a tablet pc, or "scribble directly on the screen", is going to limit your options severely. In fact, I didn't know that there were any out yet that have good 3D-ing capabilities. If there are, 'nectors please share.
now that XACTO brought it up, i had been wondering for quite some time, if anyone here or there, or somewhere else, 3d models for architecture with a WACOM, i have couple of friends into animation and they use it extensivelly, and i had been tempted to try it for architecture...mmhh does anyone out there has already tried it for architectural meanings???
I say it would have to be a Tablet not a laptop.
the one with the nvidea graphics card has plenty of 'grunt' even more core solo rocks nothing I can't do with it.
make sure to max out the RAM @ 2 gigs. and get a ArtRage.
on a regular pc I don't even work with out a WACOM
and I am a architect, I find the organic input of tablets a MUST and would never go back to a mouse.
10 gigs of RAM
100 Gb Hard with a 500 built-in back up that has a seperate power
a 19" screen that shrinks down to a 12" to fit nicely into any bag
cool apple white - cause its cool (althought macs still suck chunks)
liquid cooled with a Gb graphics card
and a full sized keypad
haha architechnophilia. Seriously though, do not get the tablet. I work in IT and the boss at the last firm i worked for had one. It's cool, has a novelty factor, but later on, it blows micropen*s.
They should mix up much more the tablets features for artists, architects and animator.
Did anyone actually made the ''connection'' with the Wacom?
I am having a hard time drawing one place and be precise on screen.
Need to do it directly on the ''canevas''...
not that I have much experience with Wacoms, but maybe it needs calibration? A former roommate worked wonders with his Wacom and I know it's a very useful tool with 3d/2d graphic artists. I think it just takes practice.
I'd recommend a 17" Macbook Pro unless you're married to WinOS software like AutoCAD for work. Hold off until October when Leopard is scheduled for release if you can. As for the size, if found the screen quality of the 15" to be very poor at time of purchase, which is why I bought a 17". I haven't had any regrets about that.
As per ususal, do not get extra RAM from Apple. Buy seperately and install yourself.
I use a Wacom tablet with this, and it's a great combo, but Wacom's are pricey. Maybe go for the lower range or XTrust if you don't need all the customizable buttons.
Gotan - not sure what the problem you're referring to is, but you if you have money to burn get a Cintiq. People I know that use them rave about them.
If you're having a problem with the cursor being wobbly it can sometimes be caused by interference from another electrical source, like a large CRT.
I'd recommend a 17" Macbook Pro unless you're married to WinOS software like AutoCAD for work. Hold off until October when Leopard is scheduled for release if you can. As for the size, if found the screen quality of the 15" to be very poor at time of purchase, which is why I bought a 17". I haven't had any regrets about that.
As per ususal, do not get extra RAM from Apple. Buy separately and install yourself.
I use a Wacom tablet with this, and it's a great combo, but Wacom's are pricey. Maybe go for the lower range or XTrust if you don't need all the customizable buttons.
Gotan - not sure what the problem you're referring to is, but you if you have money to burn get a Cintiq. People I know that use them rave about them.
If you're having a problem with the cursor being wobbly it can sometimes be caused by interference from another electrical source, like a large CRT.
if you're going p.c., i've had great luck with anything toshiba. the one i'm working on right now is an '03 satellite that has been incredible and the one we have at work, newer, is great too. beyond that, i'd let the i.t. folks figure out how to geek it out. the ones with whom we work can come up with performance enhancers that we haven't even imagined yet.
WACOMs are fricken sweet. They've really cut down on my trash paper clutter, and they work wonders when touching up in Photoshop. Its also handy because I can print out my sketches at a ridiculous scale.
I work for a company that sells Tablets. Unless you're doing on site inventory or sitting in lots of meetings where a laptop is discouraged, then I would avoid them. They're not really aimed at the visualization world.
I'm really amazed that the price on the cintiq hasn't come down yet. They were a sort of a good deal at $2500 back when a good 20" lcd would cost you at least $1200 right off the bat.
But now, a good 20" is like $300 and the cintiq is still $2200- $2500.
17" screens i've found impractical on a laptop if you want the laptop for any sort of mobility. totally oversized for most situations. for little coffeeshops, airplanes, and the added heft is just not worth it.
