Which laptop is better?

I’m not sure which machine would give me the best performance for using Blender, which I want to get back into. Also need it for camera work, so I finally decided I needed to go for a laptop instead of a desktop.

For blendering, I may have an external monitor hooked up as well, so I am kind of wondering if a 15" with slightly improved specs might be better. But my laptop at work is a 15" and seems a bit cramped.

My best price/performance are a 17", 1 TB/16 GB DDR4 laptop.

(Note the prices are in Canadian dollars. And there’s tax of 13% HST on top, so these are on the extreme end of my price points :frowning: )

a) either i7-6700HQ with an Nividia 960M GMem not specified

$1200 - http://www.staples.ca/en/MSI-Leopard-Pro-GP72-6QF-284CA-17-3-Gaming-Laptop-Intel-Core-i7-6700HQ-1-TB-HDD-16-GB-DDR4-Windows-10/product_2072813_2-CA_1_20001

Not including a 1 year extended warranty for another $195 So with the extra warranty, this one ends up being $100 more.

b) My choice thus far is an ASUS i5-7300HQ with an Nividia 1050 with 2GB of Gmem.

$1299 - https://www.costco.ca/ASUS-ROG-GL753VD-Q52P-CB-Bilingual-Notebook%2C-i5-7300HQ.product.100344382.html

It probably has the mobile 1050, but even the mobile GPU version is still faster than the 960M by 25% or more according to one benchmark I saw. It also comes with a gaming mouse and backpack, but importantly for price it includes the Costco standard 2 year warranty. Although I hear they have additional coverage. Not sure how much that is.

So is the 1050 GPU overcome the slower i5, or would the i7 be better despite the 960M? Or would the combination be SO much better, I’d be better off settling on a 15" instead of 17"?

In which case… Should I go for an 15" with i7 with 1050 GPU?

$1299 http://www.staples.ca/en/MSI-GL62M-7RD-218CA-15-6-Gaming-Laptop-2-80-GHz-Intel-Core-i7-7700HQ-256-GB-SSD-8-GB-GeForce-GTX1050-Win10/product_2607978_2-CA_1_20001

Oh… although this one’s only got a 256 GB SSD, no hard drive.

But again, that’s not including the 1 year extended warranty for another $195 So with the extra warranty, this one ends up being $100 more.

Fast response appreciated, because these are sale prices and probably limited stock.

Hi, the problem is both GPU have only 2 GB VRAM.
This is to low for production scenes.
For the same money you get a GTX 1080 workstation with 8 GB.
If you don´t essential need a Laptop leaf it for serious 3D work.
If you need buy the Laptop with the strongest CPU you can afford and use GPU only for display.

Cheers, mib

Thanks for the input mib!

I had trouble finding an 8 Gb VRAM board though. They sure want a lot of money for those things. :frowning:

I use an MSI GE72 2QF Apache Pro, an older version of the type of thing you’re looking at. Here are the observations I’ve made so far:

  • mib2berlin is right about the amount of RAM; while testing the experimental features of micro-displacement, I had to go to some fairly extreme settings to keep this 2-gig GPU from crashing because it kept running out of RAM (perhaps the release version of micro-displacement will fix this; I don’t know),
  • The GPU, a 970M, is about 4-10% faster than the one in my desktop (a GTX 780, not the Ti model).
  • If you’re using one or more external monitors as well as an external keyboard and mouse (which I do) it’s better (I think) to go for whichever laptop model gives you the most power for the least money, even if that’s a 15" or even 13" screen. I have my laptop shoved off to the side of my desk and use it only for a clock, calendar and weather gadgets or for keeping an eye on downloads. This was a conclusion I came to after ponying up for a 17" and next time around, I’ll likely go for the small screen unless there’s a drastic change in pricing.
  • You might consider doing research into which models are designed in such a way as to allow upgrading the CPU or GPU yourself. My wife bought this one without doing that research and now that the components are no longer the latest and greatest, I wish we’d gone for a slightly more expensive model so I could swap in the latest i7 and a 10-series GPU.
  • If you’re in a metropolitan area (or can get to one easily) check out the prices at Canada Computers. They’re usually cheaper than Staples. The models they offer may not be exactly the same, but you should be able to find the specs you’re looking for. The only drawback about Canada Computers is that they don’t have free shipping, no matter how much you spend, so getting a slightly lower price may not make a difference unless you can pick it up from one of their stores.
  • You’ll want a laptop cooler, about a $50 investment. Every time I render, even if it’s just the Rendered view in the Viewport, the cooling fans kick in. Sure, they may be doing their job, but with the laptop cooler running, the laptop’s internal cooling fans turn themselves off a lot sooner which makes me think it’s a very good idea to have one. I have the Thermaltake model which also has two USB ports. I use them for the keyboard and mouse and combining the two together like that frees up one of the laptop’s USB ports. Of course, I ran out of USB ports anyway what with two printers, a scanner, a pro-level audio device and two external drives, so I also bought a 7-port USB hub.
  • I don’t carry my laptop around (the main reason I have one is because I like how quiet it is) but if you do, you’ll also want a decent bag/case. I had an inadequate case for another one years ago and ended up having to replace the screen after it was dropped… while it was in the carrying bag.
  • So, as well as the cost of the laptop, factor in the cost(s) of a USB hub, a cooler and a bag.
  • I’d also say it’s a good idea to get a laptop that has an extra drive bay or room to expand to an extra SSD.

Hope this helps.