Best laptop for graphic art?

[mattslaughing]

Hello, this is my first post here, but I'll cut to the chase. I've been looking everywhere for a laptop that has a touch screen which can be used for graphic art and some 3d things (prefferably turning into a tablet when needed) as I'll be going into study, but I havn't been able to find anything (probably because theres almost nothing here in Australia). I should be able to draw on the display/model 3d objects. It'll be a long train ride in so I'll need a good battery aswell.

Budget isnt an issue, I'll pay up to about $5000 which is alot for a laptop since I need the best and I'm going to be using it for a while. And if possible I would also like some information on just drawing tablets for desk top pc's, as I havn't been able to find much info on them or know what the good brands and etc are.

 

[Proximon]

Waccom I think is the brand you want
http://www.arc.com.au/pub.php?gid=23849&pid=43902&p=product

Forget the tablet and use the Waccom with your laptop. You will want lots of power for those programs, so get a good i7 tablet with Nvidia graphics.

Like this:
http://www.austin.net.au/laptops-tablets/laptops-notebooks/asus-notebook-n76-r701vz-v4g-t1155h-intelr-co.html

Here is one that was designed for people just like you. However, it is lacking in memory and hard drive space and costs far too much for what it is worth
http://www.mwave.com.au/product/sku-aa42145-hp_elitebook_mobile_workstation_8740w_xs184pa

The one on HPs website is almost ideal
http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-Elitebook/B8V69UT?HP-EliteBook-8770w-Mobile-Workstation-ENERGY-STAR-

With any such high powered laptop, you will need to carry an extra battery or mobile external pack.

 

[mattslaughing]

Thanks for the reply. Interesting, I thought there would be some sort of laptop with a screen similar to a sintiq (which is a touch screen used for drawing). I thought there would already be technology on the market like this, I guess I was expecting too much. I guess I'll be getting one of those wacom tablets. Theres nothing in the laptop field with artists in mind at all.

Dell Laptop the specs look good from what I can tell, and it converts into a tablet so it's much easier to use on the go. The touch screen would be useful in some aspects too. Also, is there any way to upgrade the battery? A more expensive one with a larger capacity?

 

[Proximon]

Those devices have 12.5" screens and I suspect you might not be happy with them. You will need more GPU power than they supply also. Onboard storage will be limited to 256GB.

 

[bluhefner]

I recomend looking into quadro gpu from nvidia or firewirepro from amd they both have many cuda cores but are more expensive cards, made for editing, drawing etc /😉

 

[mattslaughing]

Those devices have 12.5" screens and I suspect you might not be happy with them. You will need more GPU power than they supply also. Onboard storage will be limited to 256GB.

I ordered a wacom bamboo pen & touch. The intuos 5 had extremely high pressure sensitivity, technically it's more for professionals. I saved $150 there and they do the same thing.

True, the screens are abit small and lack GPU power. I'll look into the others you showed me before, and check out some different ones too.

 

[OniHime]

Thanks for the reply. Interesting, I thought there would be some sort of laptop with a screen similar to a sintiq (which is a touch screen used for drawing). I thought there would already be technology on the market like this, I guess I was expecting too much. I guess I'll be getting one of those wacom tablets. Theres nothing in the laptop field with artists in mind at all.

Dell Laptop the specs look good from what I can tell, and it converts into a tablet so it's much easier to use on the go. The touch screen would be useful in some aspects too. Also, is there any way to upgrade the battery? A more expensive one with a larger capacity?

Unfortunately, there really aren't many laptops geared towards artists; however, I've been looking into gaming laptops. They are graphics intensive, and have to be to handle the heavy graphics games like WoW and the like. Plus, they multitask the RAM quicker, which helps Photoshop alot. Some even have an integrated solid state drive coupled with a regular hard drive, to keep up with programs like Autodesk Maya, or 3DS Max.
I'm not sure what programs you run for your digital art, but I run Photoshop CS6, and Autodesk Maya. I will be upgrading my laptop when I get my next student loan, and either get the MSI Computer Corp. Notebook GT70 0NE-609US;9S7-1​76215-609 17.3-Inch Laptop or at the very least, the Product Image
Samsung Series 7 Gamer NP700G7C-S02US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)
I already have an Intuos 4 tablet, which I absolutely love, and couldn't see more reliability than this. Although I have not used a pc with a screen you draw on, I can customize a few buttons on my tablet, and Photoshop CS6 makes it easier to customize as well.
A cheap fix, if you aren't into buying an expensive laptop would be to have Photoshop also make use of an external hard drive or flash drive's memory. That way, it will run quicker until you are able to upgrade to a better computer.

Best of luck to you!

OniHime

 

[Prostar Computer]

Having a drawing pad is ideal, I agree. Wacom is a good brand as well!

I recomend looking into quadro gpu from nvidia or firewirepro from amd they both have many cuda cores but are more expensive cards, made for editing, drawing etc /😉

That would be overkill for said activities. They're actually designed for engineering work, but if you do a apples to apples comparison of the specs between a Quadro and a GeForce, the GeForce cards are actually more capable. The Quadro cards just have firmware tweaked to accommodate things like autoCAD, and since they appeal to that market, the premium goes up.