Looking for a budget work laptop for art

[pghprogrammer4]

Hi all,

Looking for a new laptop for work, my old one died recently. I'm looking to spend no more than $600 and need it to be able to Photoshop large images (I may eventually do video editing, but supporting that is just icing on the cake). I'd like a 15.6" screen minimum as well.

I'm currently eyeing up several models, including the Samsung R540-JA04 and an ASUS 15.6" laptop. Any better suggestions or recommendations? Thanks for you assistance!

 

[WR2]

Hello pghprogrammer4;

That Asus K53E @ BJ'sfor $549 look pretty good.
Sandy Bridge Core i5 2410M dual core CPU, 6GB RAM, 500GB HDD will get the work done for you.
ASUS K53E 15.6-inch Notebook Review (different CPU & HDD in this review model)

 

[Avro Arrow]

There is one glaring problem with the Asus K3E which tends to be the case with every Intel-based laptop under $700. They all have that albatross around their necks known as Intel Graphics. Intel Graphics are so bad that I'd take a VIA Chrome GPU over an Intel. They are by far the absolute WORST manufacturer of VGA hardware on the planet. Their drivers are spotty and their chips are weak which means they're ok for office applications and running windows but any laptop that will be using graphics-intensive for under $700 should be an AMD-based laptop because they all come with ATi Radeon Graphics which are vastly superior to the Intel "equivalents". I would definitely recommend the MSI CR650-016US because it has an ATi Mobility Radeon HD 6310 which isn't powerful by any means but gives fantastic colour clarity and low power use in addition to being a rock-solid ATi design. At $469 including shipping it's a great deal at newegg. I would DEFINITELY look at that. You need not take my word for it though, just look around the forums (not just tomshardware) and see how many people are crying because they have shoddy Intel graphics and have no way to upgrade them.

The laptop I recommend is here:
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152249
For more information, check my thread at:
http/www.tomshardware.com/forum/60098-35-general-laptop-advice

 

[Ari3sgr3gg0]

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146985
while it may not have the power of the cpu and less ram the dedicated gpu will help render images in photoshop faster than a cpu since the stream processors in it render 16 threads at a time

 

[WR2]

I think going with the AMD E-350 CPU to get the HD 6130 graphics is a bad move for a Photoshop laptop.
You'd be giving up a LOT of CPU power for a relatively modest upgrade in graphics.
How does the AMD E-350 compare to the i5-2410 and Core i3-380M Ari3sgr3gg0 suggested?
Comparison of Mobile Processors (CPU Benchmarks) @ Notebookcheck.net ranks CPUs in order of performance.
i5-2410 is #34, i3-380M is 55 and E-350 is at #304

 

[WR2]

GPU comparisons:

i5-2410M and Intel HD 3000 Graphics
AMD E-350 and Radeon HD 6130
i3-380M and Nvidia GeForce 310M

It seems I was wrong to say the HD 6310 was a modest upgrade, looks as though the Intel HD 3000 and GeForce 310M have the edge in GPU processing power.

corrected graphics card link for the IdeaPad Z560 Ari3sgr3gg0 suggested

 

[Ari3sgr3gg0]

The laptop I suggested has an nvidia 310m which is a modest gpu used for hd videos and cuda cores. It's not meant for gaming but photoshop it would have an edge over the intel hd and radeon 6310.

 

[pghprogrammer4]

Best answer selected by pghprogrammer4.