Best Laptop for: 3d modelling, rendering, simulations and gaming ofcou

[viktre]

I intend to buy a laptop for myself which would fulfil my needs.

-The needs:

1. 3D Modelling: Pro/E, CATIA, SolidEdge, AutoCAD etc.

2. Assembly: Pro/E, CATIA, SolidEdge etc.

3. Simulation: Kinematic: Mechanisms on Pro/E, SolidEdge, etc.

Solid/ Fluid: Pro/E, SolidEdge, I.D.E.A.S, ANSYS, Fluent, etc.

Program: Matlab, C, etc.

4. Rendering: Corel Painter, Sketchbook Pro, PhotoShop, Alias, etc.

5. Gaming: FIFA, NBA, COD, Crysis, NFS etc.

-Country:

India ( no customer support for Sager sadly)

-Budget:

Not exceeding $ 1500.

-Screen:

15.6 inches. Full HD. ( output to 27" screen).

-Future Proof:

Yes, atleast for 4 years.

-Graphics:

Gaming cards vs. 3D cards. No idea. Can't decide.

-HDD

What should I choose- solid state or the conventional?
Space wise min 500GB, wouldn't mind more than that.

for eg. can Quadro play games at max or ultra settings and can a geforce render models. What kind of trade off am I lookiing at. I don't want to sacrifice my gaming experience (visuals) aswell as my modeling and simulation experience (which is my job so it is much more important to me). I guess I can compromise on the gaming (but I'd like it to be as less as possble or none).

-Audio:

Should be nice. Good output ( for external speakers).

-Brand:

Best value for money & most reliable.


So I guess i need the best CPU, GPU, max RAM, that i can get in under $1500. So help me out here!

Thanks

 

[memadmax]

Quadro should play the games fine. But if you don't get the Quadro then you won't be able to do the 3D design work(you can, but it won't be accurate). So, Quadro or ATI Fire is a must for you, otherwise you aren't serious about 3D design.
The HDD or SSD question is pretty much up to you, if you have the money to get it go for it. But if you plan on spending most of your time plugged in and sitting at a desk, HDD would be better.

Brands to get?
Thats more of a personal preference these days. Some people stand by one brand while others stand by some other brand and you could go argueing about it all day. But in the end, it's still a personal preference, go with what you like and would give you the most bang for your buck.

 

[k1114]

The inexperienced always mentions accuracy, but measurements are not different just because you have a different gpu and screen drawing is negligible even on 2560x1600 displays. But geforce cards are handicapped in opengl performance as well as not having drivers made specifically for cad software like quadro/tesla. For gpu acceleration I couldn't find anything so I am assuming they are cpu based simulations other than ansys which needs tesla. At your pricerange, the quadros will not play maxed or ultra, more like med/high. I will still recommend a workstation card because it's for your job. An ssd does help to speed up workflow but there aren't any 15.6" dual hdd laptops that I know up so wouldn't have much storage space. Otherwise most people will take out the cd drive and put the ssd there.

There aren't many mobile workstation choices, HP EliteBook 8570w, ThinkPad W530, Dell Precision M4600. For the price, lenovo offers better specs. i7qm, 8gb ram, quadro k1000m, 1080p screen, 500gb hdd for $1460 but this is US so am unsure of your availability.
http/shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=8290D97BCD4869FF73A91D590D8749C5

 

[JackNaylorPE]

For straight AutoCAD, the GeForce cards work just fine, I have an office full of them and after hours we oft do a bit of gaming as we have been since Doom days. When ya get to rendering and lighting effects and 3D modeling, the workstation cards do better, of course there is a corresponding drop off in gaming due to the optimizations for this work. It all comes down to how much modeling, ray tracing etc ya gonna do.

