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Best laptops for graphic design.


ChuchoTrain

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Hello you are all inspring me on this website to design after your entries for my request. I was thinking of maybe having a go at it, i need a new laptop anyway, so i was just wondering, what laptops would be best for graphic design, other than macs.

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Hello you are all inspring me on this website to design after your entries for my request. I was thinking of maybe having a go at it, i need a new laptop anyway, so i was just wondering, what laptops would be best for graphic design, other than macs.

Other than Macs? Good luck with that buddy lol.

Seriously though, if you're not planning on becoming a professional you can probably get away with a PC, but the business is very Mac-centric, even though moving between Macs and PCs is less of a problem these days.

But I would recommend a Mac anyway. My first 3 computers were Windows based PCs. Every one of them crashed and had to be blanked and reset multiple times. I started design school shortly after that, was convinced to get a Mac and I'll never go back. I've had my iMac for 2 and a half years now with absolutely zero problems. I've since added a MacMini to the family and converted my old Dell monitor into something useful :D . I highly recommend you spend the extra money and get a Mac.

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Hello you are all inspring me on this website to design after your entries for my request. I was thinking of maybe having a go at it, i need a new laptop anyway, so i was just wondering, what laptops would be best for graphic design, other than macs.

Other than Macs? Good luck with that buddy lol.

Seriously though, if you're not planning on becoming a professional you can probably get away with a PC, but the business is very Mac-centric, even though moving between Macs and PCs is less of a problem these days.

But I would recommend a Mac anyway. My first 3 computers were Windows based PCs. Every one of them crashed and had to be blanked and reset multiple times. I started design school shortly after that, was convinced to get a Mac and I'll never go back. I've had my iMac for 2 and a half years now with absolutely zero problems. I've since added a MacMini to the family and converted my old Dell monitor into something useful :D . I highly recommend you spend the extra money and get a Mac.

How much do good macs usually run for?

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Hello you are all inspring me on this website to design after your entries for my request. I was thinking of maybe having a go at it, i need a new laptop anyway, so i was just wondering, what laptops would be best for graphic design, other than macs.

Other than Macs? Good luck with that buddy lol.

Seriously though, if you're not planning on becoming a professional you can probably get away with a PC, but the business is very Mac-centric, even though moving between Macs and PCs is less of a problem these days.

But I would recommend a Mac anyway. My first 3 computers were Windows based PCs. Every one of them crashed and had to be blanked and reset multiple times. I started design school shortly after that, was convinced to get a Mac and I'll never go back. I've had my iMac for 2 and a half years now with absolutely zero problems. I've since added a MacMini to the family and converted my old Dell monitor into something useful :D . I highly recommend you spend the extra money and get a Mac.

How much do good macs usually run for?

Upwards of a stack and a half, unless you can get one via a student discount or a refurbished machine--or an older one at a discount price.

Although, I will say this: while yes, Mac is preferred in the design realm, operating off a PC will not be the death knell many make it out to be. I'm no longer as deep into the print industry/freelance design business as I used to be, but I still maintain both a Mac and a PC (altho the Mac is a desktop and the PC is a notebook). Macs are more user-friendly, in my opinion, but PCs are a little more adaptable to the everyday world. Anyway, to answer the OP's original question, a while ago I looked at a VAIO machine that was really good--tailored for the task of graphic design. I'm no tech expert, but I will say this: whatever you choose, just make sure it has a very good graphics/video card and a nice chunk of RAM. And if you use it for graphic design, use it just for that--I'd advise against trying to download music or movies onto that same machine, as that eats up file space & memory.

*Disclaimer: I am not an authoritative expert on stuff...I just do a lot of reading and research and keep in close connect with a bunch of people who are authoritative experts on stuff. 😁

|| dribbble || Behance ||

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You don't need a Mac. You're not doing this professionally and even if you were... you still wouldn't NEED a Mac.

All you need is a good laptop that'll handle running large applications like CS3. My Toshiba505 runs CS3 and everything I need flawlessly, and it was a pretty cheap buy.

Plus, if you buy a MacBook you'll probably end up with a 13 inch monitor that's a pain in the arse to work on. You can hook it up to an external monitor, but that's if you have one worth doing the connects.

Use a PC. Save your money. If you end up wanting to do Graphic design as a profession- Then invest in a Mac.

