vray laptop!

[deflix]

Hi,

I'm looking for my 1st EVER laptop and have no idea where to start.

Ive got to be able to model and render (work) with it.
There is a dell with a 1920x1200 screen which sounds great.......

any pointers?

[LucidV]

http://www.alienware.com/product_pag..._all.aspx?cs=4

http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/a...e.jsp?id=38515

I don't know that these are the best but they are the ones I have had my eye on.

[dynaman]

i don't have personal experience with alienware, but i know someone who bought one for work (he works with revit, not much rendering). but he has had nothing but problems with it and he says the tech support has been terrible. he says it's currently unusable.
i don't like to pass along non-personal info, but in this case he made a point of telling me how disappointed he was with their product and i just thought i should let you know.
i'll be watching this thread cause i'm in the same boat...

[RErender]

Don't get a p4 based system (ie. the alienware), they use too much battery and are hot and slow compared to the core duo based lt's. The dell looks like a nice buy.

[LucidV]

I am disappointed to hear that about alienware cause they just look so damn cool. You would think the service would improve though now that Dell bought them out.

[jhiler]

I use an alienware P4 based system and I haven't had to many problems with them. I have had my WAN card fry because of over heating I believe, but other than that nothing to major. I use AutoCAD, Max 8, Photoshop and Premiere on the system.

I have heard of problems with their tech support through other people though. the machines do run fairly hot (we actually prop ours up so we can get enough airflow underneath) and the battery life lasts about 45m-1hr dependant on what you are doing. (not to mention lugging the power brick around is a pain) The main exhaust for the system is right where the WAN card and the memory card readers sit, so that tends to feel a little warm and might cause problems.

As far as customer service I've heard nightmares about Dell as well as Alienware. It really depends on who is on the other end of the phone and if either of you are having a bad day. I've also heard good stories about both as well though.

Overall I have not had major issues with the machine that I have not caused ( ) or been able to figure out on my own.

[ShaunDon]

Don't go with Alienware, for serious. Maybe they've been shaping up now that they're owned by Dell, but I had an aweful experience with the laptop I ordered from them, and they were incredibly unflexible in resolving my issues.

I wrote this post detailing my story on CGArchitect to warn off some folks there awhile back. Seriously, it's two months of my life that I still think about and get angry. I bought a Gateway 17" instead and haven't had any issues.

Good luck in the search!
Shaun

[RErender]

. I have had my WAN card fry because of over heating I believe,.

Sounds like a good reason not to go with the p4 based system since the core duo is way faster runs cooler and uses less battery.

[siliconbauhaus]

Try the hp dv 9000 series. I've got a dv 8000t ( bugeer all difference between the two )

Mine was about 1800 all in with 2 gb ram and a Core duo 2.0. If you look at the benchmark scene I posted the time with it.

[RePlay]

I have a macbook 1.8 with 1 gig ram.. Vray renders very well on the Core Duo. The only let down is the graphics card... anything above 1/2 million poly starts to chug. Either way you cant go wrong with a core 2 duo laptop.
I found that the macbooks are at a very very affordable price.

[e3di]

Rock computers (www.rockdirect.com/ ) They make monster machines. I have a Athon 64X2 4200+ with 2Gb ram and it renders like a rocket. Beats my dual Xeon 3.2 into the ground.

Worth a look.

[LucidV]

siliconbauhaus, no offence but your avatar is just....wrong.

[Dynedain]

I'm seriously considering the MacBook Pro because I can do Max and VRay on it... it's a pretty beefy machine, and about the same price as a similarily configured Dell (and a hell of a lot thinner and nice looking).

[CXStudios]

I have a M70 from Dell, worst purchase I've ever made... first and last purchase from Dell.

To be honest, from the way things are going and the tests that we've run here in the office, my next laptop will be a MacbookPRO, running WinXP or Vista, haven't decided yet.... I'm liking Vista from other tests as well, but there are still some quirks that need to be cleaned up.

[siliconbauhaus]

I looked at the macbook pro at the same time as the HP. I just couldnt justify the extra dosh for the mac plus a license of XP