Future Notebook for 3D Work

Hmm, this guy's two steps ahead of me lol. Definitaly too confusing.

I, too, was also considering buying the m1330 for game development (C++ programming), 3d modelling, animation, rendering (Carrara Pro) and video editing (Sony Vegas & After Effects).

I understand that the majority of my needs are handled by the CPU/RAM and the GPU is only used for playback, and possibly modelling, as I also won't be doing much gaming (or making the next Crysis).

However I have decided to wait for the Montevina/Centrino 2 refresh, with the X4500HD integrated gpu, before purchasing it. Or I might just wait altogether for Westmere (Nehelam) and the Calpella chipset. I don't want to buy a dedicated gpu even if Dell upgrades it to a Geforce 9 series as I hear they overheat alot.

It's either that or I forget about getting a notebook and instead purchase the Asus Essentio CS5110 (when/if it's finally released) desktop along with the BenQ V2400W 24" LCD monitor (yes I know it's a TN panel - was gonna buy it anyway for dual monitoring ). I won't mention the peripherals lol.

Thoughts? And does anyone know when the refresh will occur, even if it's only for the enthusiast XPS line? Ideastorm is useless when it comes to feedback.

 

no idea... Dell's very quiet about this one, or they're not releasing anything....

my advice: choose a date when u definitely need a machine.... subtract maybe 4 weeks for building/delivery/DOA... keep looking for a deal and bite on one before that date...

technology always advances, goes cheaper and cheaper every few weeks.... as u've said, now u'll be waiting for montevina.... then waiting for Nehalem, then Capella, then Sandy Bridge... then what? a 10-core processor on a laptop that's 10x faster than what we have now?

 

Nope, but I could do with a 16-core which is 8x faster j/k. The latest i'm ever gonna wait up until is Nehalem as that is when everything I will need will be in mobile form on the Calpella (45/32nm) platform. I just hate waiting though. :/

I think i'll go with the Asus and do my work on that until late 2009 when I can get the best 13" notebook available. I'm on a tight budget (< ₤1500) as I don't want to dish out on anything if it won't last me more than a couple of years. But even that hasn't got a release date.

Thanks for the advice. So is Dell gonna implement this anytime soon? It's what stopped me from buying it the first time round (that and the fact most of the options available in the US weren't in Europe).

 

Ehhh Asus.... well, good luck with that. Dell might do that once they launch their new montevina refreshes, though you might be waiting for a month or two. Probably till October. Late August or September at the earliest.

 

For the c++ dev a 1330 would be more then enough for that, heck I still do some dev stuff on an old single core laptop with great aplomb. But the 3d rendering it will probly be lacking a little. But then again the only 3d rendering Ive done is Autodesk MEP/abs which taxes the 7950GTX + 3.0GHz 45nm 1333 FSB workstations we have here.

 

Taxing for 7950GTX? Wow....

 

Yeah autocad MEP with a 1.25 million square foot building in full 3d can really tax a system. The loading, rendering and models take a hefty toll on hardware.

 

Huh!? What's wrong with Asus? I know they take forever getting their products out (XG Station) but still. I've never bought anything from them so can you clarify please?

Isn't the rendering mainly CPU based? I'm a beginner so I won't be modelling skyscrapers. It's more for film making. In fact, I might go with the new 13" Fujitsu with AMD/ATIs XGP. But i'm gonna wait and see what Dell comes up with first.

I know the Celeron CPUs perform around 20% more efficiently than the equivalent AMD processor, but AMD dominates in the IGP arena. Not sure if it's worth the compromise though. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! My head hurts...