I'm in the fortunate enough position to have a gift of $3500 to use on a laptop for school, problem is, I'm starting undergrad studios next fall so I'm not exactly sure what to look for. I'd like this laptop to obviously last as long as possible before it's outdated so I'm looking for a very good one. What are some specific models that are around 3000-3500? thanks a lot.
I am not sure how your program is structured, but I did not really need to use a computer for arhchitecture my freshman year. Freshman year was about teaching the fundamentals of design, so you did more hand-crafted things.
If the offer is something that can't be postponed until a later date when a computer is more necessary, I say get the fanciest thing you can lay your hands on.
An architecture student needs a lot of power behind a laptop because of 3-D and rendering programs.
- RAM (at least 512MB, but I would get 1Gig)
- CD-R to back things up
- large screen (you can buy a nice monitor to connect to the laptop)
- laptop lock if you are going to be bringing ti to studio
- video card (64 is the minimum, but I would go 128)
- programs (Does your school network them? Do you have to buy them?)
Since you probably can get all of these things for under $3500 I would also consider buying a nice digital camera, and a large format printer (Epson printer that can print 13 X 19). I would also save some of the money to buy architecture supplies, that becomes expensive andyou will being using those more as a freshman.
If you are looking for PCs, a good place to start is online. Read a lot of reviews about the comuters you are interested in.
trace, i wouldn't say the boxx is the most expensive necesarily. we did a price comparison at my firm before ordering them, and found that at the time (about 2 months ago) a comparable dell was just as much. Nice systems though. I'm typing on it as we speak... and rendering.
oh, and if you are getting a laptop, i would recommend getting an external hardrive with it no matter what. Helps if you want to transfer files, and keeps all your stuff backed up. Besides, a laptop is the easiest computer to steal when left alone, and you don't want to lose your work as well (a raid configuration can't stomp on a thief for you)
Nice. I almost got one, but at the time Dell was substantially cheaper. Guess it just depends.
I just meant it was the most expensive laptop, more than the M60 (and it should be, as the specs are better). When I spec'd it out for what I wanted it came in at over $5k!
Did you have to pay tax? I know with Dell's business models (which you need to get to get their business support, which is worth it) you do have to pay taxes.
That's a pretty big difference at $5k.
we got seven of them at work. now all of us can move from desk to desk when we work on different things, we can take them on site much easier (very cool for taking dimensions on site, cause then you don't have to draw it when you get back), and they are serious renderers. i personally never would go for a laptop though when I can get a desktop with dualprocessors and screens. has anyone else gotten one of these? i'm interested to see what others performance has been like.
how do you guys look after your laptop while bringing it into studio? im bringing one in this year and i'm already really paranoid about it.
i'm going to get a kensington lock but is that enough?
or what kind of things should i do as precaution?
definitely get a dvd burner with it......my entire design6 folder is somewhere around 1.5 gigs (photoshop files mostly). CD's are small compared to 4.7 GB a DVD-R/RW can hold. With that much moeny I would go for the fastest processor, 1 gig ram minimum, and fastest video (256mb radeon I think). Consider getting the Dell M60 with Quadro card if you're goin to use Max or Maya. 17" wide screen would be nice. Dell is having a great deal on inspirons right now.
tman...u need a very easy remedy that a friend gave me (he's into animation and stuff) if ur laptop has overheating issues, just put a small fan blowing some air in the back of it
Kai if u can get stiil a Pentium 4 proccesor at 3.o ghz would be better than with an Pentium M...well thats my opinion, ppl debate on this all the time
The only reason to get a P4 over a the Centrino line is that they are a little cheaper. But the heat on the Toshiba (mentioned by tman) is caused by the P4. If it had a Centrino it wouldn't be a problem.
P4s are only in laptops that aren't going to be moved much or used for long periods of time (like the massive 17 inchers and gaming laptops).
It all just depends on what you will be using it for, but the P4 was never meant to be in a laptop.
Everyone's been mentioning 17" screens...I'm in the market for a laptop myself but I'm kinda a wuss about carrying 10 lbs to school every day. What about getting a smaller laptop and an external monitor to leave in studio? That works just as well, right?
I have a sony with a 16.1 in screen. It is so heavy, esp when you add in the power brick. It's great for 3d and graphics and whatnot, but If I had it to do again, I would trade some of that performance for a lighter load.
