Notebook Advice please

Doc Tonic said:

I'm not sure if you realize this, but if you have the 9100 with the
ATI 9700 128 card, then
1. You don't need a docking station for a second monitor, in fact
you don't want to use one. You want to plug an external monitor
into the DVI port and use it as a dual monitor set up. So when you
run PS, you run the CRT screen or LCD as one big window. The ATI
9700 can run two monitors at the same time. Hence, its usefulness
in running front projectors.

2. You don't need a dock for keyboard/mouse...just get an optical
mouse and it just plugs into the USB port.

3. And for an external DVD-R, you want to get the newer ones that
just take advantage of firewire.

And, as far as the screen, there was a big difference between the
intermediate screen and the high end screen. I was told by the
dell rep it is more than just increased resolution, but better
contrast and color as well. (which is why I recommended only
getting the 1920x1200 screen). The cheaper screens apparently look
dimmer which you may have noticed.

Click to expand...

s k u l p t said:

I plan on using an extra monitor for previewing webpages for my
webdesign work, surfing the web, and for palettes in Photoshop and
some other programs. I've never had dual monitors before, so this
will be a treat.

Brian

Doc Tonic said:

I'm not sure if you realize this, but if you have the 9100 with the
ATI 9700 128 card, then
1. You don't need a docking station for a second monitor, in fact
you don't want to use one. You want to plug an external monitor
into the DVI port and use it as a dual monitor set up. So when you
run PS, you run the CRT screen or LCD as one big window. The ATI
9700 can run two monitors at the same time. Hence, its usefulness
in running front projectors.

2. You don't need a dock for keyboard/mouse...just get an optical
mouse and it just plugs into the USB port.

3. And for an external DVD-R, you want to get the newer ones that
just take advantage of firewire.

And, as far as the screen, there was a big difference between the
intermediate screen and the high end screen. I was told by the
dell rep it is more than just increased resolution, but better
contrast and color as well. (which is why I recommended only
getting the 1920x1200 screen). The cheaper screens apparently look
dimmer which you may have noticed.

Click to expand...

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Graphic Design Directory: http://www.adigitaldreamer.com
My Portfolio: http://skulpt.com

Click to expand...

takitimu said:

Good luck & enjoy, let us know how you find the 9100.

Nigel

P.S. Getting a docking station is a handy thing too

s k u l p t said:

I plan on using an extra monitor for previewing webpages for my
webdesign work, surfing the web, and for palettes in Photoshop and
some other programs. I've never had dual monitors before, so this
will be a treat.

Brian

Doc Tonic said:

I'm not sure if you realize this, but if you have the 9100 with the
ATI 9700 128 card, then
1. You don't need a docking station for a second monitor, in fact
you don't want to use one. You want to plug an external monitor
into the DVI port and use it as a dual monitor set up. So when you
run PS, you run the CRT screen or LCD as one big window. The ATI
9700 can run two monitors at the same time. Hence, its usefulness
in running front projectors.

2. You don't need a dock for keyboard/mouse...just get an optical
mouse and it just plugs into the USB port.

3. And for an external DVD-R, you want to get the newer ones that
just take advantage of firewire.

And, as far as the screen, there was a big difference between the
intermediate screen and the high end screen. I was told by the
dell rep it is more than just increased resolution, but better
contrast and color as well. (which is why I recommended only
getting the 1920x1200 screen). The cheaper screens apparently look
dimmer which you may have noticed.

Click to expand...

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Graphic Design Directory: http://www.adigitaldreamer.com
My Portfolio: http://skulpt.com

Click to expand...

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http://www.pbase.com/sgidude

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s k u l p t said:

Brian

takitimu said:

Good luck & enjoy, let us know how you find the 9100.

Nigel

P.S. Getting a docking station is a handy thing too

s k u l p t said:

I plan on using an extra monitor for previewing webpages for my
webdesign work, surfing the web, and for palettes in Photoshop and
some other programs. I've never had dual monitors before, so this
will be a treat.

Brian

Doc Tonic said:

I'm not sure if you realize this, but if you have the 9100 with the
ATI 9700 128 card, then
1. You don't need a docking station for a second monitor, in fact
you don't want to use one. You want to plug an external monitor
into the DVI port and use it as a dual monitor set up. So when you
run PS, you run the CRT screen or LCD as one big window. The ATI
9700 can run two monitors at the same time. Hence, its usefulness
in running front projectors.

