What laptop would be best for me???

[Wicked]

Hello all.

For starters I should tell you what I will be using the laptop for (obviously). I will be entering the game industry soon with hopes to become a character/level designer and texture artist. I would like to be equipped with something reliable and dependable, knowing I have everything I need to do my job efficiently when I’m not at work. My purpose for this thread is to gather information from you to make the best choice possible.

I need a machine that is capable of breezing through extreme high poly scenes using modeling programs like 3DMax and Maya. I would also need something that could give me the capability to sub divide many times in Z-brush or Mud Box in order to achieve the highest detail possible in what I’m creating. Lastly, I would have to have the ability to generate high quality animated cinematic clips for video games.

I was thinking the NP9262 model http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np9262-ultimate-custom-laptop-built-clevo-d901c-p-2273.html?wconfigure=yes (fully loaded) but there could be a better choice out there I don’t know of yet. I’m questioning what processor, graphic card and memory to use.

Here’s what I was think for the CPU, Video Card and Memory:

CPU: I think quad core would truly be the most efficient route to take, or at least for what I’ll be doing but I could be wrong. I read in a forum somewhere that warranties won’t cover the fast processors like the quad core “Q9550 2.83GHz” and “Q9650 3.0GHZ” because they are unstable so I might have to go with Core 2 Duo… Can any one help me with this one:confused:...

Video Card: Dual 9800M GTX SLI technology would be great (especially for what I’ll be doing), but it’s so expensive. I could always get one 9800M GTX and get the other card later when I have the money… What do you think:confused:...

MEM: 8 GB but I heard it’s questionable if the full 8 Gigs are able to be recognized even on a 64 bit version of Vista. 4GB is still a lot and guaranteed to be fully recognized on 64 bit Vista… I don’t know though, what do you think:confused:…

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Mazeura]

I haven't heard anything about any of that with the CPU, but a Q6600 and a Q6700 CPU should be able to handle anything that you throw at it. Mostly because the majority of programs do not use all four cores of the CPU, however future programs will begin to utilize more cores. You can still get the higher clocked CPU's (I don't know anything about the warranties on those unfortunately, hopefully [a] Justin will get over here and answer that for you) and those would work as well.
For the video card, you really do not need SLI 9800m GTX. Some games and programs won't even use the second graphics cards. And the 9800m GTX is ridiculously powerful. It is almost equivalent to the 8800GT, which can run Crysis and do photo shop very well. (http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-9800M-GTX.9919.0.html) It also is diminishing returns with SLI. Check to see if 3DMax and Maya can use both graphics cards. But do keep in mind that the 9800m GTX is a powerful card.
As for memory, if I recall correctly the 9262 has a chipboard limitation on how much RAM it can use. If that is still true, it can only use 6.8GB of the 8GB. But the problem is that I haven't come across much that requires 4GB or RAM, but considering what you are doing, it might not be a bad idea to have the 8GB of RAM, even if it only gives you 6.8GB. Because programs like those do require a lot of RAM, CPU, and GPU to run (quickly).

I hope that I helped you some.
If you have any other questions, please do ask.

[Wicked]

This does help out a bunch, thank you very much. I received an e-mail from XoticPC yesterday regarding the warranty coverage on the CPUs and they are in fact covered (Good NEWS!!). As far as the GPU is concerned, I have made my decision to go with only one 9800m GTX. I read on this forum that the difference in performance between single and SLI options is simply not worth an additional $700.00. On the other I can always change my mind and purchase another card to ride along with SLI. I do agree that 4GB is a lot of memory... But my intensions are not to play video games and 8 (6.8GB) could be needed for what I'll be doing, it's still in the air though. Thank you again... and all who continue to respond.