Which of these two laptops would be good for photoshop ?

frankosmusica

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Hi im new to photography, but soon i hope will learn. All i want to know is if this Hp pavilion dm3 with 4gb and a dual core 1.6ghz will be good enough to run photoshop or will it freeze up in the process ??? i really like this due to the portability. I know a desktop would be way better but for now i would like to get a laptop and get the practice started


[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Pavilion-DM3-1130US-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Silver/dp/B00318CG8C]Amazon.com: HP Pavilion DM3-1140US 13.3-Inch Laptop: Computer & Accessories[/ame]



or this one ? i really dont like this hp but its a intel dual core 2.1ghz with 4gb ram


[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Pavilion-DV4-1220US-14-1-Inch-Processor-Premium/dp/B001NPDKWG]Amazon.com: HP Pavilion DV4-1220US 14.1-Inch Laptop (2.0 GHz AMD Turion X2 RM-72 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium): Computer & Accessories[/ame]




PLEASE let me know i am looking to make a decision by tomorrow and buy one of these two
 
Either one will be fine. The one major thing I do not like about either is the size. I have a 15" Toshiba laptop I use, and I speak from experience to get a BIGGER screen. Editing, even on a 15" monitor, is a GIANT PITA and it eats up production/processing/editing time.
 
lulz... HP...

Do you want to know where HP gets their parts? Every year when computer stores don't sell their stock they sell it back to big companies like HP for use in their computers. Basically its all the crap parts. Most of them are unmarked, unnamed, and just garbage. You get what you pay for on a computer of that price, it will last you a year, if that, and die. You would be better off building a computer, its very easy. You could get name brand parts and a better package for around the same price. Also the 4gb ram aren't going to be of much help with a 1.6ghz processor. Basically both of those computers can run it but both of their monitors will have problems as they are built from bad parts. Bad parts usually means display problems as well, you may luck out, but most likely not. Basically the color you see will be different from the actual color. If you MUST get a laptop DONT, EVER, I repeat EVER buy an HP, Dell, or any of those cheap brands. It's like buying a used 92 Honda. Not smart.
 
Laptops aren't a good idea for photo editing.
 
Both are pretty much similar and should give you the same type of performance in Photoshop.

Will it be great? Probably not. But again, it depends on what you will be doing in Photoshop. Some longer processing might take a while, few mins, to get done. But if you are just doing basic adjustments to an image, it should be ok. If you get into multiple layers and so on, then you are handling big size files.

The hard drive is slow in the second one at onl 5400 rpm. The first has a 7200 rpm. While the second has a bigger monitor (not by much though), the second has a bigger and faster hard drive.
 
lulz... HP...

Do you want to know where HP gets their parts? Every year when computer stores don't sell their stock they sell it back to big companies like HP for use in their computers. Basically its all the crap parts. Most of them are unmarked, unnamed, and just garbage. You get what you pay for on a computer of that price, it will last you a year, if that, and die. You would be better off building a computer, its very easy. You could get name brand parts and a better package for around the same price. Also the 4gb ram aren't going to be of much help with a 1.6ghz processor. Basically both of those computers can run it but both of their monitors will have problems as they are built from bad parts. Bad parts usually means display problems as well, you may luck out, but most likely not. Basically the color you see will be different from the actual color. If you MUST get a laptop DONT, EVER, I repeat EVER buy an HP, Dell, or any of those cheap brands. It's like buying a used 92 Honda. Not smart.

Yeah that, and I agree that HP and other cheap brands are to be left on the shelf, however the OP is looking for something that is portable, which a desktop is not.

When I was shopping for a new laptop May '09, I took the time and did not rush myself when doing research. I went with a Toshiba Satellite with 250G hard drive and 3G RAM. I have since upgraded to 4G RAM. I run AutoDesk software (3D modeling and animation software), most of the Adobe CS3 programs, Flash CS4, and a few Adobe CS5 programs (will be fully upgraded to CS5 in a few weeks), and I have no issues, especially since I upgraded the RAM. The Toshiba Satellite I have has a 64-bit dual core AMD processor. The only thing I have had to replace since I bought it in May '09 was one of the RAM cards, but it was a quick and easy fix, and I took the opportunity to add a gig of RAM. Mine also came with Windows Vista, which will is also being upgraded to Windows 7 in a few weeks. As with any laptop, you will need to keep the air vents cleaned out, or it will overheat, but this can be maintained with a simple can of compressed air.

