[CubaLibre]

My girlfriend wants a new laptop. Her current laptop is a piece of shit fit for nothing.

Mostly, it must be able to run Photoshop very well. She is a Photoshopper, and Photoshops on a regular basis. Otherwise, she uses the computer casually; webmail, Word, what have you. No interest in gaming.

I'm a mediocrely tech-savvy person and can usually figure out basic spec requirements for computing job x but know nothing about Photoshop, other than it is supposedly processor-intensive. Can you guys recommend me a decent laptop setup for under $1K?

Is onboard video good enough without any need for heavy 3D processing? Is 2GB of RAM sufficient to run a tidy little Photoshop operation? What manufacturers make decent, solid laptops out of non-shit components? (There is no way in hell I am building this myself.)
_________________
Let's Play, starring me.

[Sushi K]

Side thought:
I was reading that there is some kind of optimization for photoshop that can utilize a GeForce graphics card for a massive performance boost.
Confirm/Deny?

EDIT: nope nevermind
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/05/news-flash-adob.html
_________________

[Toups]

In my dabblings with processor research, I discovered that Photoshop is one of the few applications that actually gets a lot out of multi core processors. Not sure if they really have those on laptops, though. but she's probably going to want something very powerful.
_________________

[Toups]

Also she could probably get a much more powerful computer for much less money with a desktop. not sure if that's an option.
_________________

[CubaLibre]

I know laptops come in Core 2s (I have one) but I haven't seen anything about quad-core. Which doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but does mean that, if it does, it is likely very expensive.

Is the general idea, splurge on the processor, don't worry about a video card, and a solid (2GB) amount of RAM?

That being the case, know any good manufacturers/assemblers? The Dells and Vaios of the world don't impress me, and the solidity of a Lenovo isn't really worth the price premium for what she'll be doing with the thing (e.g., not throwing it down the side of a mountain).
_________________
Let's Play, starring me.

[shnozlak]

my GF just got a refurbished dell with a dual core and 2gigs-o-ram for like 500. Ive played with it and it seems like a pretty solid machine. Has Vista though. Which looks slick but is heavy maaan.
_________________
Mixtapes galore ~ VG MUSIC
ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ http://phantom-photon.tumblr.com/

[Panoptic]

As far as I know mobile quad cores don't exist yet. There was a company out of China that put a desktop Core 2 Quad into a notebook though (as well as SLI graphics and three hard drives), though.

Either way, recommending a refurbished Macbook ITT (actually). If Photoshop is the core use of this machine, you should at least consider OS X. The Apple Store has some refurb 13.3" Macbooks for $800. They don't have discrete graphics, but I think a 2.1GHz Core 2 in OS X would be plenty sufficient for most Photoshop work (though I would make the jump to the $1100 2.4GHz/2GB unit myself). Note that the screen is only 1280x800 resolution if that's going to be an issue.

[DonMarco]

With photoshop or other image-heavy uses, look in a good screen size and quality, RAM, USB ports (at least three).

The larger would probably be nicer, but a larger/sharper resolution would be keen gear. Sharper screens would allow for greater resolutions over a smaller surface. Greater resolutions tax the GPU more, though. Higher temperatures, more power consumption, less battery life. Final thought would be to using the VGA, HDMI or DVI ports. Maybe using an external monitor, like a nice 21" CRT for $300 or so? Any photoshopper will tell you why LCDs will never reallly replace CRTs.

RAM - you can never have enough with Photoshop. Make sure you can upgrade it yourself, and that the laptop's mobo will be future-proof to four or more GB or RAM. Ask to check the manual, if necessary. Check the prices online, it may be cheaper to have them install it at the factory. But most likely will not. Right, Apple users? I bought a 2GB So-dimm on sale not three months ago for my brother's laptop for less than $30, free shipping included. Installing it took six minutes or so.

Win XP or Linux over Vista anyday. Ubuntu??

All together, an mid-speed processor, cheapo GeForce 2-comparable video card, 13 or 15" screen with 1-2GB RAM laptop would be less than $700 easy. Stick with brands you trust and so on.
_________________
Still alive.

[BIGJ420COOLDUDE]

[DonMarco]

[BIGJ420COOLDUDE]

gimp isn't worth bothering with if you've already learned how to use photoshop because everything's laid out completely differently and nothing is where you expect it to be.

paint meanwhile still does not support gifs higher than 8 bit, tga, tiff, &c.

[DonMarco]

I use CS3 at the Mac lab at my college. I use GIMP at home. I'd like to consider myself versatile. Learned. Sexy. There are a few things Photoshop does or does better, but they're goofy features I almost never use.

Wait, I'm not going to defend GIMP here. It's a free 17 MB download, 88 MB install and takes all of five minutes start to finish to get it offline and running. Anyone with 10 minutes to kill waiting for their Photoshop CS3 torrent with crackz and keygen to finish can give it a shot.
_________________
Still alive.

[Pijaibros]

[DonMarco]

[sawtooth]

panoptic has it. I'm using a slightly-more-than-one-year-old 13" macbook with 2 gigs of ram and integrated video and a 160 gb hard drive. It handles CS3 wonderfully.

CRTs suck!!!!!!
_________________
(  (  

[CubaLibre]

Thanks for all the suggestions, duders.
_________________
Let's Play, starring me.

[BenoitRen]

[sawtooth]

benoitren trap sprung
_________________
(  (  

[Kappuru]

[Hot Stott Bot]

well if photoshop is what she primarily wants to do with it, i would suggest a mac. photoshop is very much taylored to the mac architecture at every level.

