Advice on a laptop for a graphic designer

[shaf0187]

Hi guys

Was looking to purchase a laptopfor my gf who is a graphic designer and needed some advice. Have now narrowed the search down to 2 options

http/www.ebuyer.com/product/164845

OR

http/www.ebuyer.com/product/163774

I know the samsung has 3gb but I dont mind upgrading it to 4 gb myself.

The packages which will be principly used will be photoshop cs3 and illustrator.

Would welcome your input and advice

Thanks in advance

Shafwaan

 

[frozenlead]

Both are so-so. You should really be getting her a 17" or larger notebook.

I've never heard anything about Samsung notebooks, and have never even seen one in real life - that being said, I'm partial to the HP.

 

[shaf0187]

Thanks for the reply, didn't think of the screen size, may have to consult her and ask whether a larger screen is required! well even a 15.4 inch would be an improvement on her lousy G4 Mac

In terms of processor, which one will be faster, or are there no major differences in performance?

Also do you think that these machines will be fast enough to deal with her needs or do you think we need to rethink the budget.

 

[frozenlead]

It's difficult to tell with those two processors. Even though the Pentium Dual Core is 2.1GHz, the 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo is more efficient clock-for-clock. In the end, they'll probably end up being around the same performance level.

Generally photoshop likes CPU power, and ususally photo editors go for machines that are 2.4GHz or better. They're weak for her field, but certainly not incapable. She'll just spend more time waiting. It also depends some on how large the files are she edits.

But the screen is more important than the processing power for photo editors. High quality, high resolution displays are preferred. Obviously, you've got some limitation with budget (which is what, exactly?) but we'll do the best we can. If she already has a good external monitor, I highly recommend she use it to edit with the notebook instead of the notebook's integrated one.

 

[shaf0187]

To be honest, the budget was around the £500 mark. Having spoken to her she would prefer a 17", however her main concern is the laptop being able to cope with her packages without any considerably lag. She would still be ok using a 15.4 screen for when she is on the road, and hook up the laptop as you suggested to a monitor at home. She uses a desktop whilst at work so it will only be used during evenings/weekends.

So the main criteria is finding a notebook which can cope with photoshop and illustrator, and comes in under £500, and it would be an advantage if it had a larger screen however it isn't a requirement.

Thanks

 

[shaf0187]

And the average size of file she uses is 30 mb

 

[shaf0187]

Just one other thing that may help. At work she finds her PC perfectly acceptable, and would be happy if the laptops performance was similar to her work PC. Its specifications are as follow:

Core 2 Duo e6550 at 2.3 ghz

3.25 gb RAM (as she uses XP, but i assume it actually has 4gb)

160GB HDD

 

[frozenlead]

I don't live in the UK, so I've no idea of any sites you can buy off of, and don't know what's available to you.

The ebuyer site you linked to is pretty terrible in terms of how it's organized and how it works.

 

[shaf0187]

Yes it is quite badly organised however it is one of the cheapest sites to order from so usually my first site to check

I appreciate the help you have given me. Just one question though, in terms of processors, what sort of mobile processor would be at a similar level to the e6550?

 

[frozenlead]

The T8300 or P8600 from Intel's Core 2 Duo Mobile line should give similar performance.

 

[shaf0187]

Hi just to let you know I managed to find a laptop with an appropriate spec and well within budget, after 2 days of hard hunting.

Just wanted to say thanks for your advice, and here is the spec which was ordered, let me know what you think!


Studio 1735 Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 (2.4GHz)
Windows Vista® Home Premium
17 Widescreen WXGA with Truelife CCFL
4GB (2x2GB Dual Rank DIMMs) 800MHz
Network Card 1397
Windows Vista® Home Premium
Wireless
Ruby Red
Battery Primary 6 cell
Keyboard Internal UK English Qwerty
160GB
8X DVD+/-RW Drive
Vista OnLine Getting Started Guide (WW)
MS Vista Premium Logo Label NB (small)
Scratch and Dent

£ 366.17 ex vat (421.00 incl)

Bought from Dells outlet website, and it says it may have some minor cosmetic damage, which we dont mind to be honest, only way we could tick all the other boxes! Had to make a compromise somewhere!

Again thanks for your advice!