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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Laptop ... Which One?
Chase Olivieri, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Condado | PR | Puerto Rico | Posted: 11:53 AM on 03.26.04 |
->> I am looking for a bit of feedback on what types of laptops other SS use. I am looking in to purchasing one to use for photography and for school. The only requirements are it must be Windows based. I am looking for any suggestions in terms of what to get (hardware). The other part I am concerned about in a laptop is battery life and weight. I only have around 2K to spend.
I have been looking in to some gateways and sony's. Anyone have first hand experience with either? http://products.gateway.com/products/GConfig/proddetails.asp?system_id=m505...
Is there any techonlogy that is a must have? |
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Hassel Weems, Photographer
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Locust Grove (Atlanta) | GA | USA | Posted: 12:09 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> I use a Compaq 2178cl (Win XP) that I bought at Sam's Club. It has an AMD 2400+ processor and 512mb of RAM. I shoot raw, and things that are heavy on the processor like rotating images in Nikon View max out the processor and takes a while if I am doing very many at one time.
If I open 3 or more images in Nikon Capture 4, the memory is maxed out, and the machine just pokes along until it can open them and page file what I'm not working on at the moment. I am upgrading the RAM to 1gb, it should be here Monday. I will be able to tell you then if it makes much difference.
I was able to transfer about 6gb of photos (wedding) and rotate half of them on one battery charge last week. I didn't time it exactly, but it was about 90 minutes. If you are doing something that doesn't put much load on the processor, the battery lasts longer.
I'll add another requirement to your list - a decent LCD. This one is not so hot. My wife's Averatec 3150 has a much better LCD, but the processor is pretty weak and the RAM can only go to 684mb. It runs her Word and Access just fine, but would be too slow if you were trying to crunch a bunch of pics to meet deadline. |
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Robert G. Stevens, Photographer
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Bill Ross, Assistant, Photographer
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Colorado Springs | CO | USA | Posted: 12:22 PM on 03.26.04 |
| ->> Just remember, RAM is like money... You just never seem to have enough of it. Memory, good graphics and a good LCD screen. |
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Roger Hornback, Photographer
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Bakersfield | CA | USA | Posted: 12:29 PM on 03.26.04 |
| ->> I have a Dell and it works great. They make it after you order it, so you can customize it with whatever you want. |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Amherst | MA | USA | Posted: 12:37 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> Aside from my Mac PowerBook I have a Dell Latitude C600 (now 3 years old), but I love it.
Dell offers a 3 years you bust, we fix, onsite, no charge warranty. I think the warranty is now about $150 extra, however Dell has no replaced a number of my screens, keyboards, batteries, logic boards, casings, NIC cards, etc, etc. Pretty much all of the damage was caused by me, but they sent a technician to my house (hotel, airport, media center) every time to do the repair. |
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Matthias Krause, Photographer
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Brooklyn | NY | USA | Posted: 12:46 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> Nothing wrong with Dell, I think too. But you should make your mind up first: Do you really really need a notebook? A Desktop is so much cheaper. But if you want a notebook because you're schlepping it around a fair bit, why not getting a real notebook: means 12" screen. I did the mistake to get a 15" Dell and I'm now stuck inbetween. It's very heavy to carry around and very expensive to expend (external hard drives vs. internal, external dvd bruner vs. internal etc.). And one more thing: You need RAM, RAM, RAM. 512 MB is hardly enough, 1 GB is just okay in my experience.
Cheers,
Matthias |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Amherst | MA | USA | Posted: 12:55 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> Matthias makes a good point, some laptops are really heavy. I have the 14.1" screen on my Dell Latitude C600, when I bought my Apple iBook, then Apple PowerBook I went down to the 12"
By taking off the 2", and using a much slimmer laptop, I am able to use my laptop in a much more effective manner when traveling, and transmitting on site. |
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Gary Gardiner, Photographer
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Westerville | OH | | Posted: 12:59 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> Sony TR2AP. 10.6-inch XGA screen. A little more expensive than most but it certainly is small enough to use on your lap, small work space and be less obvious to those around you. I love my TR1AP, the previous model.
If you're near a Microcenter, they're at closeout prices.
Also check Ebay. |
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Pablo Galvez, Photographer
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Calgary | AB | CANADA | Posted: 1:03 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> I just bought a Dell Laptop (5100) and opted for the higher resolution screen that can display greater than the usual 1024x768 resolution. That was great because my icons and everything are smaller so more of the screen is my photos.
