Spec for new Laptop?

D Audio Tripper

Hi, just wondering could anyone point me in the right direction here, I'm looking to buy a new laptop for running the likes of Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Fireworks etc.

I'm only starting out in the world of web design so something that's gonna last me, and be able to perform etc if I were to get into web design seriously.

Any recommendations on makes, models would be much appreciated and I'm not necessarily trying to get the cheapest laptop out there but something good!!
Thanks in advance

p

Anything that's not a complete budget laptop will do you fine.

squibs

Photoshop is very partial to RAM, as are most of the Adobe programs - get at least 3Gb on a vista machine. I settled for 2Gb a couple of years ago and regret it - vista eats over a gig before I even launch a program. The memory, screen, processor and hard drive would all be key factors for a durable web design laptop.

daymobrew

I invested in a Dell Studio with 17" widescreen display.
I made a point in paying a bit more for a faster processor.
The bigger screen and good processor are well worth it.

zAbbo

Macbook / Macbook Pro - or whatever Windows based laptop that has fast RAM/CPU.

ron_darrell

Much as I hate to disagree with my learned colleagues, and counter-intuitive as this will sound it's not always a good idea when buying a comp for web design/development to go with the highest end spec. The reasoning is as follows:

1. Not all of your potential clients are going to have high end spec machines - getting the site to run well and quickly on a lower spec machine means more of your clients are going to get to enjoy a high quality site
2. When starting out in web design, the cash to get a high spec machine might not be as readily available
3. Dreamweaver & photoshop are great tools but not the be all and end all of web design - it is possible to make great sites without them using other tools that don't require masses of RAM or processor speeds that have to be written in 10 pow x format

I'm sure lots of peeps will now proceed to disagree with me but how and ever, as has been mentioned anything above a budget machine will be fine. Develop, if you can, for Firefox or Google Chrome and apply the IE hacks to make it work as well in IE. Always test in at least those 3 browsers (and maybe also Safari) in at least 3 different resolutions (a lower res, a higher res and your normal res) on at least 3 different machines (one of them not being a laptop).

Best of luck

-RD

squibs

Much as I hate to disagree with my learned colleagues, and counter-intuitive as this will sound it's not always a good idea when buying a comp for web design/development to go with the highest end spec. The reasoning is as follows:

1. Not all of your potential clients are going to have high end spec machines - getting the site to run well and quickly on a lower spec machine means more of your clients are going to get to enjoy a high quality site
2. When starting out in web design, the cash to get a high spec machine might not be as readily available
3. Dreamweaver & photoshop are great tools but not the be all and end all of web design - it is possible to make great sites without them using other tools that don't require masses of RAM or processor speeds that have to be written in 10 pow x format

I'm sure lots of peeps will now proceed to disagree with me but how and ever, as has been mentioned anything above a budget machine will be fine. Develop, if you can, for Firefox or Google Chrome and apply the IE hacks to make it work as well in IE. Always test in at least those 3 browsers (and maybe also Safari) in at least 3 different resolutions (a lower res, a higher res and your normal res) on at least 3 different machines (one of them not being a laptop).

The OP specifically requested a machine for Dreamweaver, Photoshop, etc.
Displaying the site in a browser will work on any old machine, designing it will require some grunt for graphics/flash software. There are browser plugins to resize a browser to smaller resolutions. Open source software like The Gimp, and cheaper Flash alternatives are still quite resource hungry. While websites can be made on cheap/free software, designers tend to use Adobe products because they save time, have more features, are a standard, and are more stable. This is why Adobe can charge those prices.

That being said, we'll use good free software where we can get it - I use Eclipse and Notepad++ when writing code for example. The other issue with the budget machine is that it will become obsolete quicker, and not fulfil the OP's requirement for "something that's gonna last me"

Reamer Fanny

Recommended anything with a minimum of 1Gig RAM, the Adobe Suite tends to eat up RAM, running Windows XP, or if you have to Vista. A good graphics card is also a must, something that will allow greater resolution than 1024x768

padocon

Use a mackbook. Photoshop runs fine. Bought on last year. It was the second model up though.

Pixelcraft

I recommend a macbook also. They're great machines, and you can run all major browsers for testing (with osx & windows)

padocon

Pixelcraft wrote: »

I recommend a macbook also. They're great machines, and you can run all major browsers for testing (with osx & windows)

+1

Once you go Mac you'll never go back!
Its a simple machine!

damienmcd

padocon wrote: »

+1

Once you go Mac you'll never go back!
Its a simple machine!

I use a MacBook and it's perfect for the job.

