What laptop do you recommend for a 3d modeling and programming student in university?

[jamestheconfuseddigitalartist]

So I'm looking for the perfect laptop for 3D modeling and rendering and programming. My budget is $3000. I plan to run 3D modeling software including SketchUp, Blender, Daz Studio, and Sculptris/ZBrush. I also want to be able to run Inkscape, Krita, Vectr, which are digital painting programs that I haven't worried about so far and I don't think I need to? And I also want to run IntelliJ, Visual Studio, and Unreal Engine. Right now I'm looking at a Dell Precision M5510 15.6 inch UHD IGZO Touchscreen, Intel Xeon E3-1505L Processor, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA Quadro M1000M, running windows 10. I've looked at all the hardware requirements of the 3D modeling programs and the only thing I'm concerned with is the 2.00GHz Quad Core Processor. Is that too low for CPU- driven 3D modeling programs? Is there anything else I should be concerned about?

 

[bambiboom]

So I'm looking for the perfect laptop for 3D modeling and rendering and programming. My budget is $3000. I plan to run 3D modeling software including SketchUp, Blender, Daz Studio, and Sculptris/ZBrush. I also want to be able to run Inkscape, Krita, Vectr, which are digital painting programs that I haven't worried about so far and I don't think I need to? And I also want to run IntelliJ, Visual Studio, and Unreal Engine. Right now I'm looking at a Dell Precision M5510 15.6 inch UHD IGZO Touchscreen, Intel Xeon E3-1505L Processor, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA Quadro M1000M, running windows 10. I've looked at all the hardware requirements of the 3D modeling programs and the only thing I'm concerned with is the 2.00GHz Quad Core Processor. Is that too low for CPU- driven 3D modeling programs? Is there anything else I should be concerned about?

jamestheconfuseddigitalartist,

Yes, a 2GHz CPU will be very frustrating in 3D modeling. The CPU needs to have a strong single-thread performance- the rate at which the system calculates on one core. This is because all 3D modeling and graphic design programs are essentially running on one core. I have a 163MB (architectural) Sketchup model which became barely usable on a 4GHz, 6-core Xeon with 32GB RAM, and a 4GB Quadro. in fact, that model, having months of work involved was so important that last week I built an 8-core, 4.1GHz system with 64GB of RAM. a Pascal Quadro P2000 5GB GPU to be able to finish the project.

Sketchup, except for fast, concept models is in my opinion only marginally a professional application- not the maker of the finished project. Consider using [b]Autodesk Fusion 360[/b] and possibly also 3Ds Max, and Maya instead of Sketchup, which is a very limited program that runs large projects poorly even on very fast systems. Fusion 360 can be free to students and has much higher accuracy and would integrate with AutoCad. In my view the Autodesk programs are a more professional path, although as mentioned, Sketchup is good for fast concepts.

You may well have already analyze as to whether a mobile workstation is the best choice. Everything about laptops is restriction- screen size, CPU power, number of cores, graphic card power and size, and number of drives. The compact size - and battery also means that the engineering makes them quite a bit more expensive for lesser performance. The most important factor in your uses is that a four-core system at moderate clock speeds is going to make CPU rendering very frustrating. I've never seen really high-level GPU rendering which professionally is limited to animation and video processing where the thousands of frames have to take a "good enough" approach.

If you need a portable systems for classes, I'd suggest buying a mid-range laptop plus a strong desktop system that can have two 24" monitors.

However, if you need the portable system to be the sole computer, have the one with the largest possible screen, which is the Dell Precision 7700 series, with a 17.3". A laptop with a 15.6" screen is going to require more time zooming in and out, although the system can be plugged into a full size monitor/ keyboard, and mouse.

The applications for the proposed system include programs that are demanding for all the subsystems. Here's an idea:

http://ecomm.dell.com/dellstore/basket.aspx?itemtype=CFG&s=bsd&l=en&cs=04&c=us&&details=false

