Laptop For 3D Modeling

[Durvelle27]

Hey guys,

So I'm trying to find a inexpensive laptop that is thin and light to drive my new 3D printer and do 3D modeling on. But all the laptops i can find are only dual cores with SMT/HT. Now I'm new to the 3D world so I'm not 100% but i don't know is 2 cores would be enough without feeling slouchy. What do you guys think?

I use Cure, Cad, and PhotoShop

 

[dgianstefani]

Get any laptop with the i7 1065 g7. It's quad core eight thread ice lake, which means it's fast but also has a powerful graphics card.

 

[Durvelle27]

Get any laptop with the i7 1065 g7. It's quad core eight thread ice lake, which means it's fast but also has a powerful graphics card.

That far exceeds mt budget as 10th gen laptops are upward $800

 

[Bill_Bright]

Do you really need a portable computer? I ask because depending on the actual task, 3D modeling and CAD work can be very demanding on computer hardware. And all notebooks are challenged to keep their innards properly cooled, especially entry-level budget models. If you don't have to have a mobile computer, I would urge you to look at a PC instead.

Cure? Did you mean Cura?

 

[Durvelle27]

Do you really need a portable computer? I ask because depending on the actual task, 3D modeling and CAD work can be very demanding on computer hardware. And all notebooks are challenged to keep their innards properly cooled, especially entry-level budget models. If you don't have to have a mobile computer, I would urge you to look at a PC instead.

Cure? Did you mean Cura?

Yes i meant Cura

And i already have a desktop but I'm looking for something i can also take on the go when I'm away from home.

Also looking at used Macbooks around 2012

 

[repman244]

Did you look at any mobile workstations? However those are not thin and light but you do get a proper GPU (Quadro/FirePro) for CAD if you would have any benefit from that.

I would recommend quad core as a minimum, pro GPU also does wonders to speed.

 

[Durvelle27]

Did you look at any mobile workstations? However those are not thin and light but you do get a proper GPU (Quadro/FirePro) for CAD if you would have any benefit from that.

I would recommend quad core as a minimum, pro GPU also does wonders to speed.

Mobile stations are big and bulky

 

[dgianstefani]

If you have a budget below $800 you're out of your mind looking for a laptop for 3D work.

Build a desktop, or increase your budget.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Mobile stations are big and bulky

But understand that is what makes them doable. Thin notebooks cannot support nice-size heatsinks nor multiple large fans to properly cool the components insides. Consider that even normal tower computer cases with many large case fans are often challenged to keep the taxed components inside properly cooled.

If you have to lug this computer under your arm or in a backpack everyday, all day, then for sure, size and lightness matters. But if just from home to work and back home once a day, I would not let size or weight get in your way to buying something that will not be throttling back in performance a lot.

 

[Durvelle27]

But understand that is what makes them doable. Thin notebooks cannot support nice-size heatsinks nor multiple large fans to properly cool the components insides. Consider that even normal tower computer cases with many large case fans are often challenged to keep the taxed components inside properly cooled.

If you have to lug this computer under your arm or in a backpack everyday, all day, then for sure, size and lightness matters. But if just from home to work and back home once a day, I would not let size or weight get in your way to buying something that will not be throttling back in performance a lot.

Would macbooks fall in the category

Also here's one i looked at which has a Ryzen 2500U

Lenovo 81FB00HKUS IdeaPad 330S 15.6" FHD Ryzen 5 2500U 2GHz 8GB RAM 256GB SSD | eBay

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[Bill_Bright]

Would macbooks fall in the category

Not even Apple can defy the Laws of Physics.

 

[Durvelle27]

Not even Apple can defy the Laws of Physics.

Look above again

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

2 Cores would be pretty slow in Cura, but it would power a 3d printer with ease. STL files are just a text file with a ton of xyz coords, so not much power needed to process that. Rendering in 3d app though the more cores the better, also having a real nvidia graphic cards..even if the mobile version will help a lot. Cuda is great at helping renderings. Would look for a 4C/4T laptop with some sort of mobile nvidia card.

 

[Durvelle27]

2 Cores would be pretty slow in Cura, but it would power a 3d printer with ease. STL files are just a text file with a ton of xyz coords, so not much power needed to process that. Rendering in 3d app though the more cores the better, also having a real nvidia graphic cards..even if the mobile version will help a lot. Cuda is great at helping renderings. Would look for a 4C/4T laptop with some sort of mobile nvidia card.

