Student in need of powerful laptop.

[hardtail]

Before I explain my situation I would just like to say that I am ignorant towards hardware, I do not know nearly as much as I should. So I am here to get the best advice from professionals.

I have a early 2011 MacBook Pro, (2.2ghz i7, 4gb ram, ati 6750m), running Mudbox, Maya, and soon to be more industry software for school, Nuke, Houdini, etc.

I'm in need of an upgrade, this laptop can't cut it for this type of work. What would be recommended in the laptop department to do this work with reasonable efficiency?

Anyone with experience in this field can you recommend me a decent laptop for doing this sort of work, hi-res sculpting and painting is the real issue for me currently.

The new MacBook Pro's look very appealing with the Retina Display technology, although I am not sure how it will perform with its GPU.

Alternatively, if I choose to get a desktop instead, can you provide some insight on what type of setup for that build as well?

My budget will be around $2500 CAD.

Thanks in advance to anyone who gives their 2 cents.

 

[aatje92]

I would HIGHLY recommend a desktop for this type of work because of the upgradability and performance.

Something like this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ NCIX)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.05 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Corsair Dominator GT 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($264.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Intel 335 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($199.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($90.84 @ Expansys Canada)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($429.99 @ Memory Express)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($149.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $1819.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-06 10:51 EDT-0400)

 

[hardtail]

I would HIGHLY recommend a desktop for this type of work because of the upgradability and performance.

Okay. Can you elaborate on any specific hardware choices?

 

[aoneone]

Get the MSI GT70 0ND 219US.
It's worth about 7000 US Dollars but at that price, you can do anything and pretty much rule the World. And no, I'm not joking~

 

[hardtail]

Get the MSI GT70 0ND 219US.
It's worth about 7000 US Dollars but at that price, you can do anything and pretty much rule the World. And no, I'm not joking~

Seems to be discontinued. Will a workstation GPU be much of a difference for me as a student compared to a high end gaming gpu?

 

[hardtail]

I would HIGHLY recommend a desktop for this type of work because of the upgradability and performance.

Something like this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ NCIX)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.05 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Corsair Dominator GT 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($264.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Intel 335 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($199.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($90.84 @ Expansys Canada)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($429.99 @ Memory Express)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($149.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $1819.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-06 10:51 EDT-0400)

Thanks very much! Question about the GPU you picked, I looked it up on NVIDIA and it says that is a gaming GPU. Will that be okay for rendering or will I need a workstation GPU?

Also, can anyone chime in on laptops for portable workstations?

 

[aatje92]

Yes it will be ok, it still has the same cuda cores as the workstation cards, only a little less for a much cheaper price.