Laptop suggestions ?

[djsolomon]

Hi I am an experieced animator and I am going to buy a PC laptop to run the latest version of TV Paint to learn the program . Can anyone help me out with the specs for
such a machine? I have no idea what to buy and what I would need for optimal use of the program. Thanks so much!!!
my best Debby

[Animark]

Hi,

It`s good to have more Ram (8GB are nice) and a fast HD. I don't know about multiprocessor, but would say, 4 kernel are quite nice. And use win 64Bit (or Mac). A good Idea is to have a good tablet or a cintiq.

I sometimes run TVP on an older tablet pc with slow HD, 3GB on Win XP/32 and an early dual core. TVP runs fine. Limitation is, it is not a pleasure to work on colored full HD with some layers. It is also not possible to open a 8000 x 5000 pixel project due to the limited RAM - but this is an extreme.

[idragosani]

How much money do you want to spend?

You want a lot of RAM and a lot of HD space (second drive separate from system drive is even better). Processor-wise, an i5 or i7 is a good choice, and hard drives at least 7200 rpm. NVidia or ATI video, too (although not as crucial since you won't be doing realtime 3D). I don't know if TVPaint for Windows is 64-bit, but just about all new hardware is 64-bit now (TVPaint for Linux is 64-bit)

These machines were designed for animation & video:

http://www.boxxtech.com/products/goBOXX ... erview.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dell XPS laptops are good for animation and multimedia also. When I first started using Mirage (TVP 7) before upgrading to TVPaint 8, I just had an XPS laptop with 2G of RAM and it served fairly well, but wasn't good for any kind of HD animation. A desktop machine with a large Wacom tablet and 19" widescreen monitor or better is ideal, of course..

[djsolomon]

I think I could spend between 1200 and 2000 ... I would of course like to keep the exspence down... but I want to get a machine that will do the job and will have
good support... I was not crazy about the support I got on my dell years ago...
thanks for repsonding!!!!
debby

[idragosani]

I know some animators who love those Boxx machines

[djsolomon]

I will take a look at the boxx laptop- hopefully they have them at Jand R in NYC...
thanks
d

[tonydusko]

Hello DJSolomon,

Over the years I have run TVPaint on many different machines without problems. And like the others are explaining, you should shoot for 8Gb of memory, an i5 or i7 processor, and a 500Gb or more 7200RPM hard drive (5400RPM will work too but things like video preview can be a bit more choppy). With these specs, you will be fine running TVP, and your audio and video editing software. But now comes some other decisions: Do you want to be portable at all? If not, than a desktop will give you these specs and more at a lower price. But if you do want to be able to animate on the go, or even in different rooms of your house, than a laptop is a better choice. I like to be able to animate anywhere if I have to. So I have use several different tablet PC’s including HP’s and several by Fujitsu. I actually just bought and am trying my work on an Asus EEE EP 121.

http://www.jr.com/asus/pe/ASU_EP1211A010M/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It offers ultimate portability but only has a 64Gb hard drive. However the hard drive is solid state so no spinning equals very fast data transfer. And the best part is how nice it is to draw directly on the screen. Now because of the small hard drive, I have to keep all other projects and assets on an external hard drive and only the project I am working on left on. But I just made this little film with it and it worked out well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_nv-ecBmcE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I also have a Macbook Pro with the small Cintiq and really enjoy using this setup.

http://www.jr.com/apple/pe/APP_MC700LL_SL_A/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.jr.com/product/productListin ... intiq+12wx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The 13” $1199 machine will only come with 4GB and a 320Gb hard drive but it is easily upgradeable if and when needed. And plus you will have money for a Cintiq! I am not sure why I like my Macbook so much but I do. It is a solid and dependable machine with a great screen and operating system.

Lastly, you were asking about customer service. When I had an HP, I bought it from their business line of computers. What this meant is that every time I needed service, I got top-notch attention because the though I was a corporate customer. If I had purchased a consumer HP from Staples or the like, I would have had the usual 30 minute wait times and less then stellar tech reps. I remember one time I told them that my screen was not as bright as it used to be and I got them to send me a new laptop screen for free next day air. Now I did have the 3year business warranty but it was good to get that kind of attention. The problem with HP (and JR has a lot of them for sale) is that the future of HP making PC’s is in question so I would be cautious there. I am not sure if Dell has a business line but I would shoot for that as you will get business class service. I have found that Apple offers good customer service no matter who you are and you get a real human when you call relatively quickly. (And one that you can understand). Apple is often rated highest in customer service. And they do offer extended service called AppleCare.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/1 ... -rankings/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One final thought. I have never run TVP on a high power computer like some of the desktops you can get. But my films are short and I only draw and render at 1080x720 so I don’t need a lot of processing power. If you are going draw a film at like 1920x1080 then you might need the extra power that a desktop can afford. Not so much for TVP but for rendering the films from your video editing software. You see desktops can run hotter because battery life is not a variable so the have faster processors. You might be still getting an i5 processor but it is a much faster i5 because it is not the mobile version, which is slower, and uses less voltage to preserve battery life. The other thing a desktop can give you is a better graphics card. The 13” Macbook doesn’t even have a graphics card but uses a type of built in graphics of the processor, which still works fine for me. I know that one day I might be asked to draw at 1920x1080. In fact I make films for Sesame Street (On of mine is being featured on Monday’s 10:00 episode). They require 1920x1080 output yet I have gotten by still drawing at 1080x720 and letting my video editor render at the higher resolution with acceptable results. But one day I might have to start drawing at the higher resolution and then I will need to get a more expensive Macbook or iMac, or PC desktop. BTW, currently Sesame Workshop only takes final output from Final Cut Pro, which is a Mac only video editor. This is another reason I have to keep at least one Mac in the house. I am not sure if other networks are the same way but that too is something to consider.