If y want workstation gfx tho, $1500 is tough

http/www.lpc-digital.com/sager-np9150.html

For AutoCAD and Gaming $1579 (ask for the MAX discount .... like $100
15.6” Full HD 16:9 Wide screen (1920x1080) LED-Backlit Display
NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 675M 2GB GDDR5
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3720QM
16GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 4 X 4GB
500GB Seagate Momentus XT 7200RPM 500GB (w/ 4GB SSD Memory)
8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive
Integrated 802.11 b/g/n wireless LAN + Bluetooth
8 cells smart Lithium-Ion battery pack 76.96Wh
Integrated Fingerprint Reader
FREE UPS Ground Shiping
High Definition audio interface
S/PDIF digital output
Built-in Microphone
Built-in two speakers made by Onkyo
Built-in one sub-woofer
External 7.1CH audio output supported by headphone, microphone, S/PDIF and Line-in jack
THX TruStudio Pro
Illuminated Full size keyboard with numeric pad
W/A/S/D gaming key
Integrated touchpad with Multi-gesture and Scrolling function
1 HDMI 1.4a output Port (with HDCP)
1 DVI-I output Port (single link)
1 DisplayPort 1.1 output Port
1 USB 2.0 Port
3 USB 3.0 Ports (One powered USB port, AC/DC)
1 eSATA Port (USB 3.0 combo)
1 Mini IEEE 1394a Port
1 Headphone Jack
1 Microphone Jack
1 S/PDIF output Jack
1 Line-in Jack
1 RJ-45 LAN (10/100/1000Mbps)
9-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/SD/Mini-SD/SDHC/SDXC)
2 MiniCard Slots, one for WLAN Combo module (Half size Mini Card with PCIe and USB interface). The 2nd slot for mSATA SSD Full size Mini Card with SATA interface)
Built-in Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Built-in 2.0M Digital Video Camera


Switching to a NVIDIA® Quadro® K3000M with 2GB GDDR5 adds $550 to the cost

You can have both a HD and SSD in these buggers and even a 3rd HD if ya yank the optical. I use the 750 GB Momentus drives in our lappies.

The 17" model is just $48 more.

 

[viktre]

Ok, what if I were to take out some of the programs?

Removed:

Solid/ Fluid Analysis: Pro/E, SolidEdge, I.D.E.A.S, ANSYS, Fluent, etc.

Rendering: Alias, etc.

Retained:

1. 3D Modelling: Pro/E, CATIA, SolidEdge, AutoCAD etc.

2. Assembly: Pro/E, CATIA, SolidEdge etc.

3. Simulation: Kinematic: Mechanisms on Pro/E, SolidEdge, etc.

Program: Matlab, C, etc.

4. Rendering: Corel Painter, Sketchbook Pro, PhotoShop.

5. Gaming: FIFA, NBA, COD, Crysis, NFS etc.

See, I don't really think that I would be rendering so much, atleast not excessively. Its not like I will make a truck and then render it so that it looks real. I am concerned with modeling and producing a concept, not presenting it as a photograph.
Corel Painter and Sketchbook, Pro because I am a digital painter/ sketcher (I use a wacom, so I'd like to think that I am serious enough).

Secondly, I tried putting up a a workstation for myself on Dell's website. Building on the new M4700's base model, I added a i7 quad cor cpu, Quadro 2000M gpu ( I dont even know how good this is!), Full HD screen and then it cost me $1600 bucks and I didn't even change the RAM from the original 2GB (sad).

What I am wondering is, won't a Geforce GTX 675m be at par with the 2000M Quadro? Because MSI, Asus are giving such good deals with this card and I can easily manage these in under $1500. Sager gives an even more exceptional option with the AMD Radeon HD 7970M, the only downside being the inavailability of this brand in my country.

Sager also has a Quadro 3000M option for $650 more but that would make it $1900, so I don't think it helps.

And can a Quadro manage the games which I'd like to play in my leisure time, when I just want to chill a bit.

Well can't someone help me assemple a laptop/ mobile workstation.

 

[k1114]

Programs don't make a difference. And rendering is most likely done with the cpu. For modeling the gpu is important for the viewports. No geforce will compare to a quadro in viewport performance but a geforce will be sufficient for working. (I use a 560ti in max and maya.) What about lenovo that I linked to? You are really wanting to get a geforce then just do it. It'll work in those software just fine.

 

[viktre]

Oops, sorry k1114, I missed your link in the end.
I am configuring right now, but I don't know if my config is good.
I intend to use the alptop that I buy for atleast 3-4 years, so I really want to go with the right company and config.
How is thinkpad when put up against the likes of Dell Precision.

