Best/Recommended laptop for maya, 3ds max, vray after effects (rendering/animation)

[Motion3d]

Hello everyone!

So I just moved to another country (Netherlands) and now I'm without computer as this was desktop and about 4 years old. So I didn't think it was worth the hassle to bring it with me.
Now I'm looking for a laptop because I'll be moving a lot. The main programs I use are: Maya, 3ds max, vray, after effects, photoshop and will like to try to experiment with Nuke and Autocad. From to time to time I'd love to play some games too!

I'm thinking Intel Core i7 would be enough as I don't think a higher processor can fit my cudget. For RAM I'm thinking 16GB, minimal 8GB, do you think is good or is "too much" for a laptop. For storage I'm not sure, I know SDD is faster but is still quite expensive. I've heard there are hybrids disks that combine the HHD and SDD, but I'm not sure how good that is? So I'm open to suggestions.


I saw two laptops that might be available in this store Paradigit Computers

1. MSI Gaming Series GS60 2PC-016NL
15,6", Intel Core I7-4700HQ, 16GB, 1TB, 128GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M

I read that this laptop is made specifically for gaming but do you think it could serve my purposes?

2. Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70-00805
15,6", Intel Core i7-4710HQ, 16GB, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M (Maxwell)


Approximate Purchase Date: Within next two weeks

Budget Range: Up to 1600

System Usage from Most to Least Important: workstation, a plus gaming.

[b[Are you buying a monitor:[/b] I'd like to buy one (minimal 21") so I can have "two"monitors.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: A site to see the price reference in Netherlands Laptopshop.nl

Location I'm looking to buy in a store in Netherlands.

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: This are the programs I use: maya, 3ds max vray, after effects, photoshop). Will like add (Nuke, Autocad). Also the size I'd prefer 15.6"

Thanks for your help

 

[bigshootr8]

The only question I would really have would be how strong is the GPU going to play into things with those applications. I would say that for a processor you probably aren't going to get much better in terms of performance there. 16 GB of ram is pretty good as well, along side a SSD will not hurt. I know that After effects works just fine with a windows machine using it myself. I download templates here and there and try them out videohive.net has some pretty nifty templates that people have made and sell. The two 3d rendering programs maya and 3ds I'm not sure about have you done research to see what power it takes to drive good renders with those applications. Your computer specs are great its just that the GPU isn't a workstation card you know a AMD Firepro or a Nvidia Quadro so it's hard for me to say without doing some google researching whether or not the 860M with Cuda would be sufficient.

"At your price point I would focus on RAM and the storage system. I would stay with 8GB of RAM and an SSD or some kind of caching SSD + HDD.



SLI is useless for viewport acceleration so it's not a deciding factor. As for the GPU I would stick with Nvidia to be able to take advantage of some of the Nvidia only features (iray for example). You don't "technically" need a Quadro card. Our software is certified to run on them and it's only with them that you would receive support from us but between you, me, and the wall my personal laptop runs a Nvidia Geforce 660m gpu and I'm a happy camper.



After that the last deciding factor would be the CPU. Basically go for the fastest you can get but keep in mind that there are options when it comes to rendering long projects. So don't compromise on the other components just to get a slightly faster CPU. You can always do the following:



-Just dump the job onto another, faster computer, once your done.

-Setup a render farm if you have extra computers lying around doing nothing.



I guess what I'm trying to say is that you have some options if your system is a little on the slow side when it comes to rendering. Not having enough RAM though is a problem because that can prevent you from even opening heavy scenes. Also having a slow hard drive can make things like starting Max and opening scenes a hair pulling experience.



Anyways, my 2 cents worth. Hope this clears the air a little.


Ben Bisares
"





http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/installation-hardware-os/laptop-for-3d-max/td-p/4543695

 

[Motion3d]

Thank you for your answer.

I'm really not well versed into GPU, so I'm lost in that regard. I'll see what others say.

I know some laptops have Quadro but one I don't think it can fit my budget at the moment. I saw a latpop that is in my budget: Dell Precision M3800 with Quadro K1100M, 2 GB GDDR5 but I'm not sure if it's enough.

 

[bigshootr8]

Thank you for your answer.

I'm really not well versed into GPU, so I'm lost in that regard. I'll see what others say.

I know some laptops have Quadro but one I don't think it can fit my budget at the moment. I saw a latpop that is in my budget: Dell Precision M3800 with Quadro K1100M, 2 GB GDDR5 but I'm not sure if it's enough.

The way I understand it is that Quadro or Firepro's are validated to do certain tasks within professional applications. Where as cuda and opencl will work in some but maybe not all tasks. I'd feel comfortable with the laptop you have there. Your rendering time's may not set the world on fire but I would say they would be fast enough. The i7 based on the support persons response leads me to believe its more important along with the ram.

 

[Motion3d]

Ok, I'd love a Quadro maybe in the future.

What about the brands, I don't really care but reputation is good to know I read mixed reviews about MSI, so for that I'm a bit hesitant but what do you think?

 

[bigshootr8]

Ok, I'd love a Quadro maybe in the future.

What about the brands, I don't really care but reputation is good to know I read mixed reviews about MSI, so for that I'm a bit hesitant but what do you think?

I would be happy with a laptop from MSI I think they make good things. I would also say ASUS and Lenavo are good to. From a gaming/productivity standpoint of course.

 

[jura11]

Hi there

From my point of view I would go with 16GB RAM as minimum,I know I'm running and using 3DS MAX and other SW and on previous desktop PC I've only 16GB RAM installed and must admit I've max'd RAM on several occasions,depends on more factors,but if you are intending to have very populated scenes 16GB is minimum

Storage,forget on the SSD with HDD,get biggest SSD which you can afford,you will gain mostly in loading scenes and performance in programs,I wouldn't go again as for main/system with normal HDD,SSD is must

Quadro in the Notebooks are pretty rare and will cost him bit more than anything,due this I would go with 860M which has have already 4GB and Quadro K1100M have only 2GB,this is most deciding factor for me,if he thinks to use GPU for rendering and performance in viewport shouldn't be affected too much,on my PC I'm using older 560Ti 2GB version which is OK,but I'm not using this GPU for rendering as i would need at least 4GB(6GB preferably),I think some 870M are too 6GB which I would use and about the rendering,have look on the Octane Render,yes agree is bit expensive,but worth it,if you are looking to make nice and almost realistic renders

Are you will be using VRAY or VRAY RT?

Thanks,Jura