Hi gentlemen,
I'm now looking for a laptop to do some editing work. Although I used to be pretty tech savvy, I've not kept up with the development of the laptop for a long time and the nomenclature of the models is maddeningly complicated and misleading.
After researching for a while, I narrow my option down to two model:
Asus G73SW-XT1 and DELL M6600. specs are listed here:
Asus G73SW-XT1
Screen Size: 17.3"
Maximum Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Capacity: 500G
Hard Drive Speed: 7200 RPM
Processor Brand: Intel
Processor Class: Core i7
Processor Type: Quad-Core
Processor Number: 2630QM
GPU/VPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M
Video Memory: 1.5GB DDR5 VRAM
Memory: 8G
DELL M6600:
17.3 inch UltraSharp 1920x1080 Wide View Anti-Glare LED Backlit
9 cell battery
Backlit Keyboard
Intel Core i7-2720QM Quad Core Processor (2.2GHZ base frequency)
4GB RAM -

Hard Drive: 500GB SATA 7200RPM

2.0 Nvidia Quadro 3000M GDDR5 Graphics
I can get a new asus for 1100usd while a refurbished M6600 from Ebay will cost me 1500usd.
since I can install ram and hard drive myself, they are not the deal breaker in each case.
so the comparison boils down to a simple showdown
2630qm+gtx460m vs 2720qm+quadro 3000m
I understand quadro is a touted "professional" video card, but as far as the benchmark test is concerned,it is more or less the same as gtx460, so what makes it "professional" or it's just another marketing ploy? I'm still a student, so the cost-effective performance is first priority for me.
The application I will use:
After effects &Premiere(Everyday),cinema4d &photoshop (sometimes), maya(rarely)
Your advice is appreciated!
so what makes it "professional" or it's just another marketing ploy?
In case of notebooks definitely. I believe it's a derivative of the GTX380 chip, anyway, so it wouldn't even be as "good" as a GTX460. The only other point to consider would be Mercury support in Premiere Pro, if this is of any relevance, but I don't even know if the support that particular mobile Quadro. So more or less it might be a moot point. If none of that matetrs in any way, go with the cheaper buy...
Mylenium
From what I understand, the main difference between the Quadros and th GeFore (GTX) cards is supposedly reliability.
Regarding the question of whether the Quadro 3000M is one of the cards that Premiere Pro CS5.5 will use for the CUDA processing features: The answer is yes. The card is listed here.