Laptops?

eremo

I'm not sure if this is the right thread but anybody has any suggestions on good laptops that work well with Photoshop in this time and age? Mac or PC? Budget is around $1500. I understand desktops are a thing but due to circumstances I can only go with a laptop for now. I appreciate anyone's thoughts on the subject.

PixelMasher

the dell xps line of laptops has a pretty good balance of power for price. a lot cheaper than most macs and almost double the ram and video cards in some cases.

ZacD

Just Photoshop? Any laptop would with an i5 and plenty of ram would be fine. A laptop with a dedicated GPU like a GTX 1050 or 1060 would be nice, and cost around $1000, and be the ideal starting place for game art. ASUS, Acer, MSI, and a few other brands should have good options around that price.

eremo

PixelMasher said:

the dell xps line of laptops has a pretty good balance of power for price. a lot cheaper than most macs and almost double the ram and video cards in some cases.

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/xps-15/spd/xps-15-9560-laptop/configurations

I'm doing some research and I have my eyes on the $1,600 one.

Thanks man.

eremo

ZacD said:

Just Photoshop? Any laptop would with an i5 and plenty of ram would be fine. A laptop with a dedicated GPU like a GTX 1050 or 1060 would be nice, and cost around $1000, and be the ideal starting place for game art. ASUS, Acer, MSI, and a few other brands should have good options around that price.




Do you know if there is a huge difference between i5 or i7?

The priciest model of the Dell XPS 15 has a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050. I'm hoping this is good.

Do you know any particular models of laptops from ASUS, Acer, etc. that you would suggest that I can compared to?

Easton

I would recommend the XPS also, it is 4k for a good price, if you like battery life it has it, it has a 1050gtx and a pretty decent CPU.

I would actually recommend looking into the new AMD APUs with Intel and Vega, only problem is that some softwares like Substance don't support APUs for whatever reason...

Last thing I would get is an Mac. Mac is like buying a Cadilac, no matter how much they try to sell it to you its just a rebadged Chevy. Mac doesn't have good performance, they use old parts and sell them for more, and they are crazy expensive, I have never used a Mac but the reason I haven't is because I know they don't offer performance for a decent price. Mac and Alienware and you will spend WAY too much.

eremo

Easton said:

I would recommend the XPS also, it is 4k for a good price, if you like battery life it has it, it has a 1050gtx and a pretty decent CPU.

I would actually recommend looking into the new AMD APUs with Intel and Vega, only problem is that some softwares like Substance don't support APUs for whatever reason...

Last thing I would get is an Mac. Mac is like buying a Cadilac, no matter how much they try to sell it to you its just a rebadged Chevy. Mac doesn't have good performance, they use old parts and sell them for more, and they are crazy expensive, I have never used a Mac but the reason I haven't is because I know they don't offer performance for a decent price. Mac and Alienware and you will spend WAY too much.

I want to say the XPS 15 but reading some of the screen issues on Reddit about ghosting and a red/green tint disparity makes me a bit hesitant. 

AMD? APU? Slow down there. - . - '
I'm barely getting the concept of what a 7700HQ Quad Core Professor is..
I'm sorry, but could you guide me with maybe a link that may help paint a better picture?

I feel you on your thoughts on Mac, not my thing.

PolyHertz

You should read over the first post in the PC building sticky: http://polycount.com/discussion/173350/upgrading-or-building-a-new-pc-this-is-the-thread-for-you/p1

The "what to know" section for each part should cover almost everything you'd want to know, and near the bottom is a section that goes over some laptop-specific things.

EarthQuake

A little over your budget at $1700, but the 14" Razer Blade with 1080P screen/256GB is a good choice. Compact and relatively light weight design, I7 7700HQ, GTX 1060 6GB, 16GB RAM, super fast M.2 SSD. Easy to travel with but still plenty of power for 3D work. It will handle Photoshop without breaking a sweat.

Like the XPS it has a 4K screen option, but honestly, that sort of resolution on a screen this small is just sort of dumb. I say this as someone who has a 13" MBP with Retina screen. You only really appreciate it if you put your face 3 inches from it. For practical working purposes, like Photoshop, you just end up zooming in twice as far as you would have otherwise.

I love my MBP, but in terms of tech specs vs price, you're usually better off getting a Windows laptop. When I bought it there weren't many windows options with good screens (solid panel and color accuracy) in a small form factor. If I was buying a new one today, it would probably be the Razer Blade, mostly because I travel internationally and want something under 15".

XPS 15 looks like a good choice too, the 16GB ram version is a bit cheaper than the Razer ($1600 vs $1700) with similar specs: 1050 vs 1060, 512GB vs 256GB SSD. Similar weight but larger form factor.

I would recommend trying laptops out in a store before you buy them. Sometimes when you see em in person the screen sucks, or the trackpad is awful (most windows laptops unfortunately), or it feels like it will fall apart if the wind blows on it. Tech specs are only part of the equation.

eremo

PolyHertz said:

You should read over the first post in the PC building sticky: http://polycount.com/discussion/173350/upgrading-or-building-a-new-pc-this-is-the-thread-for-you/p1

The "what to know" section for each part should cover almost everything you'd want to know, and near the bottom is a section that goes over some laptop-specific things.

Holy moly this is a gold mine of info!

Thank you so much!

eremo

EarthQuake said:

A little over your budget at $1700, but the 14" Razer Blade with 1080P screen/256GB is a good choice. Compact and relatively light weight design, I7 7700HQ, GTX 1060 6GB, 16GB RAM, super fast M.2 SSD. Easy to travel with but still plenty of power for 3D work. It will handle Photoshop without breaking a sweat.

Like the XPS it has a 4K screen option, but honestly, that sort of resolution on a screen this small is just sort of dumb. I say this as someone who has a 13" MBP with Retina screen. You only really appreciate it if you put your face 3 inches from it. For practical working purposes, like Photoshop, you just end up zooming in twice as far as you would have otherwise.

I love my MBP, but in terms of tech specs vs price, you're usually better off getting a Windows laptop. When I bought it there weren't many windows options with good screens (solid panel and color accuracy) in a small form factor. If I was buying a new one today, it would probably be the Razer Blade, mostly because I travel internationally and want something under 15".

XPS 15 looks like a good choice too, the 16GB ram version is a bit cheaper than the Razer ($1600 vs $1700) with similar specs: 1050 vs 1060, 512GB vs 256GB SSD. Similar weight but larger form factor.

I would recommend trying laptops out in a store before you buy them. Sometimes when you see em in person the screen sucks, or the trackpad is awful (most windows laptops unfortunately), or it feels like it will fall apart if the wind blows on it. Tech specs are only part of the equation.

I really appreciate the insight.

The idea on trying out the laptops in store before making the purchase is definitely something that went over my mind, thank you.