 

[viktre]

Description


ThinkPad W530 - 1 Year Depot Warranty


Processor:

Intel Core i7-3610QM Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.30 GHz)


Operating system:

Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)


Operating system language:

Windows 7 Home Premium 64 - English


Display type:

15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) LED Backlit AntiGlare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready


System graphics:

NVIDIA Quadro K2000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory


Total memory:

8 GB DDR3 - 1600MHz (2 DIMM)


Keyboard:

Keyboard Backlit - US English


Pointing device:

UltraNav with Fingerprint Reader


Camera:

720p HD Camera with Microphone


Configuration option:

Primary SATA RAID 0


Hard drive:

Dual RAID HDDs, 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm


Optical device:

RAID via Bay Adapter


System expansion slots:

Express Card Slot & 4-in-1 Card Reader


Battery:

6 Cell Li-Ion TWL 70+


Power cord:

170W Slim AC Adapter - US (2pin)


Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters:

ThinkPad 1x1 b/g/n


Integrated mobile broadband:

Mobile Broadband upgradable


Language pack:

Publication - US English


How does the above look.
I don't want to rue the day I buy my laptop,haha.

Will the Quadro on this suffice?

Will this be > MSI GT60?

Is there any other workstation that'll be a better option?

 

[Alabalcho]

I would go with HP/Dell "workstation-class" laptop. They are called "workstation" for a reason, I suppose. As an "bonus" - most of these carry three-year warranty, instead of one.

Dell: http/www.dell.com/us/business/p/precision-laptops
HP: http/shopping1.hp.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/WW-USSMBPublicStore-Site/en_US/-/USD/ViewStandardCatalog-Browse?CatalogCategoryID=vfoQ7EN5XpgAAAEuPyFCFgH7

 

[k1114]

All of them are called workstations because they have workstation graphic cards, there is no difference in other parts' quality. Lenovo gives an option for up to a 4 year warranty while the others are just 3. The msi gt60 will still be better at gaming since it has a better gaming card.

 

[viktre]

All of them are called workstations because they have workstation graphic cards, there is no difference in other parts' quality. Lenovo gives an option for up to a 4 year warranty while the others are just 3. The msi gt60 will still be better at gaming since it has a better gaming card.

How is the config. that I've posted?
Any recommendations?

 

[viktre]

I was checking out Dell and HP workstations and they overpriced when compared to the thinkpad. Now although on the sheet the hardware seems the same, but these two are still $300- 400 over. HP seems to be even more expensive than Dell.
I assume all of these (with the same configuration- Lenovo, Dell, HP) are of the same calibre and perform similar to one another. So in that case, shouldn't I go for the Lenovo Thinkpad or is the dell equivalent better?
What are the advantages of each?

 

[k1114]

Instead of 2 hdds, you could go with 1 hdd and 1 ssd. Although I'd recommend getting the ssd elsewhere as the ones on the lenovo site are overpriced. There are no advantage/disadvantage performance-wise with the same specs. The extra price on the dell and hp are for the longer warranty. I've also heard bad stuff about lenovo's poor customer service. And I've dealt with hp and dell support with no issues.

 

[mafisometal]

I would say get an ASUS or MSI laptop. They are generally built for performance, something around $800-1200 should be pretty sufficient.

 

[viktre]

Guys after all this discussion, I am only more confused.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of MSI/Asus and a Workstation?

Can I get a detailed answer.

Can't you guys help me configure one and decide!

 

[k1114]

Asus/msi laptops will have gaming cards which will be better at gaming. Workstations have workstation cards which will be better performance in 3d software.

 

[viktre]

Ok, I might just go with the Thinkpad w530. So is the Quadro 2000M card alright?

 

[k1114]

Yes. It's the k2000m, the 2000m was last generation. http/www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-Quadro-K2000M.76893.0.html Here's some benchmarks if you are interested. There's also 670m and other cards you can compare it to. Specviewperf would be the benchmarks for 3d software.

 

[viktre]

oh sorry. One more ques, is there any chance of the thinkpads introducing the k3000m in the series any time soon.

 

[k1114]

No manufacturer is going to say when they will, but wouldn't that put it out of your budget? Also because of it's power usage/higher heat, it would only be found in 17" laptops. Puting it even further out of your budget.