I guess this is topic that comes up every so often…
Been running Blender on a desktop replacement and it has been an absolute dream but now looking for something that doesn’t require a power-station for travels.
I guess idealy I’d like loads of power, cheap and lot’s of battery time but then I’m a bit of a dreamer. :eyebrowlift2:
My plans are to move on a sailing boat where there’s only so much power every so often.
So good battery time is really important.
Another factor is not having a top of the range computer as marine environments and electronics are, in my experience, not best of friends so it would be silly to spend loads of cash on a machine that might not last too long.
I guess, I’d really like to hear what minimum spec. laptop would do for running Blender fairly smoothly.
What’s your experience with what machine?
BTW, live in the UK so I’m probably more interested in UK, European answers in terms of price.
well you might want to look into the whole durabook series from what i think was Toshiba, those laptops are waterproof and generally everything proof.
i personally use an HP dv series laptop… this is a desktop replacement but the series also has ultra thin and light notebooks that don’t come with a full keyboard… (i only got this one because it has maxed specs and a full keyboard)
I run blender on a ‘bottom-of-the-line’ gateway, and it runs really well. It’s just that after so many events going on, it gets bogged down. I’m sure someone here knows the technical reason why this happens, but I don’t.
If you are feeling clever: solar powered battery charger (from google)
You’d need to match volts watts and ohms and possibly rig the connector (which could entail a little as two wires with some electrical tape). With two batteries that you interchage, one as the other runs down; unlimited power.
Well thanks a lot for the various answers. It gives me a few ideas as to what to look for.
Guitar87, what sort of spec is your machine? I’d like to know what I can get away with, this should help me in my choices.
I’ve heard about the Toshiba but I understand talking to other sailors that this is not necessarly well soent money. Better setting a budget to get two cheaper ones and be careful with them than one really expensive one. Silica gel in a ziplock plastic bag when the computer is not in use is the answer.
I’ll setup a wind generator, solar power and engine-alternator to charge the boat batteries and from there, I’ll be able to charge the computer.
One of the next things I’ve got to consider is weither go down the Linux path or Windows. I’ve got to admit, I’m not too keen on how heavy Windows is getting.
Check the graphics hardware. A lot of laptops still use the ATI Mobility series which, while I haven’t had any problems on my own laptop, Blender can sometimes be a bit finicky about.
generally, one can’t have a laptop that is fast, energy efficient and cheap at the same time But if you have to draw a line some where, i would look into those Core 2 Duo laptops with nVidia graphics card, they draw less power than the current generation AMD/ATI.
In terms of specs, if you would only be using blender by itself while using the laptop, you probably won’t need a dual core processor, which’ll save you a lot of power. I’ve found Blender runs fine using Windows XP with a 1.8Ghz processor and 256Mb RAM as long as you have nothing else running (or it runs reeeaaaallllllyyyyy slowly), but I personally would go for at least 1/2 a Gb (512Mb) RAM and a 3Ghz processor.
On many laptops that means you’ll have between 2 and 4 hours battery life (depending on your manufacturer, etc.). In any case, having at least two batteries is a good idea (especially if one does short circuit and decide to explode on you)
GFX cards are not so important, just as long as it has OpenGL Support, though if you want a guarantee that Blender will run, you probably want an NVidia card over ATI, as Blender can sometimes be finicky about ATI cards (though you might have some luck)
I can’t help you with finding a waterproof laptop, as that’s well beyond my experience (I’ve never needed a waterproof laptop, personally)
Oh, and if you want a laptop, I REALLY recommend an external mouse - touchpads are almost useless when trying to use Blender. Possibly also an external keyboard, depending on the layout of the laptop keyboard (some have the number pad incorporated with the letters, a real pain when you want shortcut keys AND to rotate your view both at once)
