Need a new laptop. Need some help.

[dummy27]

I have an old laptop I got a couple of years (i got in 2005 i think). Its a Dell Inspiron 1501. A need a new laptop because the one I have now can't do the things I need.

1) What is your budget?

1000$ USD will go a bit higher in price.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
e. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.

USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

ANY

5) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?

Mostly using programs for graphic design (photoshop)alot, playing some games (very little gaming), Microsoft office (a lot), 2d animation (a lot), 3d animation (a lot), 3d modeling (a lot).

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

both

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games or types of games?

racing games, shooting games. I would like to play games with settings on high but will them with medium or low settings if needed.

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?

at least 2 1/2 hours

9) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

Id like to see it first. Looking at pictures online is ok.

10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.

Windows or Mac

Screen Specifics

11) From the choices below, what would you prefer?

Unsure. My current 15 in dell inspiron 1501 has a screen resolution of 1280 X 800 and works well for me.

12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?

Either will be good for me. but pefer glossy screen.

Build Quality and Design

13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

yes

14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?

I want it to last a couple of years. 2-4 years

Notebook Components

15) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 500GB? Do you want a SSD drive?

I have a 50 gb hard drive in my dell inspiron 1501 and have a lot of room left. I can get an SSD if it doesnt go over my budget. Id like 120 gb hard drive.

16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?
yes, CDRW/DVD-ROM

I will be playing games occasionally, maybe 5 days a week. Will be doing a lot of school work on it and graphic designing and making a lot of animation.
Does screen resolution affect how detailed something is? Like would 1280 X 800 have an HD screen? Cause I want a laptop with HD screen.

[Johnny T]

HD is considered as anything 720p and beyond. Which means WXGA is what the public would consider as HD. What 3D modelling software will you be using?

[dummy27]

Thanks for your reply. Ill be using 3ds max and blender.

[Johnny T]

Hmm from what i can see on the blender site, it says it will work best with an OpenGL GPU, but with your budget you'd have to look towards older notebooks for that. How serious will your work be in blender? 3DSmax is fine as it works in directX GPUs (gaming GPUs).

[chris-m]

I'm no expert on this subject, but since NBR folks have been really helpful with my own question, let me take a shot at being helpful, myself...

If the OP explains his situation to Dell, they might be able to extend the standard 7% academic discount to the Precision 2400. That would bring it to somewhere around $1100, which is probably the best bet for the OP. I don't know of a less expensive notebook out there with NVIDIA's Quadro FX 370 (seems to be the entry-level dedicated memory GPU for OpenGL).

Failing that, the good ol' x4500MHDs that come standard on Dell Latitudes are OpenGL capable, and I know DEll is happy to give academic discounts on those...

Good luck!

[Johnny T]

There is no point in the FX370 which is 9300GS based. Too Weak, might as well just get a notebook with a mid range GPU. If his blender usage isnt intensive, then a consumer GPU will get by.

[chris-m]

Thanks for the correction - I don't want to lead anyone astray!

Sounds like the Quadro 770 is ideal. Copied from Notebookcheck.net:

The GPU chip of the Quadro FX770M is based on the GeForce 9600M GT consumer card for notebooks. Therefore, the Quadro has the same features (like the PureVideo HD video-processor) as the 9600M GT.

The performance of the card should be compareable to the 9600M GT. Still some games may run slower, as the drivers are optimized for applications and OpenGL. Especially the OpenGL performance is way better than with an 9600M GT. The Cinebench R10 OpenGL test shows up to twize the performance with a FX 770M compared to a GeForce 9600M GT.

Maybe the OP can stretch up to the Precision M4400 (starts at 1228 before discounts) with that gpu? (And no, I don't work on commission for Dell )

This is assuming a "work first games second" priority and a real need for workstation gpu. If it's really the other way 'round, then, yeah, go with a consumer card

[dummy27]

I wont be using blender or 3ds max a lot. Ill be mostly using photoshop. Blender runs well on the laptop i have now, but not 3ds max and probably not be using it much because blender can do what 3ds Max (atleast what I need to do). Main use for blender is for animation. But as I said I be using photoshop most of all. Another program Ill be using is Endorphin a 3d animation program than can run on almost any computer. I dont think Im going to play games on it anyway, since I got a new gaming system for my birthday. So dont really need a gaming laptop. But I like to play those flash games that you can play online. I can go above my budget, but not too much. Maybe $1400 or $1500.

[Johnny T]

I would go with a Thinkpad T500 with HD3650, CAD softwares use CPU to do the rendering anyway as you might already know. The GPu aids view point performance. Core 2 Duo CPUs are very fast nowadays.

[dummy27]

The only thing I dont like about that laptop is the way it looks. It doesnt have the "personlized" look to it. Also looks kind of bulky and heavy. But if it has really good performance then I guess that its worth it.