2 Cores would be pretty slow in Cura, but it would power a 3d printer with ease. STL files are just a text file with a ton of xyz coords, so not much power needed to process that. Rendering in 3d app though the more cores the better, also having a real nvidia graphic cards..even if the mobile version will help a lot. Cuda is great at helping renderings. Would look for a 4C/4T laptop with some sort of mobile nvidia card.

2 Cores would be pretty slow in Cura, but it would power a 3d printer with ease. STL files are just a text file with a ton of xyz coords, so not much power needed to process that. Rendering in 3d app though the more cores the better, also having a real nvidia graphic cards..even if the mobile version will help a lot. Cuda is great at helping renderings. Would look for a 4C/4T laptop with some sort of mobile nvidia card.

You think the Ryzen 2500u and Vega 8 would be decent

 

[Bill_Bright]

Look above again

First, I don't know what "look above" means. Second. No need. The Laws of Physics are what they are. "Laws". That means, neither someone's personal opinion, nor the marketing department of any company can change those "Laws" just because they claim otherwise. A small tiny case, regardless the maker simply cannot provide the cooling a large PC case can. The brand is immaterial.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

What kind of modeling and CAD work would you be doing workload matters more.

Hell back in the day I used to do ray traced rendering and 3D modeling in Autodesk Maya on a dual core Athlon X2 4600+ with 8GB of DDR2. It depends more on how indepth you plan to go.

I still have no issues doing character modeling, high res mesh sculpting etc on a little Dell Laptop i bought awhile back. Yeah it needed some minor upgrades to ram and storage but still spent under $400.

Something like this should do just fine. Just ordered an ASUS TUF 17 inch unit for the accountant my old man hired. I removed the bottom plate cloned his old OS to the NVMe drive manually reset the drivers and boom hes good to go with all his software. Unit has a couple of options for cooling and or performance. Worked well very little frame flex.

Robot or human?

The above is a 4c/8t with 8GB ram and a dedicated GPU. Upgrading ram is easy remove the screws on the bottom gently push against plastic tabs where the frames connect and it pulls off as you work around. AT which point you can upgrade memory or storage pretty easily.

If theres a Microcenter near you you can get it for even less https://www.microcenter.com/product/618456/asus-tuf-gaming-fx505dy-wh51-156-laptop-computer---black

For light to moderate 3D rendering / CAD work it will be plenty.

 

[Durvelle27]

First, I don't know what "look above" means. Second. No need. The Laws of Physics are what they are. "Laws". That means, neither someone's personal opinion, nor the marketing department of any company can change those "Laws" just because they claim otherwise. A small tiny case, regardless the maker simply cannot provide the cooling a large PC case can. The brand is immaterial.

I meant to look at my previous comment as i had edited and added a laptop to it

What kind of modeling and CAD work would you be doing workload matters more.

Hell back in the day I used to do ray traced rendering and 3D modeling in Autodesk Maya on a dual core Athlon X2 4600+ with 8GB of DDR2. It depends more on how indepth you plan to go.

I still have no issues doing character modeling, high res mesh sculpting etc on a little Dell Laptop i bought awhile back. Yeah it needed some minor upgrades to ram and storage but still spent under $400.

Something like this should do just fine. Just ordered an ASUS TUF 17 inch unit for the accountant my old man hired. I removed the bottom plate cloned his old OS to the NVMe drive manually reset the drivers and boom hes good to go with all his software. Unit has a couple of options for cooling and or performance. Worked well very little frame flex.

Robot or human?

The above is a 4c/8t with 8GB ram and a dedicated GPU. Upgrading ram is easy remove the screws on the bottom gently push against plastic tabs where the frames connect and it pulls off as you work around. AT which point you can upgrade memory or storage pretty easily.

If theres a Microcenter near you you can get it for even less https://www.microcenter.com/product/618456/asus-tuf-gaming-fx505dy-wh51-156-laptop-computer---black

For light to moderate 3D rendering / CAD work it will be plenty.

Sadly no microcenter near me

But to make things clear my budget is under $350

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

But to make things clear my budget is under $350

For $350 you are basically in a bad position. Hit-up CL or Offerup and see what you can find. IF that Ryzen 2500u you mentioned is in the budget range, then yeah that will work. I mean you can't have huge expecations with a mobile platform and a $350 budget for rendering.

 

[Durvelle27]

For $350 you are basically in a bad position. Hit-up CL or Offerup and see what you can find. IF that Ryzen 2500u you mentioned is in the budget range, then yeah that will work. I mean you can't have huge expecations with a mobile platform and a $350 budget for rendering.

