School (Art Tech Major)

[omega pwned]

I am just having trouble finding a good notebook. I am an art technology major in college and that entails quite a bit of work with 3D modeling programs, Photoshop, but most importantly I do alot of audio work (and of course basic word processing etc.) The most important thing for the audio work is RAM. 2 Gigabytes of ram is a must! hard drive space won't be of too much importance as I will most likely get an external drive down the road. I'd prefer to have a decent video card for the 3D stuff and the photoshop (and a little bit of gaming in class but don't tell the parents k ) also id like to keep within a budget of less than 2k, preferably closer to 1500. Built in wireless is a must and I will also probably get an audio card so if anybody can input on that I'd appreciate it as well (i've been looking at some of the creative laptop audio cards) I'd appreciate any nudge in the right direction. Thanks in advance!

 

[FeuerFrei]

I think a Core 2 Duo "Merom" laptop will suit your needs. My inspiron (see sig) is doing wonders, and cost me around 1k CA$. Add 1gb of ram and you're all set!

(You might want to compare for the RAM, as buying it from a third-party (NewEgg) is often cheaper than the OEM's price. Plus you can sell the factory memory)

 

[Krashnicki]

I have a dell inspiron 1505 notebook with a intel dual core processor and 2 gigs of ram and an ati mobility x1400 gpu. This setup cost about $1600 after rebates. The bad part about this and most notebooks is the graphics card when it comes to 3d modeling because work station cards are not available in most notebooks and the ones that do have them are typically heavy and expensive. I use Maya a lot. it works fine for building the geometry but it gets glitchy with render material and paint or fur affects. Other then 3d modeling, a setup like this should be good for audio or video editing and any other graphic design work you may do.

I would also consider a 7200rpm hard drive. I think you would bennifit from it.

Also keep in mind some modeling programs such as Maya require windows xp pro not home. Just a reminder when considering OS Systems. As suggested above buy your ram and possible buy a xp pro upgrade from a third party because it is often cheaper.

 

[Prot]

Maybe find a laptop that has 64 bit xp drivers available. 64 bit makes a big difference in 3d modeling and scientific and engineering applications. I wouldn't mess with anything with vista right now cause that stuff isn't ready for prime time yet. I figure it won't be worth fooling with until SP1 for it is out.