A perfect Graphic design laptop? - Aussie-Nintendo.com Forums

Ultramatic · 31-07-2008, 04:17 PM

Hey guys, I'm new to the whole laptop and pc thing, and my pc knowlage goes about as far as the RAM, hard drive and graphics card.

Next year I will be off to University, studying graphic design and multimedia. I have started to look around for some laptops to take with me.

Right now this one seems to be fairly good...

SPECS HIDDEN

Spoiler

Any good guys? I want to use it for Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash, that sort of thing.

Also a few quick questions...

1. Go to stores like Myer, Dick Smith or Harvey Norman, or go to dedicated computer stores?
2. Could you post some specs that may be good for me?

If anyone can help me at all that would be very sweet indeed.

Krysinello · 31-07-2008, 06:01 PM

everything seems good about it, except for graphics design, a 1280*800 resolution may not cut it, which is the only thing wrong with the specs. Maybe a 17 inch screen would be better as well.

Basically those specs are excellent but the monitor lacks. Try find one with a better screen.

Dimentio Delight · 31-07-2008, 06:36 PM

It's okay..... but designing can be tricky so i would suggest a bigger screen, resolution could be better to.
how much is it? whats your max budget?

Tomo · 31-07-2008, 06:36 PM

With grahic design that resolution way to low you need about 1440*900. 1920*1200 is what you ideally need for graphics with a truelife screen. Also the harddrive is slow at 5200rpm you should have one that runs at 7200rpm for quick access speed. Ideally a good laptop would be the Dell XPS 1530 (Mid-Range $1,999) as it was made for design and grahic applications and is light and mobile. I would reccomnded at as i've got the one above the XPS 1730 and its very powerful and I'am running lots of grahic apllications off it and works perefectly.

Scrumbly · 01-08-2008, 02:00 AM

I don't think you should have 4 gigs or ram in there since the vista home version can only make use of 3 gigs (Unless something has changed). Yes I have tried this.

You could always just have 1x 2 gig and 1x 1 gig of ram or buy a more pricey vista version.

Ultramatic · 01-08-2008, 08:59 AM

Max budget is around $2000. Little more, little less.

Krysinello · 01-08-2008, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scrumbly

I don't think you should have 4 gigs or ram in there since the vista home version can only make use of 3 gigs (Unless something has changed). Yes I have tried this.

You could always just have 1x 2 gig and 1x 1 gig of ram or buy a more pricey vista version.

You'd think they'd have 64 bit home premium in with it, but it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't. still 64 bit is the same cost.

$2000 limit might be hard to get the best one, well meaning you might have to make some sacrifices. However the screen is really important and that one just doesn't cut it. I'm working on a laptop with the same screen size (13 inch though), and there is barely any room. $2000 probably wont get you a 17 inch but it should get you a 15.4 with a 1440*900 resolution. Might not seem like much of a jump but you'd notice the difference for sure.

However, just don't think that if you want this for graphics design, you need a graphics card. Rendering and such is mostly CPU powered, although a graphics card would help with Vista, specially with aero. So if you must sacrifice something, sacrifice ram.

A faster hard drive would do wonders. But I think 7200 RPM ones are on more expensive laptops.

Dousatsu · 01-08-2008, 12:00 PM

Macbook pro, hang the expense! Plus a nice monitor to plug it into at home (laptop screens don't cut it when you're using CS3, especially flash and dreamweaver.

Karmond · 01-08-2008, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scrumbly

I don't think you should have 4 gigs or ram in there since the vista home version can only make use of 3 gigs (Unless something has changed). Yes I have tried this.

3.12GB for 32-bit Vista, it's a limitation of the 32-bit architecture, not the operating system itself. For the 64-bit versions, it's 8GB for Home Basic, 16GB for Home Premium, with the rest being 128GB.

**TSPhoenix** · 01-08-2008, 02:21 PM

You want a 17" screen with 1680x1050 minimum. I find that even at 1920x1200 CS3 still feels crowded. You probably want a second display for home use too. Otherwise 4GBs RAM and a dual core processor is plenty.

infinitesynthesis · 02-08-2008, 03:18 AM

I'm an industrial designer and I use a Dell XPS M1530 laptop. It serves me well and is very fast. I got for around $1300ish with similar specs to the one you listed.

Ultramatic · 02-08-2008, 07:00 PM

Here is a laptop is spotted, the Toshiba Satellite P300/Q01. It looks like the model above the one I previously mentioned.

Spoiler

If you can read all that it looks pretty good, that one above has a bigger screen and higher resolution.

Santa · 02-08-2008, 07:08 PM

Possibly get a separate screen?.. That's what I do. But that might inconvenience you a bit.

If you didn't have a $2000 budget, I would have sent you my I.T assignment (which funnily enough, was design a graphic/multimedia computer). It ended up being $12000 (software included).

Ultramatic · 02-08-2008, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Santa

Possibly get a separate screen?.. That's what I do. But that might inconvenience you a bit.