2. You don't need a dock for keyboard/mouse...just get an optical
mouse and it just plugs into the USB port.

3. And for an external DVD-R, you want to get the newer ones that
just take advantage of firewire.

And, as far as the screen, there was a big difference between the
intermediate screen and the high end screen. I was told by the
dell rep it is more than just increased resolution, but better
contrast and color as well. (which is why I recommended only
getting the 1920x1200 screen). The cheaper screens apparently look
dimmer which you may have noticed.

Click to expand...

--
-------------------------------------------
Graphic Design Directory: http://www.adigitaldreamer.com
My Portfolio: http://skulpt.com

Click to expand...

--
Pbase supporter
http://www.pbase.com/sgidude

Click to expand...

--
-------------------------------------------
Graphic Design Directory: http://www.adigitaldreamer.com
My Portfolio: http://skulpt.com

Click to expand...

takitimu said:

For Image stuff, two for images & one for email/web.

It's also kinda handy to have the monitors setup differently, I
have one setup to emulate print, another a default seting to see
what your average user might expect .

Nigel

P.S. Alot of traders use 3 (big) screens & the TV studio I work at
has 4 in one block + another for email for one presenter.

s k u l p t said:

Brian

takitimu said:

Good luck & enjoy, let us know how you find the 9100.

Nigel

P.S. Getting a docking station is a handy thing too

s k u l p t said:

I plan on using an extra monitor for previewing webpages for my
webdesign work, surfing the web, and for palettes in Photoshop and
some other programs. I've never had dual monitors before, so this
will be a treat.

Brian

Doc Tonic said:

I'm not sure if you realize this, but if you have the 9100 with the
ATI 9700 128 card, then
1. You don't need a docking station for a second monitor, in fact
you don't want to use one. You want to plug an external monitor
into the DVI port and use it as a dual monitor set up. So when you
run PS, you run the CRT screen or LCD as one big window. The ATI
9700 can run two monitors at the same time. Hence, its usefulness
in running front projectors.

2. You don't need a dock for keyboard/mouse...just get an optical
mouse and it just plugs into the USB port.

3. And for an external DVD-R, you want to get the newer ones that
just take advantage of firewire.

And, as far as the screen, there was a big difference between the
intermediate screen and the high end screen. I was told by the
dell rep it is more than just increased resolution, but better
contrast and color as well. (which is why I recommended only
getting the 1920x1200 screen). The cheaper screens apparently look
dimmer which you may have noticed.

Click to expand...

--
-------------------------------------------
Graphic Design Directory: http://www.adigitaldreamer.com
My Portfolio: http://skulpt.com

Click to expand...

--
Pbase supporter
http://www.pbase.com/sgidude

Click to expand...

--
-------------------------------------------
Graphic Design Directory: http://www.adigitaldreamer.com
My Portfolio: http://skulpt.com

Click to expand...

--
Pbase supporter
http://www.pbase.com/sgidude

Click to expand...

s k u l p t said:

It'll sure be nice to set the monitor up to show what things look
like in 800X600 for the web. That's the standard I design for for
websites.

Brian

Click to expand...

s k u l p t said:

It's a hard balance for me right now. I'veput off getting a
notebook for years because they never seem to match what I need for
graphics capabilities. The've always had this integrated video
card, poor cache, and so on. It seems like notebooks are getting
better in these regards.

Generally as well, I wait until I can afford a system that offers
(at least on paper with specs) 3Xs the speed as my last computer.
My old computer is a P3 900Mhz, 384mb, with a 32mb graphics card.
This notebook offers that 3X increase for $2000.

I know I can get an increase in performance if I get a cheaper
latop, but I want it to be a pretty big boost over my old system.
My thinking is I'd rather spend a bit more now for a more
significant increase than an incremental increase. I hate the
premium you pay, but on this laptop, it's not that bad compared to
a Dell dektop.

I took the Dell 4600 for example with the same kind of setup,and
the desktop works out to be about 30% cheaper.... But the front
side bus on the notebook is 800mhz vs the desktop at 533mhz..

As for usage, I will not be taking this everywhere. I will need to
show clients things maybe once a week if that. The rest of the time
it will stay home. I would be better suited much of the time with a
desktop, but I'll need the laptop aspect as well other times.

Man, I'm having a war in my head right now.LOL

Brian

Zapped said:

skulpt -

I'm an overpaid microprocessor designer who will gladly let my
corporate Sugar Daddy spend any amount of money they want to on
Linux boxen, Sun Ultrasparcs, and high-end laptops, but when I buy
laptops for myself, I BUY LOW-END. The problem, as I see it, is
that the premium for high-GHz CPUs, fast memory, big hard-drives,
larger glass, and a lighter gross weight, is way out-of-line with
the value actually added.