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If you end up wanting to do Graphic design as a profession- Then invest in a Mac.

mac or pc does not mean ANYTHING....it's the programs you use and your talent level. i have been a professional graphic artist for 10+ years and have used a pc the entire time...personally, i hate macs. :D

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If you end up wanting to do Graphic design as a profession- Then invest in a Mac.

mac or pc does not mean ANYTHING....it's the programs you use and your talent level. i have been a professional graphic artist for 10+ years and have used a pc the entire time...personally, i hate macs. :D

ha, this old chestnut. i think its a given that talent is an aside to this argument.

id never go back to a pc. ive had 3 g5s and i have a decent mac book pro. prior to that i had 3 pcs all by different manufacturers, all of them very high spec.

people will tell you that pcs are somehow more versatile and better adapted to some esoteric operations which tend only to relate to pcs anyway.

thats all fine and perhaps they might have some genuine benefits, but in the last 5 years on 4 machines i have:

-had to restart machines 3 times due to a crash,

-have never had a virus (although this will happen at some point im sure, i dont have antivirus stuff gumming up my machine)

-had to reinstall 2 programs

-watched the entire office switch to macs (previously 50-50 split)

-had far less issues with networking, setting up printers etc etc (something pcs see as a win for them altho thats never been my experience)

-probably spent less money on computers. i still use one 4/5 year old g5 in my room for hd rendering.

-dropped my old vaio and a dell box from my second floor for laughs.

if you are serious about the system you use as a designer, i would always recommend a mac and im sure the large majority of pro designers would too.

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I fully agree with Davidson. The only real difference between a PC and a Mac are the OS (I find Macs to be more user-friendly, but obviously 1stDown has a different opinion) and the life expectancy (a G5 should last you about 10 years).

Sigs are for sissies.

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id go with the 15inch Macbook Pro if money is no option. thats what im on now. ill never go back to a PC. ive heard Adobe programs run better on Macs too, though i really wouldnt know, never had to use a PC for designing. i recently upgraded to Snow Leopard too, its smooth.

 

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I can't comment on the graphic design applications (which I guess makes my post pretty worthless), but FWIW, the only macs in my company are the ones used by designers who work in AI, Photoshop, et al. I've heard from many who would know that the mac OS just manages the resources needed by these types of apps better than Windows. It also seems to be the industry standard, so any tips you're going to get are likely to involve key commands or other things that are platform specific, so that's another reason to go with one. However, all that aside, I cannot accept that a properly configured PC can't do a fine job with any of these apps. There's more than enough processing power, GPU power / memory, and system resources available to run just about anything, as long as you're not trying to do a million things at once. I'd also argue that 99% of people's problems with PCs are self induced. Granted, I'm an IT guy with a MS in Computer Science (and I don't do graphic design), but I do a ton with my PCs, and haven't experienced any types of crashes or blue screens that weren't a direct result of my trying to experiment with some wacky software or overclock my CPU or RAM or something.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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Mac or PC, that's your personal choice. I have a Mac at home that has XP on it for games, etc. I've used it for work, and I've used pc's and currently do at work. Honestly, get a good pc and you'll be fine. I'm serious. It's cheaper and the little things between the two aren't that significant that I'd say, "You have to get a Mac". The statement that Macs are industry standard, is a myth that I've seen many, many times. I don't know how many times I went in for interviews and I'd say 80-90% of them were running pcs. It might be that way in the ad agency world, I'm not sure, but you just need a good computer with at least 2 gigs of ram and a 3 gig processor will do you fine. Your ram and your processor are the key components, not brand of computer. Do I like the Mac OS better than Windows? Absolutely, but I still say the Macs are way over-priced!

 

 

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My comment that it was industry standard is based on the fact that I work for a major financial services (mutual fund) company, and out of 13,000+ desktops, all are PC except for the creative services folks. Why? Because the talent that they hire from school or away from other companies is all trained on and used to Mac. Also, for PC, at today's prices, there's no reason not to go with a 64 bit OS and 4 GB RAM. Even if you go with 32bit, good RAM is so cheap that going with 4GB is worth it, even if technically it all can't be used.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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PC's get a bad rep, with Windows 7 it's a little more stable so I don't think it's that big of a deal. Just get a laptop that has the processor and ram you need to run the programs and the rest is up to you, get a bigger screen, etc.

