Dell xps

[glorybound]

I returned my 16" MacBook Pro, because, well, I couldn't use it for anything more than email and web browsing. I ordered a DEL XPS and the specs are impressive and I basically ordered it out of nostalgia. In the late 90's I had a Sony VAIO laptop that was so tiny and thin, it was great. I commuted back and forth to work on the train, so I got a ton of work done. That laptop, although small and thin, was slow. This DELL XPS is about the same size but seems to be a beast.


Killer AX1650 (2x2) built on Intel WiFi 6 + Bluetooth 5.0
13.4" 16:10 UHD+ WLED Touch Display (3840 x 2400)
1TB PCIe NVMe x4 Solid State Drive Onboard
32GB 3733MHz LPDDR4x Memory Onboard
Intel(R) Iris Plus Graphics
Windows 10 Pro (64bit) English
10th Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1065G7 Processor (8MB Cache, up to 3.9 GHz)

How seriously do you think I can get with V-Ray on this? How easy is it to share a V-Ray license between two devices? I am thinking if I can just create materials on it it'll get me out of my office some of the days, at least for a few hours; maybe the coffee shop in the Winter and the beach in the Summer. It is only 4/8 cores/threads, but not too long ago that was a decent desktop.

Am I wasting my money and crazy?

[Neilg]

Am I wasting my money and crazy?

yes.
you're too used to desktops, you'll hate it and never use it.

use that time out of the office to do accounts, billing, or charge 25% more and use that time to read a book.

[glorybound]

Yes, the office management stuff will also my done. I was using the MacBook Pro, but the thing was heavy and I don't like the O/S. My goal is getting out of the office. I work from 6 am to 6 pm (time for the family) and then 9 pm until about midnight, and this is 6 days a week. I love what I do, so it isn't like work, but I want to mix things up. Just so people don't think I am crazy, I get an afternoon nap around 2ish in the afternoon, which I live for.

[Neilg]

My advice to you is still to charge 25% more and cut 25% of your working hours from your day.

if you do end up getting a laptop - dont get one with a 4k screen and integrated graphics, and dont try and get one that can do real 3d work.

[glorybound]

I did get a 4K screen and touch with the Dell pen. I like my iPad 12.9, but the viewing angle and no backlit keyboard suck. I can't watch Netflix comfortably and I can't do anything with the keyboard at night. Rumor has it, Apple is coming out with a backlit keyboard in March, of course, with a new connection so you can't just get the keyboard, you have to buy a new iPad. When I travel I like to edit the photos at the hotel and the iPad doesn't work for me. The 16" MacBook Pro worked this last trip, but I don't like the O/S. I'll report back.

I'll raise my prices 25% and I'll see what happens.

[matanov]

I've moved to laptops at home for personal and home office work. Of course it's not the same as having 700W+ workstation, but mobile processors evolved a lot for the past 10 years, so it's not that bad.

[Franx]

Get a mountain bike instead.

[glorybound]

Get a mountain bike instead.

I got me one last Summer. Unfortunately, we have Winter 9 months out of the year.

[andybot_cg]

Oh man, what a waste! I typically get the cheapest laptop (whatever is on sale at Staples, usually under $400) and with the current mobile processors, there's plenty of speed for any basic app. There's not really any point trying to render on a laptop imo but 3D modeling is perfectly fine. Only thing I do is switch out to an SSD.

[glorybound]

I don't like cheap build quality, which is why I purchased the MacBook Pro. I find the MAC OS to be a mess and I couldn't even find images I worked on in Photoshop. I found out that this XPS is 6-cores, so I might be impressed. 6-Cores, 32GB of Ram, and 4K in a laptop that small is impressive. I am most curious to see what it can do. I have 30-days, so I can return it if I find myself not using it.

[Franx]

I got me one last Summer. Unfortunately, we have Winter 9 months out of the year.

You're in Alaska?

[glorybound]

Almost, upper MN.

[glorybound]

It gets cold around September and stays cold through May.

[Franx]

You're closer to Mexico than AK
I'm in Quebec and ride usually from mid-april to mid-november, and then fatbike the remainder of the year.

[glorybound]

Yeah, if it isn't nice out, I don't bother riding. Southern Quebec is about where we are in MN.