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Home ? Tech Help ? Laptop spec - suitable for running Muvizu perfectl

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29/03/2011 14:37:07

toonaramaMuvizu mogulExperimental user
toonarama
Posts: 661 		Hello all
After 6 months of intensive Ebay selling I am now ready to spalsh out on either a PC or a laptop so that I can use Muvizu to it's full.
Can anybody tell me if the following spec would be ok bearing in mind that I would be wanting to be able to work smoothly with the most complicated of sets and also (not necessarily at the same time) like to be able to use video processing software.
If it's not powerful enough this will make my mind up to go down the PC route.
Chassis & Display
Optimus II: 17.3" Full HD LED Backlit Widescreen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glossy
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-2620M (2.70GHz) 4MB Cache or alternatively a 17 Quad core processor with 2.0ghz
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 2GB)
Graphics Card
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M - 1GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BEKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Network Facilities
INTEGRATED GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD (AS STANDARD)
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
Optimus Series 6 Cell Lithium-ION Battery - 48.85WH
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 90W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1.3 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £847.00 including VAT and delivery.

Many thanks

Mick
edited by toonarama on 29/03/2011
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29/03/2011 14:55:24

pyrrho
pyrrho
Posts: 123 		I'd say that you should decide why you want a new machine. If you need to have something portable, then a laptop is the only way to go - but you'll always take a hit on performance unless you're prepared to shell out serious money (or unless you win our next competition).

If you're always going to be using your machine at home and you have the space, you'll get far more bangs per buck from a PC. The machine isn't limited nearly as much by "form factor", (ie, size) or overheating contstraints as is a laptop. Also, it's far easier to swap out components and upgrade them if you have a PC than if you have a laptop. A laptop will last, what, two to three years, but upgrading a PC will extend its life far more than that.

That's my, somewhat philosophical, opinion - which may be entirely wrong so anyone who wants to take issue, please do - and I hope that someone (where are you, Jim?) will answer your question properly.

Cheers,

vince

PS: One rogue consideration. AMD's Fusion stuff - high-performance graphics/low power consumption - hits the market very soon. We've been playing with Fusion-equivalent cards and will soon have a pukka Fusion laptop for assessment. (AMD have been running Muvizu on their Fusion kit during demos, such as at the recent CES.) It's a development that may bridge the gap if it lives up to expectations. At the very least, this little post should throw a spanner in your works :-)

Yours, helpfully,

vince

AMD Fusion info: http://sites.amd.com/us/fusion/apu/Pages/fusion.aspx
edited by pyrrho on 29/03/2011
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29/03/2011 15:08:01

toonaramaMuvizu mogulExperimental user
toonarama
Posts: 661 		Thanks Vince
Your speedy response is much appreciated.
I know that a PC makes sense and the only real draw for the laptop is that it's portability means that I can be more flexible about when and where I use it meaning the potential for more time making my muvizu animations!

all the best

Mick
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29/03/2011 15:18:29

toonaramaMuvizu mogulExperimental user
toonarama
Posts: 661 		pyrrho wrote:
but you'll always take a hit on performance unless you're prepared to shell out serious money (or unless you win our next competition).


And how much would that cost exactly?
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29/03/2011 15:56:20

mcmillan-raExperimental userMuvizu staff
mcmillan-ra
Posts: 164 		Just to add to what Vince has said.

First of all, the actual machine spec looks pretty good, it's generally better spec than the laptops we have round here. Though we don't tend to do a lot of complex scenes on the laptops so I couldn't promise they would run well with really heavy scenes.

My only general concerns would be that mobile graphics cards do tend to be a bit lower spec than similarly priced desktop ones, though they are still fairly good - as Vince says with a desktop you will get more bang for your buck.

I suspect in general it would be a great laptop and would hold up for most usage of Muvizu. However, sooner or later on any machine a scene will become too complex and it will start to "chug" a bit (especially if you're chucking in loads of lights and fog and things like that.)
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29/03/2011 16:38:29

pyrrho
pyrrho
Posts: 123 		toonarama wrote:
pyrrho wrote:
but you'll always take a hit on performance unless you're prepared to shell out serious money (or unless you win our next competition).


And how much would that cost exactly?