I've heard nothing but great things about Toshiba, and many people agree that they are the best non-Mac laptops.

I was fortunate enough to catch mine on sale. It was $647-ish after tax, including the anti-virus software. A good tip, especially if you have any friends or family that are computer repair people or if you are a computer person, is to not buy the gimmick store warranties and repair options, which will drive up the final cost(s) of the computer.

ETA: Like BigMike stated, laptops are not good for photo editing. The monitors cannot be calibrated, for one. Also, because of the screen size, it's very difficult to see and catch and do small, detailed work. You can try to hook-up a larger monitor to the laptop.
 
ETA: Like BigMike stated, laptops are not good for photo editing. The monitors cannot be calibrated, for one. .

This is not entirely correct. I have no difficulty calibrating the monitor on my Dell Latitude 830 (although I usually use it with an outboard IPS panel monitor). The problem with the laptop monitor is that viewing angle is critical and that is beyond annoying. The computer itself was great for editing for my Canon 30D with 8MP RAW files. I am replacing it (should be here this week) with a desktop i7 quad core now that I have a 7D with much larger files.
 
I don't know....I've heard about not using a laptop for editing. I have an HP DM3 laptop and I use it for editing with no problems. I haven't calibrated it, but every single time I print through zenfolio/mpix, my colors in the prints are spot on EXACT with what is shown on my laptop. Viewing angle also doesn't change the contrast on this screen unless you get some pretty extreme angles.

I do have a desktop that is "beefier" inside and has a much bigger screen...yeah, it's nicer to use, but my little laptop works wonders when I need it to.
 
so between these two wich on should i get i know the screen is small, but like i said i want portability for now and later on i will hook it to a monitor thats after i get some experience doing this but right now i need a laptop and these two caught my eyes please let me know wich one would be better k thanks
 
I would stay away from Vista. My kids have had nothing but problems with that OS (I use XP Pro on my laptop, but am getting Win 7 with my new desktop beast). I don't know why anyone would still sell a vista machine now that Win 7 is out.
 
about the operating system dont worry i will maybe downgrade to xp or get windows 7 so what you guys think which one ?
 
I have no experience with HP laptops, so can't help there.
 
so between these two wich on should i get i know the screen is small, but like i said i want portability for now and later on i will hook it to a monitor thats after i get some experience doing this but right now i need a laptop and these two caught my eyes please let me know wich one would be better k thanks

I have a DM3-1030us. I love it. Even when I'm in the living room with the desktop computer, I often use this laptop to edit my pictures...it does such a great job. It is a small screen, but I can zoom in for detail to see what I need. As for portability, I love the size and it is lightweight and easy to haul.

Mine has 4gb of ram and a AMD Dual Core 1.6ghz proc. Processor may seem on the slow side but as a dual core, it is plenty fast. Not as fast as my desktop, but it's not really slow either. I edit D90 RAW's just fine usin Capture NX2.

As I mentioned already, the screen's default settings match my prints basically spot on, it is crystal clear and doesn't have much change in picture until at extreme angles. I love my DM3 and would highly recommend it. My mom has a DM4 and she really likes it as well...it's a little bigger and heavier than what I prefer though, but it is also a great laptop.

Hope that helps. You can feel free to see my website and the insect section. Most of those were edited with that laptop so you can judge for yourself if the colors look right to you (on your screen at least).


Looks like the DM3 you linked has basically identical specs to mine. Mine is Windows 7 64 bit and I love it. I've had no problems with this OS and no problems with my editing programs running on it. I think the 64bit is a lot of why it runs so well regardless of the somewhat slower processor.

As for battery.....you will not get 5.5 hours...I've not been able to do that at all. If you browse the web and nothing else with the screen on 50% brightness, you'll get 3 to 3 1/2 hours which is good enough for me. If you are doing much editing, you'll burn through the battery quick....like an hour...but I always just plug into the wall when editing.
 

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