Searching for a *light* notebook for image editing and light 3D work

[Gabriella_A]

Good morning to all..

You have helped me a lot, when I was looking for a desktop pc...

 

Now I need again your precious help.

 

I'm looking for a notebook ( ultrabook?) very light ( less than two kilos) to work with.

 

I'll do mostly Photoshop and lightroom work, only occasional 3dmax/vray render, so i need a good processor and 8 gb RAM, at least..

 

13' screen could be enough, I need it very portable, and at home I'll use external monitors.

 

There are notebook or the new ultrabook that have these specifications?

I know that one possible answer is the MacBook pro retina.. But I would spend less than 2200 euros...

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Gabriella

[Krisztian Gulyas]

I think the best choice would be the Asus Zenbook UX42VS 14"

 

You can choose from i3, i5 or i7 processors (i5 - 1.7 ghz 4 threads | i7 - 1.9ghz 4 threads)

It has 8gigs of ram and an nvidia GT 645M 1gb ddr5 video card and it weights 1.9kg and it cost around 1000-1200 euros. If you choose the i7 it costs probably a bit more. Im not sure about the price though.

Edited January 11, 2013 by krisztiangulyas

[Krisztian Gulyas]

A Toshiba would be a good choice too, there are some that are cheaper and some that has 12GB of ram and better graphics, better cpu for around 1500eur but these laptops are much heavier, around 4kg.

 

I found an hp laptop which is heavier than 2 kilos (it's around 3-4) it's configurable and this is the best you can put together.

 

I know you are looking for a light laptop though, so in my opinion the Asus Zenbook would be the best choice.

Edited January 11, 2013 by krisztiangulyas

[Gabriella_A]

I think the best choice would be the Asus Zenbook UX42VS 14"

 

You can choose from i3, i5 or i7 processors (i5 - 1.7 ghz 4 threads | i7 - 1.9ghz 4 threads)

.

 

Thanks a lot, Krisztian!!

I found the zenbook UX51vz , that is the big brother of the one you listed, and has ALL I need

8gb RAM, nvidia Gt 650M 2 gb RAM dedicated, i7 quadcore, 15,6' HD panel ( there is also a touch version) , good battery life, two 128gb ssd

Very light, less than two kilos!

 

It's a bit pricey, but still lower than the Mac.. ( 1500 euro more or less)

I've only to find where to see/buy it.. The asus site has not a direct online shop.

 

Thanks again

Gabriella

[raulmontiel]

Talking about toshiba, i have noticed that almost ALL of their batteries simply die after some months of use, theres like 5-6 classmates all with toshibas laptop that need to plug their laptops always because of that problem.

[Dimitris Tolios]

Just remember, that before this summer intel will release Haswell, and that the 1st category it will be used for is premium laptops + ultrabooks.

 

The improvements will come from various angles, but all revolve around the improved IPC per clock (not much, still not bad), the better efficiency and the much much better internal GPU - Anandtech posted and announcement from intel that promises performance competing with the GT 650M (note that this kind of performance is available to consumers along time now with AMD Trinity APUs, but I guess intel doesn't want to refer to that).

 

More efficient CPU = less heat to be dissipated, and the better lithographic process will almost guarantee better speeds. This can be manifested in multiple ways - all benefiting users:

 

 

• Thinner laptops with more than decent graphics - think Air or other ultrabooks
  
• Lighter laptops with smaller batteries with same or better running times, same or better CPU performance and same or better graphics without dedicated GPU
  
• Similarly sized laptops with faster clocked and improved IPC CPUs that will lead to notably faster performance, and less need to switch to external GPUs if those are present -> better battery life and less heat overall (all laptops are still too warm/hot to hold on your lap working
  

 

As far as battery life in general, NO laptop with serious CPU/GPU can get much more than 1-1.5H of battery life actually stressed in demanding apps (LR/3DS or other programs that might require fully stressed CPU, GPU or both). We are not talking 2D CAD or some Sketchup here, and it doesn't have to be all-out rendering...they simply don't last.

 

Office productivity, browsing etc has been vastly improved tho, as modern CPUs (esp. after the 2nd gen core) simply rip through those apps with no effort.

 

I know, most of the times is silly to wait for the next tech in an infinite regress (every 1.5 year or so we have something new), but for the ultrabook class (or the next gen Surface Pro class transformables) this time around they promise a huge step forward.

[Gabriella_A]

Thanks for your Reply, Dimitris..

 

I've heard of these new processors... but I din't get that they were SO different from the others.

 

In your opinion, when will be released the first laptop with the new architecture? I assume (I hope) that they are already testing them...

 

Thanks,

Gabriella

[Dimitris Tolios]

Won't be before April-May.

It is not a "must have" - 3rd gen processors that are found in most ultrabooks today are great - as far as ultrabooks go.

No mobile processor will be a "revelation" for computing, more like a gradual improvement and always slower in comparison to its contemporary desktop variants.

 

The scope of my post was meant to say that if you really want to invest serious money for a mobile ultra-portable workstation, it could worth waiting 3-4 months to get something better at the same price. If you need one now, go ahead and get what is available. It won't be a letdown.

 

Working with LR - most likely involving huge RAW files from modern DSLRs - is thus not very productive using laptops, more so ultra portable ones, but it can do the job nontheless. Current ultrabooks are faster in most stuff than top of the line workstations 4-5 years back and beat the average 3yo desktop.