suitable laptops
 

im considering getting a new laptop, but i dont really know much about the diiferences between them all. one of the things im thinking of using it for is to put my copy of maya on it. does anyone use maya on a laptop, and if so, what kind of spec should i be looking around for the laptop. i know a good graphics card, good memory, e.t.c, but any specific details? A friend of mine says that laptops generally dont perform aswell as desktops for memory. is there any truth in this? any ideas or suggestions of what i should look out for/avoid?

also, im worried about windows vista. i know ive heard people complain about it. but ive never heard anyone say anything great about it. The copy of maya i have works on my xp system on my desktop. will this work with vista also?

I use a Dell XPS 17" system, runs smooth as. A friend uses a Precision laptop, cant remember the name but its basically an XPS with a qaudro card in.

The thing is with laptops your paying a premium as the technology has to be that bit more efficient when it comes to cooling and size, and therefore performance, but there not too far behind and you get the portability of it as well.

Make sure you get one with a decent GFX card in and at least 2 gig of RAM, then it should hold up to the task no probs.

Have a look to see if people have any problems with the GFX cards prior to getting it, just in case theres some incompatability issues.

Not too sure what your friend means with performance wise, if he means the memory as in the RAM isnt as fast then hes right, pretty much goes back to the point above about size though I bet unless your doing really demanding tasks you wont notice the difference (I dont).

After having a laptop I'd be hard pressed to go back to a desktop in all honisty.

it was a she actually. she said that laptops that run vista, the vista is running off the memory of the laptop, which eats a large chunk of it. And that this is different from how desktop top pcs are set up? didnt mean a lot to me.

Nah, theres no difference to the OS between a laptop and a desktop, what it takes on a desktop its gonna take on a laptop.

ok. so the key thing then i dont understand either is will i be able to transfer software from my xp desktop, to a vista laptop?

i have a asus F3JA its about 2. 5 years old. 2 gig's of ram and an ati mobility readon X1600. it runs maya 2008 ok, I havent put it to the max yet. because am new to modeling, but it works like a dream for now. I'm running XP because I get a rash when i hear vista.

i have a 2 year old laptop and it runs maya fine. 1.5gb ram and geforce 7300 nvidia (128 dedicated + optional 128 integrated) and running XP

dedicated graphics means you have a seperate piece of memory made for graphics, integrated means you use your RAM (effectively you have less ram for all your applications to run, and its also suppose to be slower than dedicated)

1. why are you wanting a laptop?
unless you plan on taking your work with you you can get a desktop that is 3 times better for the same price.
or if you dont have space for a desktop (because you live in an apartment or your room is really crowded/messy/small) or you're concerned about your power bill then you'd get a laptop

keep in mind that laptops have a small screen resolution so they can't display as much as an proper monitor. not that it matters so much with Maya and i think the 15.4" laptops these days are able to see the entire interface

as long as you have the software you used to install to your desktop you'll be able to install to your laptop

Not really if your getting a decent laptop then it will be running a nice hi res, mines 2 and a half years old and its running 1900 X 1200.

here's mine - they give you both vista and xp - i stuck with the latter.

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en...9-3544136.html

mac book pro -2GB preferably 4GB RAM

Complete and utter ripoff.

reliable and optimized --just don't buy RAM from apple

Its way way way too expensive, no option for blue ray, only one option for glossey screens, which aint optimised for graphics display, and has a gimicky no button mouse pad, upgrades are so so overpriced.

Its as reliable as any other notebook, no more or less as its using standard parts in a shiney shell.

your right about the new mac book glossy display which is targeted more towards consumers. Regardless what laptop you choose you'll need a mouse with at least 3 buttons