Is a big screen that useful on a laptop?

[{{909}}]

I'm about to buy my first ever laptop and having never owned one, and only ever using the wife's extensively, which is a pile of crap (low res 4:3 screen), I have never really bonded with them.

Looking at current models, it seems to get anything bigger than 15" of screen real estate knocks a hefty amount onto the bill and after slowly working my way up to my current 22" desktop screen (and eyeing a 24" one too) I am concerned that getting a piddly 15" will be an issue.

I will be using photoshop and word mainly on it, as well as the usual web surfing and so on, so is it worth me lashing more cash on a 17"er?

[chrisgu]

For me it not the size but the resolution, if you can find a 15" screen that does 1600x900 (or if really luck 1920x1080) I'd be happy but I'm sure it will be expensive Seems the standard resolution of these 15" screen is around 1366x768 which is a bit low for my liking.

[QfanatiQ]

I got a big screen as I do Construction CAD and needed to work of site (on sites) and see a decent amoutn of screen once I had the application open.

If you are on the move a lot you may want somethign smaller, battery will last longer. But i think, Photoshop is better on big screen.

Cheers.....Q

[EvilBoB]

I have a Sony Vaio with a 19" screen and it's beautiful but not really portable. Too heavy and battery dies quick but for gaming, video editing etc. it is VERY, VERY nice. They are more expensive but generally have a higher resolution (1920x1080 on my Vaio) which makes everyday tasks easier and movies play great on it.

Only thing to watch for is that if you go for a bigger screen with a higher resolution battery will not last as long and you will need a decent gfx card for gaming (Preferably one with it's own memory and not the shared memory rubbish).

[stimpy]

I use Photoshop all day, current machine is an iMac 27in and the difference in screen space is massive. If you are going to use it extensively then I would opt for the bigger screen.

[DJ OD]

Maybe just get a decent ish laptop that's 15 and buy a separate monitor for when u need the extra size or detail?


DJ OD

[EvilBoB]

I use Photoshop all day, current machine is an iMac 27in and the difference in screen space is massive. If you are going to use it extensively then I would opt for the bigger screen.

The problem is more price related. Laptops with big screens are much more pricey. I paid £1200 for mine and could have gotten a much better spec for a lot less if I went for a smaller screen.

[{{909}}]

I dont think it will be that portable really, niether myself or my wife are in the situation where we would use a computer for long periods when not at home or in the office so battery life isnt an issue really. The current laptop doesnt even turn on without being hooked up to the PSU.

I didnt know they even made 19" laptops, probably would have been better off not knowing that really.....

Good point about resolution though, photoshop in the current lappy has about 6 inch of screen space once the icons and actions pane is on the screen. Will re evaluate my options.

[EvilBoB]

Good point about resolution though, photoshop in the current lappy has about 6 inch of screen space once the icons and actions pane is on the screen. Will re evaluate my options.

If your current laptop is 4:3 just by going 16:9 you will get a lot more workspace in ps

[EvilBoB]

I dont think it will be that portable really, niether myself or my wife are in the situation where we would use a computer for long periods when not at home or in the office so battery life isnt an issue really. The current laptop doesnt even turn on without being hooked up to the PSU.

I didnt know they even made 19" laptops, probably would have been better off not knowing that really.....

Good point about resolution though, photoshop in the current lappy has about 6 inch of screen space once the icons and actions pane is on the screen. Will re evaluate my options.

It's not quite 19" - it's 18.4". You can pick them up quite cheap off fleabay. Saw one the same model as mine for about £150 only a few weeks ago. Comes with a Bluray writer and a 9800 GTM gfx card so it's pretty decent. Still runs everything I want to run. Only games I play these days are EvE, WoW and World of Tanks. All run well enough for me

[Ginnerfreak]

It depends how mobile you are going to be with it.. I travel as part of my work and so I have to lug my laptop through airports, in and out of taxis, on trains and to customers sites.. I have a little Hp Pro book that's really light but only has a small screen. I think its 13". I only use office apps and watch the odd video on it.. If you travel by train then its impossible to use anything over this size on the train.

[Over Carl]

I got a big screen as I do Construction CAD and needed to work of site (on sites) and see a decent amoutn of screen once I had the application open.

If you are on the move a lot you may want somethign smaller, battery will last longer. But i think, Photoshop is better on big screen.

Cheers.....Q

Sorry for a mini hijack but what graphics card have you got and how does it cope with heavy 3d models / rendering?

[GTI]

15.4" is the sweet spot as far as I'm concerned. I've gone down a very fragmented road in that I have a 10" netbook, 13" Macbook Pro and 17.3" Samsung Laptop.
I am now tempted to get rid of the lot in favour of a 15" MBP, the best compromise between size, battery life and portability.

[evilsatan]

I have a 14'' Thinkpad, for me this is ideal as I am on the go. I have the super high res screen and photoshop is a doddle but depends what you are doing on it really. Any reason why you want a laptop if you are not moving it around? Much better value for money, upgrade potential etc. with a PC.

[Nuanil]

If you are doing anything design related, go for the docking station for it, unless you're simply wanting to view the files while on the go.