I do, however, find that the screen has a very cool blue shift that I can't seem to remove with any settings. I've heard of this before with new Dell laptop LCD's. Kind of annoying because all my photos with ice in them look excellent until I put them on my Sony monitor at home and they turn "warm" and reddish.
I have also had numerous problems with the OS (XP) or the bios - something is giving me the "blue screen of death" where I need to reboot because it freezes up on a blue screen every once in a while. I'm considering sending it back but unsure of what I would switch to.
The Dell seems to have a good features/price ratio which is why I made the decision to purchase one.
-Pablo |
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Matthias Krause, Photographer
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Brooklyn | NY | USA | Posted: 1:09 PM on 03.26.04 |
| ->> Maybe two more things to add: Sony makes nice, sleek machines but what I don't like is that they have their own special adaptors for everything (just like Apple) which means you have to pay big bucks if you want to get external stuff. Other things I wouldn't go without anymore: wireless lan card (G-standard), cd/dvd combodrive (preferably dvd-burner=superdrive), USB 2.0. Oh - and if you get a Dell, stay away from nivida Go2 graphic cards, they are awful. |
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Nick Doan, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Scottsdale | AZ | USA | Posted: 2:05 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> Matthias, I have to disagree with part of what you said.
My Sony V505Dx doesn't have any weird adapters. The power cord might be different, but I think most laptops have that problem.
My V505DX is a 1.4Ghz Centrino with built-in wireless, 1 normal PCMCIA slot, 2 USB 2.0 slots, a firewire slot (though its the small one, Sony iLink) which might be considered weird, but the cable is easily obtainable, and works just as fast as far as I have see; 12" screen, DVD player+CD burner, 60GB harddrive, 512 DDR Ram, and the best part is that it only weighs 3lbs. It also cost me less than $1500.
The closest I could come in the Mac was the 12" powerbook, but once I upgraded the RAM, HardDrive, Airport Wireless card, It was up to over $2k.
The wireless card, USB2.0 interfaces, Firewire, larger harddrive, CD burner, 60GB harddrive, and minimum of 512 MB of RAM, and size (less than 5 lbs) are what I would consider necessary in a laptop. Hopefully, things are cheaper now than they were 6 months ago.
So far, my laptop has been great, and has worked out better for me than the Dells, Toshibas, and IBM I've used in the past. |
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Sebastian Szyszka, Photographer
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Warrenville | IL | USA | Posted: 2:10 PM on 03.26.04 |
| ->> I just sold a Dell Inspiron 5100 and replaced it with a Dell Inspiron 300m. The 5100 had a 15 inch screen, fast processorm etc. But it weighed 8 punds. The smaller 300m weighs three pounds and I use it much more often now. Sure its slower, but at least I take it with me when I travel now. |
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Mike Burley, Student/Intern
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Ventura | CA | USA | Posted: 2:25 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> I use a Toshiba 2.4gz Celeron with 752mb RAM and 30gig HD. I love it!!! Best of all, it was 699 new. MACs have better resolution, but cant beat the price. I would stay clear of RAWS unless you get the P4.
With 2k budget, I would get a sony vaio with a P4 and a gig of RAM. I would say to get a P4, and large HD, but put in the ram yourself, because the store will charge twice the price. They will charge 400 bucks for that gig of ram when you can EASILY pop it in for 200 if you buy it seporately.
*****Photo Mechanic 4 for PC is a MUST........ |
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Deng-Kai Chen, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Berkeley | CA | USA | Posted: 2:31 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> If you're concerned with battery life then a Intel Centrino solution is a must for for you. Don't let the low clock speeds scare you, a 1.4ghz Centrino is easily equivalent to a 2.8ghz P4. With the variable clock speed and low power usage of the Centrino you won't get burned thighs and should get at least 3-6 hours of battery life.
I'm in the process of buying a laptop right now and I'm looking at the Dell Inspiron 8600 because I want a widescreen laptop (really helps in Photoshop and Nikon View, etc.). 512mb of DDRAM should be sufficient but more can't hurt.
Also laptop harddrives are really slow, most run at 4200rpm, some run at 5400rpm and very few run at 7200rpm. If you have the cash go with a 7200rpm drive, it'll really help with overall performance.
With 2k you should be able to get something like this:
Intel Centrino 1.5ghz
15.4" WUXGA Ultrasharp LCD (1920 x 1200)
512mb DDRAM
60GB 7200rpm HD
64mb Geforce 5200 Go
4x DVDRW
802.11a/b/g
Because of the widescreen this does weigh more, ~7lbs.
