Which laptop computer for photo- and video editing?

[Herman]

I got dual cores laptop computers running Windows Vista.
What's needed for 2D & 3D photo- and video editing.
Size screen, will Intel i3, i5 be enough, how much Ram, HDD, etc.
Can chromebook do the job?
Thanks!

 

[kyteflyer]

I got dual cores laptop computers running Windows Vista.
What's needed for 2D & 3D photo- and video editing.
Size screen, will Intel i3, i5 be enough, how much Ram, HDD, etc.
Can chromebook do the job?
Thanks!

Probably not. I've done more reading on Chromebook and google really does want us ONLY using the cloud. And I quote

Nothing but the web.

Chromebooks are built and optimized for the web, where you already spend most of your computing time. So you get a faster, simpler and more secure experience without all the headaches of ordinary computers.

For that, you can read... and we will take over your whole computing experience so you never have to look at Windows or Mac again, so you never have to use anything other than google and google apps, again. So... what editing tools would you use? Picasa? That's just not anywhere near good enough. Great for mums and dads wanting to share with Aunty Jean but for serious editing, its rubbish.

You'd be better off updating your machines to Windows7 with more RAM, or jumping ship to Mac and getting a 15" MacbookPro (not yet though, these are likely to be updated before Christmas and with the dollar still rubbish against other currencies, Apple stuff will price drop even more, I bet, on the next hardware refresh)

 

[dixeyk]

It really depends on your budget. I like my 13" Macbook (although if I bought today I'd go for a new i5 or i7 powered 15" Macbook Pro). It's fast and I can run both the MacOS and Windows natively if I like.

 

[kyteflyer]

It really depends on your budget. I like my 13" Macbook (although if I bought today I'd go for a new i5 or i7 powered 15" Macbook Pro). It's fast and I can run both the MacOS and Windows natively if I like.

How do you find the 13" for photo editing with Photoshop and/or Lightroom and/or Aperture?

I've thought often I would like to downsize from my iMac but have been a bit concerned about the screen size. I'm not interested in a 15" for myself, it will be too large for the little table I would use it on.

 

[Herman]

Sue would you downsize from Apple to Windows 13" notebook? (with i5)

 

[Luckypenguin]

I've been scouting around for a new laptop at a good price for a while now and just bought a new one a few weeks ago. Screen size and resolution was one of my biggest criteria since absolute portability wasn't an issue (I want a laptop to be able to use anywhere in the house, not to take it out of the house). The one I ended up getting has a 17" screen and 1600x900 resolution which is brilliant for image viewing and editing. Being an i5 does not have the lateset and greatest spec but it runs Nik Silver Efex so much quicker than my old laptop it is not funny.

 

[kyteflyer]

Sue would you downsize from Apple to Windows 13" notebook? (with i5)

Definitely not. OSX (and Ubuntu for that matter) seem to address the gfx differently to Windows. So, for example, on this little netbook I am using at the moment, I run Windows 7 and find the gfx absolutely awful but same netbook running Ubuntu and its fine. I can even do some minimal gfx editing, which is stymied only by the screen size. 10" really is a bit tiny. I few weeks back I actually bought a 15" laptop and took it back because it was just hideous. If I could have installed Ubuntu on that I would have kept it, but its system was partly built into ROM I guess and it just would not let me

If you want to keep Windows, you need 15" with a really good screen. The *nix systems just seem to use whats available a bit better. I won't be downsizing from Apple to Windows anything, given that I really don't like the OS that much