What Laptop should I buy?

Gilly B

Gilly B

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,264
Name
Gillian
Edit My Images
Yes
My old lappy fell asleep during a shoot on Saturday and my assistant was not happy. Fortunately, I took my work one with me as back up.

Hubby has agreed a budget of £500.00 to get a state-of-the-art one, so I had better get a good one. I have been told not to go for a Pentium. It must have at least 1gb of RAM, and have a clearview screen in widescreen between 14 & 17". He said don't go for a HP, Acer or Meridian. I need to look for one that is compatible with Adobe PS CS2/3 etc.

Any ideas? Answers on a postcard please
 
id second that dont buy an acer, mines crap, ive ahd to reformat it about 4 times because it keeps screwing up and in their infinite wisdom they put all the usb ports and soundcard plugs right where you lean your palms on the front edge. the screen is beuitiful though, its one of those gloss black ones that gives a very mnice picture
 
Two acers ( different models) in the familly and both have give more than their fair share of problems, ie hinges broke, then fixed under warrenty then broke again as the warrenty ran out.
one goes to sleep of its own accord but does wake up when poked and proded.
Won't work when charging ( except when it feels like it) and a few other niggles

 
What about a Dell?
I've never had a Dell laptop so I can't comment on them, but this one isn't too badly priced.

---------------------
[EDIT - yes it would help if i posted the link wouldn't it?]
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&l=en&oc=N1010003&s=dhs
Vostro 1000 NB(N1010003)

AMD® Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL60
Genuine Windows Vista® Business - English
OR
Genuine Windows XP Professional
2048MB 533MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
120GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 HyperMemory (integrated)
Microsoft Works 8.0 - English
Dell Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini-Card - Europe
56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter - UK
4 cell Lithium-Ion Battery (29 Whr)
Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive including Software
15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display


The LCD can be upgraded for an extra tenner to give it even more glosssss.
The price is £386, but you'll need to choose 1 year warranty to get it to that price.
 
I would go for a Core2Duo instead of a AMD X2 they are much better
 
I would go a Dell Vostro 1400. If you get it with

-2ghz core 2 duo CPU
-2gb of ram
-120gb HDD
-dedicated graphics card
-14.1 inch glossy screen with a 1440x900 resolution

you will get it for just about £500 including delivery. If you can streatch another £50, then you can also get 9 cell battery, and built in webcam. It also has firewire built in, which is not exactly standerd these days (but very usefull).

I am probably going to upgrade to this if I can't get the backlight on the LCD of my current notebook fixed.
 
I'd second Dell on quality, price and service.
Just my personel experience from ordering pc's for other people. ;)
 
Answers on a postcard for such a broad question? No chance ;)

There’s nout wrong with HP's either (top of their game atm, imo), give them a look (don't forget to call them up and lie about what Dell are offering) its still back to school time so they maybe looking to shift some stock before Christmas. Don't forget to look at 3 year support warranty, they offer good rates and if you need it backup and running ASAP its a lot safer knowing your spare part is moved by UPS 24/7.

The Dell D620 can be a good machine to work with, the GSK staff use them here and they have a fantastic feel - few friends got them when they were at stupidly low prices a month back. If your getting XP 1-2Gb will be sufficient but if you can get the option to just get 1-Gb check E-Buyer.com or overclockers.co.uk for RAM upgrades which can at times be cheaper then the retailer.

You don't need dedicated graphics, it extra heat and power usage that isn't needed unless your running some heavy apps, even then a Quadro series is better for the bigger power ability that the business side lappys are sold with.

And yes C2D > spec of fluff > AMD x2 series



^^Thats my boyfriends response of MSN, not me
 
Skinny Pete said:
You don't need dedicated graphics, it extra heat and power usage that isn't needed unless your running some heavy apps, even then a Quadro series is better for the bigger power ability that the business side lappys are sold with.
Click to expand...

While normally I would agree with this for most people, I have found dedicated graphics cards handle hardware profiling better then the intel built in ones (seems to hold the profile for longer and requires less frequent recalibrating), and the colours, especially on the ATI ones, seem just that little bit better.
 
What laptop you should get for photography? That's a no-brainer:

MacBookPro with Core2 Duo and 2GB RAM, gorgeous 17" screen. Runs Windows and Mac operating systems side-by-side, simultaneously, if you need it. And Linux too. So you get 3 machines for the price of one.

The choice of pros.

Vrrroom with a view!

(I got mine a week ago . . . WOOOHOOO ! Complete with Airport Extreme (wireless broadband LAN) and 500GB external HD)
 
W.Smith said:
What laptop you should get for photography? That's a no-brainer:

MacBookPro with Core2 Duo and 2GB RAM, gorgeous 17" screen. Runs Windows and Mac operating systems side-by-side, simultaneously, if you need it. And Linux too. So you get 3 machines for the price of one.

The choice of pros.

Vrrroom with a view!

(I got mine a week ago . . . WOOOHOOO ! Complete with Airport Extreme (wireless broadband LAN) and 500GB external HD)
Click to expand...

