A question about laptops for photo editing..

YogiDirra

I am considering laptops at the moment, going to buy one soon.

My question out there to Photoshop users, who may know a bit about laptops is:

Is 1 GB RAM enough when using Photoshop and one or two other applications at the same time. Would it be too slow? Is dedicated graphics memory (2 x 1GB RAM) a necessity?

This is the laptop in question I am wondering about...here http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4LV3&CategorySelectedId=11105&NavigationKey=4294953483,403550000,408370000,387820000,378910000,407930000,388690000,407140000,388530000,408560000,408590000,408620000,408810000,408780000,408840000,4294953489,4294954397

Thanks in advance for help...

Fajitas!

I'd be going for a 2 gig really.

RoryW

2gb

YogiDirra

Thanks....What about screen size, is 17" a necessity, or would 15.4 be sufficient (1200 x 800 res)?

Thanks!

Masada

theres plenty of choice of laptops around with 2gig ram bt on my HP im running 1gb ram and it copes fine, maybe sometimes if im using high res photos in photoshop aswell as something like itunes i can freeze up for a second but not a major deal.,

Calina

2gig and plenty of hard drive space for preference.

im...LOST

A dedicated graphics card is only necessary for 3d work or games. It will make no difference for 2d stuff like Photoshop.

But yeah, 2gb tbh.

Roen

What OS are you going to put on it? Or does it come with one?

Masada

if its vista then defo 2gb.,

templeathea

I'd also go for the bigger monitor

elven

2gb for sure. RAM will affect it far more than a graphics card ever will. As calina says, HD space too.

I'd tailor the screen size to what you're prepared to carry, although obviously with photoshop screen space is at a premium - but there's no point in having a bigger screen if you can't be arsed lugging the thing around.

Hugh_C

17 inch like that ... you'll have a dropped shoulder in no time. Those f3ckers are heavy - bloke in work has one.

I use 3GB, just to be awkward. But that runs PShop, Lightroom and a bunch of email/web stuff on a 13" display (with FCP at a push).

YMMV.

Hugh

YogiDirra

Thanks for info everyone! I'll def get 2 GB. Last question, again relating to photo editing:

About monitors, is there much diff between brands? I'd presume that Sony have the best?...any noticeable diff between brands?

Thanks everyone, can't wait to get one and get started.

Masada

YogiDirra wrote: »

Thanks for info everyone! I'll def get 2 GB. Last question, again relating to photo editing:

About monitors, is there much diff between brands? I'd presume that Sony have the best?...any noticeable diff between brands?

Thanks everyone, can't wait to get one and get started.

why do so many people assume sony are the best with this kinda stuff? sony are cheap f**kers who are over hyped and over priced,,. id look elsewhere if it was me.,;)

YogiDirra

vtec wrote: »

why do so many people assume sony are the best with this kinda stuff? sony are cheap f**kers who are over hyped and over priced,,. id look elsewhere if it was me.,;)

Background in Tv's..

Paddy@CIRL

Big difference between 1GB and 2GB of RAM, I find my desktop runs everything comfortably at 2GB but my laptop struggles with 1GB. Going MBP this year hopefully so know that Macs are probably better at handling and design work. I'm just basing that on experience using similarly spec based desktops running OSX and XP ...

rymus

Paddy@CIRL wrote: »

Going MBP this year hopefully so know that Macs are probably better at handling and design work. I'm just basing that on experience using similarly spec based desktops running OSX and XP ...

Make sure you get the matte screen... it's wonderful. Also, I've found that my 17" macbook pro isn't really any heavier than a 15" dell something or other I have at home. When you're faced with the screen size choice, I'd certainly consider getting the 17".

oshead

If the reason you are buying a laptop is portability. You should think about smaller screen sized. Buy an external USB hard disk drive. You'll need to archive regularly.

Four more things to consider. Processor (as fast as you can get. ie... dual-core, dont get celeron), Screen (High Def), RAM (As much as you can afford) and internal hard disk (Fastest 7200 rpm).

Dave OS

mikeanywhere

Fajitas! wrote: »

I'd be going for a 2 gig really.

At least that, go for more if you can get more in it as it will save you a ton of cursing later......

Fajitas!

As regards size, I thought it'd be great having a 17in widescreen.

If I could buy again, I'd go as small as possible... The bigger the screen, the heavier, more awkward, and sh*tter the battery is.

Cabaal

Get 2GB, I find my MacBook handy enough,
Have a 160GB drive in it and now with Leopard I have TimeMachine setup to backup my macbook to a external drive so the odds of me loosing everything are slim.

To be honest though I regret not getting a MacBook Pro