Best LAPTOP for Chief Architect X14 for 2022!

[GregoryStorm]

Hi. This is my first post and I thought I'd kick things off by sharing some information that I hope will help people trying to figure out which computer to buy for their Chief Architect design and rendering work.

 

After watching countless hours of YouTube reviews and comparison videos of various computers and after buying other models like ASUS Raider, Lenovo Legion, and HP, I think I've finally found the best-priced laptop for Chief Architect at this point in 2022.  The best part is the laptop is currently on sale at Costco for $200 OFF the regular $1,899 for a total of $1,699.

 

HP OMEN 17.3" Gaming Laptop - 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H - GeForce RTX 3070 Ti - (2560 x 1440) 165Hz - Windows 11

https://www.costco.com/hp-omen-17.3"-gaming-laptop---12th-gen-intel-core-i7-12700h---geforce-rtx-3070-ti---(2560-x-1440)-165hz---windows-11.product.100854173.html

 

The specs are really solid.  I thought I might have problems not going with 32GB of RAM but the 16GB of RAM hasn't been an issue at all with Chief Architect.  The downsides of the Lenovo and ASUS and HP were their 1920x1080 screens where the HP Omen has a beautiful 2560 x 1440 screen.  The sound is also much better than the others.  It still does not come close to the full sound of a Macbook Pro, but it's the best PC laptop sound out of the ones I've tested.

 

The RTX 3070 Ti chews through 4K photorealistic renders like the ones below in 2 minutes compared to the ASUS and Lenovo laptops taking a lot longer or crashing.

 

If you have any questions or think there is a better $1,700 RTX 17 inch laptop on the market, let me know.  I hope this helps!

[builtright3]

Is this a good video card?

 

T600
NVIDIA QUADRO 4GG
ISV CERTIFIED 

[Kbird1]

3 hours ago, builtright3 said:

Is this a good video card?

 

T600
NVIDIA QUADRO 4GG
ISV CERTIFIED 

 

As a general rule Joe, Laptop graphics can't be upgraded......( looking at your sig. )

 

It also has 1/2 the memory of your 1070 8GB....

 

M.

[lbuttery]

I bought my first computer in 1978

 

I have learned to spend $$$ on items that can't be upgraded or added later

 

buy the best cpu and room for ram upgrades you can afford

buy the biggest/best screen you can afford

 

start with a decent amount of ram - can always add more later

start with decent hard drive - can always add more storage via USB

 

etc etc etc

 

buy a computer that can last at least 5-6 years

 

I still have a laptop bought in 2008 upgraded to Win 7 that I use as a secondary offline workstation

 

my price point used to be $2,000 for a "pro" unit

 

over time computers get better and better and its seems that the next to top of line runs around $2,000 everytime

 

I try not to upgrade an OS - instead I buy a new computer with a new OS

 

sometimes the new OS is close enough to the old one to justify upgrading

like Vista to Win7 or Win 10 to 11 - other times it just not worth it due to drivers and lower specs etc

 

I usually look for top of line then back down a level - as long as my prime specs are met

 

every brand has negative reviews and horror stories

I look for Amazon (or other) reviews with at least 100 reviews and 4+ stars

 

Lew

[nicktechdxn]

Did you try to run the GPU Ray Tracing with the HP?  Did you see any performance degradation or did it run smoothly?

[JTurnbough]

So this is my first time to comment or ask a question in the forum.  I recently upgraded my computer system after lots of research and questions only to now be disappointed.  I am running X13 on a new Macbook Pro with an apple M1 pro chip.  the specs are 32GB unified memory 10 core CPU, 16 core GPU 512 ssd and a liquid retina xdr display (3024 x 1964)  I also added an acer 32"curved monitor and a LG 27" flat monitor.  I have invested well over $3000 for this set up only to now see that it says under video card status under the preferences tab that it will not GPU ray trace.  I took the system requirements from the Chief Architect website and submitted it to the apple rep. to make sure I went above the minimum and even the recommended specs.  So, does anyone know what apple chip is required to GPU ray trace.  

