Laptop for PTE

[JEB]

Hi,

I would appreciate any advice on specific laptops available in the UK that would be suitable for preparing and in particular projecting PTE shows utilizing PAZ. My camera club are looking to purchase one that would be used for this purpose.

I appreciate the need for a good graphics card.

Also from personal experience, I have a laptop that does have a good graphics card but also regrettably has a wide screen, which I find most irritating to work from as it displays a flattened image even though the display is set to 1024 x 768 (1.33 aspect ratio) yet the true aspect image is projected. Therefore, a screen with an aspect ratio of 1.33 seems to me to be a must have.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

John

[Barry Beckham]

I too are looking for a good laptop for Photoshop demos, but it must be able to handle Raw images in 16 bit and I want it to run PYE5 animations faultlessly. My experience when I did a bit of research at PC world may be of use.

I still havn't taken the plunge yet.

http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7255

[rmstevens]

John,

I would not let the fact that a laptop has a wide screen format put you off

from buying one. I have a wide screen laptop and to overcome the aspect

ratio I do the following:-

Right click on desktop, select Properties then Settings, Advance, Display and

click Panel. Click button for "Expand while maintaining aspect ratio" then apply.

You may have to toggle between the two buttons to make it work.

Hope this is helpful.

Roger

[lyndongrove]

Hi,

I would appreciate any advice on specific laptops available in the UK that would be suitable for preparing and in particular projecting PTE shows utilizing PAZ. My camera club are looking to purchase one that would be used for this purpose.

I appreciate the need for a good graphics card.

Also from personal experience, I have a laptop that does have a good graphics card but also regrettably has a wide screen, which I find most irritating to work from as it displays a flattened image even though the display is set to 1024 x 768 (1.33 aspect ratio) yet the true aspect image is projected. Therefore, a screen with an aspect ratio of 1.33 seems to me to be a must have.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

John

I too am in the market for a good laptop so will be very interested in any suggestions (good or bad!). I did order one from Evesham 6 weeks ago to be built to my own spec but when they went into administration I got an email saying they could not supply the ordered machine and I am still waiting to get my money back! So beware folks.

Gordon Cochrane

Cardiff

[JEB]

Roger,

Thanks for that - I thought I was on to something but can't find the "Expand while maintaining aspect ratio" option. All I have is Default or Plug and Play under the Monitor tab.

Any ideas?

Barry,

Thanks I found that thread interesting. We will use your balloons as a test.

Gordon,

What can I say other than I hope you get your money back.

John

[rmstevens]

John,

Don't use monitor tab use the Display tab

Roger

[Lin Evans]

Anyone wanting a fantastic laptop for running PTE shows need look no further than Alienware:

http://www.alienware.com/?from=PAIDSEARCH:...21-S-6181999021

These are first class all the way. You don't need one of their super machines with dual GPU's or super large hard disks or even super fast CPU's though they do offer all that if you want to spend the money. What you need is the top-end Nvidia graphics cards they use in all their machines.

The really nice thing is you can order them with XP or with Vista. Personally, I won't touch Vista until they get SP2 out the door, but others have had good luck with it. So you have a choice.

About $2200 will get you a dynamite machine which will run "any" PTE show smoothly. The lower-end systems also have LCD's which are perfectly amenable in display resolution to run high-end LCD projectors without jumping through hoops.

Our younger forum participants may really relish super high resolution LCD's for everyday work, but we old codgers with compromised eyesight need a bit larger icon and print so the lower resolution possibilities are fine. The nice thing is you have a choice.

In the US, at least, you can find great compact external USB drives up to 500 gigabytes for only about $150 so it doesn't make a lot of sense to pay the additional for a large notebook hard disk. Just get the 100 gig fast one, the 1.8 gHz processor (no need for battery eating super-fast processor) and put your money into the finest Nvidia graphics card. No need for duals - one will suffice nicely.

The graphics card you want is the NVIDIA 7950 GTX - by a landslide the most powerful graphics card available. Again, you don't need the "dual" 7950's - just one will work perfectly.

Best regards,

Lin

[JEB]

Roger,

I don't have a Display Tab only Monitor. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that this machine is running on XP Home Edition (updated regularly).

Thanks anyway it was worth a try.

I will probably drop HP an e-mail - and get an answer for Xmas!

Regards

John

Lin,

I will have a look at that site and take on board your comments.

