Travel laptop for photo processing - ultrabook only option?

[AViking]

I'm preparing for a very long trip around 3 continents and am trying to catch up on the laptop scene. Is the only viable option for a travel laptop with this kind of horsepower a $1000 and up ultrabook? Laptops today seem to be huge and heavy and that won't work. I was thinking in the 13" range.

 

[crashtestdummy]

The Visio thin and light is an ivy bridge device, but should do you well in your range.

 

[Rottie]

Apple MacBook Air 13" is the one I would recommend.

 

[paperwastage]

Apple MacBook Air 13" is the one I would recommend.

this too... it's hard to find a device that the mba fits (light, thin, battery life)

and AFAIK the warranty is international, so if you run into problems on another continent, you can just stop by the local Apple store and get them to fix it for you

 

[AViking]

Really not a fan of Macs lately. Not that they're bad but I don't enjoy switching back and forth between the platforms.

More looking for a PC.

Should I resign myself to a $1000 budget? I mostly came to the conclusion that $1000 was too much for a PC since the MBA costs $1000.

 

[paperwastage]

Really not a fan of Macs lately. Not that they're bad but I don't enjoy switching back and forth between the platforms.

More looking for a PC.

Should I resign myself to a $1000 budget? I mostly came to the conclusion that $1000 was too much for a PC since the MBA costs $1000.

run Windows on a VM or bootcamp (lower battery life, but still better than any other ultrabooks)

MBA cost is actually decently priced, if you compare to other windows ultrabooks.

(cheap)price, performance, (low)weight.... choose two out of the three




price+performance = you won't get an light ultrabook

performance+weight = won't be cheap

price+weight= something like my Asus T100, not that powerful - $400, <2.5 pounds, but something like a 2010 dual-core intel performance




how much power do you need? I assume all photoshop?

 

[AViking]

I'm mostly using Lightroom with maybe 10% in photoshop. It's gotta be able to run it properly though.

I can't have something heavy. That won't work where I'm going but I don't necessarily need something that weighs 2 lbs either.

 

[holden j caufield]

Samsung NP900X4C ?

I'm a huge thinkpad guy I used a thinkpad t420s on the road. i5 2520, 14.1 1600 x 900 resolution, 16gb ram. Can hold 3 hard drives msata, main bay and one in the ultrabay. Or my config msata SSD, 500gb rotational drive and a dvd write. Battery life is only 4 hours or you can put in a 2nd battery in the ultrabay. Lots of options and lenovo international warranty is the best, it's actually ibm that handles it and you get next day service. It's under 4llbs. The screen quality can be iffy. Luck of the draw there.

Been using the samsung np900x4c more often. It's actually a big 15" screen in a 14" laptop body. Super thin, 1600x900, ivy bridge stays really cool, battery is over 8 hours, can handle 16gb of ram for an ultrabook that's really good as you can run vms or photoshop etc. Like 3.75 lbs. Never had experience with samsung warranty so I don't know how they are in that department.

 

[paperwastage]

I'm mostly using Lightroom with maybe 10% in photoshop. It's gotta be able to run it properly though.

I can't have something heavy. That won't work where I'm going but I don't necessarily need something that weighs 2 lbs either.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3576087

(Lightroom on the Bay Trail Atoms)... people say it's usable

for me, the long battery life (8-10 hours) and extremely portable factor plus extensibility(HDMI out and usb 3.0) will be a huge plus for traveling

 

[Commodus]

I'd be looking at the $1K range, because it's hard to find a thin system below that price that isn't making big tradeoffs in performance. I would seriously look at the MacBook Air and 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro if you value battery life, but also consider the Sony VAIO Pro and Acer Aspire S7. The Samsung ATIV Book 9 (non-Plus) is a candidate as well, but let's just say you'll want to wait several days before you consider that one.

 

[s44]

The Samsung ATIV Book 9 (non-Plus) is a candidate as well, but let's just say you'll want to wait several days before you consider that one.

There's a sale coming?

I really wouldn't suggest doing photo stuff on the Air's poor/low-res screen, and the Pro is way more than a grand.

There are some good ultrabook deals still going though. HP Spectre 13t for $855 is pretty nice (you can also reconfigure with the stock 1080p screen -- apparently still very good -- and a 256gb drive for $920): excellent panel and battery life, though a bit over 3lbs rather than under. Also the Asus Zenbook Touch is $1k at the Microsoft Store (no crapware!).

VAIO Pro has had people screaming about wifi issues since launch. Acer is nice but last year's S7 is battery deficient and this year's is way over $1k. Same with the Samsungs I guess.