My two-year-old Toshiba Satellite bit the dust not due to
electronics failures but to mechanical problems with the case
itself. The machine was never abused, but used constantly, and
travelled with me on vacations. Over time it developed cracks in
the case and hinges, weakness in the battery charger input, and
eventually open circuits in some of the wires leading from the
motherboard to the TFT glass.

When I replaced it (Dec '03), I bought a $599 Dell Inspiron. 2.3GHz
Celeron CPU, 256MB memory, 20GB HD, CD-RW. I replaced the 20GB HD
with a 40GB HD I was using in the old Toshiba - re-formatted &
re-installed WinXP Pro, then downloaded additional drivers from the
Dell site to complete the job. Runs Photoshop CS and C1/LE just
fine, and backs up my images when I'm on a photo shoot away from
home.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

s k u l p t118025 said:

s k u l p t118025 said:

One last IMPORTANT POINT: it's almost impossible to do fine image
edits on a laptop, since the contrast of the images changes
markedly when you change the TFT angle just a bit or move your head
up or down an inch. You'll want to buy a CRT to hang off the video
output of your laptop for work at home.

--
Zapped (Austin, TX)
http://www.pbase.com/pricklypear

Click to expand...

--
-------------------------------------------
Graphic Design Directory: http://www.adigitaldreamer.com
My Portfolio: http://skulpt.com

Click to expand...

• Marcos

Doc Tonic said:

I'm not sure if you realize this, but if you have the 9100 with the
ATI 9700 128 card, then
1. You don't need a docking station for a second monitor, in fact
you don't want to use one. You want to plug an external monitor
into the DVI port and use it as a dual monitor set up. So when you
run PS, you run the CRT screen or LCD as one big window. The ATI
9700 can run two monitors at the same time. Hence, its usefulness
in running front projectors.

2. You don't need a dock for keyboard/mouse...just get an optical
mouse and it just plugs into the USB port.

3. And for an external DVD-R, you want to get the newer ones that
just take advantage of firewire.

And, as far as the screen, there was a big difference between the
intermediate screen and the high end screen. I was told by the
dell rep it is more than just increased resolution, but better
contrast and color as well. (which is why I recommended only
getting the 1920x1200 screen). The cheaper screens apparently look
dimmer which you may have noticed.

Click to expand...

Marcos Villaroman said:

If you are constantly moving your laptop around, docking stations
are nice. They also save wear and tear on your connectors. I have
worn out firewire and audio connectors a number of times. Really
annoying when the speaker output jack no longer recognizes when
nothing is physically plugged in; my old 8200 doesn't play anthing
through it's built-in speakers because of it. Docking stations
help here.

Click to expand...

Noah_Mercy said:

I'm an Electrical Engineer. I'm doing a research Ph.D. on an NSF
fellowship. I'm working on optoeletronics, specifically Organic
and Polymer LEDs. We got a package of quantum dot nano-crystals in
this week also (inorganics). In a few years a major revolution in
displays will take place.

For this and other reasons I must generally concur with the Zapped
comments.

Sorry,
KC

s k u l p t said:

It's a hard balance for me right now. I'veput off getting a
notebook for years because they never seem to match what I need for
graphics capabilities. The've always had this integrated video
card, poor cache, and so on. It seems like notebooks are getting
better in these regards.

Generally as well, I wait until I can afford a system that offers
(at least on paper with specs) 3Xs the speed as my last computer.
My old computer is a P3 900Mhz, 384mb, with a 32mb graphics card.
This notebook offers that 3X increase for $2000.

I know I can get an increase in performance if I get a cheaper
latop, but I want it to be a pretty big boost over my old system.
My thinking is I'd rather spend a bit more now for a more
significant increase than an incremental increase. I hate the
premium you pay, but on this laptop, it's not that bad compared to
a Dell dektop.

I took the Dell 4600 for example with the same kind of setup,and
the desktop works out to be about 30% cheaper.... But the front
side bus on the notebook is 800mhz vs the desktop at 533mhz..

As for usage, I will not be taking this everywhere. I will need to
show clients things maybe once a week if that. The rest of the time
it will stay home. I would be better suited much of the time with a
desktop, but I'll need the laptop aspect as well other times.

Man, I'm having a war in my head right now.LOL

Brian

Zapped said:

skulpt -

I'm an overpaid microprocessor designer who will gladly let my
corporate Sugar Daddy spend any amount of money they want to on
Linux boxen, Sun Ultrasparcs, and high-end laptops, but when I buy
laptops for myself, I BUY LOW-END. The problem, as I see it, is
that the premium for high-GHz CPUs, fast memory, big hard-drives,
larger glass, and a lighter gross weight, is way out-of-line with
the value actually added.

