I'm trying to find a mobile light weight computer to travel with and was wondering what anyone might think of this one? I was thinking of a netbook also.
Wondering about the HiDef screen, and does one need a dual core processor...etc. Any info would be helpful.
Posted by Dan Borzynski on August 15, 2009 at 1:51 AM
What do you need the laptop to do?
One thing I would not be asking of the laptop is serious image editing. A first pass to remove the obvious junk is fine, additional file backup, fine, but most screens are not up to the level needed for serious fine tuning of the image.
Posted by Paul DeCesare on August 16, 2009 at 12:32 AM
Hi Cynthia,
If you need a laptop for everyday stuff that one will suffice. But if you're thinking Photoshop, I'd consider spending an extra $200 and getting this laptop for a couple of reasons: one, it comes with the 64-bit version of Vista allowing you to install the 64-bit version of Photoshop. Second, it has 4GB of ram and is expandable up to 8gb of ram which I highly recommend since ram is so cheap right now. Photoshop needs ram and lots of it. The Sony also has a bigger hard drive than the Toshiba. See, the Toshiba comes with 32-bit Vista and only 2GB of ram which is NOTHING when talking Photoshop. 32-bit systems only allow you to use up to 3.25GB of ram, so even if you increased the Toshiba from 2GB to 4GB, only 3.25GB is usable, that's just a limitation of 32-bit systems. It's time to go 64-bit, and for $679 that is VERY inexpensive. My Dell laptop was over $1300 in 2006 (but it does have a huge 1920x1200 screen).
Thanks for the advice. The Sony does seem like a great deal, but doesn't ship for 1-2 months and I need something before then. Anyone ever use netbooks with success with Lightroom?
Cynthia, I agree with Dan. Even high end laptops fall short when it comes to serious photo editing. If you still want to look at netbooks(I have one), go to this forum--- http://forum.eeeuser.com/
Posted by Paul DeCesare on August 18, 2009 at 12:41 AM
I should second the motion regarding what Dan said, laptop screens do fall short. I spent a LOT to upgrade to a higher-end 1920x1200 screen + 256mb video card for my laptop (probably what you would pay for the Toshiba), plus another couple hundred for a Spyder2Pro calibrator. And guess what? Most of the time I'm hooked up to an external monitor!
Which brings up a couple of points, maybe this can help:
* The Sony is out of stock, but I was really just trying to provide a example of minimum hardware, it didn't have to be that exact model.
* I know you need a lightweight solution for travel, but when stationary will you still use the laptop, or do you have a desktop PC? If you'll still use the laptop when home or at office, you might want to consider a laptop that has a real video card so you can drive an external monitor. That probably rules out a Netbook though.
* Now that we know you do want to do editing with Lightroom, you are going to need SPACE on a screen... a small 1064 x 600 Netbook screen will give you very little room to work with, so I'm not sure a Netbook will cut it even if the graphics WERE amazing. I searched "Lightroom" on the forum Wayne mentioned and they pretty much said the same thing (need more screen room).
* There is another choice if you want editing power in a lightweight laptop. That would be something like this, but it's obviously more $$$. But for the price you get a very lightweight Core 2 Duo 64-bit laptop with a 13.3" HD gorgeous screen with NVidia Graphics and a much faster 7200rpm hard drive, all weighing in at 4.9 lbs. And guess what? Dell has a special where you can get a Netbook for $99 if you purchase the XPS laptop.
I realize I've shot your budget up, but seriously Cynthia, if you try to run a low-end laptop for photo editing you'll get very frustrated with it. I even hit the limit with my 17" $2000 Dell laptop recently (due to video needs from my Canon 5D2) and ended up building a gamer PC last month with 12GB of ram. You won't need that for photo work, but you will need something better along the lines of the Dell XPS (or any other high-end equivalent). One thing you might do is peruse the Outlet sections of the Dell or HP sites... they sell warranteed refurb units for VERY good deals. I've purchased several Dell desktops from the Outlet over the last 4 years and they are all still running fine.
Thanks Paul for all the specs...I'm a bit clueless about what is needed so this gives me an idea...it is a pretty laptop...I looked at the outlet, but no stock.
Discussion
6 repliesI'm trying to find a mobile light weight computer to travel with and was wondering what anyone might think of this one? I was thinking of a netbook also.
Wondering about the HiDef screen, and does one need a dual core processor...etc. Any info would be helpful.
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Satellite-L305-S5961-15-4-Inch-Laptop/dp/tech-data/B002BWPVY0/ref=de_a_smtd
Thanks all, Cynthia
One thing I would not be asking of the laptop is serious image editing. A first pass to remove the obvious junk is fine, additional file backup, fine, but most screens are not up to the level needed for serious fine tuning of the image.
If you need a laptop for everyday stuff that one will suffice. But if you're thinking Photoshop, I'd consider spending an extra $200 and getting this laptop for a couple of reasons: one, it comes with the 64-bit version of Vista allowing you to install the 64-bit version of Photoshop. Second, it has 4GB of ram and is expandable up to 8gb of ram which I highly recommend since ram is so cheap right now. Photoshop needs ram and lots of it. The Sony also has a bigger hard drive than the Toshiba. See, the Toshiba comes with 32-bit Vista and only 2GB of ram which is NOTHING when talking Photoshop. 32-bit systems only allow you to use up to 3.25GB of ram, so even if you increased the Toshiba from 2GB to 4GB, only 3.25GB is usable, that's just a limitation of 32-bit systems. It's time to go 64-bit, and for $679 that is VERY inexpensive. My Dell laptop was over $1300 in 2006 (but it does have a huge 1920x1200 screen).
Hope that helps!
Which brings up a couple of points, maybe this can help:
* The Sony is out of stock, but I was really just trying to provide a example of minimum hardware, it didn't have to be that exact model.
* I know you need a lightweight solution for travel, but when stationary will you still use the laptop, or do you have a desktop PC? If you'll still use the laptop when home or at office, you might want to consider a laptop that has a real video card so you can drive an external monitor. That probably rules out a Netbook though.
* Now that we know you do want to do editing with Lightroom, you are going to need SPACE on a screen... a small 1064 x 600 Netbook screen will give you very little room to work with, so I'm not sure a Netbook will cut it even if the graphics WERE amazing. I searched "Lightroom" on the forum Wayne mentioned and they pretty much said the same thing (need more screen room).
* There is another choice if you want editing power in a lightweight laptop. That would be something like this, but it's obviously more $$$. But for the price you get a very lightweight Core 2 Duo 64-bit laptop with a 13.3" HD gorgeous screen with NVidia Graphics and a much faster 7200rpm hard drive, all weighing in at 4.9 lbs. And guess what? Dell has a special where you can get a Netbook for $99 if you purchase the XPS laptop.
I realize I've shot your budget up, but seriously Cynthia, if you try to run a low-end laptop for photo editing you'll get very frustrated with it. I even hit the limit with my 17" $2000 Dell laptop recently (due to video needs from my Canon 5D2) and ended up building a gamer PC last month with 12GB of ram. You won't need that for photo work, but you will need something better along the lines of the Dell XPS (or any other high-end equivalent). One thing you might do is peruse the Outlet sections of the Dell or HP sites... they sell warranteed refurb units for VERY good deals. I've purchased several Dell desktops from the Outlet over the last 4 years and they are all still running fine.
Just some options!