laptop advice?

Question

does this look like a good laptop to you? I need one for photoshop and surfing the net. thanks
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Compaq-Presario-15-4-Widescreen-Laptop-F730US/sem/rpsm/oid/191765/catOid/-12963/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

or this http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Toshiba-Satellite-15-4-Widescreen-Laptop-L45S7423/sem/rpsm/oid/191736/catOid/-12963/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Answer 1

Gaming - No.
Everything Else - Fine.

Answer 2

That laptop would be great for photoshop and surfing the net. Just keep in mind that the bigger the screen is, the heavier the laptop is....That laptop has a 15.4" screen and since i put my laptop in my backpack everyday, that's gonna be a pretty heavy laptop.

If you plan on traveling around with your laptop a lot i suggest getting 14" or 13" screen laptops or laptops that're 4.5lbs and under. A typical 15.4" laptop will weight like 6lbs and up. You'lll notice the weight difference a LOT.Oh i just noticed some of the other suggestions as well, a little bit more ram is always worth the money. This really makes the computer feel faster.

edit: to 1st post: an amd dual core is still very fast, efficient and well worth the price. You dont have to have the absolute best cpu on the market to have a good laptop....besides, they come out with new ones like every year....do you plan on buying a new one every year? i know i wouldn't for sure.

also i hope you know hp owns compaq, they're headed and made by the same company...lol

Answer 3

When you buy any computer, make sure it has an Intel Core 2 Duo. That is the leading processor right now. Nothing else can compare to it. This particular laptop has an AMD Dual Core. Try to find a laptop that as Intel Core 2 Duo. I personally don't like Compaqs. I would recommend Hps or Toshibas.

Answer 4

Since you didn't mention any budget I would assume money is not an issue.

To start with, since you are going to use Photoshop you are better off with a laptop that has a dedicated video memory. The reason being this dedicated video memory will be used exclusively by Photoshop (and any other video intensive applications) and will not affect your overall system performance.

Looking at the link you provided, this laptop has a shared video memory meaning it shares memory with the one being used by your laptop. So when push comes to shove, Photoshop or whatever video application you're going to use, will now vie for space in the laptop's main memory slowing down your laptop.

In short, I advice you against buying such laptop that uses shared video memory. Get one that offers dedicated video memory of at least 128MB.

Answer 5

I would up the ram to 2 gig, specially if you going to play with photos. It looks ok.

This info for you to ponder

This is from my notes, hope it helps..

Choosing a laptop
=============
You have to decide on weight and battery criteria.

1. Weight - If you are going to carry it to and fro to school/office then consider getting a lightweight model. An external CD drive may be an option as if you not into burning disks or watching DVD then you hardly use the CD drive. Something about 2 kg is a lightweight.

2. Battery Life, - if you never going to use it on batteries then you can go bigger processor and larger screen. You can consider not buying the battery if appropriate. You can have two power supplies; one at home and one in the office is good for large heavy laptops.
if you want to use the laptop on batteries then you may have to choose a smaller processor and a smaller screen so
you can get the hours required out of the battery.

3. Minimum specifications –
Games will require more specifications – more ram and –more video card specs – more processor power.
Generally though:
-a decent video card (for projection of power point presentations)
-Wireless networking
-Ethernet
-Consider a high speed hard drive
-Consider an external DVD drive or an Internal Burner -depending on your needs
-Consider 1 or 2 Gig RAM
-Consider 80GB Hard drive or larger
-Software able to update from their websites
-Internet security and
-Antispyware (free from net) is a must for internet use.
-Easy accessible USB ports
- built in webcam
- A Mouse
- a keystone lock
-A carry bag. Sometimes the manufacturer’s bag is the best buy

When looking at laptops in the shop do this:
(this is written for XP but should be able to do it in Vista, ask the attendant for assistance.)
Click Start – help and support.
Type in Processor in the search

Go through the results you can see what hard ware and what Microsoft products are installed in the laptop/ computer

Answer 6

Oh well the features are quite good for photoshop and for surfing... but according to my friends and some forums online they dont recomend this because of its short lifespan around 1-2 years depends on how you maintain it. Try Toshiba or Dell and for faster one go for MAC (if you have the budget. good luck.

Answer 7

They are both very good laptops (good price too) but I personally would choose the Toshiba.

Answer 8

Yep its good for what your wanting it for. But personally I'd go for a bit more mem about 2GB, cuz photoshop can be heavy on resources.