Well, the obvious disappointment of Dell putting integrated, 64 bit graphics (the 350M) into their new 15.4" workstation (the M65) annoyed many, including me. Apparently, the only way to get up-to-date mobile workstation graphics as well as a newer CPU became the 17" options--they seem similar across the board: brands are offering current-generation 15.4" workstations with cut-back graphics, while good workstation GPU's are all of a sudden restricted to the 17" behemoths, like the Dell M90 or Boxx's offerings.
Sooo...the H240 from Fujitsu seems to have been gravely overlooked, which is probably just because it doesn't seem to be available in North America (idiots). It was one of the first core duo laptops, plus it has FireGL graphics that fall "somewhere between" the 350M and the M90's offerings. Check out this comparison:
http://www.mcadonline.com/index.php?...=269&Itemid=73
Now, to me the only other competition in the 15.4" 3D workstation group could be the Macbook Pro. The thing is that performance differs from a MBP running XP or OSX (actually, XP does better), and maybe even more so from the drivers used with the ATI card, since it's official drivers are not "optimized" for 3D applications.
Has anyone used the H240? Seen it? I can't find any useful links or reviews other than the one I linked to. There's some information on a few German websites, but nothing beyond specs. I'd love to see more thorough comparisons between the H240, M65, and even the M70 or M90. I may be asking for much, but this looks like a great notebook that could take the reigns of best portable 3D workstation if it wasn't for its stupid omission from Fujitsu's North American line-up. They have a nearly identical Lifebook that is just missing the FireGL card. Ugh. ATI's been horrible at getting their mobile FireGL flavours popularized. They've always been great with performance and less of a rip-off than the Quadro offerings, but find their way into the wrong machines, and not for long. For instance, I can't find an IBM/Lenovo offering with the latest mobile FireGL.
Does anyone know of a method/supplier for getting Fujitsu-Siemens' laptops in the US or Canada? I'll be damned if I have to defer this possible upgrade till the next time I visit Europe, and there's not much I hate more than European electronics stores.
They gave us Ikea, so can we give them Best Buy? Actually, I hate Best Buy too...just in a different way.
Sooo...the H240 from Fujitsu seems to have been gravely overlooked, which is probably just because it doesn't seem to be available in North America (idiots). It was one of the first core duo laptops, plus it has FireGL graphics that fall "somewhere between" the 350M and the M90's offerings. Check out this comparison:
http://www.mcadonline.com/index.php?...=269&Itemid=73
Now, to me the only other competition in the 15.4" 3D workstation group could be the Macbook Pro. The thing is that performance differs from a MBP running XP or OSX (actually, XP does better), and maybe even more so from the drivers used with the ATI card, since it's official drivers are not "optimized" for 3D applications.
Has anyone used the H240? Seen it? I can't find any useful links or reviews other than the one I linked to. There's some information on a few German websites, but nothing beyond specs. I'd love to see more thorough comparisons between the H240, M65, and even the M70 or M90. I may be asking for much, but this looks like a great notebook that could take the reigns of best portable 3D workstation if it wasn't for its stupid omission from Fujitsu's North American line-up. They have a nearly identical Lifebook that is just missing the FireGL card. Ugh. ATI's been horrible at getting their mobile FireGL flavours popularized. They've always been great with performance and less of a rip-off than the Quadro offerings, but find their way into the wrong machines, and not for long. For instance, I can't find an IBM/Lenovo offering with the latest mobile FireGL.
Does anyone know of a method/supplier for getting Fujitsu-Siemens' laptops in the US or Canada? I'll be damned if I have to defer this possible upgrade till the next time I visit Europe, and there's not much I hate more than European electronics stores.
They gave us Ikea, so can we give them Best Buy? Actually, I hate Best Buy too...just in a different way.
