What processor type would you recommend for working with graphic-heavy software? I've had two people suggest to me that laptops are a bad idea for graphic use. One was a bit more specific in saying that frame-rate in games was too slow. I am interested in a laptop primarily for the benefit of being able to take it with me a do my 3D imaging wherever I happen to be, rather than being tied to only doing it when I am at home (which explains why my gallery here is so small). With whatever computer I get I can upgrade the RAM and increase the HD size but I will be stuck with the processor that it comes with. What are the real performance differences between Pentium, Athlon, and Centrino? I was told that Centrino (in laptops) runs much cooler (a good thing) but that they were crappy for graphics. Is that so? In what way? I plan to use Photoshop, Painter, Bryce, DAZ-Studio & Poser. Maybe someday try Vue. And on the side I will also play games with it. If laptops are really at a noticably lower performance than a desktop then I will not go that route. Do any of you use a laptop for 3D rendering, 2D art (Photoshop & Painter), and graphic intensive gaming?

The main problem with photoshop and a laptop is that the laptop screens are not very impressive when it comes to black/dark greys and white/light greys. So colour correction is better not done on laptops. Apart from that yoy can do all photoshop work on it, depending perhaps a bit on your ram. When it comes to 3D, the power is decisive. And the quality of the app's code. I have an 1.6 Centrino with 512RAM and a 64MB vid card, and it runs Cinema4D without any problems. Rendering is slower than on a desktop (go AMD dualcore if you take that direction), but not really bad either. It is very silent, and less noisy by far that Pentiums or Athlons. To get better performance: get 1GB ram. To get better screen redraw (no influence on render time!) get a 128MB vid card. My idea: get a good laptop, but invest in a top desktop. And get an external HDD!

For anyone who is interested, I posted this same question in multiple forums looking for lots of suggestions. If you want to read the details look in the forums for Hardware/Technical, Adobe Photoshop, Painter, DAZ-Studio, Bryce, Vue and Poser. Thanx everyone for your great responses. This has been very helpful. There are varying preferences (as would be expected) but you all have given me much information and food-for-thought to help me make my selection. In a nutshell the consensus seems to be as follows: A desktop unit will be faster, better display, and cost less than a laptop. In that vein an Athlon AMD64 processor would be the top choice. Lotsa RAM for sure (1GB or better). DirectX 9+ and OpenGL 2+ is desirable. 256MB video memory. A laptop will cost more, be a bit less powerful and the display won't have the contrast range of a CRT. Having dual processors will compensate a lot by using one for the rendering and the other one for other tasks. As for processors: some said they are happy with Centrino. Andytw suggested the new Intel "Core" chips which replace Centrino will give similar performance to an AMD64. Actually using AMD chips will run hotter and battery life will be shorter. From what you tell me, in either case, COOLING is of EXTREME importance or whatever processor you have will not last so long. Now it comes down to this: I can spend less and get a machine that is rooted on one location, or I can spend more and get a machine that performs a bit slower and be able to take it with me from place to place. Still thinking on that. Will do some shopping and see what I can get. (Hardly anyone suggested prices! but I do know I won't be going the route of the $3000+ Alienware laptop!)

Oh and by-the-way, I wanted to tell you what I currently have for a computer. I don't even remember how old this is. It is an HP Pavilion, 803Mhz Intel, running Windows 2000. A 32KB cache. 4x CDR. A couple of years ago I upgraded the video card, the RAM and added a hard drive. I now have NVIDIA GeForce 2 video, two HD's totaling about 140 GB and 390MB of RAM. It works but it is troublesome and tired.

Well, Keep that puter! Not for your applications, but for the Internet. That way you have a separate puter for browsing. Protect it well with a virusscanner etc, and use your new puter for work. If you don't conncect to the Internet and don't enter files from other people on it, you have all memory resources fully free, increasing its power. Good luck with your choice. Whatever you choose: you will be very pleasantly surprised!