Razer is usually the first brand mentioned as a PC replacement for a MacBook--same slim profile and price range, and much better GPU specs. But they also have the same max 16GB RAM limitation as the current generation of MacBooks, and I find they're kind of loud too.

I like MSI laptops personally--build quality isn't in Apple or Razer territory but they're also significantly cheaper and can be serviced at any ordinary PC repair shop. The 15" Dominator (yeah, great name) and Stealth are the two I would look at for work machines. Similar specs and options, but the Dominator is heavier and has max 64GB RAM; Stealth is lighter, max 32GB RAM, costs a bit more. Both come with nice 1060 or 1070 GPUs.

Nick

On Sun, Jan 28, 2018 at 3:49 PM, Steve Oakley <AE-List@media-motion.tv> wrote:

Have a lenvo Yoga here of some flavor. has black screen flashing problems. updated bios / firmware and it went away for a few months, came back with lastest win10 update. I’d say stay away, plan to replace it soon because the time spend messing with it isn’t worth it.

basically you want an i7 with max cores, 16 or ideally 32gb of ram,  recent model GPU with 4gb+ of vram. like anything else, you get what you pay for in terms of build quality, screen, battery life.

I’d expect you’d be into about $2k for an ideal machine.

S

On Jan 28, 2018, at 2:38 PM, Marie T <AE-List@media-motion.tv> wrote:

Hello,

I saw a few threads before on jumping from Mac to PCs, but if I recall correctly, it seemed like it was mostly for desktop. Can you offer advice on a good PC laptop?

I'm currently enrolled in an evening class utilizing 3DS Max and After Effects, so I need portability with decent rendering power.

My teacher suggested a Lenovo Yoga 720, but the reviews elude to a black bar screen issue that hasn't been solved in years. 

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

Cheers,

Marie V. Thresher

Animator, Published Illustrator, & Interactive Designer

www.marievthresher.com