My desktop (AMD Ryzen 2700x, 32 GB Ram, RX Vega 64, 1 TB SSD, 4 TB HDD) screams. But I really want to be more mobile, so I've been looking at laptops.
SurfaceBook2 is honestly insane price wise. There's the Dell XPS 15 (the one with 32 gb ram) but there's also Lenovo and their Thinkpad workstation line.
I was wondering, has anyone used Thinkpad and if so would a workstation version like the p1 be a good option (I'm also doing Photoshop, some coding and premiere pro/ae). I'd like not to carry a brick around. I was also looking at the Thinkpad X1 extreme with 32 GB ram, but instead of a quadro it has a lower geforce 1050.
I would love some discussion on this as this is a decision I want to make once and for several years (and I'd likely get on site warranty too).
Consider that laptops are fine for everything except rendering. That should be reserved for desktops because of the load it puts on the cooling system. Whereas a desktop has lots of airflow and can handle sustained CPU/GPU heating while rendering, overloading your laptop's cooling system can drastically shorten the life of either the CPU, the GPU or the cooling system itself (fans,etc.)
That said, any mid-to-high powered laptop should do the job after 2.8 comes out, if you're working with Eevee since it puts far less strain on all these things, although I think I'd still want something with a bit of beef for those times when I forget to turn down the Simplify setting.
Also, a smaller screen may not be a big thing to deal with if you have 20/20 vision. For me, they're a waste of time.
Another thing to consider...
When I bought my laptop several years ago (MSI GE72 2QF Apache Pro) I wanted the largest screen I could afford (17") for those times when I was wandering around. As it turned out, I've never used it anywhere except on my desk with keyboard, mouse and two 24" monitors plugged into it. I've come away from this experience thinking I could have spent less on screen size and more on CPU/GPU/RAM. A 15" or 13" would have worked just as well with this desktop set up and I could have saved a ton of cash going that way. So you might wanna think about where you'll be wandering to (if you wander at all) while working with Blender on a laptop.
For what it's worth.
@rontarrant Yep I was thinking of 15.6" for the screen, 4K and 32GB Ram with a geforce 1050 ti. Basically the Thinkpad x1 Extreme. I just read too many things regarding the dell xps 15 to buy it. I certainly don't want to have to crack it open to fix Dell's thermal issue right off the bat. And Thinkpad's are legendary for being ridiculously tough too. Not the prettiest but in the end that's not why I'm buying it. Thanks man!
@cypherslock Cool. I don' think you'll go wrong with a ThnkPad.
One cautionary note that applies to MSI and maybe other brands, too...
When I got my MSI, the hinges were very stiff. After a couple of years of opening and closing, the hinge weakened and broke. I did manage to fix it with some Industrial Gloozit, but this could have been avoided if I'd cracked it open and loosened the hinges when I first got it. I found instructions using Google, but it was pretty straightforward to do. Just pry the two halves of the lid apart to expose the hinge, then a 6mm wrench to loosen them off.
I'd like to add something cool about Thinkpads:
They have docks now, where you can connect everything from keyboards and mice, to external drives, to external GPUs!
So basically, do your modeling/coding/texturing while you're out, and then you can come home, dock it, and let your external GPU do some heavy lifting.
I just got myself a used tiny x230 and love it, and it's capable of this, so any newer ones should be even better. Definitely something to look into. :)
arcangel_zero7 I was also looking at the Thinkpad X1 Tablet as well (likely getting both). I did see that there are some dock options, definitely, something to look into, though it appears they haven't updated the cool productivity module for the x1 tablet, or that very sweet Realsense 3d camera option either...
I recently bought a ThinkPad P52 with the Quadro P2000 card. It has been great so far. Rendering is shockingly fast even with the mid grade P2000 card. The only minor regret I have is that I bought the 1080 screen because I often work with my Dell Ultrasharp monitor. I do a lot of video editing and the 1080 is less color accurate than the 4k and I do find myself out on site wondering about color and not wanting to do any correcting and grading on the road.
If that isn't an issue, then the Thinkpad P52 is the answer, in my opinion.