The Learner wrote:
I shouldn’t have said money is no object. I don’t have the money to waste. But, I’m 65 years old and this might be the last PC I ever buy – so I want it to be a really good one (for use with PS). I thought the Photoshop groups would be the best place to ask – but I’m not getting the responses I hoped for. You mentioned the art/photo creation field. Do you know of any forums or groups I could try? Any other suggestions, please?
A month or so ago we had a thread here on the best laptop for graphics and a graphics designer responded with a brand I had never heard of. You might search for that thread. I can try, too, if you do not succeed.
Photoshop is using more of the graphics processor (GPU) (if it is adequate and compatible) for more routines than ever, but (IMHO), none are critical to 2D work. One that uses the GPU and is moderately useful is ‘Enable OpenGL Drawing’, but frankly, most people don’t ever need it.
So, I would shop for a laptop that runs an OS you can appreciate, one that has 4gb RAM and a decent GPU. I use a Toshiba Tecra with 4gb, a NVIDIA Quadro NVS 150M monitor adapter. It’s adequate for field use of CS4. And it is affordable.
I will repeat Mike Russell’s advice to get a good, large desktop monitor to use at home, on a desk. A SATA external drive is helpful, too. (The model above supports all that.)
My wife is a graphics professional (layout, design, pre-press) and her portable is a MacBook Pro, loaded. It is great, and spendy.
I hope this helps.
Oh, about this being the last computer you will buy, let this 64 year-old suggest that it won’t be your last. New laptops will continue to be more capable at about the same price for a long time. In fact, I will go to the edge and say that in four years you won’t spend more than $500 for an equivalent to the MacBook Pro, then they will begin to become more expensive as dedicated computers as we know them today are, the average consumer, going to the dumpster, taken over by specialized communication devices.