15" is about ideal for workability while maintaining portability.
touchscreens would be nice but they need to find an infrastructural system that works intuitively and precisely enough for architectural needs. i still want my hand waving stuff a la minority report. (concept was done by imaginary forces. they do cool things)
I have a 17". It's a Dell M90 and pretty awesome, but it does weight a ton (add a bag and power cord and it kills ya). Next time I'll listen to people and consider smaller.
I do love that I can get video/3D work done anywhere, though.
Touchscreens will continue to drop in price. You can get a 32" touchscreen for about $3k or so. I doubt it's sensitive enough for cad or 3D, though. Still, that's a huge screen.
i normally vote for the ASUS... but I recently saw the M90s Dell is putting out ("mobile workstations")... they look really solid. Find someone with a Dell discount and max out on the specs.
not cheap but you get first rate service which is critical in time-sensitive situations. i feel dell's service treats everyone as a recreational computer user that can go w/o email for a few days.
ibm got my laptop at 10 in the morning when it broke in taiwan and repaired it by 4pm that same day. tech support didn't ask me dumb questions. they just said they'd take care of it and fixed the problem. awesome.
plus, if you get a smaller laptop (ie 15") you can always get a large LCD monitor in your room and use that at your desk as your monitor. The beauty of that is you can dual display it increasing yoru real estate utilizing both the built in LCD and the extra screen. Man if I could afford one of those 34" cinematic Mac displays... all that real estate... it's like an orgasm packed into a monitor.
Actually, I don't see anyone with Macs at the coffee shops (and I go often, at different times).
The benefit of having the 17" is that you can work from anywhere, not just have a laptop. I've got 24" and bigger machines for when I am not traveling ;-)
They just need to make them lighter. The size is perfect, just the weight ain't so good.
I've always built my own desktops, and last fall I needed to make the jump to using a laptop for my grad program. I was dreading the move and consequently started researching options four months before I even needed to purchase one.
Conclusion 1: Avoid any of the name brand laptops (Dell, HP, Toshiba, Acer, IBM), since all their laptops are designed by other manufactures anyway and you end up paying quite a bit more for what you get.
Conclusion 3: ASUS is one of the few laptop ODMs (original design manufacturer, meaning they supply laptop bodies to other manufacturers) that also sells their own line of laptops. Check this thread for basic information:
I ended up buying an ASUS A8Js last november, a 14" laptop that is still one of the fastest available in that size today. I spent around $1600, and it has a 512mb Geforece 7700 go video card, excellent for 3D rendering. Close performers from IBM/Lenovo or MAC cost well over $2100 at the time.
If budet was less of a concern, today I'd go for ASUS's V1s (15.4") or V2s (14"). Both are business class notebooks with an incredible build quality. The V1s has a WSXGA+ screen, geforce 8600 GT video card, a 2.2ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 160gb HD, and will ship with 2gb of ram for around $1900.
If you don't mind not moving it that often it's okay.
But your first business trip you will feel like carrying your desk around
(cursing yourself at the true meaning of ''desk-top replacement'')
And my HP 17'', these are not actually made for moving, so they are quite fragile. A fuse went off and never completely recovered. Got it replaced with the warrenty.
One of the salesman then told 17'' are bought mostly by first-time laptop buyers...and they don't buy another one again.
I will check out more those Toshiba Satellite Tablet PC more and maybe have them maxed out.
Just depends on what you do on your trip, I think. I go away for weeks at a time, so the use of the large screen is necessary (no way I'd work with Premiere and Max in a 15").
I still think they'd be great if they were 3 lbs lighter.
FYI, the Dell Precision 17" are solid as a rock. Some of the best construction I've seen in a computer.
Dell has some good laptop, especially the M1710 or the XPS 2010. Go check them out.
Intel Duo Core series of CPU are the processors of choice at the moment , and you would need all the power you need for CAD, and for rendering, etc.
Asus on the other hand may not be as powerful as the 2 Dell's mentioned above, but has better and brighter screen on its G2P model and the spec is pretty good.
you'll need a lot of memory , make sure you have at least 2 gb of RAM, plenty of harddisk space like 160 to 200 gb, and biggest screen you can find.
