Choosing a laptop top for work and a bit of play. Help, please

testudoAubreii

Honorable
Jun 20, 2012
52
0
10,580
Hello,

I am in the market for a new laptop that I will be using for work and home use. I am a web developer/designer. I will be using Adobe CC programs (i.e. Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver), multiple browsers and multiple browser tabs all open and running at the same time. So, I think I need a little power under the hood for that to work efficiently for me.

I am also going to use it for media consumption and (light) gaming. I will playing all types of media files, streaming and locally, as well as a bit of gaming. Now, with the gaming I think I will be Steam streaming for the most part, with a little out of home network gaming when I am not at home...which is not going to be that often.

I am really torn right now between the MacBook Pro i7/512GB/16GB/750m, MSI Ghost i7/128GB/1TB/16GB/970m and the Surface Pro 3 i7/256GB/8GB. I know that the MacBook is a bit over priced compared to what you get. I mean, that MSI is actually cheaper than the Mac. I don't really need any Mac specific program for anything...well, except for maybe Garageband. In fact, that is the only reason I am considering it. Silly, I know, but I really enjoy that program for its dumb-down use factor. The MSI looks amazing and it is within my budget. I know that the SP3 is kind of under-powered compared to the two, but I love the concept. I would absolutely love to be able to do my work, go home and use it in tablet form and stream games and play a few locally.

I know the power is not there for major gaming with the SP3, but I do love the look, style and versatility. So, do I go for form factor and portability over performance? Do I need the horsepower of the other two to accomplish what I need it to? Will the SP3 be enough for my wants?

I am stuck! Thank you in advance for your help, advice and suggestions.

 
Solution
Have you looked at Dell's Inspiron series? I got a great deal with a laptop that was $500 on Christmas, with an Intel CORE i7 3632QM that ran at 2.2 GHz. It is pretty easy to carry around, along with some good power, and you can change the covers for style. :)

Warrior of Cats

Estimable
Sep 25, 2014
15
0
4,570
Have you looked at Dell's Inspiron series? I got a great deal with a laptop that was $500 on Christmas, with an Intel CORE i7 3632QM that ran at 2.2 GHz. It is pretty easy to carry around, along with some good power, and you can change the covers for style. :)
 
Solution