M2400 or M4400, what to buy???

I plan to buy a Laptop within some days. It comes down to M2400 or M4400, as the T500 has no LED screen here in Europe and T400 no digital screen connection. I'm product designer but will attend business school next year, so I will do a lot of office stuff and traveling. The only difference in these systems is the GPU, I wonder how do they compare? Rhino should work fine on both I guess? Anyone able to compare those systems?

thanks to everybody!

 

The GPU is significantly weaker on the low-end M2400, and the other difference you missed is the screen size.

If you need a lighter (in both weight, price and usage terms) get the M2400. The M4400 is also an excellent option if you have an extra $100 for a more powerful GPU and a 15.4" widescreen.

 

Hi Lukas

One more difference is the option to go for a Quad-core processor in the m4400. If options don't show up online just give the sales rep a call and ask if it's available. I ended up sending them a list with 3 parts that we're not in the configurator and only the RGB LED screen actually wasn't available.

I don't really know how the 370M performs really....seen nothing about it....maybe google for benchmarks?
I think the size could be important for you but i have too say the m4400 isn't really that heavy, could've been lighter i guess but for me it's fine.

What kind of config are you looking at?

 

I know about the screen size...I will opt for the 1440*900 LED on both systems.
I would love to have a 14" but I feel like stupid not to take the GPU power of the m4400 for just 100 bucks more! Laptop buys are the worst thing in the world...
Macbook Pro Aluminium would be great with matte display
T500 with LED would be perfect
T400 with digital output would be perfect (that is really stupid, to put just a VGA on a notebook of that price!!!)
M4400 would be perfect if not the M2400 would be so tempting because of its size and weight! Apart of the fact that they are ugly with this wavy lcd lid...

It is so hard to judge the actual needs...I do a lot of 3d at work, but that doesn't mean that I will do a lot of 3d next year wile in super hard business school. I will do a lot of 2d and office stuff that's for sure, but all these laptops will handle that with ease. 14" might be ideal to carry around, but 152 gives so much more GPU power.

 

Not sure what you were getting at w/ the resolution but screen size is a different thing.

M4400 = MBP Aluminum w/ Matte Screen, 2lbs heavier and it's black. Also, M4400s 770M defeats the 9600M GPU in the new MBP in gaming by a couple hundred 3DMark06 points, not to mention it rips through all your required 3D work . MBP has 8 screws to disassemble, M4400 (along with the M2400 I believe) has only 1. M4400 is really not that heavy, it's like a textbook but once you carry around it you can fling it wrecklessly with 1 hand after a day.

But if you know you wont need the GPU power, why worry about it? The wavy magnesium alloy lid is actually pretty cool looking up close, it's magnesium alloy and usually stays very cold, not that it helps lol.

 

Yeah the lid is very much personal taste, i really like it actually.

I'd never go for a MBP if you need to actually work with it...performance wise it's nowhere near and for the same config you'll probably pay more too, and you can't expand too 8gb ram later on. Having more RAM will surely help doing large renderings, right, RAM?

Smaller size stays tempting and if it's purely for 3D work the GPU probably won't even make that much difference. When it comes too rendering it's mostly CPU + RAM in the end anyway

 

hmm wish they have RGB LED.. WUXGA

 

Everyone does zero!! EVeRYONE!!

 

MBP and M4400 are more or less in the same range of power. The MBP can make use of up to 6GB of RAM so far and has GPU switch (very tempting).
I can get the MBP for the same price (more or less) with student discount. Does Dell give any student discount? That could change the game in favour to Dell.
However I realize that you guys would opt for the M4400 not the M2400?
Just to bring the thread back to its original topic!

 

M4400 is 0.5lbs heavier with 6 cell and almost 1lbs heavier with 9 cell.

M4400 can make use up to 8GB. Dell does have student pricing, try asking your university. The M2400 uses the FX 370M (a weak GPU, based on the 9300M GS), I personally prefer the FX 770M of the M4400 (based on the 9600M GT, a totally different class of GPU).