Busts the £500 budget quite considerably though ;)
 
FranchiseJuan said:
While normally I would agree with this for most people, I have found dedicated graphics cards handle hardware profiling better then the intel built in ones (seems to hold the profile for longer and requires less frequent recalibrating), and the colours, especially on the ATI ones, seem just that little bit better.
Click to expand...

Laptop displays are never up to it, and its not going to be down to the GFX card but the actual display, there is a difference but on a laptop its negligble, its extra mony which will never be used - ofcourse everyone should agree Photoshop should be done in a comfy chair with a lovely Dual 20"+ Display.

:D

Another point the laptop will ofcourse have DVI out (CRT for you retro behomoth users) which can display the image in all its glory so the inputted graphics will be better - depends on which Intel display chip is used or indeed what ATi or nVidia core is installed.
 
£500 is way too tight, you're much better off saving for a few months and buying a decent spec C2D unit, or ideally a macbook pro.
 
IanC_UK said:
Busts the £500 budget quite considerably though ;)
Click to expand...

W.Smith - That's not fair :nono::'(. I just took a look and I want one now. There is noooo way I can afford that before my next event on the 3rd Nov. I might be able to stretch to £600 though. I will explore all of the things you guys have said above. Thanks for your comments. Oh! just remembered my Brother also said, if I can, see if I can get a DVD drive that will come out and put a Hard Drive in instead (hot swappable) ?

Is it more expensive to get someone like Dell to build it with your own shopping list?
 
I've had my Sony Vaio for two years now and never had any bother with it, bit pricey when it was new, but have seen the newer models quite cheap now.
 
benneh said:
£500 is way too tight, you're much better off saving for a few months and buying a decent spec C2D unit, or ideally a macbook pro.
Click to expand...

You have a point.

I will be mainly using the laptop for taking to events. My assistant uploads the RAW images into Zoombrowser and creates a quick slide show for the clients to view and order. I want Adobe CS2 (3 in the future) on in case a client wants to see me after the shoot about a particular image etc. After the 20th family has been photographed, my current laptop is ready for bed and usually gives up and can take half an hour to upload 20 images. On Saturday when this happened, I said shut it down and re-boot it to release the memory, but it refused to start up again. Grrrreat!!! not. Just don't want the extra stress of the client sighing when you have to get the other laptop going - which belongs to my employer.
 
Gilly B said:
[...] if I can get a DVD drive that will come out and put a Hard Drive in instead (hot swappable) ?

[...]
Click to expand...

That's one other important reason why I got the MacBookPro, Gilly: it's got a 160GB harddisk – more than plenty for on-the-go – and you can hook up to 4 hard disks to the Airport Extreme which are fully online (USB 2.0 plus) the second you get within range of your Airport Extreme base station (150 feet plus).
That way I now have my new 500GB and my old 300GB disk online! 800GB total . . .
(And I can expand further as needed).

No need to "hot-swap" (with associated risks), nor to schlepp hard disks around (with associated risks)!

Worth saving up for, imo.
 
the mac is the dogs wotsits when it comes to imaging apps..
if windows is more ideal, i have used, toshiba, ibm, fujitsi, hp, compaq & sony
tosh good but can be bulky
ibm just didnt like
hp good
fujitsu good BUT the mouse pad will kill you its just too sensitive and you will hit it all the time
sony expensive
compaq would be my recommendation - i'm running vista home premium, office 2007, cs2, countless downloads and browser sessions, usually has 3 users logged on at any one time, it has dual core 1.6ghz and 1gb ram and should fall in budget - plus it looks good, and the screen is very good and bright
 
Buy a reliable laptop that's C2D+.

Buy 2GB of RAM for it.

Buy a decent (IPS) panel screen (as laptop screens are all average to terrible for photoedit).
 
TeeTee said:
Buy a reliable laptop that's C2D+.

Buy 2GB of RAM for it.

Buy a decent (IPS) panel screen (as laptop screens are all average to terrible for photoedit).
Click to expand...

Thanks for your continued responses. TeeTee - what does C2D+ and IPS mean please? I might be good at taking photographs, but I am useless at PC techi stuff.

All I want is a laptop with a shiny screen, lots of RAM (Girls! calm down:nuts:), and compatible with Adobe PS CS2 & 3... and a bit more of course.
 
andyt70 said:
the compaq would be my recommendation - i'm running vista home premium, office 2007, cs2, countless downloads and browser sessions, usually has 3 users logged on at any one time, it has dual core 1.6ghz and 1gb ram and should fall in budget - plus it looks good, and the screen is very good and bright
Click to expand...


Andy, what model do you have for me to look it up please?
 
Hey Gilly... couldn't you s t r e t c h a little more and go for a Macbook...? I have a Dell and a macBook - luv 'em both, but if I were to choose what to get next, there'd be no choice. Would have to be a Mac.

Clickety Linky
 
Hey John, I suppose I could dip in my 70-200mm IS 2.8 lens fund.:'(

Actually, your linky surprised me, as the Mac Books I was looking at last night were all way over £1,000.

My concerns with a Mac were always about compatibility with other software packages. Is the cheapest Mac Book shown on that link any good?:shrug:

Just out of curiosity, what Dell do you have.
 