I can't say exactly because it depends on how you spec it, but the last prize laptop we gave out sells at £2,225 +VAT - mind you, we get a discount, and free delivery :-)
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29/03/2011 16:52:35

mystoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
mysto
Posts: 471 		mcmillan-ra wrote:

I suspect in general it would be a great laptop and would hold up for most usage of Muvizu. However, sooner or later on any machine a scene will become too complex and it will start to "chug" a bit (especially if you're chucking in loads of lights and fog and things like that.)


Or unless you used the 64bit version of Muvizu. (cough cough)

I know you guys are working your butts off, just having a bit of fun.
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29/03/2011 17:05:38

DreekoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dreeko
Posts: 1257 		dell xps 17

Processor
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 740QM (1.73 Ghz, 6MB, 4C)
Memory
4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM
Video Card
3GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 445M Graphics Card
Hard Drive
640GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
Microsoft Operating System
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Optical Devices
8x DVD+/-RW Optical Drive
Wireless Networking
Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 (EUR)
Primary Battery
9-cell 90Whr Lithium Ion battery
LCD
17.3" HD+ WLED True-Life (1600x900)
awfy good

F.A.F (fast as f***) and the sound is amazing
Very happy with this purchase
Hope this helps!
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29/03/2011 17:24:51

mcmillan-raExperimental userMuvizu staff
mcmillan-ra
Posts: 164 		mysto wrote:

Or unless you used the 64bit version of Muvizu. (cough cough)


Haha. Unfortunately 64-bit won't make everything magically faster. Some things may be a little bit quicker, but when you're stuck with rendering bottlenecks you're stuck with rendering bottlenecks.

I remember making the switch from 8-bit to 16-bit processors and being massively underwhelmed at the speed difference. Same actually when 32-bit came in. Oh no! I've just realised how old I actually am.
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29/03/2011 18:02:06

glasgowjim
glasgowjim
Posts: 698 		Dell have actually updated the laptop that Dreeko bought - it now has a 2.0GHz i7 processor, updated graphics card and 6GB of Ram

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=n00x7m06&c=uk&l=en&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1&model_id=xps-l702x

It's a bit more expensive than the one you are looking at (£879) but it's a great machine.

I tried to have a look at the processor specs for the machine that you are looking at but the i5 2620M doesn't exist - that model number belongs to an i7 processor, so the manufacturer is listing incorrect specs which would make me a bit wary.

Due to it being a dual core it won't perform as well as a Quad Core i7, which would make me think that the 2.0Ghz i7 would be a better option, depending on the model numbers, as Intel have recently released a bunch of new i5s and i7s which are a bit faster than the first generation ones.

The machine that you posted is probably the equivalent of a £500 desktop machine but the Dell is the equivalent of a £650-£700 desktop - the big plus that yours has is the 3 year guarantee.
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29/03/2011 18:44:52

toonaramaMuvizu mogulExperimental user
toonarama
Posts: 661 		pyrrho wrote:
toonarama wrote:
pyrrho wrote:
but you'll always take a hit on performance unless you're prepared to shell out serious money (or unless you win our next competition).


And how much would that cost exactly?


I can't say exactly because it depends on how you spec it, but the last prize laptop we gave out sells at £2,225 +VAT - mind you, we get a discount, and free delivery :-)


Sorry I misled you Vince - the question is "how much would it cost to "win" the next competition" if you get my drift
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29/03/2011 23:13:55

mystoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
mysto
Posts: 471 		mcmillan-ra wrote:
mysto wrote:

Or unless you used the 64bit version of Muvizu. (cough cough)


Haha. Unfortunately 64-bit won't make everything magically faster. Some things may be a little bit quicker, but when you're stuck with rendering bottlenecks you're stuck with rendering bottlenecks.

I remember making the switch from 8-bit to 16-bit processors and being massively underwhelmed at the speed difference. Same actually when 32-bit came in. Oh no! I've just realised how old I actually am.


I have a great computer for using Muvizu (Thanks to team Muvizu). I5 Quad core, Great graphics card and plenty of ram. I was actually wanting to be able to use all of the memory my kit has (12 gigs). I have a habit of making some fairly complex scenes that seem to eat up the available memory of the current release of Muvizu rather quickly.
I figured with the 64 bit version I'll be able to add just about anything I want to the scenes without getting the "low memory" message. I too remember making the switch from 8-bit to 16-bit processors and then to 32-bits. (sigh) I think I'm old too!
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