My wife is looking for a portable device primarily for modeling in Blender and optionally for drawing in Krita. So we looking for something with a GNU/Linux support from manufacturer.
We considered https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en/TUXEDO-InfinityFlex-14-Gen1, it looks nice, but maybe you have other suggestions? Do you have experience with convertibles, how convenient is to draw on them?
We also considered https://earth.starlabs.systems/pages/starlite for drawing and a separate device for Blender, but having two devices might not be convenient…
Since lots of ppl already cover laptop different options, i will skip this part.
Blender is a huge topic. What exactly does your wife exactly do? Something like sculpting, rigging don’t need much gpu power. How complicated the scene is it? For a complicated scene with un-optimisted mesh, it can be expensive. The most expensive part should be high quality rendering. But you can use render farm to “outsourcing” jobs to remote hosts.
Also, it’s 2024. Ww can already launch and run blender remotely thru vm and streaming technology smoothly.
Mostly sculpting, less rendering. So yeah, we aren’t GPU bound. Right now considering just a mini PC. Should be cheaper then a latpop since we don’t planning to work on the go, just need something portable. And a tablet for drawing.
if she can do the blending at home and everything else on the move, your options expand dramatically. namely, you can equip a laptop with an eGPU so you can attach a desktop GPU to it.
an ultralight used convertible 2-in-1 in the sub$200 region is plenty powerful for everyday use, drawing, whathaveyous. a $50 eGPU slot, a $15 PSU and a used 8 GB GPU in the $100 region will blow out of the water anything new for up to $1K and possibly beyond. double the budget for the graphics and there’s nothing comparable but the top of Apple’s line-up (no drawing on those, though).
Thanks for the suggestion, eGPU sounds nice!
We don’t planning to actually work on the go, just planning to travel a lot. eGPU could be considered portable. Maybe we even don’t need a laptop, just a mini PC 🤔
Bit of a joke suggestion but purely hardware wise steam deck might do the trick, its graphics processing is very good considering the size and lack of discrete GPU
Also quite subsidized because valve expect people to make up the value in buying games, so more bang for your buck
Plugged into a keyboard and possibly monitor could do the trick
The Framework 16 looks pretty great. Repairable & upgradable, discrete graphics (AMD), and guaranteed Linux support.
Consider giving devices offered by NovaCustom a look.
When it comes to Linux-first laptop vendors, it’s definitely my favorite out of the bunch.
On purchasing one of their devices, they offer:
- 3 years of warranty
- 5 years of firmware update support
- 7 years of (guaranteed) spare parts availability
I’m simply unaware of any other (Linux-first) firm that can compete regarding the above.
And I haven’t even mentioned how vast their customization options are, or how well-praised their support is.
I’m actually stunned why it’s not mentioned more often in these conversations.
Btw, I’d actually recommend you to consider the whereabouts of the respective support centers before you buy a device. You never hope to be in that situation, but it makes a real difference when it matters. So, in case you’re unaware, AFAIK:
- NovaCustom; Netherlands. But as long as you’re in EU mainland, it should be good enough.
- Star Labs; UK. EU outside of Great Britain is OK.
- System76; USA.
- Tuxedo; Germany. Again, EU mainland is fine.
First time hear about it, but sounds very cool!
I’d actually recommend you to consider the whereabouts of the respective support centers before you buy a device
Totally agree, I take this into consideration. Tuxedo is very attractive to me because we planning to visit Germany personally. But I will take a look at NovaCustom as well since it’s in EU.
From Star Labs their StarLite tablet looks very attractive. Right now I considering buying a tablet for drawing and a laptop for 3D modeling instead of 2-in-1.
From Star Labs their StarLite tablet looks very attractive. Right now I considering buying a tablet for drawing and a laptop for 3D modeling instead of 2-in-1.
Honestly, this makes a lot of sense. It’s unfortunate that all of your needs aren’t satisfied by a single device. Assuming that the drawing capabilities of the Starlite and Infinityflex are up to par, their hardware specs don’t come even close to Blender’s recommended. So opting for a second device may indeed be necessary.
Whatever you’ll end up picking, I hope you and your wife will be satisfied with the end result 😉!
