Graphics for 3D design

Hello,

Im currently looking for a laptop but it needs be capable of running 3D cad design programs (Maya) smoothly and will do in the future ( the next 5 years). I wont play any 3d intesive games. Ive found that the Nvidia Quadro series will probably be best suited for running 3D design. But customer laptops with quadro dont excist as far is i know. And im on a 600-800 euro's budget. 600 could buy you a i5 with 630m.
Would the integrated hd4000 be capable of running Maya or do i need to go for the Nvidia 630m or the 650m? And what about the AMD 7670? And would it be worth it spending the extra bit of money or wont i notice any difference?

please share your thoughts and thanks in advance!

 

An integrated gpu will be capable of running Maya - but I wouldn't expect stellar performance (and especially not over the next 5 years).
Consumer-grade gpu's (gaming gpu's) of Nvidia Kepler variety (most of 6xx series) have their compute performance (OpenCL) severely gimped compared to AMD counterparts (of the new 7xxx series).
In regards to Maya, I'm not sure if it supports GPU assisted rendering (not just confined to the view-ports but rendering scenes/animations as an avi, etc.) - but if its anything like other Autodesk products, its possible it will still be mainly Nvidia oriented (though to my knowledge, Maya should be able to use AMD based OpenCL in rendering, and if that's the case [make sure to check more on that], then I would definitely recommend an AMD mid-range gpu on the 28nm manuf. process - the GCN architecture - seeing how its OpenCL is significantly more powerful than both Nvidia's Fermi and especially Kepler).

My advice would be for you to wait a bit more so you can save up some more money and get a better (consumer grade) gpu.
The 650M would probably do the trick due to CUDA support, but as I said earlier, its compute performance is lower than Fermi, and nowhere near AMD's - which begs the question if AMD OpenCL support was integrated into Maya, or if they are planning to do so).
Get some more research done on what Maya (and other CAD based software supports - I'm mainly using 3dsMax, but I don't have plans for immediate upgrades, and Autodesk was stingy towards AMD OpenCL in the past - they opted to go with CUDA instead).

 

Thanks for the info! So i should pick the 7670 rather than the 650m? The 7670 is cheaper so i save some money to do other things like upgrade RAM or the harddisc. I'd helped me direct my search more to the AMD side I checked on the AMD graphics and there used to be some problem with ATI/Radeon cards in the past but they are mostly solved. Even some of the Nvidia's have trouble running Maya. Autodesk certify's the AMD graphics so i dont think it would be a problem.

800 is my absolute max, i already upgraded my budget from 600 to 800. 7670 or a 650m should both fit into my budget, the 650m pushing it to the top. Im studying and books and stuff cost a lot If i'd spend 945 euro's i'd take the laptop deal at my Uni HP EliteBook 8570w it has the Nvidia Quadro 1000m. But its more than i need and too expensive.

SAMSUNG Series 3 NP355V5C-S01NL 01. Alle laptops bestel online bij Media Markt
this laptop seems intresting with the A10 and the 7670 but im not too sure about samsung notebooks..

Im running Maya now on an 4 years old desktop with Intel Core 2 Q9550 and a seperate graphics card, i dont know how to look up what it is and the computer is custom built. But according to the windows preformance index it got a 7.5 which is higher than the processor at 7.3 so i guess its a good one. Im happy with the preformance of my desktop so i kinda want the same preformance.

 

Actually... the 7670m is an older generation gpu... its on the 40nm process... and I think its around entry mid-range level (less powerful than 650M).
According to some charts, the 7670m IS a much less powerful gpu compared to the 650m (gaming-wise)... but OpenCL-wise however, it might be much better (I'm not sure though - the 650m might break even in this regard).

Its a bit problematic to find OpenCL performance comparison between those cards since most of the industry is testing their gaming capabilities (which is why I'm advising you to wait a bit more and try to find better options/information and save a bit more money in the process).

EDIT:
If you can find a laptop that has the 7770m, it would be a much better fit seeing how that one is a match for 650m in games, and it will most certainly surpass it in OpenCL (plus, its a GCN architecture and 28nm process).

As for GPGPU - I'm not sure if Maya supports that (offloading the rendering process to the gpu - not just the viewports).
Maya also seems to be AMD territory, so viewport-wise, AMD gpu's could work better for it - but for actual rendering... I don't know.

 

i just cant seem to find nice quality laptops who run with AMD cards. Im not sure about the quality of samsung and toshiba..
Would an AMD processor work fine with and Intel processor? Or would it best to match the AMD card with the A10?

 

Seeing how you would be focusing on 3d software... my recommendation would be that you definitely get an Intel CPU with an AMD mid-range gpu (7770m).
Such a combination should exist I think, but I can't advise you as to where to get it.

