What processor type would you recommend for working with graphic-heavy software? I've had two people suggest to me that laptops are a bad idea for graphic use. One was a bit more specific in saying that frame-rate in games was too slow. I am interested in a laptop primarily for the benefit of being able to take it with me a do my 3D imaging wherever I happen to be, rather than being tied to only doing it when I am at home (which explains why my gallery here is so small). With whatever computer I get I can upgrade the RAM and increase the HD size but I will be stuck with the processor that it comes with. What are the real performance differences between Pentium, Athlon, and Centrino? I was told that Centrino (in laptops) runs much cooler (a good thing) but that they were crappy for graphics. Is that so? In what way? I plan to use Photoshop, Painter, Bryce, DAZ-Studio & Poser. Maybe someday try Vue. And on the side I will also play games with it. If laptops are really at a noticably lower performance than a desktop then I will not go that route. Do any of you use a laptop for 3D rendering, 2D art (Photoshop & Painter), and graphic intensive gaming?

Well the centrino to my knowledge has no or a reduced performance math coprocesser. This is bad because graphics applications particularly 3D graphics apps rely heavily on that. Personally I perfer AMD processers they tend to be a bit better at the math co processer in the past. (I have not kept up to date on this) Get a good graphics card in the computer the best you can get helps with the games a lot and a bit with the 3D graphics. The problem with laptops is often the centrino style processer coupled with the weaker than normal graphics card.

For bryce I would recommend the fastest single core cpu you can get. (dual core isnt supported by bryce so that would be a waste of the extra money 'cuz bryce would only use one core) If you're using more professional software that does make use of the dual-core cpu's ofcourse a dual-core would be fastest for those programs. An additional performance enhancer would be the amount of RAM in your pc. Computergraphics tend to use lots and lots of RAM. I currently use a laptop for 3d rendering and just earlier this week we got our alienware laptop in at the office (workstation is still on its way) It's one heavy laptop though! not one u'd like to carry under ur arm all day. but yea, there are performance laptops that will do perfectly better then the pc's of most users on this forum :-P However u put it though a desktop is cheaper then a laptop.

The other major issue with laptops is cooling. Modern processors throttle themselves when they get too hot, and this is much more likely to happen with a laptop.

Personally i would go for the largest AMD cpu you can get because they can handle long render times. If you want speed + Low life then look at a 3.2 or better Intel chip/cpu. Also make sure you have some damn good cooling system with either the AMD or Intel..

Message edited on: 03/09/2006 05:08

AMD used to kick Pentium when it came to floating point calculations. USed to speed up Doom, but don't think that has an effect in Bryce and pretty sure Intel caught up anyway. As for HT. I have a HT PC and although Bryce doesn't make use of it, it does mean that Bryce happily renders and I can do other stuff at the same time without slowing Bryce down. I can even have two copies of Bryce running with no (great) loss of render speed. Like CD said, cooling! I burnt through a laptop because of bad cooling. I'll take a picture of my fan and attach it to show you.

ROFLMAO @pHIL

You might want to look at one of the laptops made for gaming, Alienware has a couple I think. Of course you're going to pay about 3 to 4 thousand dollars for it,..........but if you have the money, it might be just what you want.

i have bought a lap top 2 years ago wich has a full p4 2.6 ghz processor that works fine no overheating . just remember to buy an extra mouse as the touch pad sucks.

hahaha phil u jst made my day :-P If you're goin for performance and portability isnt an issue of importance, just take a desktop. U'll get more speed for your money.

If the Laptop can do todays games at min. requirements then it should be ok for most graphic apps. As for PC processor Id stick to AMD(IMO). But MAKE SURE, Intel or AMD, that the processor is NOT cut in cache size or power(ie. AMD sempron and Intel Celeron etc..)or your 3d apps will suffer badly. Laptops are expensive to buy, fix, upgrade(vs desktop) and Id hate to lose 100 hrs worth of work over heat issues or droping laptop on ground etc...so yes it is kind of a bad idea for laptops and graphic intense work... And yes I had to buy a mouse for a laptop too because the touchpad wasnt good enough. Just my 2 pennies worth. :)

zescanner:
*I am interested in a laptop primarily for the benefit of being able to take it with me a do my 3D imaging wherever I happen to be, rather than being tied to only doing it when I am at home (which explains why my gallery here is so small).

If laptops are really at a noticably lower performance than a desktop then I will not go that route.*

These are contradictory considerations, but perhaps point to the essential decision you must make.

If the real limiting factor to your creative output is being away from your computer for extended periods, then I would suggest it doesnt matter if a portable computer is slower than a desktop computer. Youll create more with a computer that is half as fast as another which you can access only one tenth as often. Theres no sense in having a super-fast desktop PC if you cant be on it most of the time.

Assuming that computer access time really is the deciding factor, then a desktop is out of the equation and your real choice is between types of portable computer. Fortunately, the latest technology laptops / notebooks are not too far behind an average desktop PC in performance terms.

With that in mind, my advice is to go for the fastest and best Intel Core Duo laptop you can afford even if that means buying an Apple Mac. While a Core Duo might not be as fast as the fastest desktop replacement laptop in terms of pure Bryce render speed, the fact that you can do other activities (3D modelling, Photoshop, surfing Renderosity) on one processor while Bryce is rendering on the other makes the parallel processor much more useful.

The most important aspect of your 3D imaging is you. If youre not there, the fastest computer in the world might as well be the slowest.

