*A:M User* Roger Posted March 10, 2011 *A:M User* Share Posted March 10, 2011 So I have been waiting to upgrade my laptop as it was not a critical purchase - I have more or less settled on brand, but am looking at either a 14" 1400x900, 15" 1920 x 1080 or 12" 1366x768. I would probably be better able to animate on one of the larger screens, I would love the smaller screen for for the portability factor but am afraid it would be too small to do useful animation work on unless hooking to a larger monitor. Any thoughts? If you only had access to one screen, what do you figure you would prefer to work on? For practicality's sake, I am thinking the full HD 15" screen on the desktop replacement laptop would be best - high enough resolution to display everything, not so small I would go squinty eyed. And with the new Sandybridge cpus I am thinking I could get 4 to 5 hours even on a DTR type notebook, with an extended battery. I am looking at both Lenovo and Macbooks at this point, but so far am leaning more towards Lenovo. I'm not sure I feel like getting used to a completely new interface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted March 10, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted March 10, 2011 I used A:M for a long time on a 1024x768 monitor. That's the smallest I would go. If you are quite handy at using the keyboard shortcuts to turn needed windows on and off you might get by with that. Smallest screen inches depends on your eyesight I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted March 10, 2011 Author *A:M User* Share Posted March 10, 2011 I used A:M for a long time on a 1024x768 monitor. That's the smallest I would go. If you are quite handy at using the keyboard shortcuts to turn needed windows on and off you might get by with that. Smallest screen inches depends on your eyesight I think. I'm horribly nearsighted, but with glasses I am ok - I would have a hard time reading this text with them off, though. I tried using AM on my netbook, it has a 1024x768 screen, but at only 10" made it very difficult to use. Not sure how much better the 1366x768 would be - I had a 15" laptop w/ that res hooked up to a full HD monitor, definitely prefer the higher res. I think 14" 1400x900 would be the lowest I would be comfortable with. The cost of the bump to the full HD screen and higher-end gpu is going to determine my decision somewhat - I really am not sure I want to spend close to $2000 on a laptop. I would feel more comfortable at $999 to $1200. Would be hard to get the 15" full hd quad core with quadro 2000 to come in at that price point, though. I think the lowest I could get it would be $1600 and that would be with one heck of a coupon/discount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeSlice Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Hmmm, I think the lowest I would go would be two 19 inch 1280x1024 monitors. A bigger monitor for the PWS would be a definite plus though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkwing Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 My vote's on the 14" 1440x900 and here's why. One, it's widescreen, I find AM and widescreen work much better because your windows are to the side and more out of the way and still leaves a sizable amount of space for your primary window. Two, going up to HD is pretty much a wasted expense because 1440x900 is already a better resolution than a 720p screen and 1080i only becomes noticeable if you're using a 50" screen, so it's kinda redundant to spend money on a 1080i screen that's tops 15". I personally use a 13" laptop that has a resolution of 1280x800 (again still slightly better than a 720 resolution and HD content plays quite clearly on it) of course my eyes are still quite young however, it is a bit aggravating working on a smaller scale with windows crammed together @Holmes: I think carrying around 2 19" monitors in your laptop case might be a bit troublesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuchur Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 My vote's on the 14" 1440x900 and here's why. One, it's widescreen, I find AM and widescreen work much better because your windows are to the side and more out of the way and still leaves a sizable amount of space for your primary window. Two, going up to HD is pretty much a wasted expense because 1440x900 is already a better resolution than a 720p screen and 1080i only becomes noticeable if you're using a 50" screen, so it's kinda redundant to spend money on a 1080i screen that's tops 15". I personally use a 13" laptop that has a resolution of 1280x800 (again still slightly better than a 720 resolution and HD content plays quite clearly on it) of course my eyes are still quite young however, it is a bit aggravating working on a smaller scale with windows crammed together @Holmes: I think carrying around 2 19" monitors in your laptop case might be a bit troublesome Keep in mind that netbooks are very slow compared to desktops. Get at least a i5 with enough Ram. It is just not fun to wait on anything you do. *Fuchur* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyGormezano Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I really am not sure I want to spend close to $2000 on a laptop. I would feel more comfortable at $999 to $1200. Would be hard to get the 15" full hd quad core with quadro 2000 to come in at that price point, though. I think the lowest I could get it would be $1600 and that would be with one heck of a coupon/discount. I know nothing about laptops - Have you checked out HP? HP Pavillion dv7t 17" starts at $650 with i3 4GB memory - HP G72t (17") starts at $580 (special deals section) go to HP site, HPG27t HPdv7t They are configurable, and I am not familiar with their performance compared to desktops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted March 10, 2011 Author *A:M User* Share Posted March 10, 2011 I've heard good and bad things about the HP laptops. It is an option, but I am leaning toward Lenovo. We use them at my job, and they take quite a beating and hold up very well. Ideally, I'd like a quad core i7 with 8gb ram, 320gb or 500gb 7200rpm HD, 9 cell battery, usb 3.0, full HD display, and a quadro 2000. Would be nice to get it for about $1500 (I can dream). The w520 sounds nice and would have most of those specs, not sure I can get it at that price point. I could do a t420 or 520 in a pinch, might get better battery life that way. I think the quad core would only be an option in the t520 though. The nice thing about the w520 is it supports up to 32gb of ram, but I don't expect to need that much anytime soon. The HP laptops look nice, I just don't have any hands-on experience with them and would rather get something I have direct experience with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpleen Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 