However if budget is a factor and if you feel up to it I'd reccommend a low-end Fujitsu-Siemens or something and if you can, do the following:

1) Get rid of Vista! Get hold of XP and put that on instead.

2) Get some extra RAM off Crucial or Komplett, making sure you find out how much and what type your machine will take. The Crucial site has a little tool that scans your system and tells you what your computer uses and it's maximum that it can have installed. And it's pretty cheap too. Around €50 for 4GB.

3) Get yourself a bigger hard drive if the one you get with the new machine is below 200GB. You won't realise how quickly it'll fill up when you start doing larger projects.

If you want some advice just PM me and I'll be happy to help since I had a few nightmares with previous laptops.

I'd still reccommend a MacBook though. I got this one http://store.apple.com/ie/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook?mco=MTE4MTY and got more RAM (4GB) and bigger HD (320GB) both off Komplett and now it's working like a charm.

Also if you're a student you can go to the student section of the MacBook site and get around 10-15% off.
http://store.apple.com/ie/browse/campaigns/back_to_school?mco=Mjg4ODgwOQ

bSlick

Dont know why people would recommend a macbook over a regular laptop. You pay an absolutely huge premium for apple computer products. Presumably because they have to make back all the money they spend on Hollywood product placement. It might work great, but you can get a similarly specced (or better) regular laptop for 50%-60% of an equivalent macbook that would work just as well.

padocon

bSlick wrote: »

Dont know why people would recommend a macbook over a regular laptop. You pay an absolutely huge premium for apple computer products. Presumably because they have to make back all the money they spend on Hollywood product placement. It might work great, but you can get a similarly specced (or better) regular laptop for 50%-60% of an equivalent macbook that would work just as well.

For one better grafics and more importantly the better operating system!!
I love Mac its as I said, simple!

I'll give you an example. I went on holiday to Italy and in my hotel there was internet. I come down with my Mac book & it picks up the wifi straight away. Another guy with windows was there for an hour trying to get the wifi to work, even asks me to help!

Windows operating system is only all right in my opinion. But if money is an issue then windows is fine. I mean when your in programs its almost exactly the same as Mac.

Good look OP & I hope you have success in choosing the laptop thats right for you!

bSlick

padocon wrote: »

For one better grafics and more importantly the better operating system!!
I love Mac its as I said, simple!

Don't know what you mean by better graphics, you'll get a far better graphics card for your money if you get a regular laptop.

I'll give you an example. I went on holiday to Italy and in my hotel there was internet. I come down with my Mac book & it picks up the wifi straight away. Another guy with windows was there for an hour trying to get the wifi to work, even asks me to help!

Windows operating system is only all right in my opinion. But if money is an issue then windows is fine. I mean when your in programs its almost exactly the same as Mac.

Good look OP & I hope you have success in choosing the laptop thats right for you!

Here's what €1699 gets you when you buy a macbook pro

13 inch display
2.53 Ghz Intel core 2 Duo
4GB Memory
250GB hard drive
SD Slot
Nvidia GForce 9400M graphics


That is an absolute joke of a spec for that kind of money. I don't know how anybody could recommend such a machine to the original poster. My friend bought a regular laptop last weekend, cost him €700 and it has a better graphics card, a (70GB) bigger hard drive and a 15 inch display. For less than half the price of the mac. And he bought it in Currys, if he had've been willing to wait a few days he could've got it online even cheaper. Apple have by far the most aesthically pleasing design when it comes to laptops but when it comes to what matters, power, they are fall well short of the mark.

So basically when you go for a mac, you are paying a 100% premium just to get a better operating system. Which you could get for free if you switched to linux. I would strongly advise the OP against throwing away cash on an overhyped, underpowered, very will marketed machine such as a macbook.

Pixelcraft

bSlick wrote: »

Here's what €1699 gets you when you buy a macbook pro

13 inch display
2.53 Ghz Intel core 2 Duo
4GB Memory
250GB hard drive
SD Slot
Nvidia GForce 9400M graphics

...

you are paying a 100% premium just to get a better operating system. Which you could get for free if you switched to linux.

This 'you're an idiot if you buy a mac' thing always pops up in these threads. Firstly, you got the spec wrong, you're quoting the price for a 15" mbp. Secondly, linux is not osx, OSX is based on unix, and works far better than any linux distribution out there.

bSlick

Yes, you are correct, i mixed up the model/price. That spec costs 1449. Still an outrageous price for such a mediocre machine when you can get a better specced laptop for less than half the price.

So, in essence you are paying about 700 extra for OSX. I would prefer to spend that 700 on getting an absolute killer spec.