I need a portable laptop for design!

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Neverwhere

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Hey everyone..

So my gf and I want to travel around the world for a year or more.. I've started a thread here about that - http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/381457-Recommend-a-travel-agent-for-going-around-the-world.

I'm a designer, and she's a developer, and what I need is a laptop that won't weigh a ton, and will have as high a resolution as possible.

I'd prefer something thats 1080p but I'm not sure how that looks on a 15" type screen. I've seen 17" laptops with 1080p, but those might be too large/heavy. I'll be carrying this on me at all times.

We'll have large backpacks which we'll probably store away in hostel lockers or guesthouse rooms when we are out exploring. These laptops will be our bread and butter, so I won't leave them anywhere. So we'll also have small daypacks (think a regular-sized backpack) for going out. It needs to fit in the day packs.

Specs wise, it just needs to handle photoshop. I don't need it to be crazily powerful as I don't work with extremely arge images. Doing web layouts I usually work in a 1920 x 2000+ px area, and I've done this on an old core2duo with no problems. More RAM is always nice, so even a laptop where I can add more ram later would be fine.

Anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks!
 
Er... Macbook Air 13"? Seems like the obvious choice.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
 
I've been looking at those, though I prefer Windows 7.

Also the macbook's resolution is 1280 by 800 (native) which is okay, but I'd first like to look at 15" laptops that can go 1080p. The 15" macbook pros don't.

Then there's the cost, if I can get a Windows Laptop that does 1080p and its significantly cheaper than a macbook, then I'd prefer that - especially since who know's what could happen as we travel, and I may need to replace it.. so I don't want something that expensive.. it's suck to lose a macbook.
 
Shake&Bake said:
Portable laptop? Unlike the desktop bound? :p :D
I've got nothing constructive to add ;)
Click to expand...

Haha! I didn't notice I did that.. lol I was thinking more along the lines of the heavy 17" ones not being portable enough given the weight and that I'll be lugging the thing on my back for more than a year.
 
Neverwhere said:
I've been looking at those, though I prefer Windows 7.
Click to expand...
As much as the Mac-heads will froth you *can* live in 'doze on a Mac; I work for a guy who does just that.
Also the macbook's resolution is 1280 by 800 (native) which is okay, but I'd first like to look at 15" laptops that can go 1080p.
Click to expand...
1080 in 15" should be fine, I saw a 13" Sony with full HD and it was remarkably decent to look at!
Then there's the cost, if I can get a Windows Laptop that does 1080p and its significantly cheaper than a macbook, then I'd prefer that
Click to expand...
OK so... just what *is* your budget? :p
 
How about this one?

MSI GE620 Series MS-GE620-222ZA Black Notebook,
Intel Mobile HM65 Express chipset,
Intel Core i5 Sandy Bridge Dual Core i5-2410M 2.3Ghz 3MB L3 Cache Processor,
4096MB DDR3-1066 SO-Dimm Memory (2x2048),
500GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive,
DVD Super Multi Writer optical drive,
15.6" FULL HD (1920 x 1080 resolution)
Glossy Type LED Backlit Display,
nVidia Geforce GT 540M with 1GB dedicated graphics,
802.11b/g/n Wireless Lan,
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN,
Bluetooth,
HD Webcam,
6 Cell Battery,
Full Size Keyboard with Numpad,
USB 3.0 ports,
HDMI output,
2.4 kg,
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Edition 64bit,
2 Year Carry in warranty

It's R 7939
 
bdt said:
OK so... just what *is* your budget? :p
Click to expand...

I'm thinking R15k for 2 laptops BUT only one needs to be 1080p for me to design on.. No gaming requirements at all.

So given the example I've posted above - That leaves me R6k to get something 13" - 15" for my gf to develop on. She works mainly in IDE's like eclipse, and doesn't really need 1080p.. so I think something that does 1280x720 or similar should be fine.
 
That sounds like a lot of kit for a good price. Though, not too clued up on laptop prices anymore.

2.4kg seems heavy though to me, for lugging around on long journeys or walks...
 
Neverwhere said:
She works mainly in IDE's like eclipse, and doesn't really need 1080p.. so I think something that does 1280x720 or similar should be fine.
Click to expand...
The new bottom-end of the laptop screen world is 1366x768 so you're covered there. What, IMO, you should be more concerned with is shiny reflect.EVERYTHING.around.you or lovely soothing matte screens (I may be a bit biased here...) :p I would also forgo pretty for (arguably) dull and reliable business-grade - the kind for which you can get extended (global) warranty but I'm inclined to paranoia and pessimism. :erm:
 
bdt said:
The new bottom-end of the laptop screen world is 1366x768 so you're covered there. What, IMO, you should be more concerned with is shiny reflect.EVERYTHING.around.you or lovely soothing matte screens (I may be a bit biased here...) :p I would also forgo pretty for (arguably) dull and reliable business-grade - the kind for which you can get extended (global) warranty but I'm inclined to paranoia and pessimism. :erm:
Click to expand...

I agree totally here. We're not concerned with looks at all.. just what works. Reliability is a big factor because we're going to be paying for our travels with these.

Who makes good business grade laptops? A global warranty sounds like exactly what I need.. any pointers as to what to look at?
 
While i cannot help wrt laptop, i do want to point out that having a cloud based backup solution will save you becoming single, crying and anything else that happens when you are sad :p

There are lots of solutions available such as Dropbox with a few GBs (2GB Free) and more if needed. Dropbox-2GB OR upto 200GB @ symform also $10 unlimited option if need be.

Now that i have said that, wish you 2 well on your journey and best of luck in finding a system :).
 
Yuu said:
While i cannot help wrt laptop, i do want to point out that having a cloud based backup solution will save you becoming single, crying and anything else that happens when you are sad :p

There are lots of solutions available such as Dropbox with a few GBs (2GB Free) and more if needed. Dropbox-2GB OR upto 200GB @ symform also $10 unlimited option if need be.

Now that i have said that, wish you 2 well on your journey and best of luck in finding a system :).
Click to expand...

Thanks Yuu :) We currently use a dropbox 50gb subscription..hehe. Before we leave I intend to load it up with all the software installs, and design files that I can think off. I'll also load everything onto a 16gb mem stick or two, and we'll keep those in different bags, or in a money-belt. I've heard on blogs that free wifi is really easy to come by in asia, especially india. And its dirt cheap in most of Europe.

We haven't worked out our itinerary yet, but I'm guessing we'll be researching each place ahead of time, to check the availability of internet. So for example, heading to Peru, we'll definitely find internet in the city of Lima, where we'll stay while working/exploring the area - and then we'll have to "go offline" for a week or so when we ascend to Cusco to see Macchu pichu.

I've gotten so excited researching all this that I'm neglecting work lol.
 
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