Laptop for photo editing?

B

BrianI

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108
Name
Brian
Edit My Images
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Looking to downsize from my homebuilt desktop machine to a laptop. I'd probably be able to sell the desktop base unit onto my parents who were looking to upgrade their system.

At the moment my rig is an Intel Dual Core E5200, 4GB Ram, Nvidia 8600GT graphics all running on Ubuntu 8.10, and a dell 20" widescreen monitor. I'd want a similarly specced laptop, i'd mainly use it with the external monitor so a 15" display would probably be ok?

Finances can't stretch to a macbook (£600 max, preferebly under £500) in any case I'd prefer to stick to a laptop I can run linux on.

I do quite a bit of panoramic stitching so 3GB+ of ram would be a benefit, however spending most of last night looking at various laptop specs I'm not entirely sure what / who makes a good laptop.

So if anyone could post their suggested specs that would be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance.
 
Acer 5920g, I picked one up in November. Great little machine (y)
 
pxl8 said:
Acer 5920g, I picked one up in November. Great little machine (y)
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Got one of these as well. It's pretty nice. Only thing I would pick at with it is that the mousepad is a bit weird. Sometimes the pointer hurtles off across the screen as if it's got a mind of it's own. Kinda like the software loses track of where the pointer is supposed to be. Can be a bit of a pain if you're trying to do a bit of fiddly dodging and burning and you end up with a black stripe across the whole image. Still, that's what the undo command is for I suppose. :LOL:

Aside from that, I think it's a pretty decent machine.
 
BrianI said:
Looks a remarkable spec for less than a lower specced Dell.

What's Acer quality like compared to say, Dell?
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Well I've not played football with it but the build seems nice and solid to me. Keyboard feels good to type with which is my normal moan about a laptop.

One thing I would watch out for is there are different models of the 5920g, some come with bluetooth, some don't, stuff like that. Check the exact spec before you buy to make sure it's got all you need. Mine doesn't have BT but the bluray and HDMI output means it also doubles up as a full HD bluray player for home (y)

MisterRigsby said:
Only thing I would pick at with it is that the mousepad is a bit weird. Sometimes the pointer hurtles off across the screen as if it's got a mind of it's own.
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Go to control panel > mouse > device settings > settings. In the new window that pops up read through the various options, especially EdgeMotion. It's actually a feature where if you're dragging and reach the edge the mouse will carry on (as if it had a mind of its own). Virtual scrolling is another option that uses this.
 
I use a HP Pavillion DV9000, That has 3gb RAM widescreen but came with vista :(

PC World had it at £500 about 3 months ago
 
pxl8 said:
Go to control panel > mouse > device settings > settings. In the new window that pops up read through the various options, especially EdgeMotion. It's actually a feature where if you're dragging and reach the edge the mouse will carry on (as if it had a mind of its own). Virtual scrolling is another option that uses this.
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Ah. Didn't know that. I'll give it a try. Thanks. (y)
 
I've read a few reviews on the net saying the Acer 5920s are prone to overheating.
I'm going to see whats available on the dell factory outlet.
 
I'd always recommend people go for Dell because their machines are solid and the support is top notch. But I'm a bit of a Dell fan boy... used all dell servers, desktops and laptops in my old job, Dell desktops and laptops in my current job and always had a dell laptop at home :)

And, for what it's worth, I've got a Latitude D820 and Ubuntu installs and runs with everything working. Even the wireless works natively, no need for windows drivers and all that ndis wrapper stuff.

Dave
 
BrianI said:
I do quite a bit of panoramic stitching so 3GB+ of ram would be a benefit, however spending most of last night looking at various laptop specs I'm not entirely sure what / who makes a good laptop.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing you would be installing Ubuntu on it as well? As you would otherwise need Vista x64 for more RAM which doesn't appear to be on any retail systems (hence the limitation to 3GB of RAM at the moment on many models)
 
I use a samsung A700 with a 2.1 dual core, 3 gig of ram and a 320 gig HDD plenty for my photoshop work. I've got a 40gig partition running CentOS
 
davelee212 said:
I'd always recommend people go for Dell because ...the support is top notch.
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Not in my experience. They have been by far the worst company I have had to deal with for customer service in my life.