New Precision 7720

Mobile Precision 7720 XCTO BASE, Windows 10 Pro 64bit English, French, Spanish Unit Price $4,218.58
Save 30% on select Mobile Precision 7720 Series Business PCs!
View Details - $1,265.58
Catalog Number: 4 XCTOP772017_US_SAPP
Module Description Show Details
Processor Intel Core i7-7820HQ (Quad Core 2.90GHz, 3.90GHz Turbo, 8MB 45W, w/Intel HD Graphics 630)
Operating System Windows 10 Pro 64bit English, French, Spanish
Microsoft Productivity Software Microsoft Office 30 Day Trial
Video Card Nvidia Quadro P3000 w/6GB GDDR5
LCD 17.3" HD+ TN(1600x900) AG LED-backlit (42% color gamut) w/Mic
Memory 32GB (4x8GB) 2400MHz DDR4 Non-ECC SDRAM
Hard Drive 256GB M.2 PCIe SSD Class 40
2nd Hard Drive 1TB 2.5 inch 7200 rpm SATA Hard Drive
3rd Hard Drive No Additional Hard Drive
RAID Configuration No RAID
Systems Management No Out-of-Band Systems Management
Keyboard Internal Dual Pointing Keyboard, English
Driver Dell Wireless 1820 802.11ac Wireless Driver
Mouse No Mouse
Wireless Dell Wireless™ 1820 802.11AC Dual-Band Wireless + BT 4.1 Card (2x2)
Dell Precision Optimizer Software Dell Precision Optimizer
Dell Data Security Encryption No DDPE Encryption Software
Dell Threat Protection and Endpoint Security Suite​ No Dell Data Protection | Endpoint Security Suite Software
Placemat Placemat ENG/FR
Diagnostic CD / Diskette Resource DVD not Included
Operating System Recovery Options No OS Media Kit
E-Star No Energy Star
MPWS,7720,CRANE 17 Mobile Precision 7720 XCTO BASE
Power Cord US Power Cord
Documentation/Disks Safety/Environment and Regulatory Guide (English/French Multi-language)
Palm Rest Options Palm Rest with Smart Card Reader
Canada Ship Options US No Canada Ship Charge
Primary Battery 6-cell (91 Whr) Lithium Ion Polymer Battery with ExpressCharge™
Mobile Broadband No Mobile Broadband
Chassis Options Intel Core i7-7820HQ with Type C
UPC Label No UPC Label
Packaging Mix Model Shipping
Accessories Dell Docking Spacer
Label Regulatory Anatel Label
Processor Branding Intel® Core™ i7 Label
Non-Microsoft Application Software Windows 10
FGA Module No FGA
TAA No TAA
Transportation from ODM to region Standard shipment
Service 3 Years Hardware Service with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis
Power Supply 240W AC Adapter 7.4mm
_______________________________________________
TOTAL: $2,953.00

_______________________________________________
If it's possible to have a full size monitor, keyboard, and mouse at the points at which the projects are done, then it would be possible to use:

New Precision 7520

Dell Precision 7520 XCTO Type C SC Base, Windows 10 Pro 64bit English, French, Spanish Unit Price $3,541.43
Save 30% on select New Precision 7520 Series Business PCs!
Special Offer View Details - $1,062.43
Catalog Number: 4 XCTOP752015_US_SAPP
Module Description Show Details
Processor Intel Core i7-7700HQ (Quad Core 2.80GHz, 3.80GHz Turbo, 6MB 45W, w/Intel HD Graphics 630)
Operating System(s) Windows 10 Pro 64bit English, French, Spanish
Microsoft Application Software Microsoft Office 30 Day Trial
Video Card NVIDIA Quadro M2200 w/4GB GDDR5
LCD 15.6" UltraSharp™ FHD IPS(1920x1080)AG LED-backlit w/Prem Pan Grnt(72% color gamut) w/Mic, Non-touch
Memory 32GB (4x8GB) 2667MHz DDR4 Non-ECC
Hard Drive 512GB 2.5" 7mm SATA SED Solid State Drive Class 20
2nd Hard Drive No Additional Hard Drive
Raid Connectivity No RAID
Systems Management No Out-of-Band Systems Management
Keyboard Internal Dual Pointing Keyboard, English
Driver Dell Wireless 1820 802.11AC Driver
Mouse No Mouse
Wireless Dell Wireless™ 1820 802.11AC Dual-Band Wireless + BT 4.1 Card (2x2)
Optimizer Dell Precision Optimizer
Dell Data Security Encryption No DDPE Encryption Software
Dell Threat Protection and Endpoint Security Suite​ No Dell Data Protection | Endpoint Security Suite Software
Diagnostic CD / Diskette Resource DVD not Included
Operating System Recovery Options No OS Media Kit
E-Star No Energy Star
Dell Precision 7520 Dell Precision 7520 XCTO Type C SC Base
Cable US Power Cord
Documentation/Disks Safety/Environment and Regulatory Guide (English/French Multi-language)
PalmRest Palm Rest with Smart Card Reader
Canada Ship Options US No Canada Ship Charge
Primary Battery 6-cell (72 Whr) Lithium Ion Polymer Battery with ExpressCharge™
Mobile Broadband No Mobile Broadband
Base Options Intel Core i7-7700HQ with Type C
UPC Label No UPC Label
Packaging Mix Model Shipping
Accessories Dell Docking Spacer
Label Regulatory Anatel Label
Processor Branding Intel® Core™ i7 Label
Non-Microsoft Application Software Windows 10
FGA Module No FGA
TAA No TAA
Transportation from ODM to region Standard Shipment
Hardware Support Services 3 Years Hardware Service with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis
Power Supply 180W AC Adapter 7.4mm
______________________________________
TOTAL: $2,479.00

Still, if at all possible, have a desktop workstation with two 24" monitors for the actual work.

