laptop for maya 2008

# 1 20-01-2008 , 05:19 AM

Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2008

Posts: 3

I'm new to maya, and am looking to buy a laptop which will run maya 2008 well, with a budget of up to £2000 (but hopefully more like £1600). I have always used macs, so I was wondering if the macbook pro 15'', with 2.4 Core 2 Duo, and Geforce 8600 GT graphics card will run well? Has anyone tried this? I'd love to go with this option, but I'm worried it's a risk, as some of the older macbookpros seem to have had problems with Maya or been slow in tests.
If not, I was looking at the Dell Precision M6300 Core 2 Duo 2.6ghz, with 4GB memory, and Quadro FX1600 256mb, or the M90 with 2.33Ghz Core 2 Duo, Quadro FX3500 512mb, with 4GB memory. Or maybe the HP8710w with Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz, Quadro FX1600 256mb, and 4GB ram. Has anyone tried the m6300 with maya?
Unfortunately it would need to be a laptop because I work in different places, otherwise I would definately go for a workstation. (I will also use it for Flash, After FX, video work and Photoshop/Illustrator.)
Does anyone have any advice?
thanks very much.

Quote

# 2 20-01-2008 , 05:28 AM

Level 32 pachyderm
Join Date: Dec 2007

Location: England

Posts: 1,859

well my laptop is much less powerful than all of them and it runs it fine

Quote

# 3 20-01-2008 , 05:31 AM

Moderator
Join Date: May 2005

Location: Manchester Uk

Posts: 6,300

Ive got a XPS and it runs maya, AE, prem, really really sweetly, well worth looking into.

"No pressure, no diamonds" Thomas Carlyle

Quote

# 4 20-01-2008 , 06:06 AM

Jr.Who

Guest

Posts: n/a

Since you're using a bunch of design/video software, go with the Mac.

Quote

# 5 20-01-2008 , 06:25 AM

Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2008

Posts: 3

thanks for the swift replies. gster123, which xps did you get?

Quote

# 6 20-01-2008 , 10:23 AM

Subscriber
Join Date: Jan 2007

Location: Frankfurt

Posts: 216

what I tend to believe is that what is important is a nice display resolution so u can actually see your models. user added image

but to be honest I would go for a 17" with 1920res.
ok, they are bigger but its more gentle on the eye if you really wanna work with it.

greets

Quote

# 7 20-01-2008 , 12:42 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2007

Location: Somewhere

Posts: 119

I run maya niecly on a 1.6 GHZ core DOU with an Intergrated graphics card with 1 gig of ram. Now it runs okay like it is smooth no lagging but I am gonna get a nice graphics card for my laptop to render things quicker. Eventually if I get serious into maya I'll get a nice quad core from dell since they make so may computers they are affordable and reliable.

Quote

# 8 20-01-2008 , 06:17 PM

Moderator
Join Date: May 2005

Location: Manchester Uk

Posts: 6,300

I got the M1710, Ive had it for over a year not, no prob' and nice and fast, nice hi res big screen etc.

Incidentaly it was significantly cheaper than the equivilent speced MAC, and at the time you couldnt get a mac with the same graphics card and screen resolution, it runs at 1920 X 1200 so its perfect for HD vid editing, it also came with a 3 year return to base warranty.

I think that hte new version the M1730 comes with dual cards and sits at about £1600

"No pressure, no diamonds" Thomas Carlyle

Quote

# 9 20-01-2008 , 08:35 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2006

Posts: 25

I run Maya 2008 on a previous generation Macbook Pro 15", it works fine. Don't get a 17", that's just ridiculous. If you need a bigger screen, buy an external!

Quote

# 10 20-01-2008 , 08:52 PM

Moderator
Join Date: May 2005

Location: Manchester Uk

Posts: 6,300

Im currently using my laptop with a 17" screen, and i'll be honest theres no way I'd swap it for a 15", its so much better.

"No pressure, no diamonds" Thomas Carlyle

Quote

# 11 20-01-2008 , 09:37 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2008

Posts: 3

Thanks for the replies. Using a 15'' with another display would be good if I was mainly working in one place, but as I move around a lot the external display wouldn't get used much, so the 17'' sounds like it would be better for my eyesight (I have been using a powerbook 12'' for the past 4 years, and I think it's making me even more short-sighted!).

It's good to know the xps 1710 with geforce graphics card worked with Maya, because the maya website only seems to list quadro fx ones as certified. The new generation macbook pros use geforce as well, so hopefully they will work as well as IJke's.

Quote

# 12 23-01-2008 , 04:34 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2005

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Posts: 3,708

Originally posted by gster123
Im currently using my laptop with a 17" screen, and i'll be honest theres no way I'd swap it for a 15", its so much better.

Originally Posted by

yeah - just to back up gster - my laptop has a 17" screen - the bigger the screen the better, especially when you're nudging vertices around.

arran3D

arran3D blog

Quote

# 13 23-01-2008 , 07:01 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2006

Posts: 25

Originally posted by arran
yeah - just to back up gster - my laptop has a 17" screen - the bigger the screen the better, especially when you're nudging vertices around.

Originally Posted by

Well yeah, obviously, but I find a 15" just right. Enough screen estate for using maya, but not too big to use as a portable. In my view 17" is overkill when it comes to a laptop.

It probably comes down to this, how many times will you be using your laptop outside of your house for maya? If a lot, go with a 17", a bigger screen would be better. But if you mostly use maya indoors, get a 15" and a cheapish 19-24" tft.

It's also a financial question, you could save about $700, but honestly, if I had the cash I'd buy a 17", just because they're sexy.

Quote