Advice: Laptop for freelancer

kabuk1

Hi all, my partner has just gone freelance and is looking for a new laptop that CS5 will run on after it's released. The current laptop she is using is my old one which barely runs the various CS programs. Photoshop freezes and it runs slow when I use InDesign CS2.

She was thinking of a tablet PC, as she prefers this to graphic tablets. She likes to be able to see what she is drawing on the tablet. Her max is 2000e, though she would prefer to get one for around 1500e. Also, would consider buying a graphic tablet separate if it displays what' on your monitor, though I'm not too familiar with brands or the price range.

She's also environmentally conscious, so a laptop that is green (or at least as green as possible) would be preferred.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks.

banquo

Apple will release a new line of MacBook Pros next month - wait until then and get a 15" display model. They're expensing, but incredible battery span and lifespan - mine still gets 3-4 hours battery life and runs pretty fast after nearly 6 years.


As for it being green (link)

In addition to this, they'll probably want a tablet device for illustrating. I recommend something by Wacom - pricey, but you get what you pay for.

kabuk1

Thanks. I've been trying to get her to go Apple, as I'm more of a Mac person, but she wants to stick with windows (she also games), so I'm not sure if she'll go this route, but I'll make a case for it.

Pixelcraft

She can run windows on new macs, it's a no brainer!

kabuk1

Pixelcraft wrote: »

She can run windows on new macs, it's a no brainer!

Yeah, I know. That's what I keep saying.

p

Has she actually tried out a tablet PC? I'd be curious if it's suitable for using for design the screens are nothing compared to a real graphics tablet as far as i know.

I think anything in your price range will do what she wants. The main thing would be to get something that runs 64bit mode Windows, and get a good bit of RAM (4-6GB)

Something like the Cintiq 12WX is worth looking at. It's a graphics tablet with a built in screen. Expensive, but worth it. Dont' buy any graphics tablets other than Wacom. My suggestion would be to get a normal laptop and a tablet. http://gizmodo.com/338021/wacom-cintiq-12wx-lcd-pen-tablet-video-review-verdict-simply-amazing-updated

Assuming she's freelancing from some base, I think making sure to invest in a good large monitor, keyboard and mouse that she can connect the laptop too is a good idea, as working over long peroids of time on a laptop will kill you, slow you down, and waste money. When it comes to design, buying large monitors and some other gear (like the cintiq mentioned above) should pay for itself in terms of increased productivity.

Something like these would easily do as you've a decent budget.
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=518912
http://www.euro.dell.com/ie/en/home/Laptops/laptop-studio-xps-16/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-studio-xps-16&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1

kabuk1

p wrote: »

Has she actually tried out a tablet PC? I'd be curious if it's suitable for using for design the screens are nothing compared to a real graphics tablet as far as i know.

I think anything in your price range will do what she wants. The main thing would be to get something that runs 64bit mode Windows, and get a good bit of RAM (4-6GB)

Something like the Cintiq 12WX is worth looking at. It's a graphics tablet with a built in screen. Expensive, but worth it. Dont' buy any graphics tablets other than Wacom. My suggestion would be to get a normal laptop and a tablet. http://gizmodo.com/338021/wacom-cintiq-12wx-lcd-pen-tablet-video-review-verdict-simply-amazing-updated

Assuming she's freelancing from some base, I think making sure to invest in a good large monitor, keyboard and mouse that she can connect the laptop too is a good idea, as working over long peroids of time on a laptop will kill you, slow you down, and waste money. When it comes to design, buying large monitors and some other gear (like the cintiq mentioned above) should pay for itself in terms of increased productivity.

Something like these would easily do as you've a decent budget.
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=518912
http://www.euro.dell.com/ie/en/home/Laptops/laptop-studio-xps-16/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-studio-xps-16&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1

Cheers. I'll have to push that graphics tablet you suggested. As for getting a monitor, I have a desktop with a 22" monitor that she also uses as I built it for gaming, so it has everything she needs for work as well. She can use both, but she needs something portable for meetings.

I'll have a chat with her when she returns. If there are any further questions, I'll post them here.

Thanks again.

red_ice

kabuk1 wrote: »

She was thinking of a tablet PC, as she prefers this to graphic tablets. She likes to be able to see what she is drawing on the tablet. Her max is 2000e, though she would prefer to get one for around 1500e. Also, would consider buying a graphic tablet separate if it displays what' on your monitor, though I'm not too familiar with brands or the price range.

She's also environmentally conscious, so a laptop that is green (or at least as green as possible) would be preferred.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks.

i have an acer aspire 5739g, which i use for my out and about work. Its not the best, but it runs everything i want at a great speed. It renders in max at a nice pace also. It runs most games at over 100fps on a maxed out resolution on both an external monitor and the laptop screen(4:3 aspect and the native widescreen) and has not given me a single problem since i got it. If she plays games, the mac has no chance.

It also offers 8 hours battery life, as do most of the new acers... its really about 6 hours tho. Im on my second acer now, and everyone i know who uses them never complains (i know alot of people who use them). Although i do have a rig in my work space, i still find myself (even now) using my acer.

As suggested by others, wacom are the leaders in graphics tablets, their products are the best. The cintiq(i think its called) is a fantastic bit of hardware, but its pricey. Why pick that tablet? Too many good reasons. a great one is that its pressure sensitive, and you can have up to a 21 inch screen that is fully rotatable and moveable in most axis'. Why not get the best of both worlds? If she wants a tablet PC, then look at HP's range. I feel dirty for recommending a HP laptop, however, they work along side wacom, and their tables are basicly the cintiq tablets with a laptop wrapped around it. They cost about 800 quid, will run most games, and most definitly have the processing power to work with any application, however speeds vary.

Pixelcraft wrote: »

She can run windows on new macs, it's a no brainer!

She can run mac os on a pc for 1/4 the price with a much better system if she wants also. That to me is a nobrainer. However, i prefare a stable Operating system.

I have a g4 and a macbook pro in the other room that friends of mine gave to me because they are both faulty with the same problem. Both of which are going to be stripped and binned for the next mac i get to have a look at.