Posted by Howard Cihak on November 14, 2010 at 8:56 PM
I like to take my laptop along when I travel so I can download my images, cull out the rejects, and generally get some ideas from what I've already shot. Lately, however, I've realized the weight of my laptop, along with the AC charger, is more than I want to tote, and it isn't helping with airline weight limits.
Has anyone had a good experience using PS on a netbook machine? If so, what make & model? Any tips? Caveats?
Posted by Ron Bielefeld on November 14, 2010 at 9:14 PM
This is a great question. I look forward to reading what people have experienced as I too would like to know if there is any netbook type comp out there that is capable of running PS.
Posted by Steve Cole on November 14, 2010 at 9:19 PM
A definate caveat is the screen resolution of the netbook's screen. I have an Asus EEE-PC 1005 PEB and, while I generally love it and have had no problems with it, I can't really run Photoshop Elements on it. The problem is that PSE was designed at a certain screen resolution and won't operate correctly if the resolution is less.
The max resolution on the Asus is 1024x600 and when I tried opening a RAW file in PSE, I got a warning that ACR only works with a minimum screen resolution of 1024x768 or above. ACR will still open but since the ACR dialog has no vertical scroll bar, you basically can't adjust many of the settings on the dialog.
You certainly can still use something like Fastone Image Viewer to view your RAW files and delete the bad ones. Anyways, that's been my experience. If you go netbook, definately get the upgrade to 2gb of RAM. My Asus has a 250Gb HD and a built-in SD card reader so that's another bit of equipment I haven't needed while on the road.
Posted by Jim DeWitt on November 14, 2010 at 10:33 PM
If you can afford it, the new 13.3 inch MacBook Air, with 4GB of RAM and the 256GB flash drive, is nearly perfect. Unbelievably light, yet runs PS CS5 very nicely and gives respectable battery life. And 1440x900 resolution. No DVD drive (it's simply too thin) but you can connect one to one of the two USB 2.0 ports. It's 1/6th the weight of my old MacBook Pro.
Posted by David Rogers on November 15, 2010 at 9:57 AM
I will agree on the MacBook Air. I got one just over a year ago specifically for use with photo storage while away. The computer is lightweight and the screen size is fine. It handles Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS3 nicely. I do not use it for major photo-editing so I do not concern myself with screen calibration with it. oi do the the occasional design/tweak, though. I have not loaded Lightroom 3 or CS5 on it yet.
The one bad thing about the Air is that the Apple-branded external CD reader/writer is designed to work only with the MacBook Air. I would get a third-party drive instead. I use my external drive so infrequently that it is not that big of a deal either way. I use it to install software or the occasional movie viewing while sitting and waiting in my daughter's gymnastics class (which is 3 hours long). Transferring files from the Air to the main computer is usually done by me over my LAN or occasionally over bluetooth (slower). Then again, since the Air was a backup to the photos on the CF/SD cards, if those are fine I will copy the raw photos from them to the main computer using a card reader, then delete the backups from the Air.
Posted by Jim Sabiston on November 15, 2010 at 11:21 AM
Having just jumped off the netbook wagon, I would say you should avoid them for photo processing for both the main reasons noted above: screen resolution and overall performance. The Atom processors are just too slow and the typical system memory of 1 gig can barely handle the operating system, let alone a cpu intensive program. I upgraded mine to 2 gig system ram and performance was serviceable if not impressive. I ended up using mine for ebook reading and email/websurfing, which they are very good for.
The good news/bad news for me is that the netbook was stolen a couple of weeks ago (Asus T91 MT) and I just replaced it with an iPad, which does all the things the netbook did, only better. The screen quality is also incredibly good and the iPad is superb for photo presentations. I already sold a 40 X 60 print right off the display to a new client on the spot within the first week. Nice. But the iPad is not really going to replace a laptop, either.
I haven't used the MacBook Air, but I did examine one and the form factor is incredibly good. I will have to defer to Jim and David on the performance reports. Otherwise, a regular pc laptop will be a better choice and not that much more expensive than a netbook, although they tend to be about twice as heavy.