If you want something smaller and don't need the widescreen then take a look at the 600m. |
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Jason Peterson, Photographer
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Hanson | MA | USA | Posted: 2:37 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> This is my laptop, it's made by Acer, I love it.
http://www.acer.com/APP/AKC/INTERNET/AACPubli.nsf/allDocs/RWPDB351DC1A59FD3...
I have the AS2003LMi
My model is their highest in that line, and the most expensive. It's about $500 over your budget, but I'm sure one of the lower two would fall into your budget. Also, they ship with less ram than is ideal. And one of the RAM slots is hidden deep on the insides of the machine. I can give instructions on how to access it though.
I get great battery life, it doesn't weigh too much for me considering its size, and the screen is amazing.
A couple cool features, built in card media reader (unfortunatly for everything but CF), the arcade feature that allows you to slideshow photos, watch/listen to media, without booting to the full os, saving battery life.
All the specs are on the website, if you have any questions feel free to post or email.
- Jason |
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Jason Peterson, Photographer
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Brady Creel, Photographer
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College Station | TX | USA | Posted: 2:47 PM on 03.26.04 |
| ->> I have an IBM T30... definitely the best piece of computer equipment I've ever owned. My next laptop definitely will be a Thinkpad. |
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Larry Vaughn, Photographer
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Gainesville | FL | usa | Posted: 2:55 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> > I bought a Compaq laptop in January. It came with $350.00 worth of rebates. Someone returned the unit to Best Buy, so that was another $100 off. I got free financing for a year.
I paid another $10 bucks for a rewards card, and now have $45.00 in coupons good for anything in the store.
Came with a 15" screen and isn't a lightweight. Got a nice Samsonite case for $40.00
I added 256 megs of ram for a total of 512 megs. It could use more but works fine if I don't open lots of raw files at once. It will take 1 gig total, so I would have to buy 2 512 meg memory sticks.
With the extra ram and money off, I might have $600 invested. And I pay $100 a month on it, more than I have to.
I use a Delkin PCMCIA card adapter for downloading my Compaq flash cards, so that only drawback I saw- the lack of a USB 2 port, doesn't matter. I can get a PCMCIA usb2 card if I feel I need that feature.
It doesn't have the fastest processor, but how much do you need top speed? I'll use the desktop for that, maybe upgrading the 2.4 gig processor for a 2.4 gig one in a year when they are cheap.
I have found I use it more than my faster desktop, with 802.11g wireless.
It's fun to surf in bed at 3:00am.
In a year I could sell it for close to what I paid and get a similar deal on a newer one. |
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Larry Vaughn, Photographer
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Gainesville | FL | usa | Posted: 2:59 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> Upgrade to a 3.4 gig processor, that is. But, I don't think my work would get done any faster.
The wireless parts are Delkin, bought with a rebate also. |
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Mark Smith, Photographer
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Elk City | OK | USA | Posted: 3:29 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> My only advice is that if you get down to a point where you are having to decide between a bit more RAM or a slightly faster processer, it is an easy decision, RAM, RAM, RAM.
In my businesses, I have 3 laptops and 5 desktops, some Dells, some Gateways. I've had about the same experience with both companies regarding service. I do second Steven's advice on the $150 service contract on the laptops. Desktops are usually pretty easy fixes, but laptops can be a pain if they break. |
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Thomas Boyd, Photographer
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Collin Pierson, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Milwaukee | WI | USA | Posted: 4:32 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> Chase-
I have a compaq presario x1000 series.. its a great laptop! it has a widescreen lcd which is great for photoshop. im going to second on the centrino..i can get good speed and yet still go 4 or 5 hours on the battery with the built in wireless turned on and me running web pages. id bump the ram though..ram ram ram...but otherwise, a good machine thats like an inch thick and weighs like 5.9 pounds...perfect for college stuff..cuz well, im in college oh yah, get window professional too..it runs better |
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Jason Peterson, Photographer
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Hanson | MA | USA | Posted: 5:04 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> " I can't believe you guys use windows. That's no way to live. I feel sorry for you guys. "
- Thomas Boyd
Thomas,
My laptop is a tool, and it does its job. I don't hesitate recommending it to anyone. Have I used Macs before? Yes, they're great. Do I like my PC, yes it's great. It comes down to functionality, and my tool works just fine - I'm sure a Mac would too, but that would have required quite a reinvestment in software.