ROFLMAO @pHIL, too...! I love my AMD's, I'll always recommend them. But, either way - get as fast as a cpu as you can. Yet, I would also suggest IF the price difference between say a single AMD cpu, and a dual core cpu isn't THAT much, go for the dual core. Even if you are losing a 200mhz in speed. Why? One day Bryce will be optimized for dual cores. If you don't have one already, you'll be crying your eyes out, period. But, even if Bryce is never optimized for dual core, it will still be COOL to be able to be rendering with Bryce on one core at 100%, and doing anything else with any other program, and not slow either program down. My 2 pennies. AS

Just remember that if you plan on rendering on a laptop, you'll not really want it on your lap top. Unless you don't plan on having kids someday. ;) So if you go the laptop route, you'll either have to use a table or desk somewhere or get a big square of wood that'll prevent heat transfer. (Also note that hardback coffee table books might be handy for this as well.)

i use a laptop..with a centrino processor... if i render..the AC is on the whole time the laptop is rendering.and the laptop sits on a glass table... it acts like ice! :-P I've noticed that with other processors..rendering happens a wee bit faster.. so far..no complains other than that... just keep that laptop freezing!

For anyone who is interested, I posted this same question in multiple forums looking for lots of suggestions. If you want to read the details look in the forums for Hardware/Technical, Adobe Photoshop, Painter, DAZ-Studio, Bryce, Vue and Poser. Thanx everyone for your great responses. This has been very helpful. There are varying preferences (as would be expected) but you all have given me much information and food-for-thought to help me make my selection. In a nutshell the consensus seems to be as follows: A desktop unit will be faster, better display, and cost less than a laptop. In that vein an Athlon AMD64 processor would be the top choice. Lotsa RAM for sure (1GB or better). DirectX 9+ and OpenGL 2+ is desirable. 256MB video memory. A laptop will cost more, be a bit less powerful and the display won't have the contrast range of a CRT. Having dual processors will compensate a lot by using one for the rendering and the other one for other tasks. As for processors: some said they are happy with Centrino. Andytw suggested the new Intel "Core" chips which replace Centrino will give similar performance to an AMD64. Actually using AMD chips will run hotter and battery life will be shorter. From what you tell me, in either case, COOLING is of EXTREME importance or whatever processor you have will not last so long. Now it comes down to this: I can spend less and get a machine that is rooted on one location, or I can spend more and get a machine that performs a bit slower and be able to take it with me from place to place. Still thinking on that. Will do some shopping and see what I can get. (Hardly anyone suggested prices! but I do know I won't be going the route of the $3000+ Alienware laptop!)

Phil, that is one monster fan! I have a big yard but I don't think I will use a fan quite that size. PJF, I use a Mac at work (and have for years) so that thought does appeal to me. Pauljs75, sounds like you have some personal experience with the heat transfer situation. I hope it didn't mess up your potential for kids! (and nope, I'm not planning to have any more. Got that behind me.)

Oh and by-the-way, I wanted to tell you what I currently have for a computer. I don't even remember how old this is. It is an HP Pavilion, 803Mhz Intel, running Windows 2000. A 32KB cache. 4x CDR. A couple of years ago I upgraded the video card, the RAM and added a hard drive. I now have NVIDIA GeForce 2 video, two HD's totaling about 140 GB and 390MB of RAM. It works but it is troublesome and tired.

alienware has a beautifull laptop with Athlon64 X2 4200 cpu, Nvidia QuadroGO1400 256MB vidcard, 2gb's of ram, a whole bunch of hd space, dvdburner, 1920x1200res 17inch cinema display. and it comes with a free tshirt and some cool alienware skins for windows. not to mention the cool blue glowing alienware logo and text on the back ;) Costs almost 4000 euro's but it's hella fast for a laptop. Plus the shiney exterior makes you wanna polish it every time u're done using it.

Just a technical aside:

"Centrino" is not a processor. It is an Intel standard for laptops. To achieve the standard (and the marketing badge) a laptop must include an Intel Pentium M processor; an Intel 855 chipset; and certain Intel wireless networking hardware (options).

The Pentium M processor (something between a P3 and P4 with some saucy bits that make it very good and very efficient) is available outside of the Centrino standard - even for desktop PCs. There are plenty of good laptops that include a Pentium M but are not Centrinos.

The new Intel "Core" processor is a development of, and the successor to, the Pentium M.

There is a new Intel standard for laptops, the "Centrino Duo". It includes the Core Duo processor; the Intel 945 Express chipset and the Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection.

Man! Why didn't anyone say that before now. Somehow I think I am not the only one who was mistaken about the Centrino. And definately thanx for clearing that up for me! ... Okay, so how many different kinds of currently marketed processors are there?

There are hosts of different processors out and about, so a basic guide is:- Avoid the reduced function range, i.e. sempron / celeron, these are aimed for the cheap end of the market and will offer much reduced performance. Centrino, is as PJF mentioned a badge awarded for having a certain set of bits in your laptop - in truth it's a very effective maketing gimic as there are lots of other chipset combinations that are as good, but the centrino badge makes it easy for joe on the street to believe they're getting a good laptop. 64 bit is good. high speed numbers are good (4800+ etc). look at dual core units (x2 in AMD speak or D in Intel speak) If you want to get a high speed laptop, they will be heavy and hard to carry around. Alienware and Boxx both do top notch laptops suitable for graphics use, consider adding a laptop cooler to you shopping list. IMHO AMD are better chips.