Posted by David Rogers on November 15, 2010 at 5:19 PM
The one thing about all Macs is that they generally run more cost wise. However, I will say that I do not run Symantec, McAfee, or any other bloatware on any Mac in my house (of which there are now 4). My MacPro runs 24-7, sleeping at night. It only reboots when new software is pushed that requires a reboot.
If you are processing many photos, then a MacBook Air may not be the best choice. A MacBook Pro would be better as there are faster processors.
If you are looking for temporary storage then it probably does not matter which type of computer you get.
I have no experience with recent netbooks. But, I will probably not use another Windows-based machine as a personal computer again. Macs are not perfect, and like any computer there are good things and bad things. But I think there's more good than bad with Macs.
If you are a member of NAPP then I believe you can still get a discount on Apple products by buying through the links on their site.
Posted by Howard Cihak on November 15, 2010 at 7:29 PM
I want to thank everyone for their input. I've always used a PC, have never regretted it, and have PC software, including CS4. For that reason, switching to a Mac holds little attraction.
Right now, my best candidate appears to be a Toshiba Portege R705. It's a 3.1 lb., 64bit, 4GB RAM, 500GB HD, notebook with a 13.3 inch screen. I am, however, continuing to look and am maintaining an open mind.
Can a 64bit computer run 32 bit software as well?
Posted by John Mumaw on November 16, 2010 at 7:15 PM
Sure.
I'm running Windows 7 64 bit, and lots of my software is 32 bit.
I still have to use 32 bit PS 'cause none of my plug-ins will work in the 64 bit version.
Discussion
8 repliesHas anyone had a good experience using PS on a netbook machine? If so, what make & model? Any tips? Caveats?
The max resolution on the Asus is 1024x600 and when I tried opening a RAW file in PSE, I got a warning that ACR only works with a minimum screen resolution of 1024x768 or above. ACR will still open but since the ACR dialog has no vertical scroll bar, you basically can't adjust many of the settings on the dialog.
You certainly can still use something like Fastone Image Viewer to view your RAW files and delete the bad ones. Anyways, that's been my experience. If you go netbook, definately get the upgrade to 2gb of RAM. My Asus has a 250Gb HD and a built-in SD card reader so that's another bit of equipment I haven't needed while on the road.
The one bad thing about the Air is that the Apple-branded external CD reader/writer is designed to work only with the MacBook Air. I would get a third-party drive instead. I use my external drive so infrequently that it is not that big of a deal either way. I use it to install software or the occasional movie viewing while sitting and waiting in my daughter's gymnastics class (which is 3 hours long). Transferring files from the Air to the main computer is usually done by me over my LAN or occasionally over bluetooth (slower). Then again, since the Air was a backup to the photos on the CF/SD cards, if those are fine I will copy the raw photos from them to the main computer using a card reader, then delete the backups from the Air.
The good news/bad news for me is that the netbook was stolen a couple of weeks ago (Asus T91 MT) and I just replaced it with an iPad, which does all the things the netbook did, only better. The screen quality is also incredibly good and the iPad is superb for photo presentations. I already sold a 40 X 60 print right off the display to a new client on the spot within the first week. Nice. But the iPad is not really going to replace a laptop, either.
I haven't used the MacBook Air, but I did examine one and the form factor is incredibly good. I will have to defer to Jim and David on the performance reports. Otherwise, a regular pc laptop will be a better choice and not that much more expensive than a netbook, although they tend to be about twice as heavy.
If you are processing many photos, then a MacBook Air may not be the best choice. A MacBook Pro would be better as there are faster processors.
If you are looking for temporary storage then it probably does not matter which type of computer you get.
I have no experience with recent netbooks. But, I will probably not use another Windows-based machine as a personal computer again. Macs are not perfect, and like any computer there are good things and bad things. But I think there's more good than bad with Macs.
If you are a member of NAPP then I believe you can still get a discount on Apple products by buying through the links on their site.
Right now, my best candidate appears to be a Toshiba Portege R705. It's a 3.1 lb., 64bit, 4GB RAM, 500GB HD, notebook with a 13.3 inch screen. I am, however, continuing to look and am maintaining an open mind.
Can a 64bit computer run 32 bit software as well?
I'm running Windows 7 64 bit, and lots of my software is 32 bit.
I still have to use 32 bit PS 'cause none of my plug-ins will work in the 64 bit version.