Buy a laptop lock. It is about $40. I suggest a combination one. It not only locks to a desk, but will lock your laptop shut in case you don't want people using it. I know Apples have a special fixture on the side of it for these locks, but a PC laptop should have something similar, since they sell these locks at CompUSA, and stores like this.
yeah but Pentium 4 (despite the heating) its also better processor for graphics (3d and 2d) than a centrino...i always think if ur going to pay for technology, get the best u can get at the moment for ur money...
If you're not in the lucky situation to have $3500 to burn on a laptop, what's the minimum you would have to pay these days to get a computer that will not become outdated during a 3.5 year master's program.
Just trying to figure out my budget and how many organs to pawn off.
I just purchased purchased a toshiba satellite m30 (customized) from the website
Pentium M 1.6 ghz
1 GB RAM
60 GB HD (4200 rpm)
64 MB graphics
15.4 1280 x 800 screen
cd rw and dvd burner
wireless stuff
Xp Pro
total price before tax and shipping - $1,700.01.
the pentium M 1.6 is apparently comperable to the Pentium 4 3.04 in terms of performance, but doesn't run nearly as hot.
I was initially interested in the 17" screen, but it doesn't come with the pentium M. (I wanted the pentium M)
I narrowed my choice down to the toshiba and the compaq. But the sept - 04 edition of consumer reports has a whole write up on computers.
the big stat that swayed me was that for laptops, toshiba was the second best behind apple in terms of serious problems. Compaq was second worst in front of gateway.
[i]Everyone's been mentioning 17" screens...I'm in the market for a laptop myself but I'm kinda a wuss about carrying 10 lbs to school every day. What about getting a smaller laptop and an external monitor to leave in studio? That works just as well, right?[/]
I just helped (spec'd it) my mother get a 12" Powerbook. She carries it around her in oversized leather handbag - pretty small. She likes to check her email at Starbucks....Anyway, it's a nice little machine.
how does the m30 compare to the p20? I've heard good things about the 17" p25, but it's simply too big for my tastes, so I think the p20 would work well for me.
The stat has to do with "Repairs and serious problems. The survey is based on laptops purchased between 1999 and 2003 - 57,000 responses to the annual questionnaire.
I've just been doing some additional researching on the Nvidia graphics card (what is in the Toshiba). aliaswavefront's web site says there can be problems with nvidia cards (I forgot specificly) I'm not sure how current this is. It also doesn't appear to rank very high in tests.
Anyone have problems with Nvidia cards and Maya (or any other animation/rendering/3d modelling software?
I was at Best Buy earlier today and checked out the Toshiba Satellite S456. It's a really nice looking machine in terms of design. Specwise, Pentium M 756 processer, 512 RAM, GeForce 5200 64 Mb graphics card, 60 Gb harddrive. Listed price: ~1800.00. Now, if I expanded the memory to 1 Gb, what do you guys think? Good system for architect? Processer, graphics card? It's thinner and less bulkier than the P25, which was geared specifically toward high end multimedia use, and less massive too. Is it generally cheaper buying through a retail store rather than direct from the manufacturer? I know one is generally limited in options when buying from a retailer like Best Buy, but one could always manually add more memory sticks themselves. Is it the same for graphics cards? Can you swap it relatively easily with little hassle?
for a light , quality laptop i would look at the thinkpad t series. the hi res monitor, 14.1 dia, under 5ibs is key for carrying around. i love mine. i just got the standard 256 ram, and ordered another 512 from crucial for 100bucks. it is pretty smoking and doesnt come preinstalled with aol or any other isp bullshit. no crap, just a computer that works, and is light . spent under 2000. my friends with their clunky 15in dells are jealous. got the 64 mb graphics card. t42 fvu
yeah i got the fvu, with the 14.1 it weighs close to a lb less than the 15 in, but it is a definatley a sweet deal. check those "express models" they have, i also found a link to the ibm website where if you use a visa card there is a 5-15% discount off the express mods.
one last thing about those IBM's, sparky you can confirm or disprove this, supposedly they don't get hot on the bottom because the battery is in the back of the machine. This means you can have them on your lap without slowly cooking in your own pant-juices, like with my P4 Dell. My girlfriend has a Pentium M Dell -- although it is not as hot, it still cooks legs.
Nothing puts you in a worse mood than a laptop, siting on your lap gradually making you 20 degrees warmer. It is like being a lobster in a pot -- you don't realize it is happening till it is too late.
yeah the battery is in the back. havent had any probelms with warm lap. one thing i notice which can be good or bad....when i rip music or burn a cd when the computer is runnign on battery power the speed of the drive slows down to conserve battery power. my buddy's toshiba just goes balls out until it drains the battery. I am not sure if this an option to change on the thinkpad, but i think it is, it has a really sufistacated battery meter option.
