choosing a laptop - Gaming & Geeking

out there
Joined: 11/03/09
Posts: 90

November 10th, 2009 - 2:12 AM

hey guys!
quick question.
my last laptop has recently died on me, and i'm looking for a new one. i want a lightweight, nice lil machine that i can carry around without hassle and do stuff like draw in photoshop with it. that's about as heavy duty as my tasks get, that and like using itunes.
so, i was considering getting a laptop with a touchscreen, so i can use it as a "on screen tablet" to draw. (i'm really annoyed by wacoms cause when you use them, you can't physically see where and what you're drawing like you do with pencils. unless you buy a cintiq and sell a kidney to afford it)

sadly the shops here don't offer much diversity in laptops, and the only one i'm offered - and which has a touchscreen - is the Dell Latitude 2100:

is it any good? is the "touch screen" good ? i heard about some 'active digitizer' shit being important in laptops and i cant figure out if it has this.
should i drop the touchscreen idea and just get a Dell inspirion as it's really cheap?

thanks guys!! (: i'm really confused about those things.

HellaBolt

Pleasantville
Joined: 07/16/09
Posts: 5368

November 10th, 2009 - 9:24 AM

macbook
i love mine. is great.

but if you want a clone i say go with the HP Pavilion or the Lenovo ThinkPad.

Kay_Zi

CHICAGO/IL
Joined: 09/18/09
Posts: 153

November 10th, 2009 - 9:32 AM

okay---
i have the latitiude..
it is a netbook, and it is small.... not too spectacular for photoshopping.

the touch screen is suchas the one on the crappy touchscreen phones.
its delayed, and not very sensitive...
if you are looking for a good tablet touchscreen....
i'd go with an HP TX2500z...

my friend just got one...they are very new, but reliable, so far(:

if you do choose to drop the touchscreen aspect...i'd go with a macbook. not the air. there is no cddrive):

sourheart

out there
Joined: 11/03/09
Posts: 90

November 10th, 2009 - 9:53 AM

oh wow, the HP TX2500z costs too much for my current budget :( so you're saying the latitude's touchscreen is no good huh? that sucks.
the TX2500z costs about as much as a new Wacom Cintiq will cost me, so i guess that's out of the question

HellaBolt Said:

macbook
i love mine. is great.

but if you want a clone i say go with the HP Pavilion or the Lenovo ThinkPad.

i was actually thinking of a laptop i can use as a tablet ... my friend has a macbook and i dont like it.

I guess i'll get the Dell inspirion mini 10 then, its an ok computer isnt it?

holychode

KETCHUM/ID
Joined: 09/20/09
Posts: 409

November 10th, 2009 - 10:03 AM

sourheart Said:

oh wow, the HP TX2500z costs too much for my current budget :( so you're saying the latitude's touchscreen is no good huh? that sucks.
the TX2500z costs about as much as a new Wacom Cintiq will cost me, so i guess that's out of the question

HellaBolt Said:

macbook
i love mine. is great.

but if you want a clone i say go with the HP Pavilion or the Lenovo ThinkPad.

i was actually thinking of a laptop i can use as a tablet ... my friend has a macbook and i dont like it.

I guess i'll get the Dell inspirion mini 10 then, its an ok computer isnt it?

If you like Dells

likerain

PORTLAND/OR
Joined: Old School
Posts: 9720

November 10th, 2009 - 12:36 PM

As someone who is Adobe ACE certified DO NOT RUN photoshop on an atom processor netbook. You will hate your life and your computer. First off to get it on an netbook with out a CD drive is a NIGHTMARE! second of all it runs slower then fuck, IF You can get it to open at all.

sourheart

out there
Joined: 11/03/09
Posts: 90

November 10th, 2009 - 9:51 PM

seriously? wow thats awful. i'm glad i know that now... so this basically reallyyyy limits my choices huh? no "compact and lightweight" options then... (by the way i can always use an external DVD-RW device)

likerain

PORTLAND/OR
Joined: Old School
Posts: 9720

November 11th, 2009 - 12:28 AM

sourheart Said:

seriously? wow thats awful. i'm glad i know that now... so this basically reallyyyy limits my choices huh? no "compact and lightweight" options then... (by the way i can always use an external DVD-RW device)

Yeah Unfortunatly Netbooks are made for people who want to do some light office work and e-mailing. Yes you can put it on with a DVD-RW device. BUT that is another 50 bucks that you have to spend.. I know you said that you hate the macbook, but I run CS4 on my 13inch Macbook (the one right before the 13inch macbook pro) and have no issues... What about the Mac do you hate? If you really want a dell I suggest the inspiron 14z that is really as bottom line as i would go if you don't want to spend hrs waiting for photoshop to work.

bosley

PORTLAND/OR
Joined: Old School
Posts: 5666

November 12th, 2009 - 11:31 AM

i have a netbook.

