Absolute Best Laptop for Photo/Gaming

[ksufiji]

Just wanted your opinions on your dream laptops for photo editing, and gaming.

Money is no object, and Macs are not allowed (Just sold my MBP...)

[basroil]

Now, gaming and laptops are like oil and water. Shake enough and you'll get them mixed for a while, but after letting it sit the true nature comes out.

That said, at minimum you want core i5 mobile, with gtx285 graphics (mobile), dual graphics card if you can. You'll end up with a massive (15", 8lb+) laptop, but it'll just barely do what you want it to do (720p gaming at 60fps with settings at medium-high in most games, 1080p gaming on low-mid settings). Take a look at alienware machines as well as gaming class asus models. Do expect 2k+ budget though.

For that price though, you can get a decent i5/i7 desktop gaming rig with the ability to run crysis at 60fps on high settings and 1080p, and still have enough for a low end laptop.

[rogazilla]

^ that's good advice up there.

Gaming laptop is not for the faint of heart when it comes to size and price.

[MaxxuM]

Originally Posted by ksufiji

Just wanted your opinions on your dream laptops for photo editing, and gaming.

Money is no object, and Macs are not allowed (Just sold my MBP...)

Nothing really special is required for photography except a good screen and OK processing power, but if you want power, then consider these two. They are WAY overkill, but you did say "Money is no object..." Btw, I can find more laptops that exceed $10,000 and probably some in the $100,000 range if you don't mind diamonds and gold

[BeritOlam]

Yeah, me thinks you'd actually save money by having a laptop and desktop separate.

But....if you seriously need to game-on-the-fly and waiting until you get home to a desktop just won't do, then something like an Alienware M15/17x would be about as good as anything I've seen or heard about.

The way I look at it, if you want to lay out over $4k in upgrades....so long as you aren't using my tax dollars to buy it, be my guest!!!

[Moppie]

You guys can have your little Mac vs PC wars all you like, there are several Mods who frequent this forum, and we will just continue to use our powers of deletion.

Or, everyone can grow up.

[Moppie]

Originally Posted by ksufiji

Just wanted your opinions on your dream laptops for photo editing, and gaming.

Good reason why you need a laptop?

They are not really ideal for either purpose, especially if your into serious gaming.

[hollis_f]

Originally Posted by MaxxuM

Nothing really special is required for photography except a good screen and OK processing power, but if you want power, then consider these two.

If you're going for Alienware then you may as well get a good one -

[mihait]

alienware is overrated - similar to the Macs.
you can do just fine with an Asus G51J-A1 - i7 quad core, 6GB RAM, huge disk, 1080p display, GTS360M card - it's a beast. It does very well in games, but it has couple of drawbacks - almost non-existent battery life, flimsy keyboard, and it weighs 8+ lbs.

you could also try the Studio XPS 16, with i7 quad core, blu-ray, 16" RGBLED display (which just rocks as they say on the web - almost perfect for photo editing) and whatever other goodies you want. the specs make it a good gaming machine.

weight is always an issue for gaming laptops, which are almost desktop replacements judging by the specs.

one upgrade you might consider, no matter the brand - is getting a decent SSD drive, like intel's x25-m 2nd gen, which will speed everything up (my xp boots in 20s after installing the SSD, ps4 starts in 5s)

[hollis_f]

++ on the SSD, although I'd recommend having two hard drive bays with the SSD as the boot disk (with Program Files and working images) and a normal HDD for data that doesn't need high-speed (old images, music, etc.)

[EiTheL]

Have you looked at the m11x? Alienware's ultraportable gaming laptop

[ksufiji]

Yes that m11x looks yummy...

I think I will have to wait for the Mac refresh to finalize my decision...who knows what they have up their sleeve.

As far as screens are concerned, which company has the best overall

[Bob_A]

I had an Inspiron 1720 that (until it cr@pped out) had a decent screen for image editing. Dell replaced it with a Studio 17 which has an awful screen which is only useful if you view perfectly at a right angle.

A Dell 2209WA external monitor corrected that issue though

[MrContact]

Just a heads up, I would stay away from Alienware Laptops. Not just because they have awful customer service.

If money isn't an issue, you can pick up a ThinkPad W700. Which hits just over 4500 before adding optional programs and gear (nortan, office, headset, etc)
Besides having a built on miniature Wacom Tablet, it has tons of other awesome features. I've never used one, but if I had the ability to purchase one, I would.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...tures#tabstart

[S.Horton]

I just went through the laptop search process end to end. I am in consulting, and I do run VMs along with Photoshop.

Because of the keyboard and overall price to power, I ended up with Toshiba.

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/...oid=2000002985

I have owned and used Sony, Toshiba, Apple, HP and Dell for business and home for several years at the same time.

Of those, I strongly suggest you avoid all HP hardware.

The Sony looks great and feels good, but for me the keyboard is unusable. Others have the same impression over time.

Dell these days just strikes me as badly overpriced.

I noticed that finding actual critical reviews of laptops has become difficult.

Some of the sources I knew well years ago have turned into little more than fluff to ensure ad sales.

Good luck. Have fun.