#Laptop
7 messages in this thread
Is anyone running 3DS off a laptop? I know this is kind of crazy, but
I just got through lugging a tower through the airport because we
spent a few weeks finishing up a project at a clients. I would have
killed to have been able to just carry a laptop. Anyone found one
that will work well?
I just purchased a 486/66 notebok from Ergo computing. It has 16mb
RAM, 200mb HD, 9.5" active matrix color screen (NEC's) and, best of
all, has a built in track ball (similar to the Mac Powerbook). It
also has 2 PCMCIA slots where I have added ethernet and 14400 fax
modem.
This thing is great! I've been running 3DS without any problems and
would highly recommend a similar solution, especially for working
while on the road.
But, with all systems, there is a down side. Since it is a notebook,
they have not included a hardware cache, so the system doesn't run as
fast as a desktop (it's about 15% faster than my Dell 486/50).
If you have any questions, ask away. I spent 6 months evaluating
notebooks from most vendors.
Who makes the ERGO and how much was it with the configuration you
have? Where can I get one as well? With the R3, I was thinking
that when I am not on the road, I could hook the notbook up on my
network and just use it as another machine in the rendering farm.
Have you tried that yet? What exactly is a PCMCIA slot and what type
of add ons are available for plugging into them? (I am very new to
this laptop world, but it looks like I am going to be doing more
traveling.) How much Ram and Hard Drive space can you put in one of
these machines? Lots of Questions and Sales people are worthless.
Thanks for the answers.
Andrew,
The Ergo Powerbrick is made by Ergo Computinr in MA. (Call Tom Drake at
800/633-1925). I first saw their ad in Infoworld. My configuration is about
$6K. It supports up to 32mb Ram and 340mb HD. PCMCIA is a standard for
peripherals, similar to ISA and requires a credit card size expansion card.
Those available are ethernet, modems, memory cards and the list goes on.
I haven't used it as a rendering slave with R3 yet, but i have done the old
fashioned command line rendering to the file server without a hitch.
The most important feature of this unit was its availablity. IBM's Thinkpads
(active matrix color) are backordered indefinately, and most other companys
that make active matrix color are also backordered. I received my Ergo in 2
weeks. Oh, and supposedly, with the right drivers, the system will do 16 bit
color on an external monitor. (Haven't tried yet, though)
Steve Ormonde
We have clients running 3DS on both Toshiba's and IBM's active color
notebooks with no problems, (remember, you have to get a version that
includes the math co-processor in the CPU). Both machines can render
at 640x480x256 colors as long as you have the correct VESA driver;
the Toshiba used a Western Digital, (Paradise), driver, and IBM sent
a VESA driver to the customer. The IBM had to have some LPT changes
made in the bootup files to allow it to correctly recognize the
hardware lock. Be sure to go for a decent size hard drive, and I
would recommend getting maximum ram to start, as it can be more
expensive to add it later. 3DS works very well on these machines; I
wish I had one. BTW, the IBM's larger screen is particularly nice,
and both allow you to connect to a larger monitor when available.
You sound like a dealer? In looking around so far, most of the sales
people I have been talking to seem to ask me more questions than they
give me answers. A question from somebody who has paid little
attention to the laptop technology untill now, (never thought I could
justify on of the little buggers), how do you tell when reading the
specs if it has the co-proccesor? Some of them use the term DX but
most seem to have SL processors. What is an SL?
What is the difference between an active and passive matrix display?
Andrew,
DX and SL both have math coprocessors, SX do not. The SL uses less power than
the DX or SX.
I don't know the technical difference between passive and active, but the
colors on active rival a CRT and passive colors look good from one angle only,
similar to monochrome notebooks.
Steve Ormonde