[sawtooth]

hsb are you high

quit it
_________________
(  (  

[Hot Stott Bot]

i'm a little high right now, but i wasn't when i wrote that

[BIGJ420COOLDUDE]

[Hot Stott Bot]

Besides, saying "GIFs only support 256 colours!" is incorrect anyway. GIFs (note the plural) support 16,777,216 colours, but only 256 colours each GIF (note the singular), and even that is not true since many/most of the GIF standards and implimentations support different palettes per frame so GIF can support more than 256 colours even in one image!

[psiga]

Aaaaaa. Would the people recommending a MacBook please do me a favor and at least mention that the buttons feel unusual and anyone considering buying one should try one out first? I find the keyboard to be unacceptable, personally. If the MacBook had a normal keyboard, I wouldn't bat an eyelash at anyone recommending them, but those buttons are just....egh.
_________________

[Hot Stott Bot]

I feel like that would be saying that you're cool with using a flint box to light your cigarettes because the handle feels a little nicer in the hand than a plastic lighter. I suppose it is technically valid, maybe the way something feels in your hand is really important to you when lighting a cigarette, but for the most part when talking about the best thing to use to just get a cigarette lit, it tends not to cross my mind when I suggest a regular old plastic lighter.

[Kappuru]

I like the keyboard. What's wrong with it?

Then again, my G15 is the best keyboard I've ever used.
_________________

[Focus]

macbook pros have better keyboards AND they light up.
_________________

[DonMarco]

[psiga]

[Takashi]

Why can't macs have proper (foreign) key mapping?

Also, my fujitsu-siemens at work shows this image as a smooth gradient - it's still dithered, like most LCD's, but it's a pretty good result. I bet my cheap Acer fares worse, as does this AG side monitor. How do your laptops fare?
_________________

low-end.net | Whimsy (soon) | Serfdom 2.0

[Hot Stott Bot]

[Takashi]

[psiga]

This link says that even refurbished MacBooks cost $899 before tax, which would blow the under-a-thousand budget out the window, and wouldn't even give her more than 1GB of RAM.

I don't care how well-made OSX is, you can't reasonably say that it would do photo editing well enough with only 1GB.

Cuba, I recommend keeping an eye on this link until something pops up that looks sufficiently interesting: http://www.techbargains.com/laptopcomputernotebookreview.cfm
_________________

[Kappuru]

You can get away with 1gb for photo editing as long as the only other programs you have open are a web browser and adium, or something. I did it all the time on my macbook before I upgraded it.

Also, OSX runs adobe apps better because it's native rendering is based on PDF, I think.
_________________

[Kappuru]

It's not just all image, style, and brand name, though that is a lot of it, and that's where it ends for most people.

You don't have to deal with a ton of crapware when you buy the computer. It comes with a lot of usable software. The OS is arguably superior, especially with how hard it is to get XP preloaded now.

I understand that you think all Mac users are brand obsessed hipster art director whores, but it's not all like that.

And yeah, DM, I meant that my print results were right on with my screen because it was color calibrated, which you can do with any half decent TFT panel. Contrast ratio, however, is another issue.
_________________

[psiga]

What I was really getting at is that 2GB would be better for photo editing than 1GB, even if you could get away with 1GB. It's moot anyway, since even the lowest-end MB goes over what they want to pay.

Here's what I think would be a rather strong contender for photos, and two hundred dollars cheaper than a 1GB MacBook:

15" HP guy from CircuitCity
Approximately $800 after tax/shipping
3GB RAM
250GB HDD
DVD burner
Core Duo 1.83GHz

Or maybe this?
14" Toshiba guy, also from CC
Approximately $800 after tax/shipping
2GB RAM
250GB HDD
DVD burner
Core Duo 1.83GHz

Slightly less RAM than the first, but smaller and lighter. Both have built-in netcams, just like the MacBook. They're also both a bit slower in processor than a MacBook, at 1.83 instead of 2.1, but I honestly think that the RAM is more important here. If you bargain hunt hard enough, or make some more concessions, you'll probably find something even cheaper.

If for some reason she's really in love with the idea of a 13.3" MacBook that breaks the bank and only has 1GB of RAM, then I won't fight it, but holy wow are there other options.
_________________

[Panoptic]

I almost swear it was $799 the night I posted. Either way, DDR2 is crazy cheap right now. You can grab a 1GB notebook DDR2 module for $21.

Anyway, I've spent the last couple of days in a 50+ layer Photoshop image on my PC, with sample/swatch/tool stuff on my 2nd monitor. Anyone who's used Photoshop extensively on both will tell you that it's a smoother experience on OS X, but there's also the issue I'm running into of Windows XP's graphics rendering - XP just uses a basic blitter, as far as I know, so graphic artifacts can pop up from any number of window/object movements, which translate to screen captures as well if you're not paying attention. No such issues with OS X, even with integrated video, since it uses a pretty modern graphics API for desktop rendering.

Normally, I prefer XP (and I think I've made that fairly clear), however Photoshop is just a vastly better experience in Apple's OS. I made the recommendation based on the fact that the computer would be a Photoshop machine first, and only handle menial tasks otherwise. Though, I guess if someone hasn't used Photoshop in both OS', they'd be hard pressed to tell the difference.

[Hot Stott Bot]

I'm in the same camp Panoptic. I use XP for most everything, but am very particular about using Macs for any kind of media editing, and similarly very particular about using Linux for any kind of dedicated or integrated machine.

[CubaLibre]

I suppose I've let the Mac vs. PC debate rage on far too long in the interests of science, but basically she's not willing to learn a new OS, simple as it may be. PC it shall be.

Psiga, thanks for the handy links.
_________________
Let's Play, starring me.

[manmachine plays jazz]

do not buy a HP laptop, they are built terribly and it will be a nightmare to use and maintain.