Word of warning about Sony laptops. The after sales service I found to be appalling. I purchased several Sony laptops, they were good pieces of equipment, but once they go faulty the level of service I found to be far below par.
 
taxi said:
Word of warning about Sony laptops. The after sales service I found to be appalling. I purchased several Sony laptops, they were good pieces of equipment, but once they go faulty the level of service I found to be far below par.
Click to expand...

Yikes, Taxi I will certainly bear that in mind.
 
Hi Gilly

I have a Dell D820 and it's superb. The screen resolution is a staggering 1980x1200 and is crystal clear, have had just coming up to 18 months now and as I am self employed, I use it as my business PC. Most of my clients have PC based networks and compatibility with MS Project (which most of my clients also use) is one reason I stick with PC's.

The Macbook I have is the middle one of the MacBook range you see on that link I provided. I have to say Gilly, it is an exceptional machine... simply exceptional. I am not one of these people who 'once gone Mac are anti MS' - not at all. However, I really do like the simplicity of the OSx interface, no blue screens of death, the way all the applications integrate cleanly, the speed, and of course the aesthetic... Apple really know how to design good machines. I will keep buying PC's for business use, and will certainly stick with Dell (have had 3 or 4 now for business as I have upgraded over the years), even my son has a Dell desktop system. However, for personal use - and for all my music (several hardware synths connected as well as a few softsynths), recording studio gear (Cubase), and my photography (Lightroom and Photoshop) I will 100% always use my Mac.

Personally, depending on what you want to use the machine for - if it's your tog stuff, I'd go for a Mac no question. There's absolutely no issue with compatability as you can run all XP apps on the Mac through Parallels, however - all apps I want to use are available for the Mac too. I have Office for Mac, Photoshop, Lightroom, as well as loads of music software - all working brilliantly.

Hope that helps...
 
Normal Macbooks are not much more than your £500 budget, if I had around that much to spend that's what my money would go on.

Otherwise if you're set on getting Windows then look at the Dell Factory Outlet for bargains.

Apple
HP/Compaq
Sony
Dell

all make good notebooks and you won't go far wrong with any of them.
 
Geez, thanks John and Ross for taking the time to explain your reasons etc. John, I am half erring on the side of a Mac Book now but, and it is a big but, bringing myself down to earth again, 9 times out of 10 it won't be me using it - but my assistant! As I mentioned above, it is for loading RAW images on during events where people are queuing to view their piccies in a slideshow and then ordering up. Of course, I will use it occasionally. Arrrgh! Gilly tugs on her hair a bit.

I am going to have a look at the Dell factory outlet and another look at the Mac Book site. I will probably have a few more questions tomorrow.
 
Sure, fire away - if I can offer any assistance then I'll do my best to offer an impartial view.

If you are using Lightroom, then this runs perfectly on a Mac. The touchpad is the same, and you can use the standard 3 button wheel mouse you possibly use on your laptop. Double click opens an app too!!! ;) Of course, you can set up Lightroom that when you insert your card in your reader, it opens up and launches automatically, loading the images as you go.

By the way.... just in case you're asked, Mac's do have right click!!! :):)
 
iPhoto for the mac will do what you want with regards to loading raw files for viewing as a slideshow

Go and find an apple store and have a play :)
 
Don't paint yourself in a corner by choosing either Windows or Mac! Keep your options open to run either Windows or Mac. Or even both. When you need them. Side-by-side, simultaneously. On a Mac you can do that. On a Wintel machine you can't.
 
I really don't want to turn this into another windows vs mac thing, but I could never bring myself to spend twice as much on the same hardware if I am going to end up using windows anyway.

If you already own much of the software on the windows side, it makes no sense to spend the money again to get the Mac version (just remember how much one copy of photoshop costs), and it you going to buy a powerbook to run XP, then you might as well go and buy a Dell or Toshiba for half the money, as they will have the same hardware inside.

If you really wanted to, you can run OSX on an emulator an any generic notebook anyway.
 
FranchiseJuan said:
[...] If you really wanted to, you can run OSX on an emulator an any generic notebook anyway.
Click to expand...

Really? Which emulator? And which generic notebook for instance? Any links you could share on the subject, FJ?
 
FranchiseJuan said:
I really don't want to turn this into another windows vs mac thing, but I could never bring myself to spend twice as much on the same hardware if I am going to end up using windows anyway.

If you already own much of the software on the windows side, it makes no sense to spend the money again to get the Mac version (just remember how much one copy of photoshop costs)
Click to expand...

You can have the best of both worlds these days with VMWare Fusion

You can run Windows applications in seamless windows, check out the screenshots

http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/

VMWare Fusion is around £30
 
I have just ordered a new dell laptop. I have heard lots of good things about them. I got the following:-

Dell Inspiron 6400 with all standard stuff plus extra RAM (2024) it also has
160GB HDD
Inter Core2duo processor
15.4'' "truelife" widescreen

531 delivered (although there is a 3 week delay, I was quoted 5th Nov when I ordered yesterday)

I had a similar brief and after a bit of research and a word with the tech guys at my work, this was my choice.

Eddie
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top