I've read rumours that the new onboard graphics used in the new Sandy Bridge platform 'borrows' quite a bit from NVIDIA's 3D stack, so we might see some significant improvements in Intel's onboard graphics performance as opposed to that found in the pre Sandy Bridge platform.
Laptop Recommendation
- Thread starter fLiKr
- Start date
I've read rumours that the new onboard graphics used in the new Sandy Bridge platform 'borrows' quite a bit from NVIDIA's 3D stack, so we might see some significant improvements in Intel's onboard graphics performance as opposed to that found in the pre Sandy Bridge platform.
Just to highlight, for utilities such as Photoshop, the GPU doesn't really play a role. More important is:
1) Ability to multitask (more cores = better)
2) Processor speed
3) RAM
Frankly speaking, I don't really think there will be heavy use of GPU in Photoshop, unless you do heavy rendering... Which I doubt happens for 90% of Clubsnap users.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/250525-33-best-graphics-card-photoshop-editing
Photoshop CS5 has support for GPU acceleration. As long as you have a graphics card that comes with at least 256mb of VRAM and has driver support for both OpenGL 2.0 and Shader Model 3.0, your PS is good to fire.
Of course, you can check whether your card supports OGL and SM via diagnostic tools such as GPU-Z.
MisterZhou said:
I can get a 16-inch laptop (pre Sandy Bridge) that features an ATI Radeon HD5650 or its NVIDIA equivalent for a couple hundred bucks more instead of having to suffer with a puny 13-inch screen with onboard graphics.
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Wow thks all for ya recommedations and suggestions. Basically im juz gonna use it for werk i.e words / excel, web surfing, basic lightroom editing... Budget is about 1k to 1.2k.. Not really well versed with the techy details but it wld really help me good if u guys cld name the exact model of the brands.. Lol thks all for ur time!!
CHEERS!!!
CHEERS!!!
Well, can't name any else the discussion will never end.
Choose Mac or Wintel depends on which you like.
What brands of Wintel doesn't matter much now since they use cheapo materials resulting in high failover rate.
Just get a warranty GAO GAO laptop and backup often since you don't need a turbo boast system.
Choose Mac or Wintel depends on which you like.
What brands of Wintel doesn't matter much now since they use cheapo materials resulting in high failover rate.
Just get a warranty GAO GAO laptop and backup often since you don't need a turbo boast system.
How about this? :dunno:
I saw it in a Harvey Norman brochure and the offer is from 1st to 31st March 2011.
I'm recommending this to a friend in JC for studies use.
i have a similiar dilemma to look for a laptop. just for music, movie, internet browsing, photo processing and slideshow, is the latest macbook pro 15 inch with i7 quad core over kill ?
or macbook pro 13 with i5 should be more than sufficient ?
or macbook pro 13 with i5 should be more than sufficient ?
That depends on what kind of photo processing you are doing. Simple tone curve adjustments, or stitching together 30 picture panos have a big difference
On top of uses. Do you know the difference between power consumption?
Do you know that Core i7 is much more power consuming than Core i5?
I'm having my 3.5 years old HP Compaq lappy which has only C2D T5500 1.66GHz (2 cores), 128MB onboard video, 60GB HDD, self upgraded 2GB RAM to run my CS3 for simple editing.
On the other hand, I just bought an Acer lappy last dec which has Core i5 2.4GHz (4 cores), GT330 1GB, 500GB HDD and self upgraded 4GB RAM to run my CS5.
Simple editing for a 18MP 50MB RAW file is pretty snappy on the Acer and the old compaq losing out a little. However, when it comes to rendering and editing my 2.5GB PSB Large Format Document files for wallpapers and designs, even the Acer lappy is sluggish but you can imagine the worst for the HP Compaq.
On the other hand, I just bought an Acer lappy last dec which has Core i5 2.4GHz (4 cores), GT330 1GB, 500GB HDD and self upgraded 4GB RAM to run my CS5.
Simple editing for a 18MP 50MB RAW file is pretty snappy on the Acer and the old compaq losing out a little. However, when it comes to rendering and editing my 2.5GB PSB Large Format Document files for wallpapers and designs, even the Acer lappy is sluggish but you can imagine the worst for the HP Compaq.
I have been using a PC since 10 yrs back, and I bought my 1st Mac end of last year. No doubt all Apple computers are relatively expensive if one compares hardware alone. But buying a Mac is buying into a whole new experience, just like comparing an iPhone and a WinMo handset. It is the end user experience that matters the most to most people out there.
Does Photoshop runs much faster on a Mac? My answer is no. But my answer is yes if you are asking if Photoshop has less crashes on Mac. So are Macs overpriced? My answer is depends, but to me they worth the price as what I need is a rock solid, reliable computer.
And note that these words are from an IT manager of an IT company which do not sell Apple stuff at all. I strongly recommend Windows computers for commercial/mainstream users, but one could really consider Apple computers when it comes to photo editing.
yrh0413 said:
Hi yrh0413, I'm not an IT manager in an IT company just a hands-on tech support with past experience as a graphic designer.
Yes, I agree it is the experience of the user that is placed as top priority and I believe you buy into this concept deeply.
With your current experience you should be able to differentiate the performance and usability of both machines.
If we put the versatile nature of a Wintel machine into a Mac, it will still crash as often considering the amount of bloat ware out there.
After all, do you do your network diagnostic on Mac or PC, access AD or rdp to the common user?
If our Wintel just does Photoshop, MS Office and web surfing then I believe it will have similar crash record as a Mac.
Btw what are you using on your Wintel, I have not gotten a crash on my 24/7 Wintel for 2yrs.
Of course I didn't run much, just some vmware, Photoshop, Maya and surfing CS.
As an endnote, most Mac machines' LCD come with better resolution.
This is one of the factors that hook the consumer into buying it, which can be counter by buying a high quality external LCD.
I know this part sucks big time, a grave oversight by the manufacturers as they cut-throat each other in the price war.
Hope this doesn't cause any flaming session between anyone as everyone is just giving their honest two cents.
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agree with this point. head to to head on spec, Mac is much expensive than PC, almost paying 80% addition. the premium that you pay, is the much happy user experince and it is a Mac.
Hi lonewolf,
No offense taken. Quoting myself "I strongly recommend Windows computers for commercial/mainstream users, but one could really consider Apple computers when it comes to photo editing. "
No offense taken. Quoting myself "I strongly recommend Windows computers for commercial/mainstream users, but one could really consider Apple computers when it comes to photo editing. "
Before my recommendations, I would like to ask you one question. How important is you time.
If you've lots of time to spare, just go for the cheapest one that meets your expectation. You can afford the time to reinstall all the programs and even pay a visit to the SC. IMO, reinstalling programs and visit to the SC takes helluva lot of time and is very, very unproductive and frustrating.
That is why I recommend those more reliable laptops that are mean for business like some HP business notebooks or the Thinkpad range of machines. They might be more expensive, but they are more reliable, more robust, more durable and usually comes with 3yr warranty.
Some ever said that once you've use a Thinkpad, you'll never want to use anything else. I guess it's true.
If you've lots of time to spare, just go for the cheapest one that meets your expectation. You can afford the time to reinstall all the programs and even pay a visit to the SC. IMO, reinstalling programs and visit to the SC takes helluva lot of time and is very, very unproductive and frustrating.
That is why I recommend those more reliable laptops that are mean for business like some HP business notebooks or the Thinkpad range of machines. They might be more expensive, but they are more reliable, more robust, more durable and usually comes with 3yr warranty.
Some ever said that once you've use a Thinkpad, you'll never want to use anything else. I guess it's true.
