I am looking at an acer laptop model 15" screen with specs:
AMD Turion 64-bit processor ( runs at 2 GHz clock speed to P4 3.2 GHz)
1 G 400 MHz pc3200 DDR RAM
128 MB ATI Radeon x700 graphics card
will this card cause me problems with openGL in rhino and maya?
if so, any advice on alternatives or solutions?
thanks, this will be my very first windows pc (yes I'm a pc virgin) after years of devotion to apple. it hurts, so be gentle...
Cyn, the setup you list is very similar to mine -- I have the 5200 card, and I have no problems in Maya or Rhino (or any other programs for that matter).
The AMD processor is super-fast, actually -- for many applications it's faster than dual P4's, and for some, faster than dual 2.5 G5's. You'll be happy.
The only thing I'd say might be different (your system compared to mine) is that your's is a laptop, and so your fans may have to work harder to get rid of the heat.
oh is that what it's called? i just thought the red stripes on the sides were so pretty...
what's this about the processor needing more attention? i thought the article was great but basically positive--64-bit is a good thing in terms of future viability right?
yes .. but read the whole article...in some instances the processors gets warmer than its intel counterpart...and AMDs do tend to run hotter in general...
but its pretty darn good....and thats why im arguing in my mind whether to go with it or not...
Yeah, mine's an athlon. Don't know what the other differences might be, aside from what I stated above -- heat-wise.
Honestly, aside from some rare times when rendering an animation, I never even hear the fan (but then mine's a desktop and there's lots more space inside for the heat to dissipate).
Cyn -- yes, modeling, rendering, heavy photoshopping...I do them all, and the computer never chokes.
Pentium M runs cooler and uses less power, so battery life is likely to be worse than a comparable intel system, which would perform better. (see SOD's link)
Comparing desktops to laptops is idiotic. please stop.
x700 is a fairly recent card, performance will likely be acceptable, however nowhere near a workstation level card (quadro or firegl). If you don't do massively complex models and/or don't want/need perks like Hardware line AA (makes complex cad drawings easier to read), it'll be fine.
if you multi-task alot (ie. photoshop/illustrator/indesign/cad and 3d max all open at the same time), get more ram.
would i be able to swap out for the firegl or quadro card later on, given the fact that this is a mid-weight laptop and those are workstation cards?
as far as the laptop goes, would a cheaper model basically do the same thing for me...thinking maybe a toshiba satellite m45 or fujitsu amilo? or the acer Aspire AS5002LMi-XPP NoteBook (Turion 64 AMD ML-30(1.6GHz) 15.0" XGA 512MB DDR333 80GB DVD±R/RW SiS Mirage 2) which is half the price...
some (very few) laptops have upgradeable graphics cards, but I think even fewer (or none) offer the workstation equivalents as one of the options. I would call accer if that is a concern to you. I kinda doubt that's an option, however. There are workstation notebooks the same size or smaller as that accer (IBM t42p comes to mind).
the other possibility is software moding. I don't know if the x700 is moddable, and it may void your warranty, but here's a reference you could read through:
as far as a cheaper laptop, that's up to you, but I will say that you often get what you pay for with laptops, and that laptop quality across the board has been on the decline (as competition increases more and more corners are being cut)
Dual core intel laptops are ~6 months away (yonah, followed by merom in about a year)
for these new age intel centrino/amd turion type processors, i would choose the latest possible processors. for instance you mention the 1.6 ghz turion. I assure you it will be much slower than the 2.0, just because with each iteration of mobile processors, the technology is leapfrogging. you might pay about 300$ now, but will thank yourself later.
minor differences in speed dont matter much for older processors, like p4s, but for these new ones, they mean much more than just the clock speed.
Sep 11, 05 5:08 pm ·
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laptop/graphics card advice/critique needed...
any advice?