If you didn't have a $2000 budget, I would have sent you my I.T assignment (which funnily enough, was design a graphic/multimedia computer). It ended up being $12000 (software included).

Dude that sounds interesting...

If it was software included though, that would mean your paying for adobe master collection?

Santa · 02-08-2008, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ultramatic

Dude that sounds interesting...

If it was software included though, that would mean your paying for adobe master collection?

Yeah. Well it include a chair, table, software/tablet etc.., sound system and printer. So I guess if you took all of that out it would only be $6000. (sorry it only came to $10,000 not 12000).

But I like using my seperate monitor :).

31-07-2008, 04:17 PM	#1
Ultramatic Money, Power, Women. Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Miami Posts: 1,126 Blog Entries: 19	A perfect Graphic design laptop? Hey guys, I'm new to the whole laptop and pc thing, and my pc knowlage goes about as far as the RAM, hard drive and graphics card. Next year I will be off to University, studying graphic design and multimedia. I have started to look around for some laptops to take with me. Right now this one seems to be fairly good... SPECS HIDDEN Spoiler TOSHIBA A300/U01 PROCESSOR – Intel Core 2 Duo Centrino2 Processor T9400 (2.53GHz) MEMORY - 4GB DDR2 (2GB + 2GB) HARD DRIVE - 500GB (250GB + 250GB) 5400RPM OPTICAL DRIVE - DVD SuperMulti Dual Layer Drive COLOUR DISPLAY - 15.4" Wide Display WXGA TruBrite Display RESOLUTION - 1280 x 800 VIDEO – ATI 512MB VIDEO-OUT PORT – VGA, S-video, HDMI-CEC (Regza link) CAMERA - 1.3MP (1280 x 1024) AUDIO - External Microphone port, Stereo Headphone port, Sound Volume Dial, Integrate microphone LAN - Intel GBit TX Ethernet WIRELESS NETWORKING - Integrated Intel 802.11 (a⁄g⁄n) SPEAKERS - Premium Harmon⁄Kardon Speaker CARD READER – 5-in-1 card reader USB PORT - 4x USB Ports EXPRESS CARD SLOT - PCI Express Card x1 IEEE1394 PORT - Yes BLUE TOOTH - Toshiba Bluetooth V2.1 + EDR SECURITY OPTIONS - Integrated Biometrics - Fingerprint reader, Slot for Kensington Cable Lock, Wireless LAN switch SOFTWARE –Windows Vista Home Premium, Toshiba Face Recognition logon utility, Toshiba User's Manual, Toshiba Value added Package, Toshiba Flash Card Utility, Toshiba DVD Player, Toshiba Disc Creator, Ulead MovieFactory for Toshiba, ConfigFree, Adobe Reader, 8.1.2, Microsoft Onecare Trial, Google Toolbar, Google Desktop, Google Picasa, Google Earth ESTIMATED BATTERY LIFE - WEIGHT - Approx 2.69kg WARRANTY –1 Year warranty. Domestic warranty includes onsite courier pickup and return service Any good guys? I want to use it for Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash, that sort of thing. Also a few quick questions... 1. Go to stores like Myer, Dick Smith or Harvey Norman, or go to dedicated computer stores? 2. Could you post some specs that may be good for me? If anyone can help me at all that would be very sweet indeed.

31-07-2008, 06:01 PM	#2
Krysinello V.I.P. Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Woy Woy NSW Posts: 5,525 Blog Entries: 2	everything seems good about it, except for graphics design, a 1280*800 resolution may not cut it, which is the only thing wrong with the specs. Maybe a 17 inch screen would be better as well. Basically those specs are excellent but the monitor lacks. Try find one with a better screen. __________________

31-07-2008, 06:36 PM	#4
Tomo Amoeba Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Melbourne - Southbank Posts: 38	With grahic design that resolution way to low you need about 1440900. 19201200 is what you ideally need for graphics with a truelife screen. Also the harddrive is slow at 5200rpm you should have one that runs at 7200rpm for quick access speed. Ideally a good laptop would be the Dell XPS 1530 (Mid-Range $1,999) as it was made for design and grahic applications and is light and mobile. I would reccomnded at as i've got the one above the XPS 1730 and its very powerful and I'am running lots of grahic apllications off it and works perefectly. __________________ "83% of Collingwood supporters have had sex in the shower, the other 17% have never been to jail"

01-08-2008, 12:00 PM	#8
Dousatsu PK Chunder! Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Melbourne, VIC Posts: 1,900 Blog Entries: 2	Macbook pro, hang the expense! Plus a nice monitor to plug it into at home (laptop screens don't cut it when you're using CS3, especially flash and dreamweaver. __________________

01-08-2008, 02:21 PM	#10
TSPhoenix V.I.P. Join Date: May 2006 Location: Adelaide, SA Posts: 13,697 Blog Entries: 1	You want a 17" screen with 1680x1050 minimum. I find that even at 1920x1200 CS3 still feels crowded. You probably want a second display for home use too. Otherwise 4GBs RAM and a dual core processor is plenty. __________________

31-07-2008, 06:36 PM	#3
Dimentio Delight Chi-WOW-Wa Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: China Town, Canberra Posts: 691 Blog Entries: 3	It's okay..... but designing can be tricky so i would suggest a bigger screen, resolution could be better to. how much is it? whats your max budget?