Fujitsu tablets: great to take to meetings and out into the field. Maxed everything. Can do pretty much anything my desktop can (and no, we don't do 3D very much in the office but I run creative suite 3 and autocad on it).
the perfect ARCHITECT'S LAPTOP
Hi,
i will be provided a new laptop by my firm's.
I would like to come up with some good models...
so in you opinion what would be an architect's wet dream laptop?
so far beside handling 3ds and Cadding like a breeze...
i want the Notebook option where you can scribble directly on the screen.
anything else?
if you can give me names, models
cheers!
a tablet pc, or "scribble directly on the screen", is going to limit your options severely. In fact, I didn't know that there were any out yet that have good 3D-ing capabilities. If there are, 'nectors please share.
i would suggest getting a good laptop, and then buying a wacom tablet.
http://www.wacom.com/graphire/6x8.cfm
Sorry, but a Tablet is not the wet dream of a laptop...
If you don't go the apple way, IBM or ASUS would be my choice.
yeah I have a wacom tablet...
it's a bit hard to draw naturally with it....
didn't know taplec pc were not 3d graphics compatible market-wise...
damn
touch screen is the future...
Tablet PCs are mostly business computers. I've never seen one with much grunt, particularly graphic grunt. Toshiba and HP make convertible tablets.
now that XACTO brought it up, i had been wondering for quite some time, if anyone here or there, or somewhere else, 3d models for architecture with a WACOM, i have couple of friends into animation and they use it extensivelly, and i had been tempted to try it for architecture...mmhh does anyone out there has already tried it for architectural meanings???
I say it would have to be a Tablet not a laptop.
the one with the nvidea graphics card has plenty of 'grunt' even more core solo rocks nothing I can't do with it.
make sure to max out the RAM @ 2 gigs. and get a ArtRage.
on a regular pc I don't even work with out a WACOM
and I am a architect, I find the organic input of tablets a MUST and would never go back to a mouse.
touch pad, YUCK
this is by far the best deal and they make a rock solid laptop, provider to Alienware, Vodoo and Asus, but with out the pretty paint
http://www.mtechlaptops.com/
Tablet, dual boot, mac.
10 gigs of RAM
100 Gb Hard with a 500 built-in back up that has a seperate power
a 19" screen that shrinks down to a 12" to fit nicely into any bag
cool apple white - cause its cool (althought macs still suck chunks)
liquid cooled with a Gb graphics card
and a full sized keypad
you said wet dream right?
haha architechnophilia. Seriously though, do not get the tablet. I work in IT and the boss at the last firm i worked for had one. It's cool, has a novelty factor, but later on, it blows micropen*s.
those mtech laptops are waaay overpriced...
mmm...interesting we're getting somewhere...
They should mix up much more the tablets features for artists, architects and animator.
Did anyone actually made the ''connection'' with the Wacom?
I am having a hard time drawing one place and be precise on screen.
Need to do it directly on the ''canevas''...
not that I have much experience with Wacoms, but maybe it needs calibration? A former roommate worked wonders with his Wacom and I know it's a very useful tool with 3d/2d graphic artists. I think it just takes practice.
They should sell WACOM tablet that you just slide unto your regular screen.
17" Macbook Pro.
I'd recommend a 17" Macbook Pro unless you're married to WinOS software like AutoCAD for work. Hold off until October when Leopard is scheduled for release if you can. As for the size, if found the screen quality of the 15" to be very poor at time of purchase, which is why I bought a 17". I haven't had any regrets about that.
As per ususal, do not get extra RAM from Apple. Buy seperately and install yourself.
I use a Wacom tablet with this, and it's a great combo, but Wacom's are pricey. Maybe go for the lower range or XTrust if you don't need all the customizable buttons.
Gotan - not sure what the problem you're referring to is, but you if you have money to burn get a Cintiq. People I know that use them rave about them.
If you're having a problem with the cursor being wobbly it can sometimes be caused by interference from another electrical source, like a large CRT.
17" Macbook Pro.
I'd recommend a 17" Macbook Pro unless you're married to WinOS software like AutoCAD for work. Hold off until October when Leopard is scheduled for release if you can. As for the size, if found the screen quality of the 15" to be very poor at time of purchase, which is why I bought a 17". I haven't had any regrets about that.
As per ususal, do not get extra RAM from Apple. Buy separately and install yourself.