Toshiba Satellite M30 only comes with 64mb Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200. I didin't see any option to change it. How much can I get a better one for? Preferablly 128mb
All good machines, and good advice, make sure the video mem is dedicated, not shared with the processor. Also, look for 64 bit processor. Will buy you some time with the machine once new op systems come out.
oh, and buy from PCTorque.com. superior customer service link
Sep 3, 04 12:08 pm ·
·
My Toshiba Satellite self-destructed within a year (battery, hard drive w/ all data lost, power source, moniter). Plus, it ran at 90000 degrees, and would just shut off when it got too hot. In fact, Toshiba had a class action lawsuit filed against them for having such a poorly designed machine. I invoked my Visa warranty coverage and used the money to buy a Thinkpad. It is much smaller, faster, cooler, and I am much happier.
good laptop
I'm in the fortunate enough position to have a gift of $3500 to use on a laptop for school, problem is, I'm starting undergrad studios next fall so I'm not exactly sure what to look for. I'd like this laptop to obviously last as long as possible before it's outdated so I'm looking for a very good one. What are some specific models that are around 3000-3500? thanks a lot.
I am not sure how your program is structured, but I did not really need to use a computer for arhchitecture my freshman year. Freshman year was about teaching the fundamentals of design, so you did more hand-crafted things.
If the offer is something that can't be postponed until a later date when a computer is more necessary, I say get the fanciest thing you can lay your hands on.
An architecture student needs a lot of power behind a laptop because of 3-D and rendering programs.
- RAM (at least 512MB, but I would get 1Gig)
- CD-R to back things up
- large screen (you can buy a nice monitor to connect to the laptop)
- laptop lock if you are going to be bringing ti to studio
- video card (64 is the minimum, but I would go 128)
- programs (Does your school network them? Do you have to buy them?)
Since you probably can get all of these things for under $3500 I would also consider buying a nice digital camera, and a large format printer (Epson printer that can print 13 X 19). I would also save some of the money to buy architecture supplies, that becomes expensive andyou will being using those more as a freshman.
If you are looking for PCs, a good place to start is online. Read a lot of reviews about the comuters you are interested in.
Starting Point
this is what my school recommends as a min.
This is the best laptop out there (and the most expensive). It starts at about where you begin, but you can't go wrong with it.
Important spes:
17" screen
DVD R
256 mb video card (the only laptop I've seen with this)
available RAID (again, only one with this option)
For cheaper solutions look at Sony, HP, and Toshiba's 17 inchers
the link: boxxtech
I'd agree about saving the money, though
I can't imagine you'll need much the first year. Unless you already know Max/Maya/FormZ/etc.
trace, i wouldn't say the boxx is the most expensive necesarily. we did a price comparison at my firm before ordering them, and found that at the time (about 2 months ago) a comparable dell was just as much. Nice systems though. I'm typing on it as we speak... and rendering.
oh, and if you are getting a laptop, i would recommend getting an external hardrive with it no matter what. Helps if you want to transfer files, and keeps all your stuff backed up. Besides, a laptop is the easiest computer to steal when left alone, and you don't want to lose your work as well (a raid configuration can't stomp on a thief for you)
Nice. I almost got one, but at the time Dell was substantially cheaper. Guess it just depends.
I just meant it was the most expensive laptop, more than the M60 (and it should be, as the specs are better). When I spec'd it out for what I wanted it came in at over $5k!
Did you get the laptop?
Did you have to pay tax? I know with Dell's business models (which you need to get to get their business support, which is worth it) you do have to pay taxes.
That's a pretty big difference at $5k.
we got seven of them at work. now all of us can move from desk to desk when we work on different things, we can take them on site much easier (very cool for taking dimensions on site, cause then you don't have to draw it when you get back), and they are serious renderers. i personally never would go for a laptop though when I can get a desktop with dualprocessors and screens. has anyone else gotten one of these? i'm interested to see what others performance has been like.
to be honest, i don't think we paid tax, and at 5k taxes take away options
What ever you do don't by a Sony PGV series. It sucks.
