Ernest Burden III Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 (edited) I read this recent thread, http://forums.cgarchitect.com/73839-new-laptop-specs-good-enough.html and it was helpful. But I still don't know what will be the best choice, there is no clear winner. I want a laptop that I can do real work on, so graphics display performance is critical. My last laptop was a Toshiba and it was great, but it's 32bit. Dell, HP, Lenovo or Toshiba. I'm looking for quad-core/8 thread, 16GB RAM, at least 17" at 1920x1080 with GF or even a Quadro card HP (i7 3740QM) is pre-boxed, US$2800 so buy extra memory and drives to put in Lenovo doesn't have the good specs in a 17" Toshiba (i7-4700MQ) no Quadro (GTX 770M @3GB) +Win8, US$1400 Dell (i7-3740QM) sadly comes with "Dell Inside" but is actually winning so far, but at US$3800 Am I missing anything? Which of the i7 mobile chips are good, as these makers seem to use differing versions. Edited July 16, 2013 by Ernest Burden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 This caught my eye. How good the laptop screen is can be a factor. PremierColor is a color technology sub-brand from Dell... Consistent and precise color: PremierColor-supported Dell Precision laptops are shipped with factory-level, predefined color spaces, such as Adobe® RGB, sRGB and NTSC to deliver accurate image color data. PremierColor-supported Precision LCDs are also using IPS (In Plane Switching) technology that provides a world-class viewing experience with no color distortion from any angle delivering consistent performance. Alignment with industry color standards: Alignment with industry color standards: PremierColor-supported Dell Precision laptops have more than 100 percent color gamut coverage, which can cover 100 percent sRGB, 100 percent NTSC and 100 percent Adobe RGB Internal color space selection: PremierColor-supported Dell Precision laptops come with internal color space selection ability via installed application. Color space selection enables the users to select their desired color space, such as NTSC, sRGB and Adobe — based on their desired output without having to use external calibration tools. Amazing color gamut and color depth: PremierColor-supported Dell Precision laptops offer over 100 percent color gamut with true 30-bit color depth, which supports over 1.07 billion color palettes. The concentrated red, green and blue LED lights generate true deep black in high contrast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 (edited) Now some have a big Dell chip on their shoulder (ahem, maybe those from Beantown...) , but I had a precision 1270 for years with an upgraded cristalbright screen and it had the best screen I ever had until I actually spent some big money on a desktop screen... With laptop advice you kinda need to specify your priorities. I know it seems like the perfect machine must be out there, but it isnt. No matter what you spend you will still compromise. You pit price against portability against heat against performance... With maybe one exception and I dont know if its still available. I bought the most expensive Sony money can buy(circa $4k). It had the holy grail; an external GPU/hard drive unit. You could run it on its own local GPU or plug it into its dock, which housed a punchy 7970 and a 500GB SDD. It was lighter than a mac super-skinny-whats-it-called and was 'bendy' which meant it wouldn't break if you dropped it. Awesome! But I needed to run an alternative OS and the drivers were unavailable, so I had to return it. I think its since been discontinued Anyway, my experience is laptops are always compromise so I now have two. I have the Asus mega-brick and the sony slim-trick. When it comes top laptops, pick your battles 'cos you won't win the whole war with one platoon. Edited July 16, 2013 by Tommy L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 I suppose I should add Dell's Alienware (i7-4700MQ), 16GB RAM, 18.3" at 1920x1080 (GTX 770M @3GB) +Win7, US$2800 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 That Dell amazing IPS panel has a similar cousin in HP's DreamColor, so I'm stalking that one at the moment. Display is important, I have 50 year old eyes that have to make good looking images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Beaulieu Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Have you ever considered the latest MBP? They no longer make a 17" though you can find them in the refurbished section. The 15" now comes with 16GB Ram and up to a 750GB Flash HD. 2.7GHz i7 Quad Core, NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory and a Retina Display. I've always found Apple to have a richer and more consistent color profile and generally do my post work on my MBP. Boot Camp allows you to run Windows on a separate partition so you don't lose any ram in VMWare and, uh.... yeah. I like having one in my arsenal and for the price ($2,800 all in) and quality (In 4 years, not one issue) I get from it, I'd recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 Have you ever considered the latest MBP? They no longer make a 17" though you can find them in the refurbished section... Yes, but as you said no 17". Would an older one be quad-core? Anyway, I did read that while Apple may use IPS panel for the retina display, it is, like most laptops, running in 6bit color mode. So I really am down to the HP or Dell because of the display. I want to be able to do finals on the laptop if necessary (though prefer my EIZO 24" display). I read that the HP takes the 10bit output from the graphics chip and runs it through an 8bit hardware encoder which outputs a 10bit signal to the panel. Meanwhile, the Dell takes 10bit from the chip and runs it through 10bit software, then 10bit to the panel. That sounds better. Either