Hope this helps.

[djsolomon]

Hi Tony, First of all thank you so much for your thoughtful and very very thorough responce .
It has made me rethink the route I am taking as - cost is an issue and the more I read what you wrote the more
I realized that I really should not buy a portable pc ...that the tower type model makes more sence in every way...
not only because of the money but also that really in the long run I hate working on a laptop... and I dont need the portablility...(both of which you pay for dearly!)
So I will take the tower route- thanks so much again !!!

my best debby

[tonydusko]

You are welcome Debby,

And if you want me to check out your choice before you buy, I would be happy to give you my opinion. Just send me the link from JR or wherever.

Tony

[Paul Fierlinger]

A lot of commercial jobs (if not all) have to be delivered to clients who edit with FCP. We are working for an ad agency right now that is all MAC everything and I have no problems whatsoever delivering the components they require, either rendered from TVP directly, or my PC-only-Vegas-Pro NLE. So I wouldn't take that into consideration when deciding which system you want to work with. Tony's case is a bit exceptional, because Sesame Street indeed requires their suppliers to deliver films actually edited with FCP. If you foresee a possibility of getting Sesame Street gigs you might want to think about going the Mac route. If you don't do your own editing, then it makes no difference.

I agree with everything Tony says about the desktop computer and wondered why you were going for the laptop, unless, I thought, it makes it easier to carry away for repairs. We have to pay for an IT to come to our house anytime we have a hardware problem.

[Svengali]

Hi DJ,

I thought I'd add my 2 cents with regards to buying a new system since I'm about to jump this weekend on the purchase of a new Dell desktop.

For the past five or six years I've been very satisfied using another Costco / Dell desktop (3GB ram, 250 GB HDD plus a second 1TB drive I added myself two years ago) . I bought it from Costco Online - I've been a Costco member (in Queens) for years. They tend to offer pretty good package deals at pretty good prices on manufacturer's bundles... About a year ago I also purchased a 17.3 inch full warrantied, refurbished HP laptop running windows 7, 4GB ram and 650GB HDD for around $700.00 - another Costco great buy I've been very satisfied with.

Costco computer purchases come with several perks: for starters, you can return a purchased system within 90 days to any retail Costco center, FOR ANY REASON, for a full refund - no questions asked. Another perk is they automatically extend the warranty an extra 12 months beyond what the manufacturers offer. Shipping cost is reasonable. On top of manufacturer's tech support Costco maintains their own Concierge Services Tech Support - helpful to me several times.

The system I am upgrading to is the Dell XPS 8300 - cost $1000.00 plus tax and shipping. Click >>HERE<< to link. It's one of their more popular bundles.

As you will see, the specs are pretty good and include:

Display: Dell 23" widescreen (part num. ST2320L)
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 2600 (3.4GHz)
Memory (RAM): 12GB DDR3 SDRAM
Storage (hard drive): 1TB Serial ATA 2 (7200 RPM)

The weak link in the bundle appears to be a budget graphic card (1GB AMD Radeon HD 6450). If it turns out to be underpowered I'll upgrade it later.

edit: The specifications for the XPS 8300 bundle do not include a wireless network card; with my current Dell desktop I'm using a USB wireless link and will probably reuse that.

About the user reviews (which should be read): While all are for the Dell 8300, there are many configurations for the same model number which can be confusing - read the reviews carefully to see which 8300 configuration users are giving feedback on. I think this version (the one I intend to purchase) gets very good marks.

Svengali

[djsolomon]

Tony - thanks so much for offering to go over syster specs - i will take you up on that !!!

Mr. Svengali - I think that costco system sounds likt a great deal ( I happen to love costco ) but being a carless manhattanite I rarley get to see the inside of a
costco ie beloved shopping palace...but here is the problem...I really hate dell- my experience with one in the late 90'ies has makes it hard for me to consider buying
another one...

and Paul - thanks for your input -as always !!!you are right on all counts ...

I am going to look at desktop later this week and all I can say is WOW i am so impressed with this forum...thank you for all the helpful advice ...nothing short of amazing!
my best debby

[RickAnderson]

It's an old thread, but still, do you have any advice? I kinda lost in all information on that theme