I believe there's a pretty good Lenovo laptop that has a matte screen. X series? 3 pounds
I'm using a Sony SZ650 and I do alot of photo editing in cafes.
it packs alot of power into its frame, weighs about 4 pounds.I can't think of other laptops in that weight range with that kind of power (core 2 duo 2.2ghz on mine, I think it goes to 2.4ghz on a better model?)
The Sony Z series laptops are really really compact, they shaved an inch off the height of the computer and screen so it's a 13inch display but very slim.
was looking at netbooks in general too, but the Atom is not really made for alot of photo-related work...viewing RAWs may take much more time.
But if you're going on a trip I don't think you want to worry too much about your equipment so maybe a cheap netbook is the way to go.
New Laptop
Pros
- Would be bought to meet Criterias 1-4 above (Criteria 4 I would not reasonably expect to be much less than 10 pounds total, with bag, power supply etc.)
- Would let me install Photoshop (CS3) plus other photo workflow software for added versatility while overseas (nice to have but for most part I do 95% of my PS on my desktop)
- Have seen some smaller sized laptops at places like Best Buy running for $800 Canadian or so and then up, but strikes me as much much better price/value than something like the Colorspace
- An upgrade to my existing laptop, and thus able to be used for other tasks – surfing, work-related tasks, etc.
Cons
- still bulkier/heavier than something like the Colorspace
Based on the above I believe a smaller, lighter laptop is the way to go. But now the question becomes which one, and it is opinion/advice from folks on the forum I am asking for. On things such as:
- Size (I am thinking 14-15 inch smaller/lighter but still not too small a screen)
- Any come with screens that are not high gloss – my current laptop has the Ultra-bright (glossy) screen and it is absolutely unusable in bright environments/outdoors
- Other things to look for in the screen (on a laptop) – have seen some things about some units not being calibratible (I have an eye-one that I would use to calibrate)
- Laptop Brand? Any to stay away from or preferred?
- Processor? Intel Core 2 T6400, AMD Turion, other? Which gives most bang/buck from a PS point of view
- RAM/HDD – I intend on 4 GB RAM with 500 GB drive, and video chip that does not share this RAM
- Operating System - I would prefer XP Pro, but probably stuck with Vista on a new machine (which version would be best) and is Vista going to cause me grief?
- Price – as low as I can go – I am not looking for a $2500 unit, more along the lines of something in the $1000 (Canadian) range, knowing full well, there will be some price creep (upwards)
I’m early in my research and will be looking into these things over the next few weeks, but will appreciate any feedback/comments/advice that will help me focus my research.
Thanks
Andrew