I use a Wacom tablet with this, and it's a great combo, but Wacom's are pricey. Maybe go for the lower range or XTrust if you don't need all the customizable buttons.
Gotan - not sure what the problem you're referring to is, but you if you have money to burn get a Cintiq. People I know that use them rave about them.
If you're having a problem with the cursor being wobbly it can sometimes be caused by interference from another electrical source, like a large CRT.
if you're going p.c., i've had great luck with anything toshiba. the one i'm working on right now is an '03 satellite that has been incredible and the one we have at work, newer, is great too. beyond that, i'd let the i.t. folks figure out how to geek it out. the ones with whom we work can come up with performance enhancers that we haven't even imagined yet.
ya i got my toshiba tablet for 600$ from pricegrabber.com and like i said nothing i can't do on it.
plus the cost of the max ram later...
apple = joke
if you really want to run OSX there is the osx86 project ;)
If you get a Mac, you can run Parallels on it.
it's much better to let them use thier hands and penciels
WACOMs are fricken sweet. They've really cut down on my trash paper clutter, and they work wonders when touching up in Photoshop. Its also handy because I can print out my sketches at a ridiculous scale.
I work for a company that sells Tablets. Unless you're doing on site inventory or sitting in lots of meetings where a laptop is discouraged, then I would avoid them. They're not really aimed at the visualization world.
Wacom does make a screen that you can draw directly on, but it's a couple grand for the screen alone, not in a laptop form yet I'm afraid.
frickin sweet
You're right Gotan, touch is the future, as in not here yet future.
the wacom people have came out and will come out and demo that touch screen monitor for you
touch screen is now haven't you seen that new MS coffee table PC? even with Multi Input (like having 7 mice at 1 time)
I'm really amazed that the price on the cintiq hasn't come down yet. They were a sort of a good deal at $2500 back when a good 20" lcd would cost you at least $1200 right off the bat.
But now, a good 20" is like $300 and the cintiq is still $2200- $2500.
I want one, but they need to get with the times.
17" screens i've found impractical on a laptop if you want the laptop for any sort of mobility. totally oversized for most situations. for little coffeeshops, airplanes, and the added heft is just not worth it.
15" is about ideal for workability while maintaining portability.
touchscreens would be nice but they need to find an infrastructural system that works intuitively and precisely enough for architectural needs. i still want my hand waving stuff a la minority report. (concept was done by imaginary forces. they do cool things)
oh and if you're buying something now. i vote for IBM.
I have a sweet wacom in orange - it sits in my cupboard somewhere collecting dust
I have a 17". It's a Dell M90 and pretty awesome, but it does weight a ton (add a bag and power cord and it kills ya). Next time I'll listen to people and consider smaller.
I do love that I can get video/3D work done anywhere, though.
Touchscreens will continue to drop in price. You can get a 32" touchscreen for about $3k or so. I doubt it's sensitive enough for cad or 3D, though. Still, that's a huge screen.
i normally vote for the ASUS... but I recently saw the M90s Dell is putting out ("mobile workstations")... they look really solid. Find someone with a Dell discount and max out on the specs.
I second the IBMs, but they aren't cheap.
not cheap but you get first rate service which is critical in time-sensitive situations. i feel dell's service treats everyone as a recreational computer user that can go w/o email for a few days.
ibm got my laptop at 10 in the morning when it broke in taiwan and repaired it by 4pm that same day. tech support didn't ask me dumb questions. they just said they'd take care of it and fixed the problem. awesome.
yeah 17'' is often somebody's first laptop...been there...
too big and really feel like a desktop replacement... on your shoulders...!!
now I have a Satelite Toshiba 15'' runs great.
but i want to use an office one...
so I have to come up to the IT guy with my dream MACHINE ;-)
still seem Toshiba is on the A-list.
thought those notebooks were better...
MAC, would love too but won't do...
I need AUTOCAD and 3d Viz.
Have you seen, how every laptop users in little trendy wifi cofeeshops are always MAC users...
either it's conveniently small to carry around or these guyz have no friends.
one of these ? http://computers.pricegrabber.com/tablet-pcs/toshiba/p/534/rd=1/sortby=priceA
Toshiba Satellite Tablet PC
plus, if you get a smaller laptop (ie 15") you can always get a large LCD monitor in your room and use that at your desk as your monitor. The beauty of that is you can dual display it increasing yoru real estate utilizing both the built in LCD and the extra screen. Man if I could afford one of those 34" cinematic Mac displays... all that real estate... it's like an orgasm packed into a monitor.
