Hi guys, hope this is posted in the right place!

I am looking to get a new laptop for using 3ds Max, Unity, Photoshop, possibly Mudbox.

I have a workstation PC at home so I will not need to be doing any rendering or really intensive tasks. Its just for modelling, animating and game development related activities.

I have researched like mad (like i do for everything!) but I would like some opinions on laptops that you use or have used for these tasks?

I find getting opinions from personal experience to be the best way to find out what is going to work

I like the look of this Lenovo z710, so this price range is around what I'm looking at. I am completely open to suggestions however, what has worked for you? Something cheaper maybe?! I don't need it to be an absolute beast so I have pulled myself away from more expensive models like the Dell precision series, with a decent PCat home it just doesn't seem worth spending loads on a laptop unless I really need to.

Lenovo are also releasing a new flex laptop soon that I thought could be fun. It can come with 16GB of ram and a 256 SSD. The drawback with it is the i7-4510u dual core processor. Has anyone got or used a similar dual-core processor with good results in the software I mentioned? I have only really worked on 3ds Max etc a lot on my PC at home so I don't really know how low I can go with components while keeping good performance.

I'm not worried about the weight of the laptop and would like at least a 15.6 inch screen.

Soooooo what are you all rocking on your laps for work?

Thanks!

I had an 18.4" Acer few years ago and point is no laptop can give comfort and speed of desktop, so if I were you, I'd not even have a 17.3" bulky one.

Most 3D Modelers keep ignoring but considering its about having an visual output , I'd look for IPS screen which narrows list (afaik) to Asus N550 series having IPS laptop.

I had an 18.4" Acer few years ago and point is no laptop can give comfort and speed of desktop, so if I were you, I'd not even have a 17.3" bulky one.

Most 3D Modelers keep ignoring but considering its about having an visual output , I'd look for IPS screen which narrows list (afaik) to Asus N550 series having IPS laptop.

Yeah that's a fair comment thanks, I hadn't stumbled across that series yet, there are some models with decent specs about as well, cheers! You ever bought a refurbished laptop? I suppose if it is done by the manufacturer and the warranty is long enough you can't really go wrong, not always worth the small price drop sometimes though by the looks of it.

I see what you are saying about the bulky-ness of a bigger laptop, it does make sense to just go with comfort and enough performance to see me by, anything major will just be done on the desktop. Hopefully I'll see what other people have managed to get by on and be able to get something a little more convenient :)

I'd choose a real SSD over an SSHD any day. Unless you absolutely need the extra disk capacity, the performance of an SSHD is still just not there.

Beware of some laptop manufacturers selling large-sized screens but with only 1366x768 resolution: Lenovo did this with a few models last time I looked.

If you don't need to do intensive 3D work on it, Intel integrated graphics are sufficient. They're still not up to par with dedicated graphics (of course) but even something like a HD4400 is still much faster than you'd think: the days of Intel graphics being nothing but a joke are over.

If it has an ALPS touchpad, run away.

I had an 18.4" Acer few years ago and point is no laptop can give comfort and speed of desktop, so if I were you, I'd not even have a 17.3" bulky one.

Most 3D Modelers keep ignoring but considering its about having an visual output , I'd look for IPS screen which narrows list (afaik) to Asus N550 series having IPS laptop.

Yeah that's a fair comment thanks, I hadn't stumbled across that series yet, there are some models with decent specs about as well, cheers! You ever bought a refurbished laptop? I suppose if it is done by the manufacturer and the warranty is long enough you can't really go wrong, not always worth the small price drop sometimes though by the looks of it.

I see what you are saying about the bulky-ness of a bigger laptop, it does make sense to just go with comfort and enough performance to see me by, anything major will just be done on the desktop. Hopefully I'll see what other people have managed to get by on and be able to get something a little more convenient

I even built own laptop (an MSI 17.3 GX700) with ES Intel CPU from barebone

But refurbished ones are a matter of luck imo, I'd try if price is enticing though, for example I'd try this http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-15-6-TOUCHSCREEN-NOTEBOOK-I5-4200U-8GB-750GB-BLACK-Q501LA-BSI5T19-/121433206502?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item1c45fbaee6 offering 1080p IPS touchscreen at this price.

