Which laptop listed for Rhino5/Brazil package? Need for black friday :)

I’m a start up company and don’t plan on producing so many designs on the same computer in the same hour. My current bootcamp windows with 8gb 1333 MHz DDR3 (after 16gb partitioned 50/50, but 500gb total hard drive, AMD Radeon HD 7400M Series + Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB ) works OKAY AND A LITTLE BIT SLOW OPENING AND RENDERING Rhino files.

Please help me choose the best laptop option for my business based on the below? My budget WAS $900, but I’ll go a bit higher since I’ll be using it for life and for my company. Friend said in general, "I’m not a big fan of Asus, so I can’t recommend.” But I think these sounds like the best for the price:

#OVER $900 (2 OPTIONS):

#1. ASUS ROG G751JY-VS71(WX)

  • Intel Core i7-4720HQ 2.6GHz (turbo up to 3.6 GHz), quad-core
  • 16GB DDR3
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX980M, dedicated
  • 4GB DDR5 VRAM (G-Sync)
  • 1 TB 7200RPM Hard Drive.
  • 17” (12.5 x 16.4 x 1.7 inches)
  • IPS FHD matte display (1920x1080) with built in G-Sync hardware.
  • Intelligent Thermal Design, rear venting design directs heat away.
  • Separate thermal modules for the CPU and GPU.
  • Windows 10 (64bit)
  • $1,090.14: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DT4A2K6/ref=psdc_13896615011_t2_B015ZG9964 PastedGraphic-23.png

#2. ASUS ROG GL752VW-DH74 17.3”

#UNDER $900 (3 OPTIONS):

#1. ASUS K501UW-NB72

#2. Dell Inspiron i7559-2512BLK

  • i7-6700HQ 2.6 GHz ; Quad Core
  • 8 GB DDR3L SDRAM
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M , dedicated
  • 4GB GDDR5
  • 1 TB HDD 5400 RPM + 8 GB SSD Hybrid Drive Storage; Optical Drive Not included
  • [yes it is 1 m.2 slot for ssd and there is another room for 8gb ram stick.]
  • 15.6 Inch (15.08 x 15.08 x 1 inches)
  • IPS FHD (1920 x 1080 pixels) LED-lit Truelife Scree
  • The two cooling fans, three exhausts and large vents
  • Windows 10
  • $799:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015PYZ0J6/ref=psdc_13896615011_t2_B01G1EL9RQ?th=1 PastedGraphic-24.png
  • Lenovo - Yoga 710 2-in-1
  • touch screen <—screen might break??

#3. Intel® Core™ i5-7200U 2.5 gigahertz, dual core

Hi Trinh - I guess I’d look at this first - it could be just as simple as needing to create many or dense render meshes for shading and rendering- it might be that with some tweaks to how the render meshes are calculated, things can speed up enough to be useful. Certainly if you are rendering in Brazil or some other high-end renderers, there are a number of options that can be set to dramatically speed up - or slow down - renderings with little or no effect on the result. My guess of the moment is that looking for the right settings in Brazil might be the thing to do first, before shelling out for new hardware.

-Pascal

Hi Pascal,
I have a Macbook Pro i7 2.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 that I’ve partitioned via Bootcamp with a total of 16GB (8GB per windows and mac). I have 141.35GB avail on the Mac side, and and already used 61GB out of 100GB on the Windows side and I don’t have any of my company’s designs started on my Windows yet; I cannot imagine how much storage that would take up soon. My Mac is acting up from constant use (Illustrator, multiple email accounts opened in my Apple Mail, Excel, internet tabs). I’m afraid once I use Rhino w/Brazil and start saving files, I’ll run out of space to work.

Also, I cannot add nVidia GPU to my mac and my mac can only go up as far as 1440 by 900, not achieve FHD.

I think I need a separate computer for Rhino5/Brazil bundle. Hope someone can help suggest a laptop for my jewelry design business soon.

Thanks!

I am under the impression that Bootcamp is a scheme that allows the Mac to run Windows exclusively: i.e. you boot the mac to run either OS X or Windows, but not both at the same time. If that’s true, I don’t understand why you limit the memory to 8GB each. I would think that whichever OS you used could use all the available memory. Is my impression wrong?

