# What would be a good Laptop for me?



## BigCDaddy3 (Aug 7, 2012)

Hey there! As stated in the title I'm wondering what would be a good Laptop for me. I'm looking to get one for school, but also one for personal use as well. I do play PC games. I also work with various drawing programs(Sai, Gimp, Photoshop), and 3D modeling programs (Blender, Maya, Sculptris, and Mudbox). I know a bit about processors, memory and that junk, but I don't know enough about different brands to know which ones to stay away from and what not. So I need a little help find a computer that can handle some pretty heavy graphics, but still be cost effective (my range is $300 - $500 though I'm willing to go over if need be). Thanks for any help in advance 

Oh and if it helps my current laptop is an HP Pavilion dv6700


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## Arshes Nei (Aug 7, 2012)

A desktop is a better bet if you're going to work in 3D.


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## WolfsFang (Aug 7, 2012)

Sadly with that price range you wont find a good laptop.


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## Runefox (Aug 7, 2012)

Echoing the sentiment that a desktop is a better bet - Especially for that price range. You'll probably be able to find something that's serviceable for your needs for that range in a desktop far more readily than a laptop.

If you're dead set on a laptop, ASUS laptops are usually very reliable and decent as far as price goes. Only problem is that you'll probably not be able to get one with dedicated graphics, which is going to be a big deal for your 3D work and an absolute dealbreaker for PC games (with integrated graphics, you may as well not bother). This or if you want something more portable this might be a good place to start looking. Not powerhouses as far as graphics go (610M and 520M are far from high-end), but good processor (i3 is decent, i5 is much better) and RAM combined with a not-integrated video card equal what you're after. You'd probably want to upgrade the RAM to 8GB ASAP with the second one, but that shouldn't cost more than about $80.


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## Arshes Nei (Aug 7, 2012)

I also should note depending on how serious you are about 3D work gaming cards aren't always the best. If you're just mucking around and hobby it's ok, but if you don't have the patience of waiting for renders, you have to change to a different line of video card.


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## darkflame4 (Aug 7, 2012)

BigCDaddy3 said:


> Hey there! As stated in the title I'm wondering what would be a good Laptop for me. I'm looking to get one for school, but also one for personal use as well. I do play PC games. I also work with various drawing programs(Sai, Gimp, Photoshop), and 3D modeling programs (Blender, Maya, Sculptris, and Mudbox). I know a bit about processors, memory and that junk, but I don't know enough about different brands to know which ones to stay away from and what not. So I need a little help find a computer that can handle some pretty heavy graphics, but still be cost effective (my range is $300 - $500 though I'm willing to go over if need be). Thanks for any help in advance
> 
> Oh and if it helps my current laptop is an HP Pavilion dv6700


You can take a look at Asus laptops. I think they have some that have pretty good GPUs for around $700 , such as this one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230236 , This one has a really good GPU, great for games and drawing programs.


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## Runefox (Aug 7, 2012)

Arshes Nei said:


> I also should note depending on how serious you are about 3D work gaming cards aren't always the best. If you're just mucking around and hobby it's ok, but if you don't have the patience of waiting for renders, you have to change to a different line of video card.


For cost, that's a whole other kettle of fish.


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## I Am That Is (Aug 8, 2012)

To be honest, if you are looking to play games a/o do any kind of 3D modeling work, you wont really be able to with a laptop. I bought a nice laptop some years back thinking I was smart. Hey, it can run all my 3D programs and play most games! What else do I need? Here I am a few years later kicking myself. Never use a laptop for a desktops job. If you are using it for schoolwork (writing papers, notes ect.) then you would probably be better off getting a notebook and saving maybe ~500 for a good desktop. I just came up with a great rig for that price, if you don't know what parts to get.


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## Runefox (Aug 8, 2012)

A high-end laptop would be good at either of these things; The only drawback is the non-upgradeability later down the road. That said, if you treat your computers like appliances, you'll be replacing your desktop, too, instead of upgrading that. It's a much more common trend nowadays to simply replace an aging computer than to upgrade it, and I can't blame people - Prices on new machines have hit rock bottom, even for decently powerful ones.


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## Arshes Nei (Aug 8, 2012)

I agree with the above for a pre-built model but slightly disagree if it's self built. Eventually all parts will be replaced but it's harder to just toss the entire thing if a lot of parts still work/or are in good condition.


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## Runefox (Aug 8, 2012)

Arshes Nei said:


> I agree with the above for a pre-built model but slightly disagree if it's self built. Eventually all parts will be replaced but it's harder to just toss the entire thing if a lot of parts still work/or are in good condition.


As a rule, though, self-built computers are a minority in the industry, and they're usually the cases where upgrades are done. Pre-built desktops are far and away the more common computers, and nowadays the typical consumer desktop is being redefined as the all-in-one unit.


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