which is a better spec. for a laptop

sebastianj

1-Intel Core i3 2350M 2.3GHz
- 640GB HDD + 6GB RAM
- 15.6" HD + DVDRW

2- Intel Pentium B960 2.2GHz
- 8GB RAM + 500GB HDD
- 15.6" HD + DVD RW

It is a present for a graphic designer .
thanks in anticipation,
sebastian

paddyrg

I would probably take the first of the two. The i3's are the lower end of their new architecture, but still very decent. If the extra RAM is an issue (it won't be, 6GB is plenty in almost all cases) you can do that later.

-TangleFoot-

Note: the other half of the discussion is over here.

robmar0se

sebastianj wrote: »

1-Intel Core i3 2350M 2.3GHz
- 640GB HDD + 6GB RAM
- 15.6" HD + DVDRW

2- Intel Pentium B960 2.2GHz
- 8GB RAM + 500GB HDD
- 15.6" HD + DVD RW

It is a present for a graphic designer .
thanks in anticipation,
sebastian

My son is also a graphic designer. He uses Photoshop extensively (using a mac), with 16bg RAM. Photoshop can be very resource hungry.

So of the two, I would fo for the i3, but consider upping the ram which is not expensive these days.

Are you looking at ebuyer's Toshiba Satellite Pro C660-2KJ laptop?

sebastianj

Yes, I think that is the one, the RAM can go up another 2gig, i don't know how to upgrade though.
sebastian

paddyrg

sebastianj wrote: »

Yes, I think that is the one, the RAM can go up another 2gig, i don't know how to upgrade though.
sebastian

See if you really need it first! Generally a screwdriver job, but 6Gig is a lot of RAM. Above that is diminishing returns, it will only become useful for particularly huge image editing, not really for most stuff for web/print. In fact your performance gain would be higher with a beefier processor or SSD.

Think of a body builder - massive biceps are useless if your legs are too weak to carry you, a thick neck on a skinny torso looks silly, etc. Same with computer systems, there isn't a single element to be maximised, you need to balance your elements for maximum gain.

Bear in mind, Photoshop itself will cost you more than a laptop of this spec. If the recipient is a professional graphic designer and can afford Photoshop, they can probably afford a better spec computer. If they are using GIMP (which is free, and very decent - about 97% of what you can do with Photoshop you can do with GIMP, although it may be a less elegant process), this spec machine should be fine for now. When they are making money and go 'pro' with Photoshop, they can upgrade to a beefier lappy at the same time.

sebastianj

It is a bit difficult to balance every thing out because reliability also comes into play, battry life etc.
i am so confused.
thanks again,
sebastian

robmar0se

paddyrg wrote: »

See if you really need it first! Generally a screwdriver job, but 6Gig is a lot of RAM. Above that is diminishing returns, it will only become useful for particularly huge image editing, not really for most stuff for web/print. In fact your performance gain would be higher with a beefier processor or SSD.

Think of a body builder - massive biceps are useless if your legs are too weak to carry you, a thick neck on a skinny torso looks silly, etc. Same with computer systems, there isn't a single element to be maximised, you need to balance your elements for maximum gain.

Bear in mind, Photoshop itself will cost you more than a laptop of this spec. If the recipient is a professional graphic designer and can afford Photoshop, they can probably afford a better spec computer. If they are using GIMP (which is free, and very decent - about 97% of what you can do with Photoshop you can do with GIMP, although it may be a less elegant process), this spec machine should be fine for now. When they are making money and go 'pro' with Photoshop, they can upgrade to a beefier lappy at the same time.

Depending on the OP's daughter's graphics focus you may well be right, eg I would concur if the focus was on web design. However I know from dealing with folks going into graphic design as a career, that they want the experience of using Photoshop asap; somehow they manage to obtain copies of it!!

If it was me, I would be inclined not to buy a lappie for her, but rather give her the dosh for one. That way she could ensure that she can focus on the best compromise for what she wants to do. But the OP know his daughter and her circumstances best. Sometimes the differing advice given on these boards just makes the decision that much harder!

Lastly, on the Tosh c660, you're right the max is 8gb RAM; to max it out at 8gb would cost around £15 (you would need to replace the 2gb strip with a 4gb strip).

A_Guard_Swine

Copy from another thread but hey ho...



I have seen this
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/hp-pavi...63569-pdt.html
£349

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/toshiba...41383-pdt.html
£349

But what about this
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/hp-pavi...84720-pdt.html
£379.99

Does this quad core hold any water?

I know there refurbs but I am cheaper, than a scotsman who has just found out that sunshine is still free.
Please help