Mac fan boys will always hate on PC's, it's like an inherited hate they have the moment they go mac.

LETS GO PENGUINS!

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Windows Vista is plenty stable. The only issue I've seen with it (from a user perspective only) is it's a little difficult to network with XP and 2k machines. Other than that, as long as your drivers are all updated, it's fine.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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Let me preface this by saying I'm not a professional designer by any stretch of the imagination, but I have a two and a half year old Macbook Pro 15" and it's still great with running Illustrator and Photoshop simultaneously. My girlfriend just got a new Macbook about four months ago and I'm pretty sure the specs on her standard are the same if not better than my 2.5 year old pro, so if you're gonna go the Mac route, I don't think the pro is completely necessary unless you have the money for it.

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PC's get a bad rep, with Windows 7 it's a little more stable so I don't think it's that big of a deal. Just get a laptop that has the processor and ram you need to run the programs and the rest is up to you, get a bigger screen, etc.

Mac fan boys will always hate on PC's, it's like an inherited hate they have the moment they go mac.

these mac fan boys you speak of, and their inherited hate. look, i had nothing against pcs at all, it appeared to work fine and everything when i had one.

its just that when i changed, i realised that i no longer ha dto put up with all the crap i got from my pc. youll tend to find that the people that use macs

migrated there from pcs. very few started out on macs and know no different. the pc advocates tend to have a limited experience of macs. perhaps a few

weeks or so. the fact remains, that despite their market dominance, there arent a group of 'pc fanboys' who have left mac for pc in order to take advantage

of their superiority. its almost always the other way round. to characterise people like me as 'mac fanboys' presumes that we are in some sense partisan by

default. well ive spent years working on both, and i chose of my own volition to never use one system again. not because i feel less cool doing it, not because

i am towing some mac party line but because one is noticeably better for what i do. i dont have a problem with people who prefer pcs, lets just not pretend

that i (and most of the design industry) made an arbitrary decision.

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I agree with Fraser. I switched from PC to Mac 4 years ago and have never regretted the decision. The decision on the move came from being disappointed by poor customer support from both Dell and Sony. Throw in the irritation of dealing with browser exploits and the need to run antivirus software (even if only once a week) made the freed up resources worth the extra cash. The choice becomes easier considering the included software is actually useful.

My week still has me working with Windows, Mac and Linux (Red Hat, specifically). Even with Windows 7 being a much better product than previous MS OSes, I'd still prefer a Mac at this time. All have their advantages and disadvantages. At some point, MS might rewrite Windows to eliminate the problems inherent with supporting legacy programs, including ridding itself of the registry. When that happens, Mac OS will definitely have something to worry about.

Back to the OP inquiry, if you are not serious about working design or are years from getting into the "biz", just find a PC with plenty of ram and a decent video card and processor. The Adobe software is expensive and going with a less expensive PC is a better choice for investment into a hobby.

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"One of my concerns is shysters show up and take advantage of people's good will and generosity".

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Yep it's really up to the preferences of the user but the in the design business you need to be able to work with Macs.

I'll echo what BringBackTheVet said, only on a much smaller scale. At my office, which is especially relevant with this being sports logos site, the Florida Marlins, there are about 200 employees in the front office at the stadium. Everyone is on PCs except the 3 of us in the creative services department: me, the team photographer and the creative director.

I used to be as pro-PC as you can get. When I started school and they told us "The business is almost totally Mac-based" I scoffed at it and told myself I wouldn't switch. After one semester I was convinced and started saving for a Mac. I did run CS3 for a few months at home on my old Dell out of necessity, and again this is just my preference, but OS X is light years better than Windows as far as being user friendly goes when it comes to design software.

Yeah Macs tend cost a lot more but they will last you practically forever. I have an early 90s Mac in my garage my neighbor gave me, and it's useless by today's standards, but plug it in and it still runs as intended.

I spent $1200 on the base iMac in fall 2007, and it has done the job incredibly well. I recently upgraded to 4 gigs of memory from 1, and it really flies and will last me for years to come. For a little more you can get the base Macbook Pro these days. And I've seen people at my school with the regular $999 MacBooks and they work fine as well. Really it's all about your willingness to work on a smaller screen.

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