No need to feel sorry for this PC User. I can live with it just fine.
- Jason
Seriously though, PC vs. Mac, Nikon vs. Canon, McDonald's vs. Burger King... if the other guy is happy, why tell him he's wrong? |
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Jason Peterson, Photographer
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Hanson | MA | USA | Posted: 5:05 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> I'll chime in again on the Laptop issue...
Like the others have said - Spend more on ram, less on processor if you have to make a choice. And Collin is correct about Windows XP - Definitly go Professional it runs better, faster, more efficient. |
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BJ Turner, Photographer
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Marietta(Atlanta) | GA | | Posted: 5:13 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> NO SONY computers for me ever again - Only traditional computer manufacturers!!!!
Chase, you may want to overlook my post because right now I'm angry and soon will have to go into battle with Sony and possibly Micro Center. I purchased the Vaio PCG-GRZ2660 less than a year ago. The power adapter connection started failing within 7 months. It's not the adapter it's a defect on the motherboard/connection. A technician at Micro center adjusted it for me and it worked fine for another 2 to 3 months. It recently failed again. Sony does not want to honor the warranty and want to charge me $1267. They said that there is (1) "liquid damage" and (2)the box has been opened and tampered with by unauthorized repair service. #2 is possibly true because the technician at the store (where I purchased) did make an adjustment for me when I took it to have data backed up. Once he made the adjustment, there was no need to send it back to Sony. Needless to say I'm one month shy of expiring manufacture warranty. It's my understanding that the extended warranty could not kick in until the other expired, but there may be a problem there. I am sincerely hoping that Micro Center, the home store is going to provide support in this case. The system was checked out before it was sent to Sony and did not diagnose "liquid damage". The store has said that they will ask Sony to send pictures. The service manager also said that she would contact their home office to see what they can do. I will wait to see what happens, but I'm very distraught. I can not and will not pay almost $1300 repair on a laptop that cost $1800 (plus $200 extended warranty) less than a year ago.
This is long and drawn out but bottom line, if I had it to do again I would go with TRADITIONAL computer manufacturers - Toshiba, IBM, Dell. I would avoid manufacturers with proprietary parts and accessories. I always had up until this point but switched primarily because I went digital and had heard that Sony had a couple really good features including the monitor. The dead one that I have right now is actually a replacement and upgrade for one that I had had for less than six weeks and the monitor died. After doing a bit of research on the internet I find that the problem (I'm having) with the battery pack adapter/connection is a known problem. The extremely short battery life of the model that I have was not a real factor to me, because I primarily leave it plug in like a desktop. But if battery life is important, that's another reason you may want to avoid the Sony, unless you want to invest in one of the super dupers at super duper prices.
I won't say much right now by Micro Center. They have been good in the past and I'm hoping that they are going to help me resolve this. I have never ever had any real hardware problems in 15-20 years of computing, so this is the first time I've had to deal with warranties. As for Sony, the only thing that I really would like for them to do is to order and pay for a Dell for me. If you have specific question about any of this, feel fee to email me.
The url below may help you obtain more information about complaints against sony as well as other manufacturers.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/computers/sony.htm |
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Jan Langsner, Photographer
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Lloyd | AB | Canada | Posted: 5:35 PM on 03.26.04 |
| ->> I recently bought a Toshiba M-35. It has a 1.4 Centrino processor an 80 gig hard drive, 15.4 inch screen, weighs 6 pounds, has an unbelievable battery life and cost $2400.00 CAD. That would be about $1800.00 USD. |
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Clay Carson, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Little Rock | AR | | Posted: 6:04 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> For what its worth, I am the IT director at a newspaper and have bought for others and used, IBM, Apple, Gateway, Toshiba, Sony, Compaq, and Dell. I can buy whatever I want. IMHO, without a doubt, the Dell is the most dependable hardware with the least amount of proprietary crap on the market. I use a Latitude D600 and it is great.
I have an open mind, but it is going to be hard to take my business from Dell.