[Kbird1]

28 minutes ago, JTurnbough said:

So this is my first time to comment or ask a question in the forum.  I recently upgraded my computer system after lots of research and questions only to now be disappointed.  I am running X13 on a new Macbook Pro with an apple M1 pro chip.  the specs are 32GB unified memory 10 core CPU, 16 core GPU 512 ssd and a liquid retina xdr display (3024 x 1964)  I also added an acer 32"curved monitor and a LG 27" flat monitor.  I have invested well over $3000 for this set up only to now see that it says under video card status under the preferences tab that it will not GPU ray trace.  I took the system requirements from the Chief Architect website and submitted it to the apple rep. to make sure I went above the minimum and even the recommended specs.  So, does anyone know what apple chip is required to GPU ray trace.  

 

Call Chief tomorrow and confirm but the MAC version of X13 did not Support GPU Raytracing AFAIR , however I think X14 now natively supports the MAC OS on M1 Macs, but I am not a Mac Person hence please call Support tomorrow and confirm, as I am not sure if native MAC M1 support includes GPU Ray tracing.

 

Ryan may know he's a MAC User , let me tag him.......  @rgardner

 

 

new in X14 PDF.............x14-new-features.pdf

 

Support Phone Numbers

Chief Architect Support:  7:00 AM to 4:00 PM Pacific

United States           208-292-3399

Australia                   02-8006-6851

United Kingdom       020-3286-5716

 

Sales / Customer Service:7:00 AM to 4:00 PM Pacific

Phone         208-292-3400

[rgardner]

9 hours ago, Kbird1 said:

X14 now natively supports the MAC OS on M1 Macs

This is true that it supports the ARM systems natively but the GPU RTRT is still only with the one type of Nvidia video cards.  The new Mac Max and Ultra chips have the capability for RTRT but chief has not finished developing that portion yet.

[johnny]

I've had a lot of laptops for when i'm mobile to get the closest I could do a desktop machine.  The last year is the first time I found a laptop that I honestly don't realize i'm using a mobile device its that powerful - but it was a 3,500 laptop.

 

The Laptop for Desktop Quality Gaming - The New Razer Blade 17

[Kbird1]

3 hours ago, rgardner said:

The new Mac Max and Ultra chips have the capability for RTRT but chief has not finished developing that portion yet.

 

I guess that explains the Price increase come Jan. 9th, - they need a couple more good MAC developers  , though things aren't all good on the PC side either when it comes to RTRT Crashes either....

 

13 hours ago, JTurnbough said:

I have invested well over $3000 for this set up

 

One advantage of upgrading renewing your SSA  NOW, is that you will beat the Jan.9th change to the new Subscription model, which effectively triples the annual cost of SSA , and you'll be grandfathered in at the current cost.

 

 

[DefinedDesign]

On 9/7/2022 at 11:37 PM, GregoryStorm said:

Hi. This is my first post and I thought I'd kick things off by sharing some information that I hope will help people trying to figure out which computer to buy for their Chief Architect design and rendering work.

 

After watching countless hours of YouTube reviews and comparison videos of various computers and after buying other models like ASUS Raider, Lenovo Legion, and HP, I think I've finally found the best-priced laptop for Chief Architect at this point in 2022.  The best part is the laptop is currently on sale at Costco for $200 OFF the regular $1,899 for a total of $1,699.

 

HP OMEN 17.3" Gaming Laptop - 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H - GeForce RTX 3070 Ti - (2560 x 1440) 165Hz - Windows 11

https://www.costco.com/hp-omen-17.3"-gaming-laptop---12th-gen-intel-core-i7-12700h---geforce-rtx-3070-ti---(2560-x-1440)-165hz---windows-11.product.100854173.html

 

The specs are really solid.  I thought I might have problems not going with 32GB of RAM but the 16GB of RAM hasn't been an issue at all with Chief Architect.  The downsides of the Lenovo and ASUS and HP were their 1920x1080 screens where the HP Omen has a beautiful 2560 x 1440 screen.  The sound is also much better than the others.  It still does not come close to the full sound of a Macbook Pro, but it's the best PC laptop sound out of the ones I've tested.

 

The RTX 3070 Ti chews through 4K photorealistic renders like the ones below in 2 minutes compared to the ASUS and Lenovo laptops taking a lot longer or crashing.

 

If you have any questions or think there is a better $1,700 RTX 17 inch laptop on the market, let me know.  I hope this helps!

 

Very impressed with these renderings.  How does the laptop perform with floor plans, elevations, full perspective overviews, materials lists, etc?  Do you find any lag with the 16g of ram?