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15.4 or 17 inch laptop?

Peter Mendelson

New member
I about to buy a laptop for Photoshop editing (will have a WUXGA screen, 2GB of ram, etc.), but I can't decide on a 15.4 or 17 inch screen. I like the idea of the bigger screen for editing, but I hear such big laptops can be a real pain to lug around (and they also drain batteries faster). Frankly, I will mainly be using it around the house and only rarely on trips, so mostly it will be going from room to room.

If anyone can comment on their experiences with a 17 inch lcd laptop, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks,

Peter
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Peter Mendelson said:
I about to buy a laptop for Photoshop editing (will have a WUXGA screen, 2GB of ram, etc.), but I can't decide on a 15.4 or 17 inch screen. I like the idea of the bigger screen for editing, but I hear such big laptops can be a real pain to lug around (and they also drain batteries faster). Frankly, I will mainly be using it around the house and only rarely on trips, so mostly it will be going from room to room.

If anyone can comment on their experiences with a 17 inch lcd laptop, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks,

Peter

I'd go for the 17" because PS needs real estate, unless you are buying a separate great monitor.

If you havn't done so, get to try a Mac intel Powerbook Pro running Windows before you go for a PC.

I personhally would want the best screen and video card and the ability to have as much RAM as possible.

The 17" Mac Powerbook Pro will run windows XP very fast.

You should have a PC slot as well as firewire 800 and USB2 and SATA, if only via a PC slot.

Asher
 

Peter Mendelson

New member
Thanks Asher. I already have 3 PCs and lots of Windows software (including PSCS2 and RSP), so a Mac isn't the best option for me. I am going to have it well spec'd out for Photoshop (2GB Ram, fast processor and drive, WUXGA screen, etc.) I have a desktop with two monitors in my downstairs office, and will be getting the laptop so I can work upstairs as well, and so I can bring it on the occassional trip. Right now I am leaning toward a 17 inch screen for the increased real estate, as you mentioned. I got my wife an HP DV1000, which is a nice size (15.4 inches) for portability, but I have a feeling it would feel a lot easier to do Photoshop work with a larger machine.

Peter
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Peter,

What I was offering is that some consider the 17" Mac Powerbook Pro the fastest laptiop running Windows XP!

So ALL you windows software will work.

Asher
 

Peter Mendelson

New member
Thanks Asher. I was in an Apple store yesterday salivating over some of the laptops and displays. Unfortunately the Powerbook Pro is out of my price range right now :(

Regards,

Peter
 

Paul Caldwell

New member
I agree with Asher on the MacBook Pro as an excellent 17" or 15'4" platform. I am considering this as my next windows machine. My main reasons are that the 17" has the best design I have ever seen on a large screen laptop.

More thoughts on your 15 vs 17. I would go with the 17" also unless you are going to hook up to a large screen to work on. However if that's the case, more than likely you would just get a desktop based machine. If you stitch, then the extra width makes assembly much easier.

The only issue you tend to run into, is that most non Mac 17" machines are just too big, heavy and don't get any time on the batteries. I have used many, including models from Dell, Sony and Toshiba. Never the HP's but last time I looked they were all using pretty much all the same chip set or close.

IMO the quality of the 17 screen should be your main consideration as that will be the most important aspect of the machine. 1 year ago, Sony had some excellent models that had very good resolution and brightness. I can't remember if they called their technology "true bright" or something close to that. Net, excellent screen, but terrible battery life and not a very fast machine for CS2.

You have already picked up on the need for as much ram as you can get, 2Gb, so the only other thing I would look for is a dual core machine.

Paul Caldwell
 

Peter Mendelson

New member
Well, I went with a 15.4 Dell M60. I went to Circuit City and the 17 inch laptops really did look too big to want to move them around a lot, although the big screen size was attractive. The clincher was when my wife said I couldn't borrow her smaller laptop for my occassional trips - no way would I take one of the 17 inch laptops on trips. With 2GB of Ram, 2GHz Pentium M processor, and a WUXGA screen, it should be fine for my needs.

Thanks,

Peter
 

John_Nevill

New member
Peter, I recently bought a 15.4" Acer 8200 laptop and was a bit let down with the screen as it lacks contrast and brightness even after calibration. But like you I wanted portability and 17" is too big to cart around.

I decided to do away with the multitude of tower systems (been an IT techie for too long) and got the full spec model. Duo core T2500 with 2Gb ram. Its pretty fast and came with an ATIx1600 gfx card. To be honest I spent too much time building PCs and problem solving hardware conflicts, so for the first time in 15 years I bought something out of a box.

Within a month I added a 21" Eizo flexiscan to it and was finally happy with my decision. I've since added 3x 250Gb Lacie usb/network drives, a firewire DVD burner and a docking station. I now have as much junk as I did before, but its spread all over my desk. Although its all portable (except the monitor)

The money I spent could have bought me a high end powerhouse tower system or a Mac but I look at it as being a hassle free 3 year investment and then its time for replacement.

I've now had it 6 months and don't regret it, its performed effortlessly and apart from initially removing all the bloatware and converting the disks to NTFS, I really can't fault it apart from the 1 dead pixel!
 
Last edited:

Anita Saunders

New member
17" Mac Powerbook. Simply the best and far more stable and capable for power hungry software than ANY PC laptop I've ever come across. If you don't have the funds I would advise waiting until you've saved up. The number of PC laptops (including Dell - and I'm a Dell fan for Desktops) that have had crashed hardrives; well, let's just say I ran out of fingers to count on. Not so with Mac laptops ... unless you have the misfortune to drop them.
 

Peter Mendelson

New member
The Macs look great, but I don't want to have to deal with the Apple beta software allowing use of Windows on a Mac, and I don't want to even think about learning how to use Apple software and the Apple OS. I already have about 10 different photography software programs and plug-in manuals sitting on my desk waiting for my attention! I still have my desktop, which has performed very well.

I am buying my Dell from a former Intel microprocessor inventor who has gone into the business of upgrading and selling refurbished Dell machines at a very reasonable price. For $1485 shipped, I am getting a spotless M60 with 2GB of Ram, 2GHz processor, a WUXGA 1900x1200 screen, a 120GB 5400 hard drive, DVD burner, etc. and lots of software (he is also installing some of my software for free, and includes an additional one-year warranty over the Dell Complete Care warranty that expires next year). He has gotten rave reviews by Ebay buyers, and has been incredible to deal with so far (he has sent me multiple long emails about different configurations I might want, the advantages of different processors, etc. and has helped me cut out costs relating to non-essentials). I also have a second 19 inch lcd monitor at home which I can hook the laptop to when I want a bigger screen.

If I was starting all over, I would go with a Mac, but I have so much invested in PC harware and software it doesn't make sense to me. Believe it or not, I have had multiple PCs over the last several years (including 3 right now), and have never had a hard drive fail, although I know it's a matter of time - hence I have backups.

Thanks to all for the advice.

Peter
 

Gary Ayala

New member
Size matters ... I have a 17" ... it is heavy, at times a bit awkard ... but wonderful to work with, well worth the slight extra effort required for mobility.
 
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