Laptop For ArchViz

[sinaman]

Hi,

asus N55SF ( i7 8gb) or asus k53(i7 8gb) any good for work with 3ds max?

 

asus k53

Intel 2670QM 2.2 GHZ Core i7 3.1 GHz - Cache 6 MB - BUS 1333 MHz

8 GB DDR3

Nvidia GeForce GT 610M DDR3 2048 MB

 

N55SF

Intel 2670QM 2.2.GHz Core i7 3.1 GHz - Cache 6 MB - BUS 1333 MHz

8 GB DDR3

Nvidia GeForce GT 555M DDR3 VRAM 1024 MB

Edited May 19, 2012 by sinaman

[Dimitris Tolios]

None of the 2 is a great performer. Ofc the CPU is decent for a laptop (the new 3rd gen i7s do get faster though, while being better on battery efficiency).

 

They main weakness is the pathetic 15" TFT panel which is 768p and is simply too small to work with...loading 3DS is a different thing than having enough real estate on your screen to work comfortably.

 

The 610M GPU (i don't even know if there is a GT 610M, nvidia's site has only 610M which is a very basic, 64bit mem bus GPU). This will barely be any better than the HD3000 GPU embeded in the mobile 2nd gen i7s, and might even be worse than the HD4000 in the i7 3rd gen.

 

The GT 555M is a decent low-end dedicated GPU, with 3 times the punch the 610M and 128bit memory bus (192 for some hi-end laptops). It's decent, yet paired with a 768p monitor is meh for any short of graphic creation work.

 

Asus is a great brand, probably #1 in reliability in the latest years and one of the best value for money options out there.

 

If you disclose your budget, we might help you out a bit more.

 

I did spot an Asus N53-SV model few months ago, that did have a 1080p 15" panel and a decent 540M ir 555M nvidia gpu to go with it (1GB again i think). It was in the $900 range.

 

Sony does make 16" models with 1080p panels and dedicated nvidia gpus - again mostly in the 555M class, and those sell for $1000-1200.

 

If you go more than that, you should consider the much bigger yet more powerful Asus G74 series, and the newer G75. Far from small and light, yet those laptops have the bulk size to keep 100W GPUs paired with i7s run cool and quiet. The GTX gpus in those beasts are unmatched by anything in the GT 6xx/5xx range. Talking 2-3 fold performance or better (thus you need ~ 90-100W instead of 30-40W GT 555 series requires). Those are also 17" so the 1080p panel is way more readable and they offer 2 HDD bays and 4x RAM slots for your to upgrade easier and cheaper.

Edited May 22, 2012 by dtolios

[sinaman]

thanks,

well i have powerful pc at home but i need a laptop and right now i'm low on budget.

my budget is around n55sf.....and this model has 1600x900 resolution...........i'm not looking for fast rendering.

do you think n55sf is any good for modeling?

[Dimitris Tolios]

When I am on the move myself, I am using a meh 1600x900 laptop with a 1st gen i7 and 1GB ATI HD 5xxx and I am satisfied.

2nd Gen i7s are generally faster due to notably higher single threaded speeds (most of the modeling process is not multithreaded yet). Rendering I believe is not that better, still it is. Newer 3rd Gen i7s are out already, and probably will make their way into Asus n55 chassis equivalents soon.

 

N55-SF does come in a few flavors, with 2nd gen i7 and GT 555 2GB or equivalent being present, driving a 900p or 1080p panel...all in all it should be a decent machine for the price. High-end trims of the N55-SF do come with 7200rpm HDDs too, which is nice. Don't push you budget to get 8GBs of ram or a 7200rpm drive more than $170 than the basic model that maintains CPU/GPU/monitor you need: you can add 2x4GB SoDimm and a pretty good 500GB Momentus XT hybrid drive for that price.

 

Doubt you will find much better value than the N55. 99% of the models out there use cookie-cutter setups, being pretty identical for that price range (with the main complain being manufacturers that insist on 768p screens), so if you are happy with the keyboard feeling etc, I would be pretty comfortable with Asus, MSI etc. I would stay away from the pretty nice on paper HP envy line...i like the keyboard and finish, but those tend to break down too often (HP one of the worse brands in laptop reliability, pretty much trailing all others, according to SquareTrade statistics that find Asus @ the top or second bests the last 3-4 years).

Edited May 22, 2012 by dtolios