way, this will be a US$3500 - $4000 solution. Not cheap, but the mobility will be useful as I may be working in several locations in the next year (per week). Dell's are butt-ugly, unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231090 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231090 Thanks, that looks good. I really want the uber-good IPS panel, though. Dell tells me they can stuff a six-core into their laptop, by the way. I'm sure I can't afford it, but I'm going to get the quote anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 yeah I really like the Asus. Dollar for dollar they are the best on the market and the build quality is great, but the screen (out of the box) is so-so. Its better than my sony but not as good as my old Dell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heni30 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Would a small piece of luggage work for you? I was looking into a Shuttle type system for mobile computing. The graphics have to be better and you can't beat the price. http://us.shuttle.com/barebone/Models/SZ77R5.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimitris Tolios Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Would a small piece of luggage work for you? I was looking into a Shuttle type system for mobile computing. The graphics have to be better and you can't beat the price. http://us.shuttle.com/barebone/Models/SZ77R5.html Even the bulkiest of laptops mentioned, have a smaller volume/footprint than a SFF/ITX box, and that's including the screen. There are some serious logistics for setting up a desktop system while on the move, mainly moving the screen along. On the rest of the topic, I don't know if the whole laptop screen uberness worth double the price over the simpler gaming solutions like the Asus G750. Unfortunately only some ultra-portable premium laptops are usually found with decent IPS screens in the laptop world outside those few workstation models... One guestimation is, that probably you will be working under un-ideal conditions as far as lighting goes anyways...I don't know under which % of situations the Dell screen will keep delivering, and also, I don't know for how long it will. Maybe a colorimeter/calibrator is a better addition to your arsenal, that would boost most TN panels to decent levels of color accuracy, but would also be required for any screen, mobile or stationary, should you be so picky about it. Ofc, a great alternative if you would have the way to transport it on location, would be a decent 24" IPS. No laptop will match an external monitor's consistency, and imho a 17" HD screen is not that comfortable to work on for prolonged time - and I am 31...yes, you get a laptop that can work without it (unlike the SFF desktop), but at least it remains an option. I went through grad-school with my 17" laptop, keeping my 22" in my trunk, and pulling it out for most prolonged design studio sessions, but in my scenario I had a car and a parking lot really close to my working area. (ofc my ext. screen was a $130 1080p TN Dell, I would print in shops with mediocre calibrated plotters and color accuracy was not a realistic goal – I just wanted "cheap screen real estate".) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecton3d Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I've been using several incarnations of Dell's Precision M line since the 6400, now the 6600 and have no complaints aside from the fact that it's quite heavy. The screen is great and for laptops, the machine performs pretty well but does run hot. The M4600/M4700 are smaller @ 15.6" and are a little bit lighter with very similar specs. Ernest, I'm assuming this won't be your primary workstation but I'd still get as much hardware for your dollar as possible and would consider offerings from Asus, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 Ofc, a great alternative if you would have the way to transport it on location, would be a decent 24" IPS. No laptop will match an external monitor's consistency, and imho a 17" HD screen is not that comfortable to work on for prolonged time... Thanks. Well, I still have the option of having an external monitor that I leave in one location, but think the Dell's panel will be similar in color and all to my current EIZO 24". My old laptop is a 17" Toshiba, but is 32bit so not useful anymore. When trying to do final work in Photoshop or even lighting study in Cinema4D, I could not resolve everything on that display, I had to move the files to my workstation. This laptop will have the same display quality, just smaller. The laptop is a Dell M6700 Covet with an i7-3840M and Quadro K4000M and 16GB RAM, and that 10bit RGB-LED IPS 1920x1080 panel. It should cost about US$3800 before tax and shipping Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Thanks. Well, I still have the option of having an external monitor that I leave in one location, but think the Dell's panel will be similar in color and all to my current EIZO 24". My old laptop is a 17" Toshiba, but is 32bit so not useful anymore. When trying to do final work in Photoshop or even lighting study in Cinema4D, I could not resolve everything on that display, I had to move the files to my workstation. This laptop will have the same display quality, just smaller. The laptop is a Dell M6700 Covet with an i7-3840M and Quadro K4000M and 16GB RAM, and that 10bit RGB-LED IPS 1920x1080 panel. It should cost about US$3800 before tax and shipping Enjoy your new toy! If your a pro (which I know you are) then a coupe of grand here or there shouldn't be too much of a hardship when you are buying primary/secondary interface equipment. I know that we work in totally different ways. You are a 'visually tactile' person where-as I am a 'throw GHz at a render' bod, so I understand your choice entirely. That said, Ive seen some contrary advice here. I think a laptop spec is like going to the doctor, you really need to know the personality in question. Im not quoite lear on why you need to take your operation mobile. If its just an extension of your regular studio then I dont think you are going to be happy with ANY laptop.