However... if your budget would prevent you from getting an i5 cpu with an amd gpu... then an A10 with 7770m would probably be a better fit indeed.
The A10 is essentially a equivalent to an i3 from Intel, but 3d graphics-wise, it should serve you well in Maya.
There's also a possibility you could undervolt the A10 (lower its power consumption and heat output) and overclock it at the same time - so the cpu could run faster while consuming less power (and approach i5 in cpu performance) and producing less heat.

 

Dell precision series/HP Elitebooks, with Quadro K3000M/K4000M/K5000M or the AMD Firepro cards

 

I believe you might have skipped the 600-800€ budget limit mate .

 

Oh lol didn`t see that. Yeah nevermind what I said in the previous post

 

haha ive been looking at them too yeah but they are just out of budget. I know they are the best for 3d design but buisness notebooks are very expensive on Holland for some stupid reason. Im now looking to get a gaming notebook. But the 7770 seems impossible to find.. The best i could find for 800 euro's is the 7670 or the 650m. You just seem to find only 7670 or the 7970. Does anyone know what laptops use the 7770 or laptops you can configuere your own with the 7770?

 

Yep, I've checked too and it seems there is no laptop with the 7770M yet :/ . Maybe you could try getting a Fermi nVidia card as those have better compute performance than the Kepler ones supposedly. Last gen stuff is probably cheaper as well.

 

Congratulation OP, you're among the top computer users. Oh, but I'm afraid you've optioned yourself out of the consumer laptop market. Although you likely can work with those lesser and/or integrated cards, the speed and which it renders will make it less than an enjoyable experience.

Your current system is obsolete and you need to upgrade it to catch up to the latest software that can utilized the full potential of today's modern cards. If you intend to live and breath, 3D then Nvidia is where you need to stay--AMD doesn't play 3D.

That will be your life for as long as you continue to do work at the cutting edge of GPU technology. If you can't get it now, I suggest you wait, for a capable system. Like me.

 

I could be getting a W110 or MSI GE60 with the 650m for ~800 euro's. Graphicly wise this is the best laptop i could get for about 800 euro's. And 800 euro's is the max, im a student and there is just a constant flow of expenses like books. And im afraid spending more would be an overkill. I want to run Maya smoothly and want to in the future, Im not expection and dont need top preformance. I think for about 800 euro's i could get a capable system which will run my applications. Im planning to do 3D design, simulation programs but no gaming at all.

Would it be worth the extra 200 euro's to go for the 650m rather than the 630m or the 7670?

 

The MSI GE60 with 650m would be your best option.
Ignoring the gpu for the moment, it comes with an i7 3610qm, is that correct?
If so, then it should be excellent seeing how Maya will rely predominantly on the cpu for rendering - and honestly, next to the RAM (which you can upgrade yourself relatively cheaply later on) that's a bit more important right now.

 

I believe the 650M version of the GE60 comes with an i5. Anyway, I'm on my first year in university and even though we didn't do very complex stuff yet (simple MATLAB only so far), I can't see my laptop not being powerful enough for the tasks in later years either. I think for university you'd be perfectly fine with a 650M, because the worst case scenario is that it takes a few seconds more to load projects or whatever, but as I said unless it's very complex stuff it won't even be noticable.

 

The msi comes with i5 or i7. I'd go for the i5 as the i7 would be an overkill. I'd get the most basic model. But people are very vague about the specs especialy those of the RAM. Lots of sites advert from even 1066Mhz! to 1600mHz. What would the most basic model in Germany have?

I had the same toughts about my machine. I want one that could run all the programs in the next 5 years without much trouble. It wont be indeed very complex stuff of which the most complex 3D Cad and simulation programs but those require CPU instead of GPU. So i think the 650m is my best shot.

How would the 650m compare in 3d Cad with for instance the 640m or the 630m. Ive only seen the comparison between the 3DMARK scores. How is for instance the comparison between opel CL?

 

System RAM speed is not important - so get the cheaper variant.

I'd focus on getting the base i7 quad core model (3610qm).
Its not an overkill seeing how MATLAB and Maya are taxing the CPU that will only benefit a great deal from quad core based setup (especially down the line as your workload increases).

When comparing 650m to 640m and 630m OpenCL-wise... there aren't much tests that one can look up at.
However, the 650 and 640m would be near each other (provided both are GDDR5 of course) in terms of performance.

 

you'd advise me to rather get an i7 quad and 640m than i5 650m? And how about an i7 quad with 7670m or A10 with 7670? Any thoughts on this?

 

640M, 650M, 660M, all the same if you get the 192bit bus version.
CPU plays a big role with rendering and working with the graphics along with the GPU, so yeah, 640M + i7 is actually not a bad idea

 

very difficult combination to find. I only see lots of i5 and 640m. Ive spoted a Dell with i7 and HD7730m how about this combi (apart from the fact that most dells arent well made)?

 

Based on my experience so far (MATLAB only) the CPU is by far more important, so I'd really try to get a quad core one. You could try to snag a last gen model maybe, or even a used one if that's okay with you and that would surely fit in your budget.