Author Topic: Laptop for rendering  (Read 3407 times)

2021-01-24, 13:36:35

Martin Janousek

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Hi,
I plan to be travelling quite a lot in the next year(s) and it's not possible to take my desktop rendering station with myself :/
So I'd like to get some laptop that would be good enough to work and render in Corona. I mean something that would render fast enough, with enough RAM (is 64GB possible?) with good display. I know there was CES21 recently that was supposed to show new AMD mobile CPUs etc.
Is there something I should look after?

Thank you for all answers!

2021-01-25, 14:59:28
Reply #1

Juraj

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If you can find AMD CPU laptop that you like, go for it. The current 5900H/5950HX/5980HS models have big multithreaded advantage over Intel versions. Most importantly, most performance oriented laptops were not updated on Intel side, so they feature last year 6 & 8 core models (10750 & 10850) which also lack in single-core performance by at least 20 percent.

All the Intel (10750 & 10850) have upgradable ram to 64GB (it's easy, I've done it on my Razer Blade 17 pro, 2x32GB costed me 220 Euro).
The AMD ones depend on retailer I guess, it's necessary to check. Some have soldered or user inaccessible memory.

Classic issue is the AMD still doesn't feature in high-end laptops like Dell XPS or Razer Blade. They do feature in high-end gaming machines like Asus Zephyrus but you have to be ok with the aesthetics.
Or with the OEM Chassis resellers of Clevo/Electroluks (every country has at least 1 big brand reselling them, like XPG for example).

The best AMD laptop right now is the newest Lenovo Legion, but it's really, really ugly. But the specs are fantastic:

- 16:10 Display. So much better than 16:9..
- 16". Ideal size, 16-17" are much better for work than 15". With thin bezels (93+ perc, display ratio), even 16-17" are quite small. And bigger laptops have much better cooling. They usually weight 2.5KG, but are still very thin, same thickness as 15" versions for most part.

If you're going to work on laptop all year, as main desktop replacement. Absolutely get 16-17".

- 2560x1600px displays. These are super-new, they came just this year. Before you had to choose between terrible 1920px, or quite overkill 3840px. I would buy 4K for photography, but for CGI work it's hard to manage on laptop. The 2560px is also 165 HZ, which is super nice. The smoothness for work is fantastic, I am addicted to my 144HZ Laptop screen.

For interest: Mobile nVidia 3080 comes also in second 16GB VRAM version. If you want to use the laptop also for GPU rendering (or Unreal,etc..), that is really nice option. So far I haven't see many laptops using this version, for example Razer uses 3080 with 8GB only, dissapointingly for their overpriced prices.
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2021-02-09, 19:20:00
Reply #2

Martin Janousek

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Hi Juraj, thanks for the post. I'm not persuaded by current available options, fortunately I have a few months till I need it so I can choose carefully.

What do you think for example about XMG Pro laptops?

2021-02-11, 12:45:38
Reply #3

Juraj

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Hi Juraj, thanks for the post. I'm not persuaded by current available options, fortunately I have a few months till I need it so I can choose carefully.

What do you think for example about XMG Pro laptops?

I mentioned those here, just made a typo :- )

Quote
Or with the OEM Chassis resellers of Clevo/Electroluks (every country has at least 1 big brand reselling them, like XPG XMG for example).

They are good laptops. They lack a premium feel since the chassis is quite cheaply-made, the design is ok-ish, not ugly, not pretty.

But in terms of value, they are fantastic, you get to fully customize what you need, select the type of display you want, etc.
These will always be at least 30perc. cheaper than branded competition. And they have some interesting niche models that brands do not (like full-desktop CPU laptop,etc..).
Please follow my new Instagram for latest projects, tips&tricks, short video tutorials and free models
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