Hardware to run Maya?

I want to get a laptop that will be able to run Maya 3D, but not just run it, I want it to run smoothly with minimal/ no lag. These are the only specs required for Maya:

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (SP1), Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (SP2), Apple® Mac OS® X 10.7.x, Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® 6.0 WS, or Fedora™ 14 operating system
Windows and Linux: Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon processor with SSE3 instruction set support (or higher)
Macintosh® computer: Macintosh computer with Intel-based 64-bit processor
4 GB RAM
10 GB free hard drive space
Certified hardware-accelerated OpenGL graphics card
3-button mouse with mouse driver software
DVD-ROM drive
Internet Explorer 8 or higher, Safari, or Firefox web browser

I'm asking because I'm also looking for a portable laptop under 6lbs and I was looking at the Dell XPS 14 with i7 and nvidia gt 630m and 1600x900 resolution because it was an ultraportable laptop with great battery life that would be good for college and it has dedicated graphics and better resolution screen than most 14" laptops. I just want to know if the specs would be good enough to run Maya smoothly

 

If you want a consumer grade laptop for 3d use, don't get an Nvidia gpu.
Kepler series is severely gimped in terms of compute performance (OpenCL)... AMD gpu's trounce Nvidia in this area easily while offering basically same performance in games at lower cost.

To that end... a Quad Core i7 SB or IB would suffice (from Ivy Bridge, you can just as easily get the entry quad 3610qm), 8GB of RAM at minimum (though I would recommend you get 16GB regardless, but not from the manufacturer of the laptop, just buy the RAM separately in a store that has good deals and install it yourself).
As for which gpu to pick... I would personally go for the 7970m if possible.

In regards to the configuration you posted... it will be able to run Maya just fine, but the gpu is not exactly what I would pick for it (it's really weak... especially because of Kepler's gimped compute performance).

Adding to that, DELL systems are horribly overpriced for what they offer and not worth the trouble in my opinion, unless you can somehow lower their price significantly.

I would advise you to fill out the FAQ and get a needed answer much easier... like this... its just guessing blind more or less.

 

I believe the GT630M is a rebadged GT540M, which is not based off Kepler core, still Fermi based.

Quad core is highly recommended, and RAM, RAM, RAM. You want minimum 8, recommended 16 as the above posted has stated.

 

If this Maya setup will be used extensively; 16GB RAM minimum and 32GB RAM if possible.

In addition to the above recommends.

 

Fast OpenCL GPU, such as a 7970, fastest CPU you can afford and 16GB minimum depending on your render sizes, if going all out a quadro 5010 and 32GB

 

Listen to her! She's the queen of 3D modeling.

 

Autodesk - Certified Hardware - Find Recommended Hardware

If you want gpu acceleration which I heavly recommend, as you can see you are a bit limmited by supported gpu's.

AMD FirePro M8900
AMD FirePro M5950
ATI FirePro M5800
ATI FirePro M7820
NVIDIA Quadro 1000M
NVIDIA Quadro 2000M
NVIDIA Quadro 4000M
NVIDIA Quadro FX 5000M
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M
NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M
NVIDIA Quadro FX 3800M
NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M
NVIDIA Quadro K1000M
NVIDIA Quadro K2000M

Maya is very graphics card oriented and less CPU. Good graphics and small weight don't combine. If you REALLY want to run it smootly you do want a good cpu, better then average but could be not high end. one of those gpu's, preferable from the new generation with 2Gb GDDR5, and an SSD.

your best choice is a Dell Precision M4600 with a AMD FirePro M5950. it's not as powerfull as the Precision M6600 with a AMD FirePro M8900 but it's much more lighter and cheaper.
I also recommend this configuration:
display (you have many options it's a personal choice)
i7-2760QM (i7 quad core, better if you can afford. maybe it could be cheaper if you buy the chip somewhere else)
32Gb DDR3 (upgradable later by you, it has 4 slots, 2x8Gb it will cost about $200)
AMD FirePro M5950 (or better)
a sata III SSD (upgrade later by you, ocz, samsung or crucial if needed complemented with an HDD)

if you can find a similar configuration for less cost then great.
The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

 

Well tbh, I am really going into animation as a college major and wanted to get a fairly capable laptop for that reason. That being said, are there any laptops with 7970m graphics cards under $1500?