PS : Sister-in-law has an N550JV , I think its very good laptop but as stated above, replacing with SSD or converting ODD is a must.

I'd choose a real SSD over an SSHD any day. Unless you absolutely need the extra disk capacity, the performance of an SSHD is still just not there.

Beware of some laptop manufacturers selling large-sized screens but with only 1366x768 resolution: Lenovo did this with a few models last time I looked.

If you don't need to do intensive 3D work on it, Intel integrated graphics are sufficient. They're still not up to par with dedicated graphics (of course) but even something like a HD4400 is still much faster than you'd think: the days of Intel graphics being nothing but a joke are over.

If it has an ALPS touchpad, run away.

That's great thanks for the advice, I would not need a large amount of storage space so I agree an SSD would be much better. It's just finding a laptop that has an SSD but does not overkill on the other specs. Buying an SSD separately may be a better option I suppose.

Yeah I did notice that with the resolution on some of their models, definitely keeping an eye out for that!

That's good to know about the Intel graphics, I have not used any of the newer ones so I did not know that

I have never liked using the standard pads on laptops let alone the ALPS really so I will be getting a mouse! I'm rarely going to be in a situation where I cannot set up the laptop comfortably so this shouldn't be a problem. Thanks again

I even built own laptop (an MSI 17.3 GX700) with ES Intel CPU from barebone

But refurbished ones are a matter of luck imo, I'd try if price is enticing though, for example I'd try this http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-15-6-TOUCHSCREEN-NOTEBOOK-I5-4200U-8GB-750GB-BLACK-Q501LA-BSI5T19-/121433206502?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item1c45fbaee6 offering 1080p IPS touchscreen at this price.

PS : Sister-in-law has an N550JV , I think its very good laptop but as stated above, replacing with SSD or converting ODD is a must.

Yeah that is something I considered, I built my desktop but no nothing really about building a laptop. How did you find building it? Was it worth it price-wise?

Cool thanks for the link, need to have a good search for refurbs on ebay, only had a brief look this morning. You seem to have much better refurb deals over there in the US. I'm in UK btw, sorry should have said! That is a good example for a price-guide though

Yeah that model was the first that jumped out at me after you mentioned it in the previous post, they do some upgraded models as well that could be ideal.

I typed up a big reply but got a BSOD so this is going to be a little shorter.

- IPS isn't important. What I mean is, it is important, but only for what you ship, so you can cross check your colors on a cheap IPS monitor you plug into your desktop. Trying to find a laptop with an IPS display is going to limit your search and you'll have to pay a premium for it. TO my mind it's really not worth the bother. Just attempt to calibrate it the best you can, get a cheap IPS desktop monitor and cross-check before you ship, and you'll be fine.

- You're a character artist (looks like, from your portfolio), so seems like your main programs will be 3ds/maya and zbrush (and if you're not using zbrush you should be).

- Zbrush doesn't use GPU, its CPU/RAM, and it's 32 bit so RAM doesn't matter after 4GB. CPU is the biggest factor for it, so get the best one you can. 3ds/maya will be using GPU/RAM moreso, so be reasonable but get whatever you can afford here.

- SSD over anything else, to be honest, it's worth it bigtime.

- Get the biggest display you can. In modeling it's just important to see what you're doing.

- Might consider a smaller WACOM for easier use, something like a bamboo you can take with. Beats a mouse for sculpting.

Just my $.02 cents, certainly there will be things more/less important to you than they are to me, but that's where I'm coming from.

I typed up a big reply but got a BSOD so this is going to be a little shorter.