Specs of the 2500U

8GB RAM
256GB SSD
15" 1080p

Price $247

 

[ne6togadno]

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[SL2]

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How's that going to help.

And i already have a desktop but I'm looking for something i can also take on the go when I'm away from home.

 

[silentbogo]

What are you using for actual modeling?
If it's something along the lines of OpenSCAD or FreeCAD, then requirements are low. Few years back I did most of my simple OpenSCAD side-projects on a relatively cheap ASUS R500V with i7-3610QM and GT730. Though, it should work on anything. Same with TinkerCAD (any modern laptop will handle it just fine).
Most Autodesk suites can benefit from a decent GPU, but it's not absolutely critical.

If you don't wanna spend much, I suggest looking for HP Pavilion Power 15 or HP Pavilion Gaming. An 8th gen version in its base config w/ i5-8300H and GTX1050Ti goes for around $700 nowadays(new).
Alternatively you can get a used Dell E5470 or similar. Prices on those have dropped significantly and there are lots of refurbished Dell/HP machines in EU and US. My friend bought it in retail for $300 w/ 12mo warranty. It's in my office right now and I like it so much, I'm thinking about getting one (there's a version with dGPU which is just a few bucks more).

First, I don't know what "look above" means. Second. No need. The Laws of Physics are what they are. "Laws". That means, neither someone's personal opinion, nor the marketing department of any company can change those "Laws" just because they claim otherwise. A small tiny case, regardless the maker simply cannot provide the cooling a large PC case can. The brand is immaterial.

Laws of physics have nothing to do with workload and system requirements. Hobby-level CAD work can be done on a variety of hardware, and even most "semi-professional" work isn't intense enough to justify a 20lb mobile workstation with $2000+ price tag. My office neighbors have a furniture/interior design business, and most of the work is done on a 7-y.o. dusty desktop and a beat-up Lenovo Z50-70, which already made 5 trips to my office with broken hinges, dead battery and cracked chassis. My home neighbor runs a CNC/3D printing workshop, and he cherishes his dirty and scuffed Haswell-based ASUS ROG laptop. My favorite customer "uncle Misha" does most of his work(AutoCAD) on HP Elitebook 8560w, and he works as a head f'ing engineer for Kiev Subway.

 

[ne6togadno]

How's that going to help.

155 x 155 x 80 mm (1.92L)
fyi
sheet A4 is 210 x 297mm

 

[Durvelle27]

What are you using for actual modeling?
If it's something along the lines of OpenSCAD or FreeCAD, then requirements are low. Few years back I did most of my simple OpenSCAD side-projects on a relatively cheap ASUS R500V with i7-3610QM and GT730. Though, it should work on anything. Same with TinkerCAD (any modern laptop will handle it just fine).
Most Autodesk suites can benefit from a decent GPU, but it's not absolutely critical.

If you don't wanna spend much, I suggest looking for HP Pavilion Power 15 or HP Pavilion Gaming. An 8th gen version in its base config w/ i5-8300H and GTX1050Ti goes for around $700 nowadays(new).
Alternatively you can get a used Dell E5470 or similar. Prices on those have dropped significantly and there are lots of refurbished Dell/HP machines in EU and US. My friend bought it in retail for $300 w/ 12mo warranty. It's in my office right now and I like it so much, I'm thinking about getting one (there's a version with dGPU which is just a few bucks more).


Laws of physics have nothing to do with workload and system requirements. Hobby-level CAD work can be done on a variety of hardware, and even most "semi-professional" work isn't intense enough to justify a 20lb mobile workstation with $2000+ price tag. My office neighbors have a furniture/interior design business, and most of the work is done on a 7-y.o. dusty desktop and a beat-up Lenovo Z50-70, which already made 5 trips to my office with broken hinges, dead battery and cracked chassis. My home neighbor runs a CNC/3D printing workshop, and he cherishes his dirty and scuffed Haswell-based ASUS ROG laptop. My favorite customer "uncle Misha" does most of his work(AutoCAD) on HP Elitebook 8560w, and he works as a head f'ing engineer for Kiev Subway.

AutoDesk and SketchUp

 

[SL2]

155 x 155 x 80 mm (1.92L)
fyi
sheet A4 is 210 x 297mm

I know what it is, and I know it doesn't have a display or a battery..

It's a great product AFAIK, but it's still useless in many situations for the OP. It's a huge tradeoff for going from mobile to desktop Raven Ridge performance.