Actually, I don't see anyone with Macs at the coffee shops (and I go often, at different times).
The benefit of having the 17" is that you can work from anywhere, not just have a laptop. I've got 24" and bigger machines for when I am not traveling ;-)
They just need to make them lighter. The size is perfect, just the weight ain't so good.
i prefer the 4:3 ratio too.
I am not an architect, but i am a student...and I have to say that thru
Hp you get a pretty good,
the HP dv9500t....
2.4 duo core,
4 gigs ram
531 mb Nvidea 8600
160 gig hard drive..
17"inch
is a hell a lot better price then all those other laptops out there.....
you get all these same feature on a mac for over 1200 bucks..except the graphics card which is still a 256 mb Nvidea 8600.....
HP....not Bad...
Works great with CAD,RHino, Revit, and Maxwell......
No Problems here
I've always built my own desktops, and last fall I needed to make the jump to using a laptop for my grad program. I was dreading the move and consequently started researching options four months before I even needed to purchase one.
Conclusion 1: Avoid any of the name brand laptops (Dell, HP, Toshiba, Acer, IBM), since all their laptops are designed by other manufactures anyway and you end up paying quite a bit more for what you get.
Conclusion 2: forum.notebookreview.com is the place to go.
Conclusion 3: ASUS is one of the few laptop ODMs (original design manufacturer, meaning they supply laptop bodies to other manufacturers) that also sells their own line of laptops. Check this thread for basic information:
ASUS Information Booth
I ended up buying an ASUS A8Js last november, a 14" laptop that is still one of the fastest available in that size today. I spent around $1600, and it has a 512mb Geforece 7700 go video card, excellent for 3D rendering. Close performers from IBM/Lenovo or MAC cost well over $2100 at the time.
If budet was less of a concern, today I'd go for ASUS's V1s (15.4") or V2s (14"). Both are business class notebooks with an incredible build quality. The V1s has a WSXGA+ screen, geforce 8600 GT video card, a 2.2ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 160gb HD, and will ship with 2gb of ram for around $1900.
Sweet.
The monitor is to Small
For 2400
I got an Hp with a 531 MB Nvidea
2.4 duo core, 4 Gigs of Ram, 160 gig hard drive, and its a 17" monitor
I also got 4 year full coverage warraanty and lojack...
I say its not a bad deal
I am curious, what is your OS? How are you actually access that 4gbs of ram?
yeah first laptop was a 17''.
If you don't mind not moving it that often it's okay.
But your first business trip you will feel like carrying your desk around
(cursing yourself at the true meaning of ''desk-top replacement'')
And my HP 17'', these are not actually made for moving, so they are quite fragile. A fuse went off and never completely recovered. Got it replaced with the warrenty.
One of the salesman then told 17'' are bought mostly by first-time laptop buyers...and they don't buy another one again.
I will check out more those Toshiba Satellite Tablet PC more and maybe have them maxed out.
I have a Satellite now, it's great for the job.
Just depends on what you do on your trip, I think. I go away for weeks at a time, so the use of the large screen is necessary (no way I'd work with Premiere and Max in a 15").
I still think they'd be great if they were 3 lbs lighter.
FYI, the Dell Precision 17" are solid as a rock. Some of the best construction I've seen in a computer.
Dell has some good laptop, especially the M1710 or the XPS 2010. Go check them out.
Intel Duo Core series of CPU are the processors of choice at the moment , and you would need all the power you need for CAD, and for rendering, etc.
Asus on the other hand may not be as powerful as the 2 Dell's mentioned above, but has better and brighter screen on its G2P model and the spec is pretty good.
you'll need a lot of memory , make sure you have at least 2 gb of RAM, plenty of harddisk space like 160 to 200 gb, and biggest screen you can find.
Fujitsu tablets: great to take to meetings and out into the field. Maxed everything. Can do pretty much anything my desktop can (and no, we don't do 3D very much in the office but I run creative suite 3 and autocad on it).
Forgot to add: All the contractors and clients drool over it because I can call up drawings and edit them on the fly.
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