 

not going to find ultraportables with that kind of gpu. also I highly advice you to consider an AMD FirePro. you have been warned.

for less then $1500 I doubt you can find. but you may want to check the Clevo P150EM.

 

You can get a P150EM with a 7970m for under $1500. If you want to upgrade RAM it'll be a little more though.

 

16gb ram is around $85-$120. sure a P150EM can be found under $1500 but the cpu won't be that great. still, a good choice for the budget.
you have to play a bit with the configurations.

imo get a barebone and build it yourself. ram cpu hdd. it will be much cheaper. specially if you get an ES cpu from ebay.
Clevo P150EM, 15.6", Switchable nVidia GTX 670M 1.5GB/Intel GMA HD GPU, DVDRW

 

Run it maybe? Smoothly? Unlikely.

That's like saying you're looking to pull a mobile home but need an economy car to do it? You first need to decide on the size/weight mobile home you want then you look for a vehicle with enough horsepower to tow it.

If you're looking to run 3D graphic and/or animation you don't look towards small and light. You need a heavy duty graphics card to support your heavy duty program and those only come in big laptops.

Now that you know your task (Maya) focus on a powerful GPU and design your laptop around that. Otherwise you're going to find yourself running out of gas very fast.

 

You might want to look at the Dell precision notebooks. They aren't cheap, but they do have graphics cards certified to work with Maya.

 

Well in that case if I ever run Maya I'll just have to buy a desktop PC. Right now, I need my laptop to have mobility because I currently take my current laptop with me to school, on trips, etc. however I want my laptop to be powerful enough to run some graphic intensive programs since It'll be my main PC.

 

if you follow our advices you can have both.

 

Dell Precision M4600 and Thinkpad W520 would fit the bill for "portable" powerhouse.

The W520 is out of the $1500 price bracket but the Dell M4600 could be found around your budget in the Dell Outlet (Will come with 3 years warranty, as any new model).

There is one right now with a quad core i7 M5950..
$1159
but the screen is 1366x768 res, and it's got 2gb of DDR3 ram which can be upgraded aftermarket for $80-$100.

Everything in between has the 768P screen. However that can always be upgraded aftermarket.

Here's another if you can spruce up your budget, and would pretty much get you set up along give you incredibly performance due to the SSD.
$1659.00
i7 2760QM
16GB DDR3 1600 mhz
1080P Screen (Non IPS)
512GB SSD <-- should be extremely fast)
Firepro M5950.

 

Upgrading a screen is a serious pain in the rear and could void the warranty (not to mention if you don't know what you are doing you could break the laptop). An external monitor would probably be the better option if you cannot get a higher resolution screen from the start.

 

In that case you should pass, you need the highest resolution possible. You should also keep in mind that this laptop is due for an update very soon.

 

It's not difficult at all. Dell provides Service Manuals that will show you exactly how to get to the screen.
It would definitely void warranty I would speak with Dell about it to be honest.
They've let me replace the screen without voiding the warranty, then again I do this for a living.

The M4700 won't be out for a bit longer and would be new only pricing. It will take several months more for it to appear on the Outlet, and for it to sell for good prices.
I suspect he will spend at least $2,200 on a M4700 when it's released, not including aftermarket hdd/ram.

 

imho it's very easy to change the LCD and it might even be cheaper to do it aftermarket in some cases.
about voiding the warranty I don't known if they would notice anything if you change back the old lcd.

 

One mans easy is another mans difficult. Although some models are a lot more upgrade friendly than others, everything I've read heretofore says its the most difficulty part to change on a laptop.

 

Doing aftermarket screen upgrade allow you to choose matte or glossy.(wide gamut if needed)
Finding a cheap cable sometimes is not easy though.

Difficulty wise, I would say slightly above repasting.(for models that require lifting whole board out)

For OP, if you are just starting college, probably wont need those power soon. Just grab a budget laptop for general school stuff and get new one when required.

 

I've done the research for him; he needs the power. He will out grow a budget laptop almost immediately.