let me just assure you.
you dont want that as a primary machine.
hell i can barely watch a movie on it.. or listen to music from itunes.. because the thing grinds to a halt and echoes and skips like a wonky cd player
(i thought i could go the external route too. LOL)
i bought it because i needed something to tide me over and write papers with while my main laptop was being repaired (sony btw)

but seriously
don't think you're going to have a compact pile of awesome with a netbook.
its for taking notes in class, and emailing your grandma

joeybuzzsaw

PLAINVILLE/CT
Joined: 11/13/09
Posts: 18

November 13th, 2009 - 11:10 PM

I use a MacBook 5,1. But, actually, if you know what you're doing, you can get a netbook to run even Adobe on it well, I know, I used to work for Geek Squad, and that was one of my assignments, although it is beyond the scope of most people's technical knowledge.

If you insist on going the PC route, however, go with a full-sized laptop by ASUS. They've got some of the best customer service in the industry. =]

creepycreep

CINCINNATI/OH
Joined: 10/18/09
Posts: 66

November 14th, 2009 - 1:45 PM

HellaBolt Said:

macbook
i love mine. is great.

but if you want a clone i say go with the HP Pavilion or the Lenovo ThinkPad.

Thinkpads are great. <3

To the OP, you haven't mentioned the hardware components, that's essentially what matters the most in a computer. Is cost an issue? Lenovo has a Thinkpad tablet series, but the price is a bit hefty starting at $1500. I don't know what version of Photoshop you're interested in using, but if it's CS4 check the requirements to make sure it's compatible with whatever computer you plan on purchasing. The Inspiron is a pretty basic computer, and since presumably you just plan on using Photoshop and not entire suite/collection, I think it would be a perfectly sufficient.

likerain

PORTLAND/OR
Joined: Old School
Posts: 9720

November 14th, 2009 - 6:55 PM

joeybuzzsaw Said:

I use a MacBook 5,1. But, actually, if you know what you're doing, you can get a netbook to run even Adobe on it well, I know, I used to work for Geek Squad, and that was one of my assignments, although it is beyond the scope of most people's technical knowledge.

If you insist on going the PC route, however, go with a full-sized laptop by ASUS. They've got some of the best customer service in the industry. =]

I am calling bullshit Geek Squad. I am adobe certified.. At my last continuing education day they showed Photoshop CS4 on a netbook it took 17 minutes to open the program randomly shut down 5 times..... the atom processors only go up to 1.66... it is recommended that you use 1.8 or faster optimally you want to be using something over 2. Trust me no amount of ram/memory trickery is gonna solve this problam. Netbooks are just that FOR INTERNET USE....

Starpunctures

ALBUQUERQUE/NM
Joined: Old School
Posts: 1848

November 14th, 2009 - 7:12 PM

HellaBolt Said:

macbook
i love mine. is great.
.

holychode

KETCHUM/ID
Joined: 09/20/09
Posts: 409

November 14th, 2009 - 7:19 PM

Starpunctures Said:

HellaBolt Said:

macbook pro
i love mine. is great.
.

deathfuckinmeta

CAMBRIDGE/MA
Joined: Old School
Posts: 7773

November 14th, 2009 - 7:21 PM

holychode Said:

Starpunctures Said:

HellaBolt Said:

macbook pro
i love mine. is great.
.

discostu

Montreal
Joined: Old School
Posts: 22686

November 14th, 2009 - 9:00 PM

deathfuckinmeta Said:

holychode Said:

Starpunctures Said:

HellaBolt Said:

macbook pro
i love mine. is great.
.

The_Sean

20x6
Joined: Old School
Posts: 120

November 22nd, 2009 - 12:03 AM

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdea ls/mac

bosley

PORTLAND/OR
Joined: Old School
Posts: 5666

November 22nd, 2009 - 10:02 PM

SEAN!!!!

schojo

a town called hate, GERMANY
Joined: 03/16/09
Posts: 7861

November 23rd, 2009 - 4:17 AM

discostu Said:

deathfuckinmeta Said:

holychode Said:

Starpunctures Said:

HellaBolt Said:

iBook G4
i love mine. is great.
.

Nadbash

MANCHESTER/NH
Joined: Old School
Posts: 14353

November 23rd, 2009 - 6:00 AM

I have an old sony vaio with a broken keyboard that I use exclusively for internet stuff and old emulator games. The wife uses it for playing the sims. I dislike notebooks as a policy.

The_Sean

20x6
Joined: Old School
Posts: 120

November 23rd, 2009 - 2:37 PM

bosley Said:

SEAN!!!!

ZOMG HI!!!

bosley

PORTLAND/OR
Joined: Old School
Posts: 5666

November 23rd, 2009 - 2:42 PM

The_Sean Said:

bosley Said:

SEAN!!!!

ZOMG HI!!!

ZOMG INDEED