Laptop purchase

[malevy]

Ok i need to buy a new laptop for my sons birthday. He models in 3DS and Autocad and then the usual game playing junk. I looked at Alienware but they only have 32bit systems. Does anyone have any success with any other brand laptop. How about Macbook pro with bootcamp and xp pro.. any ideas would be great. I have to get this done in the next 3 weeks..

[rmccoy]

It's nice to see another person from Las Vegas on here. Alot depends on what you want to spend. I have a macbook pro that I use as my main personal computer. I use bootcamp with xp pro to run 3ds max, AutoCAD, creative suite when I'm in a crunch or just need to get away from my main workstation at home. They good for the most part. There are some draws back though. I have to reactivate CAD and Max all the time when using bootcamp. It starts to get very annoying actually. As far as some other Laptops you could look at getting a Dell Precision Laptop. I used to use one as a secondary workstation at a 3d visualization firm in Dallas and it was awesome. The main draw back for me was that it was heavy and bulky. This was a few years ago so they have probably gotten better. Best of luck with getting the new laptop

[malevy]

Yes that is nice to see someone in vegas. Of all the places haha I am really stuck on what to do here. I have a new Dell XPS 720 but I really want to move to a laptop since that is what i use most of the time but my current laptop is not fast enough to handle any type of rendering other then 2 teapots haha.. And also I am going to be getting one for my son to practice his 3D on as well. I wish i had a father who would buy me a $3,000 laptop at 15yrs old lol.. THe dell precision look like a nice choice but they can get very expensive quick. How about an Alienware laptop or is that just strictly a gaming machine.

[Tommy L]

Ive had an Inspiron 1705 for about 2 and a half years and I still think its fantastic. Im sure you could get the equivalent pretty cheap now.

 

Core2Duo

2G ram

Nvidia 7950

17" 1920/1400 res screen (awesome).

 

It seems to outperform its stats somehow. Great for gaming. Rendering is slow, but everything else is lightning. I would recommend going with the Core2duo. If its render-power you need, just dont get a laptop. A mid-range laptop ($1500) thats networked with a cheap renderbox ($600-800 quad core/4-8g ram) will get maximum performance for the money. I dont know how many times Ive told people its unproductive to render on your workstation.....Test render on the workstation and send the final to a remote box.

 

The only issue Ive had on the laptop is when I installed XPpro64 bit. I cant get drivers for the network card or the wireless. Which means its waiting to get rolled back to 32bit...

Im sure thats an isolated issue.

 

I think its important to get last weeks technology if youre watching the pennies.

[malevy]

The inspiron are very reasonably priced the only thing is they only have 256mb video instead of say the XPS laptop which has 512mb. I am not too worried about rendering because I will have a cheap box setup just for that purpose I just want something that isn't going to freeze up when we start drawing a decent size scene. I am making a list of specs and trying to match up to each laptop that would meet my criteria..

core2duo (speed ??)

512mb video (model ??)

4gb system ram

320gb hard drive

15-17" screen

dvd burner

WiFi

 

Ive had an Inspiron 1705 for about 2 and a half

years and I still think its fantastic. Im sure you could get the equivalent pretty cheap now.

 

Core2Duo

2G ram

Nvidia 7950

17" 1920/1400 res screen (awesome).

 

It seems to outperform its stats somehow. Great for gaming. Rendering is slow, but everything else is lightning. I would recommend going with the Core2duo. If its render-power you need, just dont get a laptop. A mid-range laptop ($1500) thats networked with a cheap renderbox ($600-800 quad core/4-8g ram) will get maximum performance for the money. I dont know how many times Ive told people its unproductive to render on your workstation.....Test render on the workstation and send the final to a remote box.

 

The only issue Ive had on the laptop is when I installed XPpro64 bit. I cant get drivers for the network card or the wireless. Which means its waiting to get rolled back to 32bit...

Im sure thats an isolated issue.

 

I think its important to get last weeks technology if youre watching the pennies.

[Brian Smith]

we just bought some new Dell Studios (a new model that just came out) for our training center and they work great not only for teaching but for rendering even large scenes. After using one of those 20% coupons you can find just about anywhere, the price was $549 + tax. Here's the important specs:

 

Core 2 Duo

4 GB RAM

320 GB Harddrive

15.4 monitor

DVD writer

Vista 64bit

 

It's certainly good enough for what you're looking for.

[malevy]

Thanks brian for that information. I certainly would of never looked at that model if you hadn't said something. It actually does look pretty nice and the specs are perfect for my kids needs and maybe mine also.. ill have to search for that coupon code the guy at dell said these were not shipping until November 10th or so..

 

 

we just bought some new Dell Studios (a new model that just came out) for our training center and they work great not only for teaching but for rendering even large scenes. After using one of those 20% coupons you can find just about anywhere, the price was $549 + tax. Here's the important specs:

 

Core 2 Duo

4 GB RAM

320 GB Harddrive

15.4 monitor

DVD writer

Vista 64bit

 

It's certainly good enough for what you're looking for.

[shaneis]

If you're looking at Dell's, don't forget to look at the Small Business laptops as well as the Home/ Home Office laptops. They are spec'd differently, you might find the "perfect" laptop there.

[Brian Smith]

Thanks brian for that information. I certainly would of never looked at that model if you hadn't said something. It actually does look pretty nice and the specs are perfect for my kids needs and maybe mine also.. ill have to search for that coupon code the guy at dell said these were not shipping until November 10th or so..

 

well they are certainly shipping already (i have ours) so i dont know what he was talking about.

 

i'll ask brian zajac to list the website with coupon codes...i dont have the link anymore and dont know where he finds those things but you definitely want to use it if you get a dell

[brianzajac]

well they are certainly shipping already (i have ours) so i dont know what he was talking about.

 

i'll ask brian zajac to list the website with coupon codes...i dont have the link anymore and dont know where he finds those things but you definitely want to use it if you get a dell

 

 

You can find the coupon code at http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/139229. The Dell Outlet has the best deals around.

[Dustin]

If you're looking at Dell's, don't forget to look at the Small Business laptops as well as the Home/ Home Office laptops. They are spec'd differently, you might find the "perfect" laptop there.

 

This would be my suggestion as well. The specs are much better, they're more customizable, but aren't as small as the normal consumer ones.

[cesri]

hey, why are you only looking at dell??? there are msi which have good performance laptops with "cheap prices" (be aware as some may tend to be faulty when going to the larger models), and maybe looking at acer would be a wise idea, they are making some great models.

 

mine is acer gemstone blue.

 

4gb ram

9th series video card

1.9 duo

 

but better check the specs as you can upgrade some stats. or maybe find better ones.

 

hope that you find what u are looking for

[clumsyk]

i would recommend ordering the dell laptops online because you can customize them to how you want it