laptop for photoshop use

[litechaser]

Hi ,

am thinking of getting a laptop for my photoshop and internet usage but dunno what specs is req'd. Is a simple dual core , 2G Ram and 256mb graphic card enough or do I need a core 2 duo ? Does the OS being Vista Home basic or Home premium important ? The SLS pple seem to say that the graphic card is a must have for photoshop, even more important than the CPU being core 2 duo or not ...true ? Also, is Acer OK ? thinking of getting this brand with 3 yr wrty...TIA

 

[engrmariano]

alienware M17 :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[dannyfoxy]

Hi ,

am thinking of getting a laptop for my photoshop and internet usage but dunno what specs is req'd. Is a simple dual core , 2G Ram and 256mb graphic card enough or do I need a core 2 duo ? Does the OS being Vista Home basic or Home premium important ? The SLS pple seem to say that the graphic card is a must have for photoshop, even more important than the CPU being core 2 duo or not ...true ? Also, is Acer OK ? thinking of getting this brand with 3 yr wrty...TIA

All you need are processing power and RAM, don't forget the HDD space to store photos.
Brand not important. I suggest you get 4GB RAM. CPU anything higher than 2GHz is fine.
Graphics card not important, yhou not going to render the filter anyway, all you need just to touchup some details, so graphics card is not important. Any OS will do, not important also.

 

[Cartman2000]

im using 2.16ghz core 2 duo, 3gb ram, and intel GMA. so far so good. lightroom works nicely too. don't really need dedicated graphics unless you plan on gaming or video

 

[Rashkae]

T61 works well too.

 

[2evans]

CS4 is the first PS version that really utilizes a dedicated graphics card. That being said, it probably won't be that big of a difference versus using an integrated one.

You should really try editing some photos on a notebook and see if that's really what you want to use as a main editing machine. If you plan to use an external monitor, be aware of the notebooks ability to drive a second display and the max resolution it can support.

 

[PrimePhotog]

Also, is Acer OK ? thinking of getting this brand with 3 yr wrty...TIA

I never really had good experiences with Acer...Anyway,1 year warranty is probably all you need as after that,any problems are usually caused by usage and are rarely the manufacturer's fault,meaning they won't fix the problem for free.

 

[horizon_grazer]

Take into big consideration the laptop monitor.
Its angle of view ?
Its gamut ?
Does it calibrate well ?
Screen size ?

It really matters, no matter laptop or desktop

 

[litechaser]

Thanks all for the advice nearly kenna conned by the SLS guys who told me need to have grahic card and core 2 duo !

 

[LifeInMacro]

I don't think "kena con" is the right word to describe your situation in SLS. Most of the slaespeople are relatively shallow on knowledge of such things. And usually, they are trained to say that if you need to use for graphically intensive software (like Photoshop, games, photos), they'd recommend higher specs stuff. Try to ask them a few more questions and they freak out.

Always buy 3 years warranty notebooks if you're into the long haul. I've had seen notebooks that fail on me after the standard 12 months is over.

But as much RAM as you can afford at the point of purchase.

HDD - you'd need a lot of space, but then external storage are also cheap and good.

And yes, buy a MacBook...it's much better than WinVista!

 

[2evans]

Think maxing out RAM may depend on how much they are charging? If you get a macbook, apple ram will cost a lot more versus a DIY approach.

In terms of hardware and build quality, macbooks are made in china/taiwan just like most other notebooks.

 

[skypen]

Hi,

do you hv a budget for your notebook? The higher your budget, the better specifications your new laptop will have

The following parts will make a difference in editing photos:
- RAM (memory) min. 2GB DDR2
- CPU (processor) try to get one with large L2 cache.
- Motherboard FSB (buffer) min. 800.
- Harddisk (storage) any. recommended to get an external hdd
- Warranty (hardware replacements) min. 1yr, get extended warranty for another 2yrs for hardware replacements. (local / international warranty - depends on your travel req.)

Others:
- Large screen (can see more.. :>)
- Large harddisk (keep another copy of your works)
- Imaging software (to quickly restore your Windows faster) e.g. Acronis TrueImage
- Good antivirus (to protect your files from infection) e.g. Norton / Avast
- Good laptop bag (for you to carry your laptop comfortably; some camera bags can put laptop too) e.g. Lowepro
- many many others..

 

[hanqiang1011]

Using a MacBook Pro (1st Gen) 15" with Intel C2D 2.5GHz, 4GB RAM, 240 GB HDD...

This set works like a desktop, fast processing speed. When doing tethered shooting, it takes about 0.70s to process the shot from Aperture 2.

When working with PS, files open up quickly for 10 files at a go.

Well worth every cents of my money...

 

[jasonlingwj]

IMHO processor speed and ram is more important for picture processing rather than the graphics card. Only time u will need a good graphics card will be when you are using a very wide lcd screen and playing games to get the best quality...

 

[2evans]

IMHO processor speed and ram is more important for picture processing rather than the graphics card. Only time u will need a good graphics card will be when you are using a very wide lcd screen and playing games to get the best quality...

Aperture is very gpu intensive.

 

[Agenda]

get alienware.. about $2000+ with shipping, get them to ship as gift

 

[hanqiang1011]

Aperture is very gpu intensive.

My MBP is using the NIDIVA GeForce 8600M GT 512 MB VRAM... Tot Aperture is processsing based?

Do you mean if I use a different vendor's graphic card, the displays might be a bit different?

Thanks for explaining

 

[Priscilia]

Just wondering...

For CS3, is there a separate Apple or Windows version? I'm currently using Win, but if I change to a MacBook, can the Win version work there?

Sorrie 4 the noob question! Tnx!

 

[2evans]

My MBP is using the NIDIVA GeForce 8600M GT 512 MB VRAM... Tot Aperture is processsing based?

Do you mean if I use a different vendor's graphic card, the displays might be a bit different?

Thanks for explaining

Aperture does real time adjustments on the fly and needs the horse power of a dedicated video card (such as the one in your mac book pro versus integrated graphics).

 

[2evans]

Just wondering...

For CS3, is there a separate Apple or Windows version? I'm currently using Win, but if I change to a MacBook, can the Win version work there?

Sorrie 4 the noob question! Tnx!

I believe it's different. I've heard of people trading in one version for another from adobe.