Laptop for my trip to India

I have to get one soon and there are so many out there, not sure on all the bits I need on it but most importantly I need it for :

a) burning RAWS & TIFFS to DVD to post home occassionally
b) editing in CS3

I presume I need a good spec that includes a fairly good dedicated graphics card?

I found this one - has anyone any thoughts advice that would kindly give me because it is beginning to give me a headache trying to decide, but, I think this may be it. Would be nice to know if I am on the right track though

Lilly

Lilly, Have you looked at the new macbooks?
Add up the cost of a macbook, a small wacom tablet (with free copy of PS Elements), and Aperture.
(aperture would be optional, as iphoto is surprisingly good).

You tend to create some very fine images, (understatement) and it really could be worth the cost to have a really good laptop to work with especially if like me you show clients demos on your laptop. (apple has the nicest screens you'll likely find on ANY laptop, and better than alot of desktops).

ps I wouldn't consider blueray a selling point....it may yet die before it gets a chance to really go mainstream..... DVD may be the last of the shiny disc formats to invade everybodies homes and autos. Direct downloads.....I rent movies on dvd or download for Apple tv.

Lilly

Those Acer laptops are good value for money but they feel and look (in the flesh) quite plasticky and cheap!

I quite like Dell and find that their quality/power/price ratio is pretty good - especially if you get one of their deals.

Paul

Lilly,
I don't think a dedicated graphics card is going to help that much with CS3 After all, there's no 3D rendered graphics, no fast moving stuff etc. Everything's contained in the PC's memory for CS3, not the video card's.

There aren't many laptops that are "drop proof" - check carefully how rugged they are. Some are very fragile. Years ago the Toshiba's were the only laptops that could survive the drop off a desk (minor dents and broken plastic apart). I've had a Toshiba Tablet PC that's been hammered and is still going strong (though the LCD isn't that hot compared to more modern ones).

I've had a few Dell laptops pass through the office - they've all seemed very good value, and generally well built. You'll probably get direct support for the Dells in India too

It's worth noting that Dell change their deals every Thursday - and it's best to try out both the Home and Small Business sections as they target different markets. Often the Small Business section will have some truly excellent deals.

Main thing - get a decent amount of RAM (2Gb would be great, 1Gb at a minimum).

If you haven't already got a Huey/Spyder etc, then that's another worthy addition (perhaps not while travelling, but certainly if you want any form of colour accuracy for editing).

Don's advice is also worth noting

Hope that helps!
Matt

Thank you guys, yes, I would love a MAC, but twice the cost I know it would be a good investment, but concerned about carrying such a treasured beauty as it would be, around India !

Dell has attracted me especially when I see that some have alloy cases, like this one nearly a kg less in weight compared to the Acer, but Lord I have hear so many horror stories about Dell bad 'uns and customer service nightmare.

Such a hard choice to make, didn't realise about the graphics card tho Matt. I have a Huey Pro that I can take with me, very small and will match my existin calibration hopefully.

I got what I thought was a very good deal from Dell on a Vostro 1700 with a 17" screen, 3 Gig RAM and impressive battery life but it's huge and heavy! If you get it via Small Business I think you can 'downgrade' to XP from Vista. I wouldn't want to take it on holiday. I looked at the Acers but they didn't offer an XP option.

I'm not sure what I'd do about getting images home. I suspect I'd buy a ton of memory cards or perhaps sticks depending on what was cheap and post them back in preference to DVD. You can always sell them off on your return.

Mike

PS Just seen your post above. Business support from Dell is a different beast to domestic support and I have had nothing but excellent service from them. I have not yet needed any support on my own Dells just for clients' computers and I suspect the Dell horror stories are rather like the reports of dodgy lenses from Pentax - you only hear the bad things.

Yes, cards, sticks and www.vosonic.com
is another less weighty route I could go down, but that backlog of editing is a worry!

If I was going to India I'd not want to be editing any images unless I was there for months. For me it would be the experience of a lifetime and I'd want to spend my time soaking up the fabulous culture not mucking about with a computer! But each to his and her own.

As someone else commented elsewhere they'd question taking much in the way of camera gear at all when on holiday! I regretted lugging too much stuff about when out and about in Sicily. India I think would be different but even I would be minimalistic I think.

Mike

Our company Dell laptops have been virtually trouble free, and that's quite a few so it's not a bad sample. Maybe 100 machines or so.

I use a Toshiba, quite compact but not a great screen.

Sue uses a Sont Viao, nice slick white case but a bit larger.

I wouyld suggest going for the spec you need and then choosing a make that seems well made. Something recognisable.

Try Europc for some ready built Dell machines at less than the Dell price.

www.europc.co.uk

A friend of mine is a network admin for a finance company and he swears by Dell. It's all he'll ever use if he gets to choose.

Lilly, if you buy an Acer machine, you can get 3 years worldwide accidental damage insurance cover through Acer for around £99.00, and that's collect & return. No matter what happens to it, it's covered. The same may be true of other makes so check thoroughly, and check where the service centre is in India, or rather, that there is a service centre in India.

I've sold Acer laptops and normal PC's for years and have only had to return 1 laptop that had a faulty backlight. I have a 5 year old Travelmate something or other and it's still going strong.

Probably not what you want, but I bought an Acer Aspire One for £275 from Comet last week (slightly cheaper than Costco) 8.9" screen, 120gb hd, 2 card readers, XP, wi-fi etc. and it fits in my Billingham bag.

link

That looks a bit slow ken, How is it?
I would want a fast processor ('x2') and tonnes of ram. and a sherpa with me at all times so I can enjoy my experience.
You can get dedicated 2D graphics cards for PhotoShop. and I suspect there are some specifically designed for raw processing and viewing.

Lilly ...

I would recommend Dell and go for a business machine with both worldwide next business day support and accidental damage. When you phone them, just say you are a small business/self employed - never a problem.

My Dells have been around the world many times - one of them made nearly 400 flights in 3 years and it is still going strong at 6 years old. Bounced around, dropped, use 12 hours/day ...

The NBD support has helped out a couple of times - a new keyboard in the USA (took an extra day to get a UK spec one), phone support is always there and I even had a new case fitted two days before the end of cover.


Also, dependent on weight, you may want a second battery, or a power supply that can run from 12V. If you are somewhere and the mains supply is "non-existent" there will always be a car somewhere that you can power it from.


When you burn DVDs, always do two sets, one to post home and one to keep with you or to post from a different location - extra insurance.


Forget the rest, just look at the DELL offerings and particularly the Latitude D range.