I am looking at an acer laptop model 15" screen with specs:
AMD Turion 64-bit processor ( runs at 2 GHz clock speed to P4 3.2 GHz)
1 G 400 MHz pc3200 DDR RAM
128 MB ATI Radeon x700 graphics card
will this card cause me problems with openGL in rhino and maya?
if so, any advice on alternatives or solutions?
thanks, this will be my very first windows pc (yes I'm a pc virgin) after years of devotion to apple. it hurts, so be gentle...
Cyn, the setup you list is very similar to mine -- I have the 5200 card, and I have no problems in Maya or Rhino (or any other programs for that matter).
The AMD processor is super-fast, actually -- for many applications it's faster than dual P4's, and for some, faster than dual 2.5 G5's. You'll be happy.
The only thing I'd say might be different (your system compared to mine) is that your's is a laptop, and so your fans may have to work harder to get rid of the heat.
the graphics card is great...but the Turion processor needs a little more attention here...
check out this review about the CPU and comparisions:
excellent review of the chip
zero, you are talking about workstation processors, this is much different
zero--that's good to hear--
what kind of stuff are you doing with those programs? both modelling and rendering?
cyn are you going for the Acer Ferrari????
can i have one???
i ve been eyeing one for quite a while now
oh is that what it's called? i just thought the red stripes on the sides were so pretty...
what's this about the processor needing more attention? i thought the article was great but basically positive--64-bit is a good thing in terms of future viability right?
yes .. but read the whole article...in some instances the processors gets warmer than its intel counterpart...and AMDs do tend to run hotter in general...
but its pretty darn good....and thats why im arguing in my mind whether to go with it or not...
Yeah, mine's an athlon. Don't know what the other differences might be, aside from what I stated above -- heat-wise.
Honestly, aside from some rare times when rendering an animation, I never even hear the fan (but then mine's a desktop and there's lots more space inside for the heat to dissipate).
Cyn -- yes, modeling, rendering, heavy photoshopping...I do them all, and the computer never chokes.
in short:
Pentium M runs cooler and uses less power, so battery life is likely to be worse than a comparable intel system, which would perform better. (see SOD's link)
Comparing desktops to laptops is idiotic. please stop.
x700 is a fairly recent card, performance will likely be acceptable, however nowhere near a workstation level card (quadro or firegl). If you don't do massively complex models and/or don't want/need perks like Hardware line AA (makes complex cad drawings easier to read), it'll be fine.
if you multi-task alot (ie. photoshop/illustrator/indesign/cad and 3d max all open at the same time), get more ram.
any chance on holding out for Dual-Core for laptops? It would definately be worth the wait.
would i be able to swap out for the firegl or quadro card later on, given the fact that this is a mid-weight laptop and those are workstation cards?
as far as the laptop goes, would a cheaper model basically do the same thing for me...thinking maybe a toshiba satellite m45 or fujitsu amilo? or the acer Aspire AS5002LMi-XPP NoteBook (Turion 64 AMD ML-30(1.6GHz) 15.0" XGA 512MB DDR333 80GB DVD±R/RW SiS Mirage 2) which is half the price...
devicox--do you know when dual-core will be available for the acers?
some (very few) laptops have upgradeable graphics cards, but I think even fewer (or none) offer the workstation equivalents as one of the options. I would call accer if that is a concern to you. I kinda doubt that's an option, however. There are workstation notebooks the same size or smaller as that accer (IBM t42p comes to mind).
the other possibility is software moding. I don't know if the x700 is moddable, and it may void your warranty, but here's a reference you could read through:
Modding
as far as a cheaper laptop, that's up to you, but I will say that you often get what you pay for with laptops, and that laptop quality across the board has been on the decline (as competition increases more and more corners are being cut)
Dual core intel laptops are ~6 months away (yonah, followed by merom in about a year)
not sure when AMD will go dual core on laptops.
cyn,
for these new age intel centrino/amd turion type processors, i would choose the latest possible processors. for instance you mention the 1.6 ghz turion. I assure you it will be much slower than the 2.0, just because with each iteration of mobile processors, the technology is leapfrogging. you might pay about 300$ now, but will thank yourself later.
minor differences in speed dont matter much for older processors, like p4s, but for these new ones, they mean much more than just the clock speed.
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