My two-year-old Toshiba Satellite bit the dust not due to
electronics failures but to mechanical problems with the case
itself. The machine was never abused, but used constantly, and
travelled with me on vacations. Over time it developed cracks in
the case and hinges, weakness in the battery charger input, and
eventually open circuits in some of the wires leading from the
motherboard to the TFT glass.

When I replaced it (Dec '03), I bought a $599 Dell Inspiron. 2.3GHz
Celeron CPU, 256MB memory, 20GB HD, CD-RW. I replaced the 20GB HD
with a 40GB HD I was using in the old Toshiba - re-formatted &
re-installed WinXP Pro, then downloaded additional drivers from the
Dell site to complete the job. Runs Photoshop CS and C1/LE just
fine, and backs up my images when I'm on a photo shoot away from
home.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Noah_Mercy said:

Noah_Mercy said:

One last IMPORTANT POINT: it's almost impossible to do fine image
edits on a laptop, since the contrast of the images changes
markedly when you change the TFT angle just a bit or move your head
up or down an inch. You'll want to buy a CRT to hang off the video
output of your laptop for work at home.

--
Zapped (Austin, TX)
http://www.pbase.com/pricklypear

Click to expand...

--
-------------------------------------------
Graphic Design Directory: http://www.adigitaldreamer.com
My Portfolio: http://skulpt.com

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Doc Tonic said:

Good point on the squinting...my father couldn't stand to look at
this screen. They should put a warning on the screen that people of
a certain age should not purchase the high end screen. As we age,
the accommodative power of the eye gradually declines and I'd be
shocked if anyone over 50 could handle a 15 inch 1920x1200 screen.
Its getting to be borderline for me in my mid 30s, but I still love
it and don't need to squint. (the fact that you are squinting just
means you have lost some accomodative power of your eyes). I showed
my father in his 60s this laptop and he couldn't make out the
icons. I can see a young 20 year old just loving this screen
though...

Click to expand...

ChuckH said:

Marcos Villaroman said:

If you are constantly moving your laptop around, docking stations
are nice. They also save wear and tear on your connectors. I have
worn out firewire and audio connectors a number of times. Really
annoying when the speaker output jack no longer recognizes when
nothing is physically plugged in; my old 8200 doesn't play anthing
through it's built-in speakers because of it. Docking stations
help here.

Click to expand...

Can't argue with any of what you have written, but Brian said that
he will only take the laptop on the road at most one day per week.
So, in his case, there would be very little docking/undocking
taking place. The money could probably be better spent on other
things
--
Chuck

Click to expand...

s k u l p t said:

Hi.I'veposted this on the Pro Forum as well, but I'd love your
input in this as well.

Just wondering if anyone has had experiences with Notebooks for
graphics work? I'm looking at a:

Dell Inspiron™ 9100, Pentium® 4 2.8GHz,
15.4-in. WUXGA
1GB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz
128MB ATI™ Mobility Radeon™ 9700
60GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive

Dell® Wireless 1350 Internal Wireless (802.11b/g, 54Mbps)

98 WHr Primary Battery

Is there something that I am missing or should consider? This will
be replacing an old P3 900Mhz desktop. Is this a good wireless
card,or what is the standard these days for going wireless?

Is the graphics card overkill? Should I invest more in a faster
hard drive? Should I go for the 8600 series which has the M
processor at 1.5Ghz? I'll be using this mostly indoors and
connected to an outlet. I'll be doing a lot of RAW work as well.

Thanks

Brian

--
-------------------------------------------
Graphic Design Directory: http://www.adigitaldreamer.com
My Portfolio: http://skulpt.com

Click to expand...

• Marcos

Noah_Mercy said:

I'm an Electrical Engineer. I'm doing a research Ph.D. on an NSF
fellowship. I'm working on optoeletronics, specifically Organic
and Polymer LEDs. We got a package of quantum dot nano-crystals in
this week also (inorganics). In a few years a major revolution in
displays will take place.

For this and other reasons I must generally concur with the Zapped
comments.

Sorry,
KC

s k u l p t said:

It's a hard balance for me right now. I'veput off getting a
notebook for years because they never seem to match what I need for
graphics capabilities. The've always had this integrated video
card, poor cache, and so on. It seems like notebooks are getting
better in these regards.

Generally as well, I wait until I can afford a system that offers
(at least on paper with specs) 3Xs the speed as my last computer.
My old computer is a P3 900Mhz, 384mb, with a 32mb graphics card.
This notebook offers that 3X increase for $2000.

