UKH

Little Ent has been accepted to an art school in Montpellier studying illustration, graphic design and 3D animation and we're looking for advice on what computer she'll need.
Do students nowadays have laptops which they take with them everywhere or do they have a desktop at their accommodation? 
I think we know what spec we need in terms of power, graphic card etc but would love any other advice. Seems like it's a bit of a minefield.

Cheers,

E

Hi,

I studied a similar degree, and work in a role that encompasses most of this. I work on a macbook pro with 32gb memory, but I don't touch 3D animation on it and any more elaborate animations I have to work on I use a desktop in the office.

I would assume if there is a focus on 3D animation there would be facilities at the university, but it is worth checking what they have on offer.

All the open days I've been to at Scottish art schools, where my eldest is applying,  have been very clear that first years do not need anything other than a basic laptop for writing essays on. All the processor intensive graphics work can be done in the university computer labs,  and or laptops etc can be borrowed from the technology stores. In 2nd or 3rd year once they have experience that's the time to get your own machine.

What does Little Ent's school say?

Thanks for answering. I have the following info.

She was at the school last week for a two day familiarisation course and asked a lot of questions - again with conflicting advice.

A tutor there said a good quality laptop with a "gaming" standard processor which will be good for the 3D stuff.

Then some of the students said they never bring the laptop in because , obviously, all the studios have top end computers on location.

She's trending towards the idea of having a desktop PC in her digs and a just use her tablet for other minor stuff. I think that will be a pita if she comes home for holidays.

She's also been advised to build one. She's pretty clued up, knows about all the components and there's a computer shop down the road that offers a service to put it all together and load software for 100€.

Cheers,

E

Most students bring laptops to all courses. For processor-intensive stuff a decent graphics card and enough memory will do the job - and if it doesn't do the job then the cost will be prohibitive. That's where compute clusters or workstations come in which the Uni will have.

I don't do high end graphics, but do high end compute. My laptop (16GB RAM can chug away for a weekend). My desktop will do the same in a about 1/3rd the time. The cluster takes 30 min (as I give it 50+processors and a few TB of fast RAM) and doesn't tie my machine up.

A bit of cash for laptop with a separate card and memory (e.g. the gaming machine recommended) will be a lot faster than a bog standard machine. However, the costs become eye watering once you go beyond that. The theft risk will be high as will be the insurance.

Watch the battery life - the gaming machines often need plugging in and can be heavy.

Thanks.

E

I'll stick my neck out and say don't go Mac - get a PC (LAPTOP) with dedicated graphics card. I would go Nvidia - at least rtx3060 - the 4060 is not really much quicker. PC needs at least 16Gb of RAM and as graphics are important - get a decent screen - someone else will be able to advise on the screen element.

Someone will be along shortly to say get an M1/M2/M3 Mac and they are amazing   

It all depends on the exact apps they will be using and whether they are actually available for Mac - and that they actually work on Apple Silicon. 

The second screen approach works well. Laptop for lectures etc and a nice second screen for leaving in digs. Not too much grief to move

I think that's the best option.

E