I use Parallels to run Windows on my Macbook Pro, where both OS’s are in memory at the same time and can be used simultaneously, each with it’s own displays. In this situation it would be necessary to apportion the memory. Even with Parallels, however, it works as an “app” under OS X. This means that OS X get all the memory to use, but when Parallels is started it is assigned the configured amount of memory by OS X, and that is what Windows gets to use.

I was advised in an email before Rhino class, “Parallels is not recommended and not supported by Rhino.” If it’s not a problem now, I will definitely use Parallels instead of spend so much on a brand new $1000 laptop. However, I keep seeing so many issues with Parallels on the forum on a separate thread.

If rendering is your problem then AFAIK Parallels is not going to be an option for you. In Parallels on my i7 MBP it can only use the built in graphics not the designated graphics card. So in Windows emulation it is using the Intel HD 4000 on my computer not the GeForce GT 650M.

@sochin, which should I get if I’m mainly using for Rhino5/Brazil, internet and possibly Illustrator for jewelry?

Lenovo 15.6”

  • Intel Core i7 6700HQ 2.6GHz quad
  • 6mb cache
  • 16 GB DDR4 Memory
  • 1 TB HDD, 256 GB SSD (MAYBE PCIe)
  • Windows is installed on the SSD
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M dedicated
  • 4 GB
  • GDDR5, 2gb
  • 15.6” ips FHD 1920 x 1080
  • 15.12" x 10.43" x 0.89" 5.10 lbs.
  • 1x HDMI
  • Windows 10 Home 64-Bit
  • Limited Warranty period (parts): 1 year
  • Limited Warranty period (labor): 1 year
  • purchases placed between November 1, 2016 and December 24, 2016 you will have until January 31, 2017 to return your product. There’s nothing additional that you have to do!
  • Return for refund until: January 31, 2017
  • Return for replacement until: January 31, 2017
  • $769

Lenovo 15.6”

  • OS is installed on the SSD
  • Intel Core i7 6700HQ (2.60 GHz) , Quad
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M , dedicated
  • 4 GB GDDR5
  • 16 GB MAX DDR4 2133
  • 8 GB x 2
  • 1 TB HDD 5400 RPM, 256 GB SSD
  • Full HD 1920 x 1080 IPS LCD w/ LED Backlight (Anti-Glare)
  • 15.6” - 15.24" x 10.91" x 1.02" 5.72 lbs.
  • HDMI
  • $949

ASUS 17.3”

  • (GET ALUMINUM METALLIC HOOD B/C STURDIER THAN PLASTIC)
  • Intel Core i7-6700HQ 2.6GHz (Turbo up to 3.5GHz), quad-core CPU
  • 16GB DDR4 / 2x Socket (two slots installed w/ 8GB each); Max Memory 32GB
  • NVIDIA GTX 960M, dedicated
  • 4GB
  • Graphics Card Ram Size 4096 MB
  • 1TB 7200RPM + 128GB mSATA3 SSD
  • 17.3” (12.5 x 16.4 x 1.7 inches)
  • IPS FHD 1920 x 1080 matte finished
  • Coverage: 93% sRGB, 69% NTSC 72% AdobeRGB
  • Max brightness in the middle of the screen: 282 cd/m2 on power,
  • Contrast at max brightness: 760:1
  • White point: 7100 K
  • Black on max brightness: 0.37 cd/m2
  • $1,121.37

ASUS 17.3”
$988 (2GB VRAM INSTEAD OF 4GB AS THE $1,121)

@TRIINH I am not the person to ask about Hardware and certainly not renders as I do not do them other than the built in Rhino ones. That is how I get away with using Rhino on the Mac in Parallels.

Someone like @Holo is the man for this sort of thing. You might also search through the Holomark results and look for laptop results.

Those ones in the list all appear to have SSD`s which is a must for me. Graphics card are all the same, all i7 processors, all DDR4 ram…it looks to me like your choice comes down to screen size, expandability, warranty and price.

I will be off the Mac soon for Rhino and this will be the Laptop I am buying.

