[Android Central Question]

I've been looking for a good light weight computer that will work for school but also run CAD software over the cloud and run Maya, a pretty demanding 3D modeling program. The higher priced pixel book with 16 GB of RAM is the one I've been looking into getting but I haven't found a ton of stuff on how a 3D program would run on it. Any suggestions for a light weight laptop that'd be good for this is appreciated and any comments on if the pixel book is a good idea or not

[Ivano Da Milano]

Is it really possible to use Maya on a ChromeBook?
If so, how?

[B. Diddy]

You could try installing it as a Linux program: https://knowledge.autodesk.com/suppo...D9694-htm.html

[Kizzy Catwoman]

You said it is a cloud based program. Does it work with a browser? Otherwise I would go with using Linux version. The Pixelbook uses a Debian container to run Linux apps.

I have a Pixelbook and it is a very nice machine. Fast and light. But I am not sure if it will do what you are looking for.

Alternatively there are many windows machines that are in the same price range that would run it. Some are quite lightweight.

Let me know the answers to my earlier questions.

[Kizzy Catwoman]

I read through the article that was posted. From my limited use of Linux on my Pixelbook I think the dependencies and access to gnome etc will not be compatible. As the Linux is a container it doesn't have root access and it needs root access to install Maya to Linux.

Hope this helps.

[Rukbat]

According to Autodesk, the minimum RAM you should be running for Maya is 16GB, but some rendering might need as much as 32GB, so I don't see a Pixelbook as a good computer to run it in. You can try, though - just find instructions for a Linux install, or run Ubuntu from a flash drive and see https://www.fosslinux.com/14991/inst...-on-ubuntu.htm. (There's an awful lot more than a standard sudo apt-get install installation, though. The repositories have to be expanded, and a few library packages have to be installed. For any Linux installation.)

"As the Linux is a container it doesn't have root access" Have you ever tries sudo from a terminal? As in sudo apt-install, or whatever you're doing as root?

[L0n3N1nja]

I used to run 3DS Max on a Dell Laptop, it ran the software fine but rendering was a real pain as the CPU was quick to throttle from heat.

Personally wouldn't run 3d software on an ultrabook, I'd be looking at a gaming or mobile workstation style laptop that won't overheat.