How to Choose Laptop?

 

If you’ve been in photography at the professional or even serious amateur level for any amount of time, you’ve probably already been “instructed” – either directly or by indoctrination – in what kind of computer you need to buy when the time comes: three syllables, starts with “M.” You know, the one played by the hip floppy-haired guy in those TV commercials that used to be funny.

If Apple has been a dominant player for awhile now for graphics-intensive applications, with cross-platform compatibility no longer the concern that it once was, a photographer or graphic designer’s choice to use a Mac versus a PC system is largely a personal – rather than a professional or technological – one these days. Many creatives stick to Macs because that’s what they know, but for graphics use there are some increasingly compelling options on the PC side as well.

As a photographer (and a longtime dual-platform user), I was intrigued by the announcement of Lenovo’s new ThinkPad W700. With Lenovo’s reputation for building ultra-reliable business notebooks, the decision to dive head-first into a high-end mobile graphics system like the W700 may seem like a strange one. And if Lenovo’s targeting any single market with this device, it’s unquestionably photographers: sure, if you work in any kind of design the W700 could be a great workstation companion, but with copious storage space, an excellent screen, a built-in digitizer, and an on-board color calibration system, Lenovo is clearly taking a direct shot at the relatively closed and insular pro photo market. To my knowledge, nothing else on the market offers the W700’s concentration of photographer-friendly features.

Lenovo ThinkPad W700 Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Extreme Q9300 (2.53 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 12 MB L2 cache)
• Memory: 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM
• Screen: 17″ 1920×1200 WUXGA TFT LCD
• Storage: 160 GB HDD (7200 RPM) x 2, RAID 0 configuration
• Optical Drive: DVD recordable
• Wireless: Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300 (802.11a/g/n), Bluetooth 2.0
• Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M with 1 GB
• Battery: 9-cell lithium-ion (84 Wh)
• Dimensions: 16.1″ x 12.3″ x 1.5″
• Weight: 8 lbs, 10 oz (with battery)
• Price As Tested: $4,333.30
• Starting Price: $2,531.30

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 15th, 2009 at 12:49 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.