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Laptop Advice...

Jason GalterioJason Galterio Posts: 2,562
edited December 1969 in The Commons

I am just about to enter the market for a new laptop...

I know that a laptop isn't the most optimum solution, but I need to be portable. For that reason I have gravitated towards a gaming laptop.

I also budgeted what I consider to be a pretty penny for this. My logic being that the amount of money I invest directly translates to the laptops future usage. For example, my last laptop was just slightly over $2k, but has been kicking along since 2009. It's only now that it is having a hard time keeping up.

That being said, I am seriously considering this:
ASUS ROG G751JY-DH72X Intel i7 2.40GHz 32GB Memory 512GB SSD GTX 980M 4GB Laptop
http://store.asus.com/us/item/201412AM150000668/A20422

This will be my first ASUS, so I am curious if anyone has had any experience with them. I am also wondering about the video card, as I know that that can never be changed out.

Comments

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 102,838
    edited December 1969

    Nuts n Bolts is really for content issues so I have moved this to the Commons.

    If you are wanting advice it would be a good idea to say which applications you are using.

  • Jason GalterioJason Galterio Posts: 2,562
    edited December 1969

    Thanks for moving it. I didn't want to clog up Common if the message wasn't appropriate.

    I am looking for advice, more on a yea or nay level since the laptop can't be customized. Specific software really isn't as important, since I would want it to work with most graphics programs. But...

    DS (with and without Iray)
    Reality
    Luxrender
    Photoshop CC

    Those are my usual heavy hitters.

  • mjc1016mjc1016 Posts: 15,001
    edited December 1969

    Basically, before we start...is that your budget? Somewhere in the 2-3K range?

    And yes, if you don't need a workstation graphics card, a good, serious gaming laptop is ideal for this kind of work.

  • Jason GalterioJason Galterio Posts: 2,562
    edited December 1969

    My budget is flexible, but past experience has been that the 2 to 3k range gives me the most bang for the buck. This range seems to give me reasonably new, but tested hardware that won't have a lot of technical issues.

    I have found geometrically diminishing returns when going lower than 2k. I.e. the hardware is meets the immediate needs, but quickly falls behind pace as the software improves.

    Usually I will get five to six years out of the laptop before the age starts to show. Which equates to about $500 a year of use, which is still better than picking up a mid to low range laptop.

    My ideal would be to easily compose and test render scenes while on the road. Then render the final, full size version on my desktops when I was home. This also lets me render at home while still composing.

  • The Blurst of TimesThe Blurst of Times Posts: 2,410
    edited May 2015

    If you're not rendering, then a shell with enough RAM is enough to set up scenes.

    My several years old HP with an AMD GPU and dedicated radeon gfx card (in crossfire) was around $600 years ago. I spent a little over $100 for a 16GB RAM upgrade.

    That's enough to run Iray renders even if it's not at all ideal for Iray.

    If you want a fancier laptop, then spec it for what will need the power. Daz alone isn't it unless you render. Or just save up to get a couple fancy gfx titan cards for your desktop.

    Post edited by The Blurst of Times on
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