jagger Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 Hi, I would like to know if a laptop is capable to make things in Houdini. Something like the last macbook pro or the dell xps 15". Im not looking for super 4k stuff, just 1080p and not too complex work, but ALL kind of jobs like fluids, pyro, rbd etc... also rendering in mantra/arnold. thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yesyes Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 workstations like dell m4800, m3800 hp zbook lenovo w series etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagger Posted February 11, 2017 Author Share Posted February 11, 2017 Seems like the dell precision is the best choice (didnt check yet msi and asus). Do you think there is a bit gap between a laptop like that and a normal pc tower with a cpu like i7 7700k? Im not sure if a laptop is powerful enough, and maybe when rendering it gets very hot and then laptop dead... any experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davpe Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 i'm using laptop for houdini work quite often. it's not a problem, but I wouldn't consider anything smaller than 17", and external display is a must if you want to take it seriously few suggestions: avoid hp zbook. I own zbook g3 and I am not satisfied customer. hp seems to went down in manufacturing quality a lot in recent years. I'm going for dell next time. rather get xeon cpu than i7 if you can. it seems to perform better. don't save on RAM I've heard some people complaining about macbook not being great for houdini (on the other hand, many people are successfully using it) performance wise, I don't think there is any significant gap between laptop and regular pc. but it will cost you more for laptop being compact. also, hardware upgrades are limited with laptop (this is a biggest drawback to me) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagger Posted February 11, 2017 Author Share Posted February 11, 2017 ok, after more research seems like the dell precision 5520 is a really good option, it features xeon, 32gb, m2 512 gb, and igzo display. I dont know anything about the cooling system.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davpe Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 i don't know anything about cooling either but you don't need anything special I guess. or at least i don't even when rendering full throttle overnight i haven't ever noticed any overheating issue. sure, it can get pretty warm, but that's about it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fianna Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 i recommend Lenovo p50 or Asus ROG (gtx GPU) for cooling, just install fan control software to moderate the temperatures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yon Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 You could also consider building a workstation and a very cheap laptop to just use as a shell to remote into your station with teamviewer. only thing is you would need a internet connection wherever you are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagger Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 Hi all, anyone here could share experiences with the last macbook pro? (16gb ram 6920HQ) Do you recommend mac to work with Houdini and Mantra? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeiamyourfather Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 I would go with a ThinkPad P50 if you absolutely must have a laptop (up to 64GB of memory and Xeon processor option). I wouldn't go with a Mac for Houdini under any circumstances. Apple and their "pro" nomenclature is a farce, 16GB is simply not enough and you can't upgrade it. Don't bother with a laptop unless you have no choice in the matter because you're throwing money out the window for mediocre performance and limited scalability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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