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 You are a 'visually tactile' person where-as I am a 'throw GHz at a render' bod, so I understand your choice entirely... I certainly want something that can do real work. But yeah, beyond the render muscle (which will only be good for a still, I have to have other resources for animation frames) I need to be able to see the subtitles of what I'm doing. I often do a 'pencil line' layer for me drawings. That means a grayscale line-on-white. On my old laptop in Photoshop I couldn't get the lighter tones, then on finals the darks were lost. Im not quoite lear on why you need to take your operation mobile. If its just an extension of your regular studio then I dont think you are going to be happy with ANY laptop.... Because of issues with life and work, I am going to be working in NYC several days a week (maybe in a client's office some of those days) then at my home in the next county up, then at a temporary apartment I have to rent to help spacewise when I have my son. Some days I may take my son to school (30 mins the other way from the city) and just sit in the Public Library and work 'till he's out, then drive back home. So to use a new workstation, which place do I put it? It'll be totally stressful, so a laptop, even as a less than perfect solution, is enabling technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 wow, sounds like a handful. i had a chance to live in NYC once but figured I'd not take to living in a shoe-box too well. Yeah, get the most expensive you can find. Might actually be worth seeing if you can get your hands on a vaio z: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-VAIO-Z-Series-SVZ131190X-13-1-FULL-HD-i7-3612QM-256GB-SSD-Black-Notebook-/281136879770?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item417510589a And then add http://www.ebay.com/itm/UN-USED-Sony-VAIO-Power-Media-Dock-with-CD-DVD-Burner-Z-Series-/200943989934?pt=US_CD_DVD_Blu_Ray_Drives&hash=item2ec931f4ae Buy a screen for each location (except the library). The media dock has a pretty good graphics card in it. The laptop wieghs less than 2 pounds. Like I said, I had one of these and loved it but needed to run 2 OS's so had to return it for lack of drivers under 32bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted July 30, 2013 Author Share Posted July 30, 2013 Yeah, get the most expensive you can find... I kinda did. Except for the BOXX laptop. So just got the thing. It's rather fantastic. Zippy, bright, pretty (for a f*ing Dell). Expensive but paid for, so all good. I ran the Cinebench test on it and it scored really, really well. I'll have to get used to the keyboard feel. I have a Waccom tablet and wireless mouse at the ready. So call, clients. I'm good to go. Anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecton3d Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 wow, sounds like a handful. i had a chance to live in NYC once but figured I'd not take to living in a shoe-box too well. ...haha, it isn't all that bad considering everything NYC has to offer Glad you're happy with the purchase Ernest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted July 30, 2013 Author Share Posted July 30, 2013 i had a chance to live in NYC once but figured I'd not take to living in a shoe-box too well... The thing that makes living in the shoebox not a problem is this--when you live in NY and you step out your door, you are somewhere. You don't have to walk to get somewhere, or more likely drive to get somewhere. You just are. The apartment is not your only living space, the entire city is, and it starts the moment your feet hit the pavement. By the way--I live in a spacious house in a town north of NYC. I step out my door and I'm nowhere. Nothing is going on. I have to drive or take the train to get somewhere. And that is why I'm so happy to get this new laptop, I can get out and work anywhere. Preferably somewhere with that pavement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimitris Tolios Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Fresh starting NYC boy?... Leaving the density of Athens (and most Greek cities/towns tbh) to move to inland suburbs of SoCal was painful for me too...i.e. the need to get in a car to do anything and everything is so stupid. Working downtown LA is different, but can only get you so far. At least I can walk around during lunch breaks Freelancing ArchViz with a neat laptop in NY or SF...well...that sounds pretty good to another city boy like me. And excuses to find neat "real" coffee shops to do it (hate starbucks, nough is nough!) Also nough with the suburbs, if I need "space" I go hiking (tho I have to admit single family houses have their perks). Glad you are happy with your purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecton3d Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Ernest: You're right on ... the energy of the city is mesmerizing and quite honestly, inspiring. The cost of living is somewhat absurd but the opportunities afforded by the city make up for it if you hustle. Like anything, it's a give and take. Good luck and happy hunting! Dimitris: I didn't go to Sci-Arc for grad school due to not really feeling the vibe of LA... not that it's bad, just different. Enjoy that house (said from my shoebox;)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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