Toshiba are pretty sturdy, Dell cheap and Apples are great, though really warm.
how do you guys look after your laptop while bringing it into studio? im bringing one in this year and i'm already really paranoid about it.
i'm going to get a kensington lock but is that enough?
or what kind of things should i do as precaution?
I got the toshiba 17" widescreen, it's been working great so far, but has overheating issues sometimes.
definitely get a dvd burner with it......my entire design6 folder is somewhere around 1.5 gigs (photoshop files mostly). CD's are small compared to 4.7 GB a DVD-R/RW can hold. With that much moeny I would go for the fastest processor, 1 gig ram minimum, and fastest video (256mb radeon I think). Consider getting the Dell M60 with Quadro card if you're goin to use Max or Maya. 17" wide screen would be nice. Dell is having a great deal on inspirons right now.
tman...u need a very easy remedy that a friend gave me (he's into animation and stuff) if ur laptop has overheating issues, just put a small fan blowing some air in the back of it
Kai if u can get stiil a Pentium 4 proccesor at 3.o ghz would be better than with an Pentium M...well thats my opinion, ppl debate on this all the time
The only reason to get a P4 over a the Centrino line is that they are a little cheaper. But the heat on the Toshiba (mentioned by tman) is caused by the P4. If it had a Centrino it wouldn't be a problem.
P4s are only in laptops that aren't going to be moved much or used for long periods of time (like the massive 17 inchers and gaming laptops).
It all just depends on what you will be using it for, but the P4 was never meant to be in a laptop.
Everyone's been mentioning 17" screens...I'm in the market for a laptop myself but I'm kinda a wuss about carrying 10 lbs to school every day. What about getting a smaller laptop and an external monitor to leave in studio? That works just as well, right?
I have a sony with a 16.1 in screen. It is so heavy, esp when you add in the power brick. It's great for 3d and graphics and whatnot, but If I had it to do again, I would trade some of that performance for a lighter load.
.dwg,
Buy a laptop lock. It is about $40. I suggest a combination one. It not only locks to a desk, but will lock your laptop shut in case you don't want people using it. I know Apples have a special fixture on the side of it for these locks, but a PC laptop should have something similar, since they sell these locks at CompUSA, and stores like this.
yeah but Pentium 4 (despite the heating) its also better processor for graphics (3d and 2d) than a centrino...i always think if ur going to pay for technology, get the best u can get at the moment for ur money...
If you're not in the lucky situation to have $3500 to burn on a laptop, what's the minimum you would have to pay these days to get a computer that will not become outdated during a 3.5 year master's program.
Just trying to figure out my budget and how many organs to pawn off.
round 2,000 dllrs i think
p IV or M
512 RAM
40 hard drive
NVIDIa VIDEO CARD (64 mb)
cd burner
u can get that configuration easily for 2,000 dllrs, even with HP or Toshiba or some of those
Thanks. That's helpful. Is the brand of the video card important?
go for a geforce, in the long run they have better professional performance for 3d performance than an ATI.
I just purchased purchased a toshiba satellite m30 (customized) from the website
Pentium M 1.6 ghz
1 GB RAM
60 GB HD (4200 rpm)
64 MB graphics
15.4 1280 x 800 screen
cd rw and dvd burner
wireless stuff
Xp Pro
total price before tax and shipping - $1,700.01.
the pentium M 1.6 is apparently comperable to the Pentium 4 3.04 in terms of performance, but doesn't run nearly as hot.
I was initially interested in the 17" screen, but it doesn't come with the pentium M. (I wanted the pentium M)
I narrowed my choice down to the toshiba and the compaq. But the sept - 04 edition of consumer reports has a whole write up on computers.
the big stat that swayed me was that for laptops, toshiba was the second best behind apple in terms of serious problems. Compaq was second worst in front of gateway.
Beane:
[i]Everyone's been mentioning 17" screens...I'm in the market for a laptop myself but I'm kinda a wuss about carrying 10 lbs to school every day. What about getting a smaller laptop and an external monitor to leave in studio? That works just as well, right?[/]
I just helped (spec'd it) my mother get a 12" Powerbook. She carries it around her in oversized leather handbag - pretty small. She likes to check her email at Starbucks....Anyway, it's a nice little machine.
gog,
i'm running on a compaq. what's going to happen to it if it's considered second worst?
gog -
how does the m30 compare to the p20? I've heard good things about the 17" p25, but it's simply too big for my tastes, so I think the p20 would work well for me.
The stat has to do with "Repairs and serious problems. The survey is based on laptops purchased between 1999 and 2003 - 57,000 responses to the annual questionnaire.
