the laptop, just be sure to get an external keyboard, external mouse, NICE carrying case for it (I have a titanium suitcase that mine fits snugly in). Docking stations are popular, but they often break down.

 

I've seen a VERY NICE laptop STAND that has fans built in, that forces air exchange with the laptop's fans. If he's going to render at HIGH CPU for LONG TIMES, I'd encourage this. I think it was $20.

 

Condoms. Get him some condoms. He will be SO EXCITED about Uni then...

[bruinsrme]

Condoms. Get him some condoms. He will be SO EXCITED about Uni then...

 

Great advice, not what I expected but good stuff.

 

Looking around I might be forking over some crazy cash.

 

Scott

[bruinsrme]

So far the Alien and the M6300 are both around $5000 with the

2.8g processor

4 gig ram

alien has NV8800 sli and M6300 has fire GL both 1gig

raid HDD

and other goodies.

 

The Dell M1730 $4250 (discount from employee group)

processor 2.8 g

ram 4 gig

video NV 8800 sli 1gig

blue ray drive

extra battery

 

the dells ahve a 4 year warranty

the alien has a 3 year

 

Any recommendations?

 

thanks

Scott

[SandmanNinja]

Alienware has a good reputation - you may pay a premium for the name.

raid HD is good

cpu looks the same

ram looks same

blue ray drive looks nice

the extra battery - I think a good idea.

(be sure to tell him NOT to keep the battery plugged in all the time it's on AC power)

Extra year of warranty cannot be a bad thing - especially for portable electronic devices

[shaneis]

Have a look at these two, I'm sure there are better configs, but they both have discrete nVidia graphics (strongly recommended) to a 17" screen and you should be able to up-spec the CPU and RAM if the budget allows.

 

http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529668159.php

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_series.do;HHOJSID=TLWcLVYSchkpkQjn2l3bKb91QhplL01K9Y6CnD9ZCJYN8G1JpB4J!-180079845?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&series_name=dv7t_series&a1=Brand&v1=HP%20Pavilion

 

Looks like you can add a lot off goodness to the HP - all for half the price of the Alienware (aka-Dell4gamerz)

[AJLynn]

Do NOT buy a $4000 laptop for a student, that's just silly, especially when it's about 10% better than a $2000 laptop. You're paying hundreds more or the CPU to be 2.8GHz instead of 2.4, 5 or 6, and you're paying a heck of a lot for SLI (two video cards) which isn't at all necessary for 3DSMax but is very nice for games.

 

Also, in my experience, a college kid with an Alienware is less likely to be using the condoms.

 

That Gateway that Shane pointed out looks like a good option, as would be anything along these lines:

 

-2.4-2.8GHz Core 2 Duo CPU

-3-4GB RAM

-200+ GB Hard Drive

-Geforce 8600, 8700, 8800 series video card

-17" screen with a lot of pixels (it's not just the size that's important, it's the resolution - ideally 1920x1200)

 

I have a friend who recently bought one of these. It came with accidental damage protection. That would also be important for a student, some homeowners insurance has it - I added special computer coverage to my Amica policy for something like $14/year.

 

Later on, if he gets more serious about rendering and does need power you can get him a quad-core desktop for his dorm room for under $1000.

[bruinsrme]

So I priced a dell 1730 and the HP Both have 2.5 g processor and 4 gig Ram.

The HP well equiped is about $2600 3 year warranty, 1 battery, 1600x1020 WSXGA resolution, 9600M video card (ship date August 22)

The dell $3100 with an extra battery, 4 year warranty, 2 batteries, 1900x1200 WUXGA, 8700 dual SLI (ship date August 22)

 

I guess what it comes down to is the resolution of the screen. Is there much of a difference between WSXGA and WUXGA?

My thinking is the dell batteries are better and it comes with 2. ($150) The 4 year warranty with Dell ($100)

 

Any thoughts?

 

thanks

scott

[Tommy L]

I havent looked into this for some time, but I'll throw my opinion into the ring anyway.

 

If he needs a machine for rendering and a laptop for mobility, you will get much better performance by buying two machines and it will work out cheaper. Get a laptop with a core-2-duo processor and a gig or 2 of ram (Dell?). He can use this as his portable machine and it will cost around 1200-1500 dollars with a reasonable graphics card (ge force go 8800gs or something similar). Then if he really needs some punch for rendering, get him a desktop with a quad-core Q6600 and 4 gigs of ram. You can get one of those for around 650-850. Then he just plug one to the other when he needs the power. 6 cores and 6 gig of ram for $2000 and the laptop will play all the games, office, porn, etc that a student cant live without.

I know professionals who work with less...

[bruinsrme]

I havent looked into this for some time, but I'll throw my opinion into the ring anyway.

 

If he needs a machine for rendering and a laptop for mobility, you will get much better performance by buying two machines and it will work out cheaper. Get a laptop with a core-2-duo processor and a gig or 2 of ram (Dell?). He can use this as his portable machine and it will cost around 1200-1500 dollars with a reasonable graphics card (ge force go 8800gs or something similar). Then if he really needs some punch for rendering, get him a desktop with a quad-core Q6600 and 4 gigs of ram. You can get one of those for around 650-850. Then he just plug one to the other when he needs the power. 6 cores and 6 gig of ram for $2000 and the laptop will play all the games, office, porn, etc that a student cant live without.

I know professionals who work with less...

 

I like the advice and think I will definitely consider that route

 

Thank you

Scott

[bruinsrme]

I like the advice and think I will definitely consider that route

 

Thank you

Scott

 

 

I ended up purchasing a dell XPS1730. Well actually my son purchased it with his money.

 

After seeing a M6300 in action that was the machine of choice but it fell into the cost phohibited category.

 

Thanks for everyones help and feedback.

 

Scott