Basically what I'm hearing from everybody is laptop still isn't cost effective for what I intend it for.
To answer a few questions: I am insisting on a Quadro graphics card because here at the studio we've tested every GeForce released in the past 7 years and it's been a crapshoot whether they work reliably or not with Softimage - especially with OpenGL shaders. Problems range from flakey behavior to blue screens. I have had almost no issues with Quadros. I would prefer to pay a little more upfront for assurance my sparse free time is put to good use on my hobby than troubleshooting and pulling out what little hair I have left to get that extra ounce of performance which doesn't matter in the long run. I won't be doing long intensive 3D renders as my focus will be on realtime stuff, but I may be doing some IO intensive data streaming for video editing. I will be working with large raw files from my D-SLR, so 14 bit log color support is important. It's not an issue if I can plug a laptop into a full size monitor. I'd also like to do some cross platform development between Windows and Linux. Some will be Softimage plugins, others being Android apps or standalone apps for home use which use OpenGL. I purchased my current workstation from Dell outlet in 2005 and was a great deal (50% off). I decked it out to maximize processing power and IO bandwidth, then purchased the Quadro separately from Ebay. I was considering doing the same thing again until I saw the handwriting on the wall about everything moving to the cloud, realtime, mobile, and so on. If the decision was purely financial a workstation would be a no-brainer, but it didn't look like a smart investment for the long term if the goal is to be technologically relevant down the road as these technologies progress. That's my dilemma and motivation for a laptop. I was considering the Dell precision mobile workstation 6670 from Dell outlet, but last inspection this weekend showed the configurations I was looking for already sold out :( The laptops recommended on Nvidia's website are no longer available for HP and Lenovo. I already have the Galaxy Note phablet, therefore I don't need a tablet at this time. Sooo....workstation now with short relevant lifespan or pay a little extra for a laptop which isn't quite feasible yet? Hmmm... Matt -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tim Leydecker Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2013 2:56 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: everybody's favorite question... Hi Matt, for people in the US, there´s pretty good refurbished hardware available from Apple, Dell, HP and possibly a bunch more: HP http://www.hp.com/sbso/buspurchase_refurbished_specials.html? Dell (laptop link but there´s more if you search for refurbished on the site) http://www.dell.com/us/dfb/p/precision-laptops Apple http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac I would think that the above and the likes give a good balance between guaranteed performance and pricing for a dedicated home use and may allow to access features otherwise too expensive to justify for a personal machine. Personally, I wouldn´t expect a laptop to last longer than 2 years for it´s primary use but can imagine there´s enough options to pick from for a solid, mobile experience and a pricetag that´s justifiable accordingly. It shouldn´t hurt too much if it´s stolen or broken suddenly, imo. Cheers, tim On 12.01.2013 04:15, Matt Lind wrote: > .What computer should I get? (for home). > > I have always used workstations and have already done the research for > another purchase. However, it's been nearly 8 years since my last > investment and my trusty Dell Precision workstation is starting to > fail L. I am considering going mobile this time. I'm asking for > people's experience with laptops as I have never used a laptop for 3D > work before and have mostly heard bad things in the area of reliability and > lack of selection. I don't need top of the line, but I am interested in > something durable that won't break the bank and performs at least as well as > a mid-grade workstation. Besides 3D, I'll be doing a lot of coding, > photography (editing), and some video with my DSLR. So color accuracy and IO > would be important features. I would tend to think an SSD hard drive, > multi-core CPU (4+), USB 3.0, a decent Nvidia Quadro card would be a good > baseline. Anything else people recommend in a laptop? Or to avoid? > > Please reply offline. > > Thanks, > > Matt >