Apart from struggling to communicate the problem to them becasue they couldn't speak English fluently they wouldn't believe my laptop had a problem. After an hour and a half on the phone they finally agreed to send an enginner out who agreed it was faulty and then didn't have the right part to fix it. Compensation for this ball-ache process, a 125mb memory stick.
 
Sorry, my mistake... It's only the business models that you get local support for I think. I always get people in Glasgow, although they can be a little hard to understand sometimes :) I've had a nightmare talking to the people on the "home" support number..

I'll change my advice slightly then... Buy a Dell Latitude laptop, then you get to speak to the people who know what they are talking about and who speak Engli
 
purpleclouds said:
I'm guessing you would be installing Ubuntu on it as well? As you would otherwise need Vista x64 for more RAM which doesn't appear to be on any retail systems (hence the limitation to 3GB of RAM at the moment on many models)
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I'm actually reconsidering whether running linux is worthwhile to me anymore. I have used Ubuntu for quite a few years, now I'm more interested in using the computer as a tool rather than it being a hobby in itself. It would also make laptop choices a lot easier as I wouldn't have to worry about whether it was linux compatible! :D

Hmmm.
 
Definitely worth some thought regarding x64 and drivers then! I use x64 on my desktop and love it...I shouldn't imagine there would be a problem with drivers and new hardware now it's been out a while but then again, I know little about laptops!
 
BrianI said:
I've read a few reviews on the net saying the Acer 5920s are prone to overheating.
I'm going to see whats available on the dell factory outlet.
Click to expand...

Not had any problems with mine and its on 18 hours a day. I moved all my email/office stuff over to it when I got it (y)
 
I use a dell inspiron, and it's been faultless, apart from a Hard drive failing this year (After 3.5 years of use)

I'm getting a new one delivered on wednesday, with 2.5GHz dual core processor, 4Gb ram, 320Gb HDD, uprated screen etc etc etc. Can't wait..

Apart from the Vista malarky.
 
Ant said:
I use a dell inspiron, and it's been faultless, apart from a Hard drive failing this year (After 3.5 years of use)

I'm getting a new one delivered on wednesday, with 2.5GHz dual core processor, 4Gb ram, 320Gb HDD, uprated screen etc etc etc. Can't wait..

Apart from the Vista malarky.
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Hi, what's the screen size of your inspiron? To be honest Dell laptops seem to be the best value for money it seems.
 
it's a 15.4" screen. Yes, not that big, but the new versions have HDMi out, so you could easily chuck it onto the telly if you're really wanting to blow something up (In size). You can however, get up to 1900x1200 resolution (Or something similar) on the Studio range of laptops.
 
Ant said:
it's a 15.4" screen. Yes, not that big, but the new versions have HDMi out, so you could easily chuck it onto the telly if you're really wanting to blow something up (In size). You can however, get up to 1900x1200 resolution (Or something similar) on the Studio range of laptops.
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I have a dell 2007 WFP (S-IPS panel) monitor which I'd probably use as a 2nd screen on the laptop.

I have the following specced at Dell:
InspironTM1525 (N0152505) Qty 1
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T6400 (2.0 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 Cache), Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English Unit Price Incl. VAT £519.00
Save £30 (Inc Vat) until 07/01/2009
Expires 07 January 2009 View Details
- £30.00
Catalog Number: 20211 N0152505
Module Description Show Details
Base Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T6400 (2.0 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 Cache)
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English
Memory 3072MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [1x2048+1x1024]
Keyboard Internal Keyboard Uk/Irish (QWERTY)
Video Card Integrated Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator X3100
Hard Drive 320GB (5.400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
Modem 56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter - UK
Optical Devices DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD)
Wireless Networking Dell™ Wireless 1395 802.11b/g Mini-Card - Europe
Cables Power Cord UK 1meter
Shipping Documents English EMEA 1 (EN, AR, DU, FR, GE, IT, CR,SP) Documentation
Gedis Bundle Reference N0152505
Microsoft Application Software Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word)
Standard Warranty 1Yr Limited Warranty - Collect & Return
Service 1 Year Limited Warranty - Collect & Return
Protect your new PC No Security/Anti-Virus Protection - English
Power Supply 65W AC Adapter
Integrated Mobile Broadband No Mobile Broadband Selected
Order Information Inspiron Order - UK
Primary Battery 6-cell battery
Carrying Cases No Carry Case
Dell System Media Kit Resource DVD Inspiron 1525 - (Diagnostics & Drivers)
Camera 2.0 Mega pixel web camera
Colour Choice Jet Black Colour with Matte Finish
Accidental Damage Support No Accidental Damage Support
Online Backup DataSafe Online Backup 2GB
Online Promotion Option for GEDIS Configs Dell Internet Order
LCD 15.4" Wide Screen WXGA+ (1440 x 900) Display with TrueLife™
TOTAL Incl. VAT:£489.00
Click to expand...

