Baby Cintiq or tablet PC?
polycounter lvl 7
This spring I'm wanting to replace my old HP TC4400 convertible laptop. It has a built in wacom digitizer but with only 256 levels of pressure sensitivity.
Due to limited desk space and portability needs I'm looking at the Cintiq 12 and 13 inch models, but the Samsung series 7 slate and MS Surface Pro are also looking viable.
I'm seeing advantages and disadvantages to all choices. With the Cintiq I can hook it up to my main graphics station at home and replace my ancient Intuos2, but not much use anywhere else. With the tablet and slate I can run all my 3d and 2d applications and use the built in wacom anywhere but not have the power or resolution of a modern desktop PC.
Any opinions or advice on which way to go?
Due to limited desk space and portability needs I'm looking at the Cintiq 12 and 13 inch models, but the Samsung series 7 slate and MS Surface Pro are also looking viable.
I'm seeing advantages and disadvantages to all choices. With the Cintiq I can hook it up to my main graphics station at home and replace my ancient Intuos2, but not much use anywhere else. With the tablet and slate I can run all my 3d and 2d applications and use the built in wacom anywhere but not have the power or resolution of a modern desktop PC.
Any opinions or advice on which way to go?
Replies
Currently my arsenal consist of a surface pro, a 13hd cintiq and a 20wsx cintiq. I would advise, based on personal experience, that a cintiq is better than a tablet pc with a wacom digitizer. The cintiq operates much better, you will get better results and the cintiqs have both a textured surface and different pen nibs for the right kind of feel. On my surface pro, the screen space is too small, the pen too cheap and the glass too slippery. It is not a good work experience.
Ironically, I can use the surface pro as the pc and the 13hd as the drawing tablet. This is not advised though since the tablet is not really powered for the kind of work we do. Recently I purchased a lenovo y510p, which at about 1000 usd, has both a haswell quadcore and a 2gig nvidia gpu/intel hd gpu, this powers the 13hd fine when away from the home workstation, though eternal power is needed.
That said, the 13hd will last you longer. Tablet PCs age, their hardware isnt so current anymore, but a cintiq can still work with whatever computer you hook it up to. Its performs much better, its a better investment, and if you ever resell it, it will hold a large portion of its value. Tablet PCs, not so much.
If you dont mind spending the extra money, you could also get the cintiq companion, which is a 13hd that also has an internal power supply and can opperate as its own mini computer in addition to being used as a normal cintiq. Like all things wacom though, its not cheap.