Last week, I assembled the following system for about $1,850, using a new case, CPU, and GPU plus used RAM and drives taken from other systems:

HP z620_2 > Xeon E5-1680 v2 (8-core@ 4.1GHz) / 64GB DDR3-1866 ECC Reg / Quadro P2000/ HP Z Turbo Drive M.2 256GB + Intel 730 480GB + Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB / ASUS Essence STX PCIe sound card / 825W PSU / Windows 7 Prof. 64-bit > HP 2711x monitor
[Passmark Rating = 6166 / CPU rating = 16934 / 2D = 820 / 3D= 8849 / Mem = 2991 / Disk = 13794] 4.24.17 Single Thread Mark = 2252

That is still being tested, but is currently the highest rated HP z620 in Passmark Performance Test results of 302 tested- showing the cost /performance advantages of building, using some depreciated components. It came about as an HP z420 with a 4GHz 6-core and 32GB of RAM could not run large Sketchup /VRay CPU renderings at all- they required 37.8GB at setup.


Cheers,

BambiBoom

CAD / 3D Modeling / Graphic Design:

HP z420 (2015) (Rev 5) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 4.0 / 4.2GHz) / 32GB DDR3 -1866 ECC RAM / Quadro P2000 (4GB) / HP Z Turbo Drive M.2 256GB AHCI + Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) + Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> Creative SB X-Fi Titanium + Logitech z2300 2.1 speakers > 600W PSU> > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit >> 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)
[ Passmark Rating = 5920 > CPU= 15129 / 2D= 855 / 3D= 8945 / Mem= 2906 / Disk= 8576] [6.12.16] Single-Thread Mark = 2322 [4.20.17]

Analysis / Simulation / Rendering:

HP z620 (2012) (Rev 3) 2X Xeon E5-2690 (8-core @ 2.9 / 3.8GHz) / 64GB DDR3-1600 ECC reg) / Quadro K2200 (4GB) + Tesla M2090 (6GB) / HP Z Turbo Drive (256GB) + Samsung 850 Evo 250GB + Seagate Constellation ES.3 (1TB) / Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium PCIe sound card + Logitech z313 2.1 speakers / 800W / Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > > HP 2711x (27" 1980 X 1080)
[ Passmark System Rating= 5675 / CPU= 22625 / 2D= 815 / 3D = 3580 / Mem = 2522 / Disk = 12640 ] 9.25.16 Single Thread Mark = 1903
[ Cinebench R15: CPU = 2209 cb / Single core 130 cb / OpenGL= 119.23 fps / MP Ratio 16.84x] 10.31.16

 

[TinyMotel]

I second everything BambiBoom said. The Dells are great workhorse machines.

Also, totally agree, Fusion 360 is an awesome application.

As another option to the Dell:

I have a Sager laptop that I've been using for 3d animation, VFX and modeling for a few years and it's been rock solid. I swear by it. It's by no means my main workstation, but it gets the job done.

The newest versions look really nice too. Check out the SAGER NP915.

Looking at XoticPC, you can get one with an i7 7700k, 64GB of ram, 500GB m.2 SSD, 1TB HDD, and a GTX 1070 for $2824.

When it comes to 3D modelling the i7 7700k is going to be much better to work with than the e3 xeon. Single core performance is really what you want there. And you can do GPU rendering with the 1070 if your apps support that. I use c4d and Maya primarily with Octane render, but Cycles in blender uses GPU right?

Anyway, I love my Sager. It's totally customize-able which is nice. You can pop open the bottom and swap drives in and out easily, the CPU is socketed so you can even upgrade that later if new CPU's use the same chipset.

Pros:
Desktop CPU + GPU in a laptop.
High single threaded performance
Upgrade-able
Handles all my day to day apps I've thrown at it. Zbrush, Maya, c4d, After Effects, Substance Painter / Designer,, Houdini and Unity / Unreal Engine. Vray RT runs pretty nice on it. And I'll even use Octane Render with it for setting up scenes.

Cons:
Battery life isn't great. Maybe 3-4 hours under heavy use.
It get's pretty hot if you're rendering a ton with it.
The case is no Mac Book Pro.

You definitely pay a bit of a premium for a laptop though, where you could build the same Desktop machine, with an even more powerful GPU for less. But if your a student, or want something you can take back and fourth to the office, this is a great rig.