- IPS isn't important. What I mean is, it is important, but only for what you ship, so you can cross check your colors on a cheap IPS monitor you plug into your desktop. Trying to find a laptop with an IPS display is going to limit your search and you'll have to pay a premium for it. TO my mind it's really not worth the bother. Just attempt to calibrate it the best you can, get a cheap IPS desktop monitor and cross-check before you ship, and you'll be fine.

- You're a character artist (looks like, from your portfolio), so seems like your main programs will be 3ds/maya and zbrush (and if you're not using zbrush you should be).

- Zbrush doesn't use GPU, its CPU/RAM, and it's 32 bit so RAM doesn't matter after 4GB. CPU is the biggest factor for it, so get the best one you can. 3ds/maya will be using GPU/RAM moreso, so be reasonable but get whatever you can afford here.

- SSD over anything else, to be honest, it's worth it bigtime.

- Get the biggest display you can. In modeling it's just important to see what you're doing.

- Might consider a smaller WACOM for easier use, something like a bamboo you can take with. Beats a mouse for sculpting.

Just my $.02 cents, certainly there will be things more/less important to you than they are to me, but that's where I'm coming from.

Thanks this is great

That's a fair point with IPS, I can gain access to decent monitors when necessary so it makes sense to save a bit here, I can do some tests and see how things are looking.

Yeah I do a fair bit of character work, most other things I do will also be using the same software you have mentioned. I use Mudbox at the moment for sculpting/texturing. I had it handy to start with so have never tried Zbrush, just got comfortable with Mudbox! You think its worth trying it out then yeah?

That's real handy to know about the CPU/GPU/RAM, I can sacrifice being able to smoothly run Mudbox, I would much rather have the performance in 3Ds Max, so if i end up needing to make cuts then this helps! I do struggle with staying sensible on these things though, just get carried away and spend too much! I agree about a bit display, I'm not worried about how heavy the laptop is or anything and would much rather be comfortable when using it.

Yeah I use a large Wacom on my desktop so this is something I have considered, it all depends on how much sculpting/painting I end up doing while on the laptop. At the moment I'm thinking I can pick and choose what I do when I'm out as there are always plenty of jobs to get on with. But then if I end up needing to leave the desktop rendering for things then I could wish I had it all on the laptop!

Thanks very much for the info, it definitely helps

I use Mudbox at the moment for sculpting/texturing. I had it handy to start with so have never tried Zbrush, just got comfortable with Mudbox! You think its worth trying it out then yeah?

That's real handy to know about the CPU/GPU/RAM, I can sacrifice being able to smoothly run Mudbox, I would much rather have the performance in 3Ds Max, so if i end up needing to make cuts then this helps!

I believe that Mudbox is more like a traditional graphics app, being GPU dependent, so if you're gonna stay with that then you'll definitely need something more GPU focused.

About zbrush.

Honestly, mudbox isn't worth it.

I know people get into these 'its not about the tool its about the artist' arguments and on the surface, it seems like zbrush and mudbox must be at least approaching equal because they do the same general things, but it's not even close. Zbrush has superior tools in every department except texture painting, and specifically the tools for workflow (dynamesh, decimation, zremesher, Insert Mesh Brushes, Surface Tools, Fibermesh, etc.) are just not something that character artists can afford to be without at this point. As for tool vs. artist, it's one thing to say, but time is always a factor in game art, and using the correct tool for the job is important. I can build a robot arm in Mudbox but I can concept out ten of them in zbrush in the same amount of time using the fantastic hard-surface tools, and that leads to a better product.

I know for a lot of people the UI is a huge hurdle to jump and a reason to stay away from zbrush, I was the same way, starting with Mudbox because it was accessible, but the jump isn't that hard, and the payoff is huge.

And for the sake of being balanced: If you're determined to keep mudbox, you'll be fine. Things will be slower, you'll have to buy a couple of other programs like 3dcoat or topogun to help recreate some of the necessary functionality, but there are still a couple big names who use mudbox, like Dan Roarty (crystal dynamics and now Epic I believe), but the switch to zbrush will definitely be worth it if you're willing to put in the time.