Laptop Recommendations for Running Autodesk (Maya & Max)?

[indiedancer]

Hi!

I'm a new student in 3d animation. I know that a desktop would be more powerful, but given my need to work on-the-go (I work a 40-hour/week job in addition to classes), I've decided upon a laptop. I'll be running Autodesk 3dsMax and Maya, in addition to Photoshop and Pixologic Zbrush.

My main concerns are with running Maya and Max. I know these need some pretty heavy-duty hardware. My professor recommends the following specs:
Solid State Drive
400-level graphics card (or higher)
at least 6 GB of ram

I am hoping that someone out there with experience running this software can let me know what you think of my teacher's specifications, and what notebook you might recommend. With the recall of the Intel Sandy Bridge chip, I'm really at a loss here. Should I just wait until they re-release all those notebooks?

 

[Skott]

You dont need a extremely high end GPU but the more powerful CPU and more RAM the better. The gaming laptops will fit into this category since they are usually running the high performance mobile quad CPUs and loaded with 6 or more Gigs of ram. These gaming rigs can be fitted with 12 and 16 GB of RAM. I can see where a SSD is better than the standard 7200 RPM hd but they are not cheap and drive up the cost considerably. You can buy the current last gen models but if you can afford to wait 2-3 months for the re-release of the SB models they will certainly be better than current gen models as far as CPU performance goes.

What is your current budget? A really good new gen will hit $2000 at least I'm thinking with a SSD. A current gen high end mobile quad CPU and 6GB RAM with a pretty good GPU will set you back $1200-$1500 without the SSD. Many enthusiast buyers will install their own extra RAM and SSD to help keep costs down.

Take a look at the ASUS gaming laptops to see if any meet your needs. Basically you can go to any of the manufacturers sites and build it yourself with their configurators. See who gives you the most bang for your buck.