Laptop for 3D work

[Max]

Hello there,
I need a laptop that I can use with Modo when I'm away from home (quite often recently) and my Asus EP121 tablet is great for 2d work but isn't really up to 3d, also the screen is painfully small for something like Modo. I also don't want to spend a fortune so here's a configuration that I think is quite balanced.
The two elements that I may change are the procecssor (would the i7-3720 give me render speed much faster than the selected i7-3610?) and the hard drive. I chose two HDs, a small SSD as drive C and a large and fast SATA as storage drive. My question is, would I get away with an even smaller SSD (90 instead of 120GB) or is there a reason why I'd do better with a larger one (120 or 240GB)?
I look forward to read your comment. Thanks.

Chassis & Display
SkyFire:17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3610QM (2.30GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (4 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 670M - 1.5GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
750GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
SONY BC-5550H 4x BLURAY COMBO DRIVE & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE (£59)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 4 in 1 Card Reader (SDXC/MMC/MS/XD)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & INTEL WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 3 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery
SkyFire Series 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 180W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£109)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Laptop Cooling Stands
Zalman ZM-NC3000S Ultimate Cooler, 220mm fan, upto 17.3inch (£35)
Carry Case
TARGUS XL CITY GEAR 16" - 17.3" LAPTOP CASE TCG417 (£43)
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
LOGITECH WIRELESS MOUSE M305 (£27)
Webcam
INTEGRATED 720P 30 FPS HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,407.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[mantadog]

The upgrade on the processor isn't really worth it, it comes out about 10% faster at the end of the day. If you think that would help you out then go for it, otherwise 10% isn't really worth the huge increase in my opinion.

The 120GB SSD is an ideal OS drive with room for a couple of applications and whatever you are currently working on. You could go to the 90GB one if you would rather save the cash, you would be left with about 40-50GB once you install windows on it which you can use for applications. In theory a bigger SSD is faster because it has more 'lanes' to move data through to get you loaded as fast as possible, however in the real world you don't need to worry about that as it only really shows up when benchmarking.

The momentus or a scorpio black will be fine as a 2nd drive, the momentus has a small SSD built in which would make it slightly less suitable as a storage drive because the SSD acts as a cache drive to load your most often used files. The scorpio black is probably better because you already have a full blown SSD and your really just after a quick storage drive to load things when needed, right? If so the scorpio is ideal.

 

[Max]

Thanks Mantadog, very useful. I'll be saving some money on the second HD switching to Momentus instead of Scorpio and keep the 120 ssd. And I'm also staying with the selected CPU, I can live with one that's 10% slower.
In the confing I posted here I had by mistake selected the glossy screen. I'm going for matte of course, so in the end it all comes down to £1398, which is pretty good I think.

 

[mantadog]

You mean switching to the scorpio FROM the Momentus, or are you planning to keep the hybrid drive?

The matte screen gets good reviews from what i have seen, so if you think it would help you out the go for it. Overall it looks up to the task, only thing i would do if i were you, stick on the silver warranty for an extra £5 just to be on the safe side. That gives yopu 100% cover for a full year should anything go wrong, well worth it.

 

[Max]

Yes, I meant Scorpio rather than Momentus. And a fiver for the warranty is a good deal indeed.

Reguarding screens, apart from the personal preference of matte over glossy (that would have been enough to swing me without further arguments) I saw in the specs that matte gives 72% of colour gamut and the glossy only 60%. That's a pretty big difference isn't it?
And since I read your comment I searched for matte on this forum and saw that Youtube video that's quite clear, so matte is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFeRaZlzvBU

Anyway, yes, it's a good set of spect I think and should be a pleasure to use with Modo, I'm pretty excited about it TBH.

 

[mantadog]

I have never looked at a matte and a glossy at the same time, but from the reviews and general comments it seems like matte wins for most people so yeah you should be pleased.

Oh yeah and just remember, waiting is the best part! (apparently!)