Best laptop to use for graphic design software

W

Woots

Veteran
 Milton Keynes
Evenin'' all
The gf wants a new laptop and is due to start uni to study design so needs a new laptop to cope with graphic/product/interior design etc software

Obv money plays a big factor and she wasn't sure if iMacs were worth it for the benefits...

Anyone recommend what sort would offer best value in this area?

And where to buy? Online?
 
I have no idea why, but everyone I know who does anything remotely arty, and every media / design / ad agency I have ever met, use Macs. Tom and inkey$ will have opinions on this for starters, and plenty others on here in design, photography etc.
 
I asked google 'why use a mac for graphic design' :D

Seems largely historical, from a recent past where Windows machines were s**t at graphics and macs were great. Doesn't seem to be the case now, but lots of companies and colleges invested in Apple and have stuck with it. Be worth asking the Uni what they use and what they recommend...
 
Apple student discount.

Perfect excuse. :thumbsup:

Otherwise play it safe and look into a decent specced thinkpad. Classic look and amazing build quality.
 
Any Macbook laptop will be fine. Even the base level one will cope with student work and you dont have to go crazy with spec. Might be worth adding more RAM when you come to spec but other than that its all good. Adobe Creative Suite is pretty pricey but essential software so investigate the student discount!

Eg: Macbook Pro £1249 13" with 8gb RAM (buy hdmi to monitor cable) for big jobs at home/uni.
http://www.apple.com/uk/macbook-pro/specs-retina/

Adobe Creative Suite: £699 (electronic edition)
http://www.isoftware.co.uk/products/adobe/design-standard--c4.html

High residuals too dude, so of it all goes pear shaped or she ever wants to upgrade, she'll get a large chunk of the original spend back.

Or buy second hand. Plenty on eBay and you'll usually get some software.

Stay away from PCs or Microsoft. Not industry standard and nobody on her course will have one!
 
a cheaper alternative to the Mac might be the pcspecialist optimus V 13.3". It's available with a 3200x1800 QHD+ display which is quite fantastic (mine arrived today).

Spec-wise, it's pretty much as variable as your budget, but you can spec something extremely good for well under a grand, and the all come with a decent Nvidia GPU.
 
My advise would be 'Don't by a Laptop'
Get a iMac!

You can not really do serious work on a Small screen, not with out comprises.
How often do we use a laptop on our laps, and actually use them on a desk or table...

If it needs to be semi-portable you can get some great iMac carry cases on amazon.
 
Cheers for the advice guys! So it's basically get an apple machine....you confirmed my fears it would be the expensive option :P

Cheers boys!
 
NO! You do not need an Apple machine. You'll pay AT LEAST twice as much as the equivalent Windows bit of kit.
Whatever software she wants (The Above Creative suite presumably) will run perfectly well on Windows.

As has been stated though, you can't work properly on a laptop. The most important thing will be as big a screen as you can afford, but it must be of a high quality, rendering colours accurately. A really good quality mouse, and ideally a graphics tablet too. Better still, two screens like I'm using right now. There is no substitute for screen space.
 
Sorry, but have to disagree with you budfox. I'll put money on the Uni and her peers all using Macs. For the best, pain free (no silly updates/norton junk/memory formats etc) and natural design experience it has to be Mac.

I'm a creative director working for a global multimedia company and with 25 years experience of all options available including PCs. No matter what the pc brigade say, theyre just not graphic design orientated machines. They might do the job okay but there's something lacking in the process.

Besides, if you want a PC then you can always run Bootcamp/Parallels.
 
My next laptop will be 15" Mapbook Pro Retina, expensive yes but ask yourself how often do you change? Well worth the extra pennies and you will be getting a fantastic alround laptop. I just wished they did a 17" like my Dell Studio XPS but I hate Windows and anything Microsoft.

Tim.
 
Short answer, yes. Bought my son an MBA for his Uni work, will upgrade to a Pro after a year as the MBA isn't quite powerful enough for his Uni work (modelling in astro physics course). Upside is I get the MBA as another toy :D
 
I would have thought for graphics work a larger screen would be beneficial, the Air would seem a little small to me, talking personally with shot eyesight.

Tim.
 
inkey$ said:
Sorry, but have to disagree with you budfox. I'll put money on the Uni and her peers all using Macs. For the best, pain free (no silly updates/norton junk/memory formats etc) and natural design experience it has to be Mac.

I'm a creative director working for a global multimedia company and with 25 years experience of all options available including PCs. No matter what the pc brigade say, theyre just not graphic design orientated machines. They might do the job okay but there's something lacking in the process.

Besides, if you want a PC then you can always run Bootcamp/Parallels.
Click to expand...

Well each to their own, but we're talking about tools here, not about what everyone else at uni might be using. Photoshop and Illustrator run as well on a modern Windows machine as they do on a modern Mac. The difference from my experience (which isn't as wide as yours but it isn't inconsiderable either) is that a Mac costs about twice as much.

Apple have been dining out on "designers use macs" for years now, and I have never seen a compelling argument as to why that might be, other than they look nice.
 
It's interesting because my other half is a Vehical artist for Rockstar Games and does the cars for GTA and they never use Macs, it's always PCs as they are much better for their design software. He was actually looking at a HP laptop with an i7 processor for doing some work from home on. I've suggested Macs but he won't use it for his graphics work. However I've a mate who designs websites and he only very uses Macs.

I think sometimes it's personal preference but there's also an element of what program's work best on what machine.

Unfortunately a decent bit of kit will cost be it a Mac or a PC. Your looking at around £1.5-£1.8k really.
 
Lenovo W700ds - dual screen (main one is 17 inch at 1920x1200), built in Wacom tablet, colour calibration sensor, etc. Specifically designed for graphic design.
 
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