Graphic / Video Design Laptop

cosgrove80

I'm looking to buy a small laptop, perhaps 13" to 15" screen that I could use to do design work on.

I know doing any video editing or graphics work on a screen that size is a bit ridiculous but I would be using it for meetings etc and it'd be nice to be able to make changes to work when I'm out and about. I have a 17" laptop at the moment but I'm getting tired of lugging it around everywhere.

With Photoshop and After Effects (the software I'd most likely be using) RAM probably has the biggest effect on how they run.

I'm not up to date on Laptop processors or graphics cards so I'm wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction of what I should be looking for?

If I could get 3GB of RAM what else would I need? Thanks for any advice.

The requirements for After Effects and Photoshop are;

* 1.5GHz or faster processor*
* Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 (Service Pack 3 recommended) or Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (certified for 32-bit Windows XP and 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista)
* 2GB of RAM
* 1.3GB of available hard-disk space for installation, plus 2GB of space for optional content; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on flash-based storage devices)
* 1,280x900 display with OpenGL 2.0–compatible graphics card
* DVD-ROM drive
* QuickTime 7.4.5 software required to use QuickTime features
* Broadband Internet connection required for online services†

* 1.8GHz or faster processor
* Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 (Service Pack 3 recommended) or Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (certified for 32-bit Windows XP and 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista)
* 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended)
* 1GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on flash-based storage devices)
* 1,024x768 display (1,280x800 recommended) with 16-bit video card
* Some GPU-accelerated features require graphics support for Shader Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0
* DVD-ROM drive
* QuickTime 7.2 software required for multimedia features
* Broadband Internet connection required for online services*

leninbenjamin

what's your budget?

there are a few of suitable 13'' out there. the two that really come to mind are the Dell Studio XPS 13'' or the Sony VAIO Z. the Studio would be among the most powerful in the 13'' category, with the VAIO being a bit weaker in terms of graphics. a nice thing about the VAIO Z is that it has really large resolution for a 13'' screen, 1600*900, and it's very portable. however the downside is it's pricy as hell, you'd be talking €2k. the studio would be just over €1k for the spec you'd need.

much more in the 15'' range. maybe something like the mac book pro would be good here.

cosgrove80

Sorry, I should have mentioned my budget. I guess €700 would be the top end.

The new 13" Macbook would be pretty cool but I don't think I can stretch to the €1000+ price at the moment. As for the €2k Viao I can only dream.

You're right though, there are many more options in the 15" category.

This entry-level Viao could be powerful enough

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Sony_VAIO_NS11J-S_VGN-NS11J-S.CEK/version.asp

I saw this 12" Samsung too
http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Samsung_Q210-AS04UK_Laptop_NP-Q210-AS04UK/version.asp?PID=
for €756, which might do.

I'm probably a bit unrealistic with my budget but thanks for the help. It's just I've been using a NC10 recently and I want the best of both worlds.

Alanstrainor

You might want to have a read of THIS before buying any of the above.

leninbenjamin

cosgrove80 wrote: »

Sorry, I should have mentioned my budget. I guess €700 would be the top end.

The new 13" Macbook would be pretty cool but I don't think I can stretch to the €1000+ price at the moment. As for the €2k Viao I can only dream.

You're right though, there are many more options in the 15" category.

This entry-level Viao could be powerful enough

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Sony_VAIO_NS11J-S_VGN-NS11J-S.CEK/version.asp

I saw this 12" Samsung too
http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Samsung_Q210-AS04UK_Laptop_NP-Q210-AS04UK/version.asp?PID=
for €756, which might do.

I'm probably a bit unrealistic with my budget but thanks for the help. It's just I've been using a NC10 recently and I want the best of both worlds.

forgot about the q210, it gets some pretty positive reviews. i'd stay away from the VAIO, specs are fine but it's a VAIO which means you can get better value elsewhere, and it's nearly 3KG which isn't great from a portability point of view. Samsung would seem a better option, it's 2kg and has a dedicated graphics card. in terms of screen resolution you can do better, but for your budget it's a pretty good buy imo.

and yeah, keep away from laptopsdirect.ie

cosgrove80

Thanks for the advice. I was aware of people having issues with Laptopsdirect. I was just using it to get an idea of prices for different models.

I'll read up on the Samsungs and also keep an eye out on the Dell oulet store.