Author Topic: Buying a new laptop (Read 1513 times)

peteinct · « **on:** August 05, 2007, 06:39:00 AM »

Hi Guys, I'm looking for a new laptop. Does anybody have any ideas or suggestions? It may need to do a lot of photo editing. I am ignorant of all this tuff as long as my computer can reach APS I'm happy.
thanks, pete

ilbob · « **Reply #1 on:** August 05, 2007, 07:30:17 AM »

Quote from: peteinct on August 05, 2007, 05:39:00 AM

Hi Guys, I'm looking for a new laptop. Does anybody have any ideas or suggestions? It may need to do a lot of photo editing. I am ignorant of all this tuff as long as my computer can reach APS I'm happy.
thanks, pete

Depends on what kind of photo editing you are talking about. Minor editing does not require enormous processing power or unusual software.

Serious editing requires both. Some will tell you that only a Mac is suitable for serious photo editing. They are just wrong, but it is hard for them to admit it, because there is a cultish side to owning a Mac.

I would check the web site for whatever photo editing software you are using. They will probably have some recommendations on what kind/type of computer is appropriate. You should also talk to other users of the software for ideas.

Sindawe · « **Reply #2 on:** August 05, 2007, 07:43:30 AM »

My current primary machine (5 year old Inspirion 8200) is due to for replacement. I'm seriously considering a loaded 17" MacBook Pro. I have zero exposure the Apple's current generation of operating system and getting an Intel Mac would alleviate that issue and allow me to run Window either via Bootcamp or 3rd party visualization utility.

Len Budney · « **Reply #3 on:** August 05, 2007, 07:55:54 AM »

Quote from: ilbob on August 05, 2007, 06:30:17 AM

Some will tell you that only a Mac is suitable for serious photo editing. They are just wrong...

Right. Getting a Mac has nothing to do with the fact that it's best for any specific purpose. You should get a Mac because you're a double weenie if you don't. It's also great for photo editing, but that's just a fringe benefit.

--Len.

wooderson · « **Reply #4 on:** August 05, 2007, 08:30:22 AM »

I would choose for a 15" MBP over the 17" - the new LED backlit screens are noticeably superior to the old style (which the 17" is stuck with, currently) and the 15" is easier to carry. If you need more screen real estate, you can always dock it into a bigger monitor at home.

Haven't owned anything but Macs since 2000ish and couldn't turn back at this point, even when the company frustrates me (no desktop aside from the Mac Pro or the iMac, ridiculous upsell charges for components, etc.).

roo_ster · « **Reply #5 on:** August 05, 2007, 09:49:09 AM »

If you want/need/are bullied into a Mac, you decision is made.

If you go Wintel, I would suggest a small business workstation-replacement with a decent graphics card (256MB ATI or Nvidia). If there is a faster hard drive option, get it, then bump up the RAM* if you have budget left. The HD access speed is a laptop's bottleneck. Invest here if you already have 1GB.

Dell is what IBM used to be: a safe bet. HP produces a better machine than they used to. There are always the Lenovo machines.

* 2GB ought to be plenty. Mike Irwin amounts of RAM are not necessary.

MillCreek · « **Reply #6 on:** August 05, 2007, 09:57:25 AM »

I recently bought a current and very high-end HP laptop as a refurbished unit from Costco. It cost $ 900 and as far as I could tell, it was new. The same unit from Best Buy or HP online cost upwards of $ 1700. Take a look at costco.com in the refurbished computer section. I used to buy laptops from eCost, but I no longer recommend them as a vendor.

wooderson · « **Reply #7 on:** August 05, 2007, 10:07:05 AM »

If you decide to go with a Macbook Pro, don't pay to upgrade their memory (though you may never want more than the 2GB provided) - they want ~$700 to go from 2GB to 4GB, when you can buy 4GB from OWC/MacSales.com for ~$220 and sell the 2GB online for $75-100.
I upgraded my mother's to 4GB aftermarket because she's going to run Windows through Parallels on it a big chunk of the time, but even then it probably wasn't absolutely necessary.

If you're going to do much picture editing, it might be worth the upgrade fee from the stock 5400rpm drive to the 7200rpm drive (shaves a little time off most things you do that require hard drive access), as that isn't a part that's user-accessible.

bedlamite · « **Reply #8 on:** August 05, 2007, 10:21:47 AM »

I picked up an Acer 5100 from Newegg 2 months ago and after adding 1GB of RAM (1.5GB total), it's had zero problems.

ilbob · « **Reply #9 on:** August 05, 2007, 11:55:16 AM »

Quote from: bedlamite on August 05, 2007, 09:21:47 AM

I picked up an Acer 5100 from Newegg 2 months ago and after adding 1GB of RAM (1.5GB total), it's had zero problems.

But are you running the same software package(s) he is planning to run? Some photo editing packages are not real resource hogs, others are. Just about any new machine will run MSOffice w/o a hitch, but might have issues with other software.

There may be other issues as well, like the need to have USB2 ports that can actually handle the high speed data the port is capable of. A lot of machines support USB2 but can't take the data as fast as the port can supply it. If you were to need to throw a lot of data through your USB2 port (such as very high resolution scanning), it could be a major bottleneck.

never_retreat · « **Reply #10 on:** August 05, 2007, 03:05:20 PM »

IBM lenovo makes the best laptops IMAO. Hp's suck and dells tech support sucks so.....
Fwi IBM has english speaking tech support, a very big selling point for me.
I'm not going to touch the mac's comments with a 10 foot stick.
Desktops are almost always better for photo and video editing also cad work.
I think the fact that there not trying to conserve power like a lop top is designed to do for a longer battery life.

longeyes · « **Reply #11 on:** August 06, 2007, 08:28:04 AM »

Unless you have an IT Dept. to bring your problems to, get a Mac. I used to be a heavy Windows guy. I started with the original IBM PC in '82, went through Compaqs and Dells and HPs and more IBMs. Things started to unwind with the advent of the Internet age and all the security problems it brought with it. I got my first Mac, a G3 tower, back in '99 for video editing. Right now I'm a committed Mac user with two Macs and plans to buy a third.

RadioFreeSeaLab · « **Reply #12 on:** August 06, 2007, 09:16:45 AM »

You can edit photos on Windows or Mac equally well. I prefer using a Mac because I support 75 windows computers at work, and when I get home, I like to have some peace and quiet.

Matt King · « **Reply #13 on:** August 08, 2007, 12:41:48 PM »

Does Corsair RAM work in Macs?

Jamisjockey · « **Reply #14 on:** August 09, 2007, 03:31:57 AM »

Dell. You can still order new Dells with XP (hafta call them to do it), or outlet computers with XP. They also come with alot less junk installed....my HP desktop had around 40 games on it I never used....junk junk junk.
PS: Vista blows.

Finch · « **Reply #15 on:** August 10, 2007, 12:54:11 AM »

Dell + Linux (Ubuntu) > Windows/OS X

peteinct · « **Reply #16 on:** August 10, 2007, 08:18:28 AM »

Thanks for the replies. It turns out that my wife needs to display digital photos as a slide show on a large screen so she can edit them on our home computer. So, how good are LCD projectors or should I get a large flatscreen display?
pete

RadioFreeSeaLab · « **Reply #17 on:** August 10, 2007, 08:22:24 AM »

Depends on your budget, and how large you're talking about.

peteinct · « **Reply #18 on:** August 10, 2007, 08:57:27 AM »

Dsami, I know bupkis about any of it show I am just trying to get an idea of what to look at. I think good picture quality would be important.
pete

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Author Topic: Buying a new laptop (Read 1513 times)