Laptop Recommendations?

N

negative7iq

New Member
Hi,
I'm new to the forums, and I joined because I really would like some advice to steer me in the right direction on purchasing a laptop.
I'm a student getting ready to transfer and am leaning toward graphics design as my major. My budget is around $900. I'm looking for a laptop that can run Photoshop, Ilustrator and Indesign and one that (obviously) is not heavy and bulky. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
CPTMuller said:
Im not sure how good GMA950 is for graphics work
Click to expand...

Its fine for graphics work, its not that great for gaming or 3D rendering. Photoshop and the like are processor intense not really GPU intense. However, a nicer video chipset would help a bit, I will agree with that.

I recommend you get a mac, but that is me.
 
For 900 there is no mac at all for his needs. Also I was thinking adobe elements which is more intensive. Besides on a budget I think the only other option is a dell or HP with coupons, check the local newspaper adds you can get REALLY good deals if you are willing to wait.
 
CPTMuller said:
For 900 there is no mac at all for his needs. Also I was thinking adobe elements which is more intensive. Besides on a budget I think the only other option is a dell or HP with coupons, check the local newspaper adds you can get REALLY good deals if you are willing to wait.
Click to expand...

macbooks start at 1099, which is just about in his price range. If he is a student he gets 10% off making it 999.

Dell does have the best deals if you get the right online rebates and coupons. My friend got a dell about 6 months ago that he got rebates and coupons to get oalmost $1,000 off his laptop. He ended up buying a very high end one, and he says he likes it for the most part. I personally do not like dell laptops, they are too big and chunky for my tastes.

Apple also has awesome apple loan programs for students, you could get great deals.

there are refurbs

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...aKWz0Yd2HwiKjga3IboDXk/3.0.0.23.7.5.5.1.0.1.1

and educational deals

http://store.apple.com/1-800-780-50.../3j10qNyTFcky2CAeWSg1cqJYL0L/0.0.23.7.5.9.1.5

Make sure to look up your school, some schools have special apple stores and have special deals with apple. If you are going into graphic design a lot of it is done on macs, and the new macs also run windows so you can learn both worlds. I can tell you that all my specialty labs at work that are for graphics/animation are all on Macs. My friend who works IT for MMG world wide design firm runs a lot of macs for their designers, and my friend who is a lead graphic designer at JCCC college also runs mostly on Macs. Our graphic design department at work also runs completely on Macs.

Plus Mac laptops are just awesome, I own one and will never go back if I don't have to.
 
That is why I said look up his/her school's apple store if they have one. They offer all kinds of special deals and financing. 100 dollars more when already spending 900 is not that much.
 
I dunno, I paid 1450 for my laptop I couldn't fork over 100$ for a C2D upgrade, its alot when you are on a budget dude.
 
First I'd check with him to see if his budget can go over a little, then I'd see if he has any preference for either a Mac or a Windows computer.
 
CPTMuller said:
I dunno, I paid 1450 for my laptop I couldn't fork over 100$ for a C2D upgrade, its alot when you are on a budget dude.
Click to expand...

I would have cut costs somewhere else for a month to make up that 100 dollars. Not eating out or going to a bar for a month can really save money. There are always ways to get a bit more money IMO, but I guess there is always an exception. Financing is also an option, and is actually tax deductible if it is a required cost of school/work.

Oh well, the poster has tons of options to explore. Best deal would be a Dell probably if you could find the right coupons but they would be big and bulky, a mac might be preferred because of the stability, can run both windows and OS X, and ease of use and the fact they are all over the graphic design world but may have a bit more initial cost.
 
You realize to run windows you have to buy it? I mean thats a solid 200$ besides for the 300$ gap created you could get a way better windows based laptop (good discrete graphics!)

Anyhow for 900 try to configure a dell inspiron 1505 with one of the mobility radeon cards.
 
CPTMuller said:
You realize to run windows you have to buy it? I mean thats a solid 200$ besides for the 300$ gap created you could get a way better windows based laptop (good discrete graphics!)

Anyhow for 900 try to configure a dell inspiron 1505 with one of the mobility radeon cards.
Click to expand...

You also have to realize that the poster is a student, and almost every major university has an MSDN subscription allowing students to load the school's site licensed copy of windows onto their machine. A lot of people do not know about this, contact your universities IT department, they will know if this is possible. Also, purchasing a computer through the schools computer store makes it a university accepted computer.
 
Sorry, the college I plan on going to and have been looking into do not offer this to my knowledge. But I still say that going under budget is always better
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top