I've heard good and bad things about the HP laptops. It is an option, but I am leaning toward Lenovo. We use them at my job, and they take quite a beating and hold up very well. Ideally, I'd like a quad core i7 with 8gb ram, 320gb or 500gb 7200rpm HD, 9 cell battery, usb 3.0, full HD display, and a quadro 2000. Would be nice to get it for about $1500 (I can dream). The w520 sounds nice and would have most of those specs, not sure I can get it at that price point. I could do a t420 or 520 in a pinch, might get better battery life that way. I think the quad core would only be an option in the t520 though. The nice thing about the w520 is it supports up to 32gb of ram, but I don't expect to need that much anytime soon. The HP laptops look nice, I just don't have any hands-on experience with them and would rather get something I have direct experience with. mine is HP and very happy dv7-1285dx beefed up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouseman Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 I have a 17.3" Full HD (1920x1080). I have really good vision. I love the resolution, but I'd worry about Full HD on a 15.x" monitor size; it might be too small even for me. Although I haven't seen one yet. I have an ASUS G73JW-A2 laptop; I can't really say how rugged it is, although the backpack that came with it makes it easier to carry around and less prone to getting borked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeSlice Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 You may want to choose a geforce or radeon based graphics card instead of a quadro. Most video card issues on the forum seem to stem either from Vista/Win 7 desktop composition mode or from running A:M with a Quadro based video card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyGormezano Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 And with the new Sandybridge cpus Wasn't that the chipset that had a recall? Not sure it has impact on laptop, nor if you can tell if your purchase has/had/will have the problem: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2379241,00.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeSlice Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 And with the new Sandybridge cpus Wasn't that the chipset that had a recall? Not sure it has impact on laptop, nor if you can tell if your purchase has/had/will have the problem: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2379241,00.asp From what I read, the problem only affects the 3 GB/s sata ports. It doesn't affect the first two sata ports which are 6GB/s. I'm not sure if a laptop would use more than the first 2 sata ports? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted March 13, 2011 Author *A:M User* Share Posted March 13, 2011 I don't think it will be an issue - I imagine a large company like Lenovo is receiving the udpated chips. I'll check before I pull the trigger on the purchase, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted March 31, 2011 Author *A:M User* Share Posted March 31, 2011 You may want to choose a geforce or radeon based graphics card instead of a quadro. Most video card issues on the forum seem to stem either from Vista/Win 7 desktop composition mode or from running A:M with a Quadro based video card. I thought the Quadro was a geforce card? At any rate, its based on the nvidia Fermi chip. I have noticed sometimes when I'm working in AM in Vista that the display will "freeze" (like the buffer gets stuck and doesn't update properly) if I leave it for long enough for the screensaver to come on. Is this the type of thing you're talking about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeSlice Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 I think freezing after screensaver comes on is something different. I just leave my screensaver turned off permanently. I don't think image burn is much of an issue on modern monitors anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted March 31, 2011 Author *A:M User* Share Posted March 31, 2011 I think freezing after screensaver comes on is something different. I just leave my screensaver turned off permanently. I don't think image burn is much of an issue on modern monitors anyway. Well, as far as this Quadro issue goes, are we talking minor annoyance, or show stopper? If I disable hardware acceleration in AM, will I be ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeSlice Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 I don't have first hand experience with Quadro cards, so I can't give you a definitive answer. Hopefully someone with a Quadro will chime in.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouseman Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I think freezing after screensaver comes on is something different. I just leave my screensaver turned off permanently. I don't think image burn is much of an issue on modern monitors anyway.While image burn is not, energy usage may be. Many screen savers use a bit of CPU power (and therefore electricity). I usually set my screen saver to blank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejobe Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 i got A:M to work on my android phone lol, but it sucks doesn't work right its like a 4" screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeSlice Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 i got A:M to work on my android phone lol, but it sucks doesn't work right its like a 4" screen. How did you do that? Step by step instructions would be great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejobe Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 http://pocketnow.com/how-to/how-to-run-win...r-android-video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeSlice Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Thanks for the link. People do some crazy things ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejobe Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 that we do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted April 7, 2011 Author *A:M User* Share Posted April 7, 2011 You know, if that has bluetooth (for mouse and keyboard) and an HDMI output, you could almost use that like a regular workstation. Connect it to a monitor with HDMI input so the screen is no longer an issue, and use a bluetooth keyboard and mouse and away you go. Not sure you could do that, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejobe Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 It doesn't support blue tooth since I only got it up to windows 2000. The problem was its speed it just couldn't keep up with the graphics. And the phone is a very old model so it doesn't have any video output ability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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