Decent enough spec for photo editing :thinking: ?
 
Hi Brian,
Interesting question. Rather than recommend a particular model I'd say go for a core 2 duo at 2GHz and stick as much RAM as you can in there. 4 gigs and run an OS other than Windows (sounds like you are already a Linux bod). Of course my real recommendation is to save up a bit more and get a Macbook but I doubt you can be converted ;-)
 
bradleysmith said:
Hi Brian,
Interesting question. Rather than recommend a particular model I'd say go for a core 2 duo at 2GHz and stick as much RAM as you can in there. 4 gigs and run an OS other than Windows (sounds like you are already a Linux bod). Of course my real recommendation is to save up a bit more and get a Macbook but I doubt you can be converted ;-)
Click to expand...

Mind you, on 3rd thoughts perhaps I'd actually best keeping my current desktop machine, and get something like a little netbook which I could use to copy pictures off camera if I'm away from home for a few days. Or even cheaper a few more SD cards...

£489 on a laptop could of course be £489 on some glass or a bit towards a new body.....
 
:) Mine came to just shy of £700 when i built it up on the dell website.

I'm not paying for it, so it's even better, and BTW, if you go via quidco you get 4pc discount too, and i bought it on a credit card which gives me 6pc cashback too.
 
I worried that the glossy screens would be a problem too but in reality it's been a non-issue for me. I find they give a better example of what a glossy print might look like too. Your mileage may vary!
 
Well, thanks for all the replies! I think I'll hold off getting a laptop at the moment as I fear my car may have an expensive service and MOT at the end of the month.
 
TBH, i've just been in reciept of a brand new dell inspiron 1525 laptop. It's got an uprated screen, and it's a glossy one. I don't tend to have my back to a light source, so i don't have the problem, of the reflections on the glossy screen.

Oh, and i was editing a 200Mb photo before, which used up about 3.5Gb of RAM (In total) and the laptop was still fine, being able to chat on MSN, and browse the internets whilst PS was doing it's stuff.

The wonders of dual core goodness. (I have a 2.4 GHz core 2 duo, with a 3Mb cache). But i'd heavily recommend a lot of ram.
 
Just to bring this thread back up...

This one mainly goes out to people on the go a lot i suppose. Dell laptop has given up after a few years so im on the look out for something new.

Not sure whether i want a full laptop or a netbook, only really wanting it for photo editing so needs to be able to run fast and then for browsing the net as well. Hoping to get something for around £500ish also.
 
i have a dell xps 1530 and its a piece of crap, only had it since xmas and it has had the motherboard changed, keyboard changed and also the keypad. Now it wont charge up and they want to replace the motherboard again because i keep getting shocks off the metal casing. Told them i wanted my money back but they said they will send a new one out. If this one is no good then i wont be happy with Dell.

On the positive side, when it is running it is a dream to use, photoshop is outstandingly quick but then again it has 4gb of RAM and a 2.5Ghz dual core processor.
 
Anyone got any other ideas? Been looking around the net for notebooks powerful enough to run lightroom and found very little other than a mac
 
if your looking at photo editing and this will be your only machine, i would forget netbooks. the screens are tiny and they arent the highest specced machines out there. most laptops will run lightroom without problems, just factor in upgrading the ram to 3gb in the costs. i have an advent (pc world own brand) that overheats when used on your lap, but it is bout 2 years old now i think, probably needs a new fan or something.
 
fletch5 said:
if your looking at photo editing and this will be your only machine, i would forget netbooks.
Click to expand...

Ill only be using it when im out and need to send the images fast then ill be going home and doing the full edit.

I had a look at the Samsung NC-10, anyone know much about it?
 
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