01-08-2008, 08:59 AM	#6
Ultramatic Money, Power, Women. Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Miami Posts: 1,126 Blog Entries: 19	Max budget is around $2000. Little more, little less.

02-08-2008, 03:18 AM	#11
infinitesynthesis iTrick Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Sydney Posts: 337	I'm an industrial designer and I use a Dell XPS M1530 laptop. It serves me well and is very fast. I got for around $1300ish with similar specs to the one you listed. __________________ *http://www.youtube.com/animality*

02-08-2008, 07:00 PM	#12
Ultramatic Money, Power, Women. Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Miami Posts: 1,126 Blog Entries: 19	Here is a laptop is spotted, the Toshiba Satellite P300/Q01. It looks like the model above the one I previously mentioned. Spoiler Processor Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9300 CPU speed Dual Core 2.5GHz L2 Cache capacity 6MB Front side bus 800MHz Operating System Genuine Microsoft Windows Vista® Ultimate (includes revovery media for Windows Vista® Ultimate 64bit) Hard disk drive 640GB (320GB + 320GB) (5400rpm) SATA Memory 4GB (2G+2G) DDR2 (667) Both slots used. Total memory expandable to 4GB Colour display 17.0" Widescreen WXGA+ TruBrite® Display Resolution 1440 x 900 Video Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 (512MB discrete video memory and upto 1279MB shared video memory using HyperMemory technology with min 2GB system RAM) Optical Drive DVD SuperMulti Double/Dual Layer Drive Speed Read: CD-ROM 24x, DVD-ROM 8x Write: CD-R 24x, CD-RW 4x, HS CD-RW 10x, DVD-R 8x, DVD-R DL 2x, DVD-RW 4x, DVD+R 8x, DVD+R DL 2.4x, DVD+RW 4x, DVD-RAM 5x Audio Intel® High Definition Audio Speakers Premium harman/kardon® speaker PC Card / Express Card slot PCI Express Card x1 TV-OUT port VGA / HDMI-CEC, S-video SVGA Video port, headphone/ microphone port FM Radio Tuner, External Microphone port, Stereo Headphone port, Sound Volume Dial, Integrated microphone USB ports 4 x Hi-Speed USB 2.0, USB Sleep and Charge Bridge media adaptor 5-in-1 card reader Adapter Shared Slot ((SD) Secure Digital®, Memory Stick™, Memory Stick PRO™, Memory Stick PRO™Duo, Multi Media Card, Mini SD (with SD adaptor), XD Picture Card, SD IO - See Toshiba's website for capacity guidelines IEE1394 iLink port IEEE 1394 Remote Controller Windows Media Center Compatible Security Integrated Biometrics - Fingerprint reader, Slot for Kensington Cable lock, Wireless LAN switch Pointing device & buttons TouchPad™ Lifestyle buttons Backlit - CD / DVD play & 6 control buttons Webcam 1.3MP LAN Intel® GBit TX Ethernet Modem Integrated Bluetooth Toshiba Bluetooth™ V2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) Wireless networking Integrated Intel 802.11 (a/g/n) Battery life Up to 3 hours Weight 3.35kg (may vary with spec) Dimensions (LxWxH) TBC - 398 x 288 x front34.6/ rear38.9 mm LCD Lid Colour / Keyboard Colour Mercury Silver gloss / Black Gloss Keyboard Other Software Toshiba User's Manual, Toshiba Value Added Package, Toshiba Face Recognition, Toshiba Flash Card Utility, Toshiba DVD Player, Ulead® WinCinema Disc Creator, Ulead DVD MovieWriter(R) for TOSHIBA, Toshiba Disc Creator, CyberLink PowerCinema for Toshiba, ConfigFree™, Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.1, Norton Internet Security™ 2007 (90 day trial), Microsoft® Office 2007 Professional Trial (60 day Trial) Warranty 1 year international parts and labour warranty. Domestic warranty includes onsite courier pickup and return service If you can read all that it looks pretty good, that one above has a bigger screen and higher resolution.

02-08-2008, 07:08 PM	#13
Santa The Supervillain Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brisbane, QLD Posts: 1,953 Blog Entries: 2	Possibly get a separate screen?.. That's what I do. But that might inconvenience you a bit. If you didn't have a $2000 budget, I would have sent you my I.T assignment (which funnily enough, was design a graphic/multimedia computer). It ended up being $12000 (software included). __________________ www.santa36.deviantart.com

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