Thread: PC laptop recommendation

I just sold my iPad2 so I could get a Macbook Air. The iPad was great but the limitations were bugging me more and more, especially typing on a touch pad. So I decide to go the MBA route however I see I can get a lot more computer for less if I go the PC route. I have a iMAC desktop too so I will always have a MAC available. Going to run Lightroom on it.

Thanks

Not sure if I would agree with you on that one. I went down that path early last year because I had the same thinking, plus, I needed PC to run some diabetic software I wanted to keep track of my levels. Anyway I came home with a really inexpensive Acer, with a 15" screen and Windows 7 Home premium. It had 4G RAM and IIRC a 320G hard drive. Long story short, the screen was rubbish and would not display at a higher resolution than 1386 (and on 15" that was woeful). I wasnt worried, I decided to install Ubuntu instead, which I am quite happy to use. Nope... Ubuntu wouldnt install because the PC was locked down in some way to the Acer software only. Futzing about in the bios didnt help. I reinstalled from the recovery software 24 hours later and returned it for a full refund.

I now have a 13" MBP instead, and really wish, often, that I had got an Air. I'm glad I have the MBP though, and an iMac on the desk, and an iPad at the lounge and an iPhone in my pocket. PCs can be cheaper yes, but they won't have the best hardware and if you want hardware that matches the macs, you probably do need to pay almost as much, so in the end it really comes down to the OS choice. My opinion, of course :)

[edit] oh yeah, the diabetic software works just fine in Parallels with W7. So I never really needed the Acer anyway...

cheaper is a relative thing

Well I'd jump on the Mac bandwagon in a heartbeat, but the Minister of the Interior says "NO!". I've had an Acer and a HP and neither has lasted like the Toshiba (4 years o with the Laptop and still going strong....oh Jeez fingers-crossed). Just bought a Netbook to replace the burnt-out HP (lasted just over 1 year ) and now it is only Toshiba for me!....well until I successfully complete Persuasion 301.

Originally Posted by stillshunter

Well I'd jump on the Mac bandwagon in a heartbeat, but the Minister of the Interior says "NO!". I've had an Acer and a HP and neither has lasted like the Toshiba (4 years o with the Laptop and still going strong....oh Jeez fingers-crossed). Just bought a Netbook to replace the burnt-out HP (lasted just over 1 year ) and now it is only Toshiba for me!....well until I successfully complete Persuasion 301.

If you haven't ever checked the refurb store, it might be a good idea. I got a 2011 MBP for $1099, in July, and the only thing that was different was that it didnt come with Lion. It was only released in May and according to coconut battery even now is only 27 weeks old. I've only had it a few weeks less. It was worth the discount.

Refurbished Mac Computers - Refurbished Notebooks & Desktop Computers - Apple Store (Australia)

Why anyone who needs Photoshop, Lightroom or almost any other post processing software would buy a windows machine beats me. I have taught Adobe products on both platforms and those using Macs just do better because they don't have to battle with a poorly designed O/s and even those who know it are much slower than Mac students. For me its a no brainer. If you can't afford the latest mac buy a good used or like kiteflyer says a refurb. The Mac mini server is also a real bargain compared with other desktops on the market...

These threads always have an unpleasant tendency to turn into a Mac vs PC battle of the zealots.

For what is basically single-application work, there's no reason not to buy a windows-based machine; it is just a tool after all, and Macs really are staggeringly overpriced considering that beneath the (admittedlly well designed) skin is - these days - identical hardware.

I use a Lenovo G770 i7/6GB/750GB - it is very good; I've also had a Toshiba RF711 i5/6GB/1TB and it was as good if not better.

The main thing is, if you're going to buy a laptop, is to budget in for a hardware colour calibrator (such as a Spyder3) - Mac or PC

Originally Posted by pdh

These threads always have an unpleasant tendency to turn into a Mac vs PC battle of the zealots.

Pretty pathetic, isn't it. I use to train people on both PC and Mac platforms and use both for desk-top-publishing. Those that think one is particularly better than the other haven't used them side-by-side with the same software on machines costing a similar amount of money; or have become conditioned to the quirks of one operating system over the other.

For what is basically single-application work, there's no reason not to buy a windows-based machine; it is just a tool after all, and Macs really are staggeringly overpriced considering that beneath the (admittedlly well designed) skin is - these days - identical hardware.

Agree.

I use a Lenovo G770 i7/6GB/750GB - it is very good; I've also had a Toshiba RF711 i5/6GB/1TB and it was as good if not better.

The main thing is, if you're going to buy a laptop, is to budget in for a hardware colour calibrator (such as a Spyder3) - Mac or PC

I am currently using a Toshiba L500 laptop. It is now getting long in the tooth and some multi-layer files tax it but has served well. When I bought it, I compared it to about a dozen machines in the same shop and had each one running the same performance measuring software. The L500 topped machines with newer and more powerfull processors as it had the best graphics section. Agree with the spyder calibrator and the other thing to note is that the screen resolution isn't so important as I only rely on the screen when travelling (as I am now). Normallhy I have the machine plugged into a good quality 24" HD monitor.

I use both Macs and PCs. I also write about various gadgets for a living. I can honestly say that currently there are exactly zero PC laptops comparable to MacBook Air. All so called 'ultrabooks' are either flimsy or slow or they have poor screens or they don't last that much on a battery or their keyboards and touchpads are a pain to use. But for the most part they are prone to all the aforementioned issues. The only PC ultraportable I can recommend is Lenovo ThinkPad X220. You can get it with IPS screen and 9-hour battery and it will still be comparable to 13" MBA in terms of weight (but much thicker).

I am using an HP Pavillion G series with a 17" screen to run Lightroom for my Leica M9. 1600x900 screen resolution. No problems dumping a card, and having it batch convert to JPEGs. The computer has 4GBytes of RAM, and uses no where near that running the conversions across 4 processors. The computer was under $600.

Win7 has been fairly problem free. 4GBytes is probably required, a similar machine with 3GBytes required a manual load for Win7 Service Pack 1.

I've worked with computers for 35 years now, Personal Computers since the late 1970s. I wrote my own image processing software on a machine with 64Kbytes of RAM, long before there was a Photoshop. It's amazing that you can buy a machine with this much power for less than the cost of a 5.25" floppy drive.