Laptop or desktop

[upup]

My daughter is learning Graphic design. The place are getting desktops to learn on, and some learners are going to get desktops as well. The desktop cost about R9000 including W7. that is with a 23" monitor.
As was thinking, is a laptop not better for a student for this. They work on CS5 currently.

 

[stevenv]

Well at roughly R1200 for Win 7 Home Premium retail and R1300 for the screen (very rough estimate), the rest of the system is about R6500. Would have to provide detailed specs in order for folks to comment on the value for money. You could probably pick up a fairly decent notebook for R9000 including the Windows license but if you want an external screen for extended periods of work, will have to drop the price and compromise on the specs. Not sure what kind of resources their software requires but if doing any kind of rendering or effects processing, the more the better. Obvious advantages between notebook and desktop is portability vs performance at the identical price-point. If mobility is critical then may be better off getting a notebook and sacrificing some processing power. Also, may be better in the long term especially when needing to work away from home. Also remember that notebooks aren't as upgradable as desktops so may cost more in the long run if more processing power is needed.

Hope this was some help!

 

[mrvanv]

I work with CS5. The only laptop I would recommend is a Mac Book Pro Corei5 17" as I work on it. Yes, it's R23000, but well worth it IMHO. A Windows desktop at R9000 with a 23" monitor is the better deal in terms of 'value' and Windows may be more familiar to work with. In terms of performance CS5 does well on both Mac and PC platforms provided they have sufficient RAM and reasonable hard drive speeds. Hope this helps.

 

[RaptorSA]

I'd say get a notebook. I was always a huge desktop fan but over the years I've completely switched over to using notebooks since the price/performance difference is almost on par with desktops IF you do your homework.
For the simplicity and portability you get with a notebook it's easily worth it to spend about R2K more for better specs or an external monitor.
Here's the system requirements for CS5:
http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/systemreqs/

I'd say you need at least an i3 or i5 system with 4GB memory.
http://www.wantitall.co.za/PC-Hardw...e-Entertainment-Laptop-Dark-Brown__B003UNOZTQ

Something like this would be perfect, but you'll have to order from overseas so will end up paying a bit more:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152192
http://www.affordablelaptops.com.au/contents/en-us/d46_msi-gx740-laptop-notebook.html

 

[stevenv]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152192
http://www.affordablelaptops.com.au/contents/en-us/d46_msi-gx740-laptop-notebook.html

I'm pretty sure the budget was R9,000 and doing the conversion to Rand means these are already more expensive not even including the cost of getting it here and through customs. Shop around and I'm pretty sure you'll pay more for equivalent performance in a notebook.

EDIT: For R9k you could probably get something like this and also a 23" LCD. Unless you have connections with dealers.

 

[Pada]

I would recommend the following laptop: ASUS N61JV-JX421X @ R 9756

ASUS N61JV Business Notebook Series (ASUS N61JV-JX421X), N61JV Series, Intel Core i5-460M 2.53GHz with Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.53GHz 3MB L2 Cache 1066MHz FSB, 4096MB DDR3-1066 SO-Dimm Memory (2x2048), 500GB SATA 5400rpm Hard Drive, DVD Super Multi writer optical drive, 16" WXGA HD LED Color Shine (1366x768 Resolution) TFT LCD display, nVidia Geforce GT325M with 1GB dedicated graphics & Intel HD graphics (GPU 2d/3d switching, intel for battery life and nvidia for performance), 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN, 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Lan, 2.0MP Webcam, Bluetooth, Full Keyboard, Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Edition 64, 2.91kg, 2 Year collect and return warranty, Asus carry bag and USB Mouse

I friend of mine's mom recently got this exact laptop and she's working a lot in Corel Draw.

Nowadays you are almost on par with laptop prices compared to low-midrange desktop PC's, because of the cost of an external screen. However, if you're going for a high-end desktop R10k+, then the laptops are considerably more expensive.

 

[Archer]

1366x768 for use as a graphic design machine? That does not make sense to me.

 

[Synaesthesia]

Only trouble with that laptop is the screen rez is kinda crappy. Designers don't need good GPU's. They need fast CPU's, good screens, enough RAM and preferably an SSD.

 

[Pada]

Yes Archer, I have to say that the screen resolution is too low, where as my Dell Inspiron 9400's resolution is slightly too high for my taste: 17" screen with 1920x1200 resolution.
She always works with an external screen when doing designing.

 

[upup]

Only trouble with that laptop is the screen rez is kinda crappy. Designers don't need good GPU's. They need fast CPU's, good screens, enough RAM and preferably an SSD.

Sorry, but what is SSD.

 

[stevenv]

Sorry, but what is SSD.

Solid State Disk. Very expensive, check it out on Google.

The points raised about screen resolution is important so you need to weigh up system performance vs cost (including getting an external screen for extended periods of use). Alternatively get a desktop.

Is the budget R9k or are you open to extending it?

 

[dryburn.macbook]

I work with CS5. The only laptop I would recommend is a Mac Book Pro Corei5 17" as I work on it. Yes, it's R23000, but well worth it IMHO. A Windows desktop at R9000 with a 23" monitor is the better deal in terms of 'value' and Windows may be more familiar to work with. In terms of performance CS5 does well on both Mac and PC platforms provided they have sufficient RAM and reasonable hard drive speeds. Hope this helps.

yes i agree with mrvanv just get a macbook pro they are much better than getting a windows pc and dont even think about getting a netbook(USELESS!!!)
an you can convert the macbook it a desktop but adding a screen and external keyboard and mouse!!! and on top of it your daughter will still use the macbook in industry coz they dont fall behide technology very fast!!

 

[upup]

.

Is the budget R9k or are you open to extending it?

The training center ordered desktops, and they gave the students the quote. All of her friends [3] is buying this desktop.
So I started to think.
I looked at the apples and saw a air and a pro. seems like the pro is higher spec than the air. The mac also have a auto switch video, is that for an external monitor.

 

[stevenv]

The mac also have a auto switch video, is that for an external monitor.

I'm not a Mac user so wouldn't really know. If you can afford to buy one then probably good idea. Remember though that modern Macs contain Intel chips so if you compare GHz for GHz, you're often paying extra just for a fancy looking piece of equipment with a different OS. Gone are the days when people can say "my Mac has a better chip for graphic design", its often just aesthetics and the social convention than creative people need a Mac. On the flipside, if I had cash lying around I would buy one: they look do look fantastic.

I looked at the apples

Did you also look at the prices? Checking out the zastore I see the Macbook Pro with a decent modern (Core i5) chip starts at R18,000. Maybe not the cheapest place to buy them but damn!!! For that I think you can get a pretty insane desktop or better non-Mac notebook.

The training center ordered desktops, and they gave the students the quote.

I presume this is the same quote they were given by their suppliers and they haven't added any overhead. I would contact some independent reputable suppliers, provide them with the quote and get a comparison before running out and buying what they're offering. If they're buying from a dealer and no adding markup, you probably won't get better but at least you'll know you got the best deal. Maybe also ask them if they can get a quote or two on reasonable notebooks, sometimes these smaller colleges are happy to do this: helping out their students means they get better reviews from them when they graduate. Personally this is what I did when buying my first decent machine, saved a bundle by getting it at dealer prices.