BTW, get 1 gig of RAM and XP Pro. |
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Jim Comeau, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | USA | Posted: 6:16 PM on 03.26.04 |
| ->> FYI, almost all Sony laptops come with 2 memory DIMMs, i.e. 2x256. If you want a gig, you're going to have to buy 2x512 which is going to run you close to $400. However, the new Sony laptops have NICE screens, using something called XBrite technology. Looks a lot like a CRT monitor. |
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Larry Vaughn, Photographer
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Gainesville | FL | usa | Posted: 6:21 PM on 03.26.04 |
->> Last time I looked into it, you couldn't log into a Windows domain controller with XP home edition. But, you can get internet, at least on our network. Depends where the DHCP server is.
Other than that, I don't notice much difference between XP pro and home, other than the price.
Amd Belkin is the wireless gear I got. Delkin for the card reader.
Version 10 of Mandrake Linux works well and the fonts look better, for those who think they need Unix. Free, of course. |
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Larry Vaughn, Photographer
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Gainesville | FL | usa | Posted: 6:22 PM on 03.26.04 |
| ->> Jim,. where are you buying your ram? I bought 2x512 sodimms a year ago for under $250.00 |
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Brady Creel, Photographer
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College Station | TX | USA | Posted: 6:45 PM on 03.26.04 |
| ->> In my case, it's not that I settled for Windows -- I prefer Windows. I'm more productive on a Windows machine and I have fewer problems. I'm running WinXP Pro on my desktop and notebook, and both run rock solid. Macs work fine, I'm sure, but I hate using them. |
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Jim Comeau, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Jim Fridenmaker, Photographer
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Portsmouth | OH | USA | Posted: 1:46 AM on 03.28.04 |
->> I just upgraded my computer systems including a new laptop (which I've never had before) and a new desktop. (It should be here Tuesday.) An IBM Thinkpad R40, a step down from the "T" series mentioned earlier. But I think it will be fine for me.
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=564673
Got the a/b/g wireless card, laptop case, etc. upgraded memory to 768 MB.
With it, I also got into Photoshop for the first time (with Premium CS.)
I've been limping along with a 500 mhz Dell Dimension (state of the art when I bought it) with Windows 98, putting all my money into camera gear. Now, it was past time to upgrade computers.
Got a Dell 4600 with a gig of ram. Spent about $5,000 for everything.
Now, on the mac vs. pc thing. Until Linux is on every desktop, I toyed with getting a Mac cuz I knew if I ran into trouble in the field, I'd find an eager photographer for help. But, the cost for a Mac laptop dissuaded me. (Didn't want to go "cheap stripped down" Mac. Also, didn't want to invest in additional software.
Jim |
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Chris Large, Photographer
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Okotoks | AB | Canada | Posted: 2:02 AM on 03.28.04 |
->> I don't use a desktop, only a laptop and weight & battery aren't a big deal - screen res and power are. Just bought the toshiba 17" w/ built in wifi, dvd burner, video outputs etc. Comes with 512 megs of ram which I will bump up to 1 gig. Big price but I love this machine
Chris |
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Gavin Werbeloff, Photographer, Student/Intern
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La Jolla | CA | USC | Posted: 7:50 PM on 03.28.04 |
| ->> I have a Powerbook 15 inch. 512 RAM, 80GB HD and a DVD Burner. Awesome machine. The screen is great and the keyboard backlight is very cool. These things seem like multiplying rabbits every time I go into a press room at an event. They seem to be everywhere. |
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Darrell Scattergood, Photographer
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Mountlake Terrace | WA | usa | Posted: 10:18 PM on 03.28.04 |
| ->> I burned out 2 compaq laptops before getting my dell. it's only a 233mhz p2 with 256mb of ram, but it runs xp pro, photoshop, the canon capture program, breezebrowser and a few games. doesn't like divx movies though. bought my wife a dell lattitude which she beats the c**p out of, but somehow it still seems to work. I don't do a whole lot of onsite processing, just a few quick and dirty editing and downloading of cf cards. If I need the processing power, I've got a 3.4ghz overclocked p4 with 2gb of ram and 240gb raid set. The apples look cute, but they're way too expensive, especially when you figure new software into it. I'll probably buy another dell when I'm ready for a new one. |
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Stanley Leary, Photographer
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Roswell | GA | USA | Posted: 10:23 PM on 03.28.04 |
| ->> One major advantage of the PC over the MAC, you can pretty much get the fastest processor for the laptop, you will not with a MAC, therefore always the PC laptops out smoke any MAC for use in Photoshop in my opinion. |
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Hassel Weems, Photographer
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Locust Grove (Atlanta) | GA | USA | Posted: 12:44 PM on 03.29.04 |
| ->> I installed my gig of RAM today - it made a huge difference. |
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