video card for uses other than games

I've long been disappointed that the great proportion of reviews focus solely on gaming performance from a video card perspective. Sometimes things like 3D rendering and film editing are mentioned but they are rarely explored in depth, and the consensus is, if you game, get a dedicated card, if not, internal is fine if need be. If you have needs beyond 3D rendering then you will never find anything. I could use some input and contrasting opinions.

This is what I want to be able to do on my new machine, from a visuals standpoint:

- Take the laptop to clubs, parties, festivals, etc for live performance. While generating audio through the special sound card, the ability to plug into a master video system or projector with sound programs like Reason, Traktor and Audition/Cool Edit running. How much is video memory important for this sort of live visuals thing? Could I get by with a souped-up z63a and 1GB+ RAM?

- Create said visuals on laptop

- 3D landscapes for films and music videos

- Basic animation

- Film and music video visual editing

- Graphic & website design, tons of PHP programming, some Flash

- Play the occasional game, including the hypothetical Doom 4 when it's released.

- Must be 14" or 15" widescreen for portability

I'm also disappointed there isn't a z63v - where you can take a z63a and add an x600, like the w3v, but a built-on version. The price difference between the two is crazy.

For the record my preferences are the w3v and z70va.

Cheers.

 

Good comment.... that's what I'm here for....... the graphics cards in these systems can handle all the graphics editing stuff you could ever want to do... and do it well. I do a lot of 3ds Max, photoshop, premier, etc..... and I do it on a W3v most of the time.

You can be disappointed there isn't a customized W3v, which is basically what you're asking for...... but it's not hard to realize that Asus is trying to keep two different lines seperate. If you really want to customize a W3v and keep your warranty..... upgrading ram yourself is not a problem at all...... and if you want another hard drive, using the stock drive as external storage or something like that will at least make use of it........ It's the best way to go. If you want on the go editing, the W3v can't be beat and you'd still be able to game quite a bit on it. Doom 4 on the other hand is going to need a LOT of power from what I've seen... I don't even think the 128mb x700's are going to be enough to run that game.

 

thanks for the info... the live performance thing is the key. Doom 4, I guess then it won't make much difference if it's a x600 or an x700 because neither will be sufficient. Its a good game to use in terms of benchmark futures.

I should have mentioned I intend to have an Edirol PCR-30 MIDI keyboard controller plugged into a USB port, which has V-link video capabilities.

I also heard today Asus' new models are unfortunately going to keep the w3v price stable and introduce a higher powered V6Va. Any details on their other new models coming up? A new Turion 64 14" or 15" perhaps?

 

I do, but I'm under an NDA for most everything that isn't going to be around in the next 30 days or so. There's nothing that's going to lower the price of any current model this year. A V6va *may* come out w/ a 128mb x700, but it would come out at a higher cost (maybe $200 depending on what changes their are).... this would keep everything else stable as their prices are very competitive as is.

Turion's have to be focused on by AMD before anyone else...... there will be new models at some point. If the last two years are any indication, new AMD models seem to come out after Thanksgiving....... the last two years really don't indicate a trend though. Nothing "exciting" will be coming out anytime soon for Turion... that I can say free and clear.... you're not going to have a v6 or w2 type Turion till Asus knows they will sell.

If you want an idea of performance difference between the 64mb x600 and 128mb x700, I suggest you look at Andrew's W2 review on the main page. He compares the W2 to the V6 he reviewed in the spring. The only thing that doesn't make that totally accurate is that there have been newer drivers released for the V6 since it's review...

 

There are some websites that allow you to customize a w3v, however, doing so voids the Asus warranty. In place of this the individual vendors offer their own warranties and of course you end up paying a little more for it.

I got my w3v customzied from www.agearnotebooks.com, it works great and they have good service.

 

I'd read it, but this time looked closer at the stats. From that perspective there is negligible difference between the cards for non-gaming applications, keeping in mind the W2 has a more dominating CPU. That's good to see. It is possibly justifying saving another hundred bucks and opting for the older z70v, gaining from slightly less weight and added battery life.