New "Adobe" Laptop

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zamedic

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Hi Guys,

My GF is struggling on her i3 crappy laptop and I want to get her a new one. She does alot of work on Abobe Lightroom, InDesign, Illustrator, ect...

So, I want to get her a nice i7 with a ssd. Most top end laptops I see all have physical hdd - none I found so far come with ssd.

So, right now I am thinking a Mac Book Pro I7 with 512Gb ssd. Are there any Non Apple laptops that would compete?
 
Yip - 30 to 40. I am looking at the Mac Book Pro 15" with 512GB - so that goes for 36. Personally, I am not a apple fan, I do find their stuff overpriced and feel that you are paying alot for the name.
 
Dell XPS? I can't recommend from experience as I've never used one but reviews compare it favourably with macbooks
 
I did that with my current laptop. Since most laptops these days do not come with a CD, but rather a "Recovery" partition it makes it difficult to reinstall. I can download a copy of windows from my local p2p backup source, then I am taking the risk that it could be loaded with extra unwanted software.
 
zamedic said:
I did that with my current laptop. Since most laptops these days do not come with a CD, but rather a "Recovery" partition it makes it difficult to reinstall. I can download a copy of windows from my local p2p backup source, then I am taking the risk that it could be loaded with extra unwanted software.
Click to expand...

You can get the ISO directly from Microsoft.
 
zamedic said:
I did that with my current laptop. Since most laptops these days do not come with a CD, but rather a "Recovery" partition it makes it difficult to reinstall. I can download a copy of windows from my local p2p backup source, then I am taking the risk that it could be loaded with extra unwanted software.
Click to expand...

Download the iso directly from Microsoft...
Your license key, from Windows 8 onwards, is embedded in the BIOS, so there shouldn't be an issue swapping out the HDD.
Windows 7 you have a copy of the key sticker'ed under the laptop (at least in the case of all the laptops I have seen).

You could also get something like KeyFinder and run it once to get the Windows license key before you remove the HDD.

EDIT: Windows also gives this: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ZA/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media
use the create media button. It will make a USB installer of windows 8 for you if you don't have a disc drive.
 
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Dell XPS 13" Core i7 Touchscreen Ultrabook (9343 - 2015 Version), 256Gb SSD, 8GB RAM - R31 659 (PC Shopper)
MacBook Pro 15-inch (new), 512Gb HDD, 16GB Ram - R36,999

For the price of the dell, I might as well get the Mac :(

Thanks Guys - looks like my GF is getting a shiny new Mac.
 
zamedic said:
Dell XPS 13" Core i7 Touchscreen Ultrabook (9343 - 2015 Version), 256Gb SSD, 8GB RAM - R31 659 (PC Shopper)
MacBook Pro 15-inch (new), 512Gb HDD, 16GB Ram - R36,999

For the price of the dell, I might as well get the Mac :(

Thanks Guys - looks like my GF is getting a shiny new Mac.
Click to expand...

Did you even read the other replies?
 
Aaaah, didnt know Microsoft offered iso's dirrectly - thanks Johnatan56 - learn something new everyday
 
Rickster said:
Spend 30-40k on a girlfriend...damn
Click to expand...

been together 5 years now - getting married next year. Her job involves alot of Adobe work, her currently laptop sucks and her work one is even worse. Want to make things a little easier for her.
 
ThinkPad W550S mobile workstation which, as a business grade box *comes with* 3-year carry-in warranty, and is dead easily upgraded to 3-year NBD onsite (there's even NBD with accidental damage protection (so effectively an insurance option)).

At R32k it comes loaded for bear with:
  • i7-5500U CPU
  • 16 GB DDR3L Memory (8GB+8GB) Up to 16GB Max
  • 512GB SSD
  • 15.6 FHD Anti-Glare (1920 x 1080)
  • NVIDIA Quadro K620M 2GB Graphics
  • Intel 7265 AGN 2x2, Bluetooth 4.0
  • 3 Cell Int + 6 Cell Ext Battery
  • Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional
  • 3 year next business day onsite warranty
  • 3G Ready
 
zamedic said:
Dell XPS 13" Core i7 Touchscreen Ultrabook (9343 - 2015 Version), 256Gb SSD, 8GB RAM - R31 659 (PC Shopper)
MacBook Pro 15-inch (new), 512Gb HDD, 16GB Ram - R36,999

For the price of the dell, I might as well get the Mac :(

Thanks Guys - looks like my GF is getting a shiny new Mac.
Click to expand...

Erm, why are you getting an ultrabook instead of a laptop?
The laptops you should be looking at are in the gaming category due to the large amount of graphics memory available. Look for i7s ending with HQ, such as the i7-4720QH. Graphics wise you want to get the most memory you can. So GTX970M/980M or something like that.

The RAM you can always boost a bit later, costs around R800 for an 8GB DDR3 laptop stick atm (2 should be enough).

So ignore the amount of RAM in the machine (~R1600 for the 16GB but most laptops that are gaming should come with an 8GB stick included already.) and the HDD (Just put in a 500GB SSD @ R3000).
Just look at processor/graphics and build quality.

EDIT:
bdt said:
ThinkPad W550S mobile workstation which, as a business grade box *comes with* 3-year carry-in warranty, and is dead easily upgraded to 3-year NBD onsite (there's even NBD with accidental damage protection (so effectively an insurance option)).

At R32k it comes loaded for bear with:
  • i7-5500U CPU
  • 16 GB DDR3L Memory (8GB+8GB) Up to 16GB Max
  • 512GB SSD
  • 15.6 FHD Anti-Glare (1920 x 1080)
  • NVIDIA Quadro K620M 2GB Graphics
  • Intel 7265 AGN 2x2, Bluetooth 4.0
  • 3 Cell Int + 6 Cell Ext Battery
  • Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional
  • 3 year next business day onsite warranty
  • 3G Ready
Click to expand...

The Quadro cards are over-hyped and not worth the money tbh. Was checking them out for my brother due to him studying animation.
What you want is a strong processor, the more cores the better, with a lot of RAM and Graphics memory.

EDIT2: You could also wait for the new Skylake quad-cores to come out, should be in September so expect them towards the end of the year in South Africa if it isn't urgent. They should be better price/performance.
 
Last edited:
Johnatan56 said:
Erm, why are you getting an ultrabook instead of a laptop?
The laptops you should be looking at are in the gaming category due to the large amount of graphics memory available. Look for i7s ending with HQ, such as the i7-4720QH. Graphics wise you want to get the most memory you can. So GTX970M/980M or something like that.

The RAM you can always boost a bit later, costs around R800 for an 8GB DDR3 laptop stick atm (2 should be enough).

So ignore the amount of RAM in the machine (~R1600 for the 16GB but most laptops that are gaming should come with an 8GB stick included already.) and the HDD (Just put in a 500GB SSD @ R3000).
Just look at processor/graphics and build quality.

EDIT:


The Quadro cards are over-hyped and not worth the money tbh. Was checking them out for my brother due to him studying animation.
What you want is a strong processor, the more cores the better, with a lot of RAM and Graphics memory.
Click to expand...
So glossing over the fact of the Quadro, you're still sitting with max out dual channel RAM, 512GB SSD, a solidly built ISV-certified *business-grade* box, and three year NBD. Which, having had the sheer joy of experiencing personally, I can't tell you how good it can be.

Also, which would be the stronger processor in the laptop space than an i7-5500U?
 
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