unclefarkus

Currently in the market for a new mirrorless. I have a Canon M3 that has been good but I'm ready to go full frame and get something with a real viewfinder. I have a EF 50mm f/1.8 lens already as well as a EF-M 22mm f/2 Also whatever came with my M3 kit (but I plan to sell that with the camera) I'm not opposed to selling those lenses too and switching to a different ecosystem such as Sony. They seem to have the mirrorless market. But also find staying in the Canon world appealing.... although I would need lens adapters which aren't so appealing. So I may end up selling those lenses anyways. ANYWAYS. What is the best value upgrade + a recommended lens to get (can probably only get 1 for now). I take a lot of photos of architecture (I'm an architect), portraits of people and my dog, and landscapes. All the cliche stuff. Going to Colorado at the end of next week and want something I can just leave on it for most of the trip and get good photos of all my favorite things. Is the A7 II still worth getting or is the III the one to go for? What about the Canon EOS R? I see a lot of hate but also a lot of people saying "ITS ACTUALLY NOT THAT BAD YALL". The flip up screen seems cool on that one. I may start doing an architecture-themed Youtube channel at some point so video also kind of matters. Open to any and all. Thanks!

That size is perfect!! Awesome job.

Looking for something I could put in a 30L bag to take with me. Don't want it to take up the entirety of the bag. What's the most portable (lightweight / dimensions) eGPU? I like Razer's but the CNC aluminum makes that a no-go. Also don't mind if it uses a compact card. I basically need something to house a card with 8GB for rendering purposes. Thanks.

Check out the Vray benchmark tool and compare results on hardware. I’ve rendered on a 16 core (32 thread) Threadripper with similar times as an 8 core i7. I’d recommend perusing the Chaos Group forums as they’ll be able to give you more insight. One thing that is absolutely certain is that your renders are going to be slow as dirt on a laptop. Don’t expect any high res images with grass or too many reflections without worrying that you are literally burning your laptop to bits. The A-51 would be your best bet. Highly recommend building a desktop and locking it up at your university’s studio. That’s what I did when I was in architecture school. or check out the other software Roarkitect recommended in the other thread if you want to live on a laptop with less demanding, faster, and arguably more capable stuff. Those rendering engines are not only the future, but they’re the present.

Hmmm. I'm not sure about this. Generally the reviews I've seen between the Blade 15 and Alienware M15 (not the A-51 I know) say that the Blade has better cooling but gets hot to the touch because it's aluminum and how its fans work; meanwhile the Alienware does not get nearly as hot to the touch or as loud, but also doesn't cool as well. So if the question was literally molten lava in how it feels, the Razer will feel much hotter (according to reviews, haven't tested either personally).

The thing also about Razer is that they now offer 2 levels of Razer Care. Expensive, yes, but it should theoretically make dealing with things easier. It’s relatively new so most horror stories aren’t considering this service. I wouldn’t buy a Blade without it personally. Those stories exist for a reason. But may make it a more viable option. Im also searching for the most powerful machine in a sexy package and have narrowed it down to the Alienware M17 or a Blade 15. But a 4K screen is a requirement for me so my options are even more limited. Although to be honest, I don’t think the Alienware is sexy, it just checks all the other boxes and is unique enough to be somewhere in its own space.

I think I'm going to wait for reviews on the Alienware M17 with the 4k panel and RTX2080. It's ugly but it hits most everything I'm looking for and I feel like they stand by their products well.

You could make somewhat of an argument that eGPUs are the new docks

I've returned 2 Razer Blades over the past 2 years. I had great customer service both times, although the process feels archaic compared to Amazon or Best Buy where it's all automated. You'll have to chat / call with somebody. Wait a few days for the RMA to process. Wait couple more for the return label. Wait a week for it to get back to them. Wait another week for the money to get back on your card. But you can order from them to save on tax in the short-term and get Razer Care--which I'd recommend although I don't know if it's great in actual practice. Geek Squad may be better. Or one of the plans on Amazon. Never used either of them though. THAT SAID. I'm intrigued by the RTX models. I had the 1070 4k model around Christmas and returned it because the screen wasn't fully laminated or something at the bottom bezel. Couldn't handle that on a $3,000 laptop. The RTX models fix some minor annoying things like lack of Windows Hello and how the function keys weren't backlit on the 1000-series. They've also thickened up the chassis a little bit for better cooling. All of those things combined with adding another tier to Razer Care and continuing to grow the company make me want to keep giving them chances because they're still the only ones who cater to the things that I love / hate about Apple & Microsoft computers. They seem to be trying to listen. So I'll probably bite on the new RTX 4K knowing that I may very well return it too. Just put it on a credit card I don't care about knowing it'll be a month long process if I do return it. As an anecdote, the architecture firm I work for has 12 Razer Blade Pros that we use for VR presentations and real time rendering. 2 arrived faulty. And 1 has had issues that required customer support. The others have been perfect for almost 2 years of heavy workload that they honestly weren't designed for. The horror stories online are definitely out there. And I've had some meh experiences as well (hence 2 retursn). But I've also seen some pretty good results. Go into it expecting the best and hold Razer to that expectation. Run the thing hard initially and look over every nook and cranny. Push on the screen and bezels to make sure you don't hear any glue (what I experienced). And if it's all fine, be excited that you can be one of the success stories from people who love their Blades. The thing is built super well, and if you've been a Macbook owner, you're going to have difficulty finding something that meets those expectations that also has a high-end GPU.

Small bezels if 17"; small-ish bezels if 15", less than 1.5" thick maybe As an aside, we have 12 Razer Blade Pros with the GTX1080 and 4K screen spread out at all of my office's locations and according to IT, only 3 have been sent back for repair (2 out of the box) in almost 2 years. That doesn't seem too bad considering what we put them through. Sometimes they render animations for 24 hours at a time. I don't want Razer though. I have already done that and got a lemon. Company budget is way different than personal budget lol.

My office has Razer Blade Pros that are available for check out that I have used. Those are 6.75 pounds. It was pretty heavy but doable considering what it was packing. I don't traverse campus or anything. My commute is either via bicycle or car. Honestly I'm more concerned by overall size than weight. The new Blades are very dense, kinda heavy, but compact. They feel good. Meanwhile many Asus are thick and large but relatively light in comparison. But cooling is also important I realize. Battery life isn't so important. I use my iPad for web browsing, media, lounging and such. When I use my laptop, it's because I'm going to be hunkering down for a bit to work/game and will want to be plugged in. At the same time, I think an hour should be minimum for those rare circumstances when I need to do something without outlet access.

thanks! i'm in the US no budget if it gets the job done, it's a business expense. weight needs to be reasonable but not ultrabook light or area 51 heavy lol. needs properly cooled for when using gpu intensive applications like lumion for hours at a time. or the occasional destiny. 4k because i'm an architect who uses revit 90% of the time and screen real estate is vital. it's nice to fit more on my screen. my eyes can't run it full 100% scaled for long periods, but i can handle 125-150 without issues. so 2560 would also be acceptable but i never see those.

the Gigabyte Aero 15-X9 seems pretty intriguing. never owned a laptop from them but https://www.gigabyte.com/Laptop/AERO-15--RTX-20-Series#kf fits the bill. a little gimmicky maybe on the AI front

I got mine for $725 around black friday

1440 would be acceptable too but i see that even more rarely it feels like, i also like 150% scaling, sometimes 125% depending on what i'm doing. looks like the 17" alienware will have 4k but also be nearly $4,000 in an ugly (imo) package