I've just been doing some additional researching on the Nvidia graphics card (what is in the Toshiba). aliaswavefront's web site says there can be problems with nvidia cards (I forgot specificly) I'm not sure how current this is. It also doesn't appear to rank very high in tests.
Anyone have problems with Nvidia cards and Maya (or any other animation/rendering/3d modelling software?
I was at Best Buy earlier today and checked out the Toshiba Satellite S456. It's a really nice looking machine in terms of design. Specwise, Pentium M 756 processer, 512 RAM, GeForce 5200 64 Mb graphics card, 60 Gb harddrive. Listed price: ~1800.00. Now, if I expanded the memory to 1 Gb, what do you guys think? Good system for architect? Processer, graphics card? It's thinner and less bulkier than the P25, which was geared specifically toward high end multimedia use, and less massive too. Is it generally cheaper buying through a retail store rather than direct from the manufacturer? I know one is generally limited in options when buying from a retailer like Best Buy, but one could always manually add more memory sticks themselves. Is it the same for graphics cards? Can you swap it relatively easily with little hassle?
I meant the Satellite M35-S456. I guess that's what you have gog. Where did you purchase it for $1700? Is it working well for you?
Toshibadirect.com is now having a sale - 10% off all custom-configured laptops. I just received the M200 (Tablet PC) a few days ago and LOVE it!
for a light , quality laptop i would look at the thinkpad t series. the hi res monitor, 14.1 dia, under 5ibs is key for carrying around. i love mine. i just got the standard 256 ram, and ordered another 512 from crucial for 100bucks. it is pretty smoking and doesnt come preinstalled with aol or any other isp bullshit. no crap, just a computer that works, and is light . spent under 2000. my friends with their clunky 15in dells are jealous. got the 64 mb graphics card. t42 fvu
sparky, I'm hearing you. I've got one of those heavy Dells, and I want an IBM. As far as I can tell, it is all about the IBM T42p.
Specifically the IBM Thinkpad T42P 2373KXU
128 mb video card. 15 inch uxga screen. 1gig ram. 4.5 lbs. high speed 60 gig HD. 5 hr battery.
Magnesium case -- and a keyboard straight off one of those badass IBM typewriters.
If you look around on the internet, you can get it for $3600
yeah i got the fvu, with the 14.1 it weighs close to a lb less than the 15 in, but it is a definatley a sweet deal. check those "express models" they have, i also found a link to the ibm website where if you use a visa card there is a 5-15% discount off the express mods.
one last thing about those IBM's, sparky you can confirm or disprove this, supposedly they don't get hot on the bottom because the battery is in the back of the machine. This means you can have them on your lap without slowly cooking in your own pant-juices, like with my P4 Dell. My girlfriend has a Pentium M Dell -- although it is not as hot, it still cooks legs.
Nothing puts you in a worse mood than a laptop, siting on your lap gradually making you 20 degrees warmer. It is like being a lobster in a pot -- you don't realize it is happening till it is too late.
yeah the battery is in the back. havent had any probelms with warm lap. one thing i notice which can be good or bad....when i rip music or burn a cd when the computer is runnign on battery power the speed of the drive slows down to conserve battery power. my buddy's toshiba just goes balls out until it drains the battery. I am not sure if this an option to change on the thinkpad, but i think it is, it has a really sufistacated battery meter option.
Toshiba Satellite M30 only comes with 64mb Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200. I didin't see any option to change it. How much can I get a better one for? Preferablly 128mb
What about IBM thinkpads? What do you think of those?
All good machines, and good advice, make sure the video mem is dedicated, not shared with the processor. Also, look for 64 bit processor. Will buy you some time with the machine once new op systems come out.
Also, blazingly fast!
emachines have some really strong laptops.
might i mention Sager notebooks....link
check out notebookforums.com link for all your questions. there are some dedicated folks there.
i'm sold on the 3790 for all my needs.
oh, and buy from PCTorque.com. superior customer service link
My Toshiba Satellite self-destructed within a year (battery, hard drive w/ all data lost, power source, moniter). Plus, it ran at 90000 degrees, and would just shut off when it got too hot. In fact, Toshiba had a class action lawsuit filed against them for having such a poorly designed machine. I invoked my Visa warranty coverage and used the money to buy a Thinkpad. It is much smaller, faster, cooler, and I am much happier.
don't buy alienware
tech support sucks
you dont want to know
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