15.6" FHD IPS Matte 60Hz G-Sync
Nvidia Quadro M3000 4GB GDDR5
Core i7-6700K 8MB 4.0GHz
16GB DDR4 2400MHZ (1 x 16GB)
Crucial 525GB M.2 SSD
No 2nd M.2 SSD Selected
No Hard Drive Selected
No 2nd Hard Drive Selected
Intel 8260 AC Dual Band WIFI/BT
No External Optical Disc Drive Selected
Win7 Prof 64 OEM

Wouldn’t it be cheaper to buy a high end SSD and replace the HDD for a quicker machine and more drive space?

If you were using Keyshot then it wouldn’t rely on the GPU, but that’s another story. Depending on how many bells and whistles you turn on your jewellery render would work well on the MacBookPro and Keyshot. I think the Black Friday deal enables you to buy V6 with a free upgrade to V7 when it comes out.

I had a similar conundrum a couple of years ago and decided to bite the bullet and buy a desktop PC rather than mess around with the MacBookPro. I had software on both operating systems and it became a pain to swap between the two - it slowed down my workflow.

As long as you’re just rendering single products without ‘real lighting’ and you’re just using HDRI environments I think you’d do OK with the system you have.

Andy

In Parallels, under “Actions” → “configure” → “options” → “optimization” there is a “Power” selection box. If you choose “longer battery life” you will get the Intel graphics. If you choose “better performance” you will get the GeForce graphics.

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This is accurate advice. Right now Rhino 5 & WIP seem to work fine with Parallels. If this should stop with future versions of any of this software it isn’t “officially” anything McNeel will necessarily get excited about, though I’m sure they will make some limited attempts to help out, if past experience is any indication.

I must admit that I have not tried any renderers besides the Rhino built-in. Which reminds me that I should see how well Ray-traced (Cycles) display mode works on my Macbook.

@2DCube I’m not an expert at shopping to build, but to my abilities I can only find Intel quad core i7 with HQ, FHD and nVidia GTX 650 or higher with lots of HDD storage and or included SDD. I Cannot find without HDD for under my $900 budget, which I’ve been going over always. I’d hate to have to pay for some kind of GPU in that package, then discard it whether it’s reselling it or what. Time is money and I need a full an complete machine asap to start work as my deadline is getting tight.

LIFE WOULD BE EASIER IF MAC HAD THE NVIDIA BACK AND CAN TAKE MORE THAN 16GB RAM AND/OR RHINO5/BRAZIL DID WELL WITH PARALLELS. :slight_smile:

I was suggesting that you just buy a new SSD and replace the HDD in your exiting setup?

The only thing you’d have to work out is how to transfer the data/operating system to a 1TB SSD

I do a lot of product rendering for single items for a few clients… If you have a couple of things on screen, you’re using HDRI environments and it’s something like a ring in a box I don’t think you’ll need to invest in a high end or 2x GPU at this point. My recommendation would be to upgrade where you can, start the business and then when you’re really busy and things are going well, look to invest in new hardware and lower your tax bill…

Good luck!

Andy

Thanks @AlW Al. Trying it now to see how it goes.

My MBP is a mid 2012 model and the specs on the new MBP`s, the soldering of Ram, Video cards…and not to mention the price of $4300AU for what you get mean that the Mac is no longer a value option for me sadly. Probably after Christmas I will make the switch.

Thanks again.

@TRIINH this is good advice. I swapped out the HD for an SSD in my MBP and the difference was quite marked. I also got rid of my optical drive and put another SSD in there.

I find the Samsung SSD 850 EVO 500GB very good. That drive is a bit old now so pretty sure Samsung have newer models. Maybe download the free app Disk Speed Test from black Magic and compare it to mine.

I use Carbon Copy Cloner for backups and transferring/restoring your data is pretty straight forward.

As someone said I’d also think about getting keyshot. Fast easy and if th HDRI enviroment changing option is included, it’s pretty nice. I think even like intel i5 and 8gb ram still be pretty fast.

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If anybody know if external nVidia GTX graphic card does well with Rhino5/Brazil in Windows via Bootcamp?