Comments | scy11a: Which Laptop?

scy11a

Which Laptop?

Nov 09, 2010 15:57

After 4 years abuse, my Dell is dying (fan a bit poorly, keyboard collapsing, screen going blotchy). Should I go Mac?! I mainly do photo processing these days and so need at least 4Gb RAM and 2G processor to run CS5 and LR3. Rather spend less than more... Battery life and size not a big deal but prefer a non-reflective screen ( Read more... )

Comments 10

robinbloke November 9 2010, 16:13:57 UTC

Mac's I haven't used in over a decade in anger, so can't help you there.

RS232 is a bugger to find on any machine these days, be very careful with that; but also figure in if you get a mac you'll probably have to buy your photoshop hardware again.

Which fan is dying? The keyboard and monitor are cheapy and fairly cheapy to replace; might be the best option just to get them sorted.

scy11a November 9 2010, 16:29:15 UTC

Really? How do you replace the screen on a laptop? I can see how the keyboard and fan might work...

crazyscot November 9 2010, 16:34:56 UTC

Realistically, I don't think you do. It's unlikely to be possible to find a replacement laptop screen that old, though you might be able to salvage one off ebay.

robinbloke November 9 2010, 16:39:16 UTC

Ahhhohh aha, didn't realise it was a laptop you were talking about, although the title should have given that away really... brain, dohhh.

As @crazyscot says, replacing a screen on a laptop is a lot of hassle unless you salvage via ebay.

If you're going via new PC laptop I recommend Acer as my one has been rather spiffy ever since I've had it.

olithered November 9 2010, 16:13:57 UTC

Thinkpad; look at T and W series for best performance.

crazyscot November 9 2010, 16:23:26 UTC

Any new machine is very unlikely to come with an RS232 port, but RS232-to-USB widgets are in plentiful supply. Rumour has it that they tend to Just Work on Macs. As for software, are you shackled to what you currently run? Google brings me to FlightTrack which seems plausibly shiny; the screenshots include one from the result of an afternoon's thermalling over the Pyrenees...

scy11a November 9 2010, 16:36:45 UTC

Not really tied to MS as turns out my CS3 is fake and I can transfer the licence for LR3 and buy Office 2010 for under a tenner from work. RS232 has always been an &rse.

karohemd November 9 2010, 18:52:23 UTC

I second Acer for Windows-based laptops and you can get quite a beefy one for well under 500 quid. Mine is now almost two years old and runs LR3 faster than my (albeit elderly) PC.

If you want a non-reflective screen, Mac is most certainly not the way to go, apart from the fact that a Mac with the same power will cost you almost twice as much as a Windows-based one, you'll have to relearn keyboard commands and make do with a one-button mouse. I'm not sure about the cost and possibility of transferring software licenses to Mac versions. Adobe are traditionally rather pissy with their licensing.

That said, matte screens are pretty rare on other laptops, too, but you can get a sticky film to put over the screen for quite cheap.

grahamb November 10 2010, 10:18:02 UTC

and make do with a one-button mouse

On a MacBook you hold down ctrl, press the trackpad button and you get a right click. This is a royal pain in the ass if this is the button you use all the time. The cool kids (of which I'm not) use trackpad gestures to get the right click. I've no idea whether this is any easier or not as I've never used it.

I tend to plug a 3 button usb mice into my macs which saves me having to care.

grahamb November 10 2010, 10:51:00 UTC

Like any tool you use to do a job it's a matter of personal taste. I'd find someone with a Mac laptop who does a bit of what you're looking to do and have a play with it. OSX is quite different from Windows and may or may not be to your liking. I'd say OSX is possibly a bigger obstacle, not the spec or the price.

As I say one of the major downside of Macs is the price. They're stupidly expensive, even second hand, but if you're friends with some students the student discount rate is really really good and it takes the 'Applecare' 3 year extended warranty out of "You must be joking" into "yes please" territory. The high price has its uses. The resale value of Mac hardware is, in my admittedly rather limited experience, quite useful if you're looking to sell up to help fund an upgrade.

The other downside (arguably more annoying) is you get to listen to Mac fanboys and Mac Haters going at it every 5 minutes. If you do get a Mac, for the love of god, don't read any comments on the internet regarding any Apple related news.