I know I can get an increase in performance if I get a cheaper
latop, but I want it to be a pretty big boost over my old system.
My thinking is I'd rather spend a bit more now for a more
significant increase than an incremental increase. I hate the
premium you pay, but on this laptop, it's not that bad compared to
a Dell dektop.

I took the Dell 4600 for example with the same kind of setup,and
the desktop works out to be about 30% cheaper.... But the front
side bus on the notebook is 800mhz vs the desktop at 533mhz..

As for usage, I will not be taking this everywhere. I will need to
show clients things maybe once a week if that. The rest of the time
it will stay home. I would be better suited much of the time with a
desktop, but I'll need the laptop aspect as well other times.

Man, I'm having a war in my head right now.LOL

Brian

Zapped said:

skulpt -

I'm an overpaid microprocessor designer who will gladly let my
corporate Sugar Daddy spend any amount of money they want to on
Linux boxen, Sun Ultrasparcs, and high-end laptops, but when I buy
laptops for myself, I BUY LOW-END. The problem, as I see it, is
that the premium for high-GHz CPUs, fast memory, big hard-drives,
larger glass, and a lighter gross weight, is way out-of-line with
the value actually added.

My two-year-old Toshiba Satellite bit the dust not due to
electronics failures but to mechanical problems with the case
itself. The machine was never abused, but used constantly, and
travelled with me on vacations. Over time it developed cracks in
the case and hinges, weakness in the battery charger input, and
eventually open circuits in some of the wires leading from the
motherboard to the TFT glass.

When I replaced it (Dec '03), I bought a $599 Dell Inspiron. 2.3GHz
Celeron CPU, 256MB memory, 20GB HD, CD-RW. I replaced the 20GB HD
with a 40GB HD I was using in the old Toshiba - re-formatted &
re-installed WinXP Pro, then downloaded additional drivers from the
Dell site to complete the job. Runs Photoshop CS and C1/LE just
fine, and backs up my images when I'm on a photo shoot away from
home.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Noah_Mercy said:

Noah_Mercy said:

One last IMPORTANT POINT: it's almost impossible to do fine image
edits on a laptop, since the contrast of the images changes
markedly when you change the TFT angle just a bit or move your head
up or down an inch. You'll want to buy a CRT to hang off the video
output of your laptop for work at home.

--
Zapped (Austin, TX)
http://www.pbase.com/pricklypear

Click to expand...

--
-------------------------------------------
Graphic Design Directory: http://www.adigitaldreamer.com
My Portfolio: http://skulpt.com

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

s k u l p t said:

Hi.I'veposted this on the Pro Forum as well, but I'd love your
input in this as well.

Just wondering if anyone has had experiences with Notebooks for
graphics work? I'm looking at a:

Dell Inspiron™ 9100, Pentium® 4 2.8GHz,
15.4-in. WUXGA
1GB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz
128MB ATI™ Mobility Radeon™ 9700
60GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive

Dell® Wireless 1350 Internal Wireless (802.11b/g, 54Mbps)

98 WHr Primary Battery

Is there something that I am missing or should consider? This will
be replacing an old P3 900Mhz desktop. Is this a good wireless
card,or what is the standard these days for going wireless?

Is the graphics card overkill? Should I invest more in a faster
hard drive? Should I go for the 8600 series which has the M
processor at 1.5Ghz? I'll be using this mostly indoors and
connected to an outlet. I'll be doing a lot of RAW work as well.

Thanks

Brian

--
-------------------------------------------
Graphic Design Directory: http://www.adigitaldreamer.com
My Portfolio: http://skulpt.com

Click to expand...

s k u l p t said:

Hi.I'veposted this on the Pro Forum as well, but I'd love your
input in this as well.

Just wondering if anyone has had experiences with Notebooks for
graphics work? I'm looking at a:

Dell Inspiron™ 9100, Pentium® 4 2.8GHz,
15.4-in. WUXGA
1GB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz
128MB ATI™ Mobility Radeon™ 9700
60GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive

Dell® Wireless 1350 Internal Wireless (802.11b/g, 54Mbps)

98 WHr Primary Battery

Is there something that I am missing or should consider? This will
be replacing an old P3 900Mhz desktop. Is this a good wireless
card,or what is the standard these days for going wireless?

Is the graphics card overkill? Should I invest more in a faster
hard drive? Should I go for the 8600 series which has the M
processor at 1.5Ghz? I'll be using this mostly indoors and
connected to an outlet. I'll be doing a lot of RAW work as well.

Thanks

Brian

--
-------------------------------------------
Graphic Design Directory: http://www.adigitaldreamer.com
My Portfolio: http://skulpt.com

Click to expand...