BYOD capable of running Photoshop and Illustrator CC2014

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › BYOD capable of running Photoshop and Illustrator CC2014

1 | 2

gzt

17127 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1291292 25-Apr-2015 13:24

Hammerer:
StarBlazer:
Adobe Requirements for Windows on Photoshop CC2014

Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon® 64 processor (2 GHz or faster)

Microsoft® Windows® 7 with Service Pack 1, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1

2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)

2 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable flash storage devices)

1024x768 display (1280x800 recommended) with 16-bit color and 512 MB of VRAM (1 GB recommended)**

OpenGL 2.0–capable system

Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services.*

We have a 3 year old laptop but it is not only bulky and heavy but the battery has passed it's best - so we are looking at new or nearly new. SSD would be great but I suspect it is not in the budget!

We had a similar situation and had to upgrade from 4GB to the recommended 8GB to make it usable. That 2GB is a minimum and even 4GB may not be enough if there are scanned textiles and images with other layers added. An SSD would ameliorate some memory issues by speeding up paging.

Low screen resolution or small size are also issues.

If the laptop has the necessary specs then I would get a new battery and try that. If it's only needed for one course then it won't have to be carried everyday.

SSD (or just add bulk ram) + battery for that one looks like the cheap and effective option here. Weight I'm guessing 1kg more than something you might buy today. Not extreme.

gzt

17127 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1291295 25-Apr-2015 13:28

Actually maybe less. If you dont have one already SSD will cut weight.

gzt

17127 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1291386 25-Apr-2015 17:21

Interesting sale at NL this weekend. Spend $899 get $250 voucher. Saw in Herald.

StarBlazer

961 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#1291651 26-Apr-2015 10:45

I weighed the laptop today and it was 2.4kg without a charger. Even an SSD isn't really going to change that. I'll have a look at the surface pro 1 and 2 again on TradeMe as it sounds like I'm not going to be able to get a laptop within the budget.

Procrastination eventually pays off.

Geektastic

17943 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1291662 26-Apr-2015 11:10

Does it have to run Windows?

If not, this sort of thing may suffice?

Hammerer

2476 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1291702 26-Apr-2015 12:28

Geektastic: Does it have to run Windows?

If not, this sort of thing may suffice?

I'd be surprised if it was enough but it might work OK within its notable limitations.

The processor is quite slow: base 1.7GHZ, turbo max 2.7GHz

The screen resolution (1440x900) is good for the screen size but the integrated graphics is a real weakness. It will be sucking up system RAM, starting at the minimum 384MB - it's probably higher at 1440x900 - and as high as 1.75GB at its highest resolution (2560x1600) which would be driving an external screen.

The Intel HD 3000 GPU for the Core i5 2557M is slow running at the base 350MHz although it can get to 1200MHz in turbo.

Then there will be the memory. At 4GB it might be OK but it you want to upgrade then you should know that the chips are soldered to the board. That is why the blurb says it "cannot be upgraded after purchase". It can be done but very unlikely most of us could do it at home or cheaply.

Mac OS system requirements for Adobe Photoshop CC2014

Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
Mac OS X v10.7, v10.8, v10.9, or v10.10
2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
3.2 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)
1024x768 display (1280x800 recommended) with 16-bit color and 512 MB of VRAM (1 GB recommended)**
OpenGL 2.0–capable system
Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, membership validation, and access to online services.*

macuser

2120 posts

Uber Geek

#1291706 26-Apr-2015 12:51

Hammerer:
Geektastic: Does it have to run Windows?

If not, this sort of thing may suffice?

I'd be surprised if it was enough but it might work OK within its notable limitations.

The processor is quite slow: base 1.7GHZ, turbo max 2.7GHz

The screen resolution (1440x900) is good for the screen size but the integrated graphics is a real weakness. It will be sucking up system RAM, starting at the minimum 384MB - it's probably higher at 1440x900 - and as high as 1.75GB at its highest resolution (2560x1600) which would be driving an external screen.

The Intel HD 3000 GPU for the Core i5 2557M is slow running at the base 350MHz although it can get to 1200MHz in turbo.

Then there will be the memory. At 4GB it might be OK but it you want to upgrade then you should know that the chips are soldered to the board. That is why the blurb says it "cannot be upgraded after purchase". It can be done but very unlikely most of us could do it at home or cheaply.
Mac OS system requirements for Adobe Photoshop CC2014

Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
Mac OS X v10.7, v10.8, v10.9, or v10.10
2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
3.2 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)
1024x768 display (1280x800 recommended) with 16-bit color and 512 MB of VRAM (1 GB recommended)**
OpenGL 2.0–capable system
Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, membership validation, and access to online services.*

I would take the MBA over a SP2 any day, the HD3000 will be slow but it will work. Ideally would have more ram but a newer gen device with intergrated graphics is going to eat the internal ram as well. The display isnt high quality but has enough resolution and size, and I'm sure the battery will still be ok.

I would look for a second hand MBA 13" over any other second hand options. And just for anyone who still insists that the SP2 having a wacom digitizer is a good thing, please understand that the digitizer that is on the SP2 is far removed from the one found on actual Wacom graphics tablets. The pen is small and uncomfortable, inaccurate and will go haywire on the edges of the screen...Photoshop does not scale on Windows in any meaningful way (it has 200% mode which is really useless on a 1080P 10" display because you loose so much valuable screen real estate and menu items, but on 100% mode everything is way too small)

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

Geektastic

17943 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1291761 26-Apr-2015 16:01

macuser:
Hammerer:
Geektastic: Does it have to run Windows?

If not, this sort of thing may suffice?

I'd be surprised if it was enough but it might work OK within its notable limitations.

The processor is quite slow: base 1.7GHZ, turbo max 2.7GHz

The screen resolution (1440x900) is good for the screen size but the integrated graphics is a real weakness. It will be sucking up system RAM, starting at the minimum 384MB - it's probably higher at 1440x900 - and as high as 1.75GB at its highest resolution (2560x1600) which would be driving an external screen.

The Intel HD 3000 GPU for the Core i5 2557M is slow running at the base 350MHz although it can get to 1200MHz in turbo.

Then there will be the memory. At 4GB it might be OK but it you want to upgrade then you should know that the chips are soldered to the board. That is why the blurb says it "cannot be upgraded after purchase". It can be done but very unlikely most of us could do it at home or cheaply.
Mac OS system requirements for Adobe Photoshop CC2014

Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
Mac OS X v10.7, v10.8, v10.9, or v10.10
2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
3.2 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)
1024x768 display (1280x800 recommended) with 16-bit color and 512 MB of VRAM (1 GB recommended)**
OpenGL 2.0–capable system
Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, membership validation, and access to online services.*

I would take the MBA over a SP2 any day, the HD3000 will be slow but it will work. Ideally would have more ram but a newer gen device with intergrated graphics is going to eat the internal ram as well. The display isnt high quality but has enough resolution and size, and I'm sure the battery will still be ok.

I would look for a second hand MBA 13" over any other second hand options. And just for anyone who still insists that the SP2 having a wacom digitizer is a good thing, please understand that the digitizer that is on the SP2 is far removed from the one found on actual Wacom graphics tablets. The pen is small and uncomfortable, inaccurate and will go haywire on the edges of the screen...Photoshop does not scale on Windows in any meaningful way (it has 200% mode which is really useless on a 1080P 10" display because you loose so much valuable screen real estate and menu items, but on 100% mode everything is way too small)

I'd agree with the MBA.

Obviously if we were talking about a power user who makes a living using the software etc it would not be the answer but for this it should suffice I would think.

1 | 2