Thank you

John

[Barry Beckham]

Lin

I fully agree re the Nvidia card. For a while now I have come to the conclusion that for what we do the Nvidia cards have the edge. I already promised myself a Nvidia card in my next PC. All my current cards are Radeon and while they are OK, they don't seem to be as good as Nvidia to me.

I do need loads of power in a laptop though. We can't reduce the size of raw files and demonstrating those at 16 bit on a laptop will make it groan a bit. Especially when you use smart objects and then add a couple of layers. I think your right that purely for PTE a lesser model would cope, but what about when you do want to get creative with layers in Photoshop for your PTE show. All the power you can get would then be a benefit.

Money aside of course, I would go for the power so the darn thing is still usable in a couple of years time.

The new Canon has 22 million pixels, thats double mine so 60 meg for a standard file, 120 for a 16 bit. Wow

[Lin Evans]

Hi Barry,

Yes, for certain if you are using the laptop to do Photoshop manipulations, etc., the more power the better. I only use mine for presentations so can get by with just the video clout. I have seven other systems of various configurations but all with decent CPU up to 3.2 GHz and lots of RAM. The Alienware systems can be configured to amost any needed power but of course that takes a toll on battery life so having AC power becomes important.

I think Canon has gone to more pixels than necessary for producing a 35mm platform. I stopped with the 1DS and 1D Mark II and went to Nikon D2Xs which has all the clout I can really use. The new full frame Nikon D3 will be about as much as I think reasonable for a 35mm platform sensor. I have looked at the 1DS Mark III's output and though it's long on pixels I don't see any real improvement in the other areas to warrant spending $8K again. I have the D30, 10D, 1D, 1Ds and 1D Mark II but really get more use from my Nikon D2Xs and my Sigma SD14. One thing the new Nikon will have is incredible ISO performance. I've looked at the output from the Sony Alpha 700 which uses the same Sony sensor as the Nikon D300 will have and even ISO 6400 is completely usable. It's the only camera I've ever seen which actually bests my old Kodak DCS-720X which I've given to my son-in law. For low light use that one was unparalled for many years, but this new Sony chip is something else. The new D3 will apparently actually be usable as high as ISO 25,600. Personally, I don't like to shoot at higher than ISO 400 right now, but I may pick up one of the new D300's when they are released.

I shoot mostly wildlife for fun these days. I'm trying hard to retire and have cut way back on my gallery art clients so having a crop factor for the tele boost is more important for me now than having the full frame but I am tempted by the D3 with nine frame per second at full resolution, etc. It's great as long as you can get close enough to the subject, but out here in the mountains shooting wildilife pretty much requires nearly 800mm for really good frames and the rugged terrain and high altitude make a tripod, head and huge lens a non starter. So with a good crop-factor sensor, a fast stabilized 400 (I use the Nikon 200-400F/4 VR, Canon 100-400L IS and Sigma 80-400OS) plus a 1.4 tele I can get an 840mm FOV with the Nikon, 896mm FOV with my 1.6x crop Canon's and 952mm FOV with the Sigma. All this with full resolution sampling. If I had the 1DS Mark III using the same lenses when cropped to the identical FOV of the crop factor cameras I would only have 10.5, 8.4 and 6.3 megapixels respectively for the 1.5, 1.6 and 1.7 crop cameras. So all my crop factor cameras way out-resolve even the 1DS3 for my purposes. Of course for landscapes or studio work, those 21 megapixels would be put to great use.

You're sure right about the file sizes - it's gone nuts hasn't it? LOL

Best regards,

Lin

Lin

I fully agree re the Nvidia card. For a while now I have come to the conclusion that for what we do the Nvidia cards have the edge. I already promised myself a Nvidia card in my next PC. All my current cards are Radeon and while they are OK, they don't seem to be as good as Nvidia to me.

I do need loads of power in a laptop though. We can't reduce the size of raw files and demonstrating those at 16 bit on a laptop will make it groan a bit. Especially when you use smart objects and then add a couple of layers. I think your right that purely for PTE a lesser model would cope, but what about when you do want to get creative with layers in Photoshop for your PTE show. All the power you can get would then be a benefit.

Money aside of course, I would go for the power so the darn thing is still usable in a couple of years time.

The new Canon has 22 million pixels, thats double mine so 60 meg for a standard file, 120 for a 16 bit. Wow

[Barry Beckham]

Lin

I suppose it has gone a bit nuts, but I would still like a 1Ds Mk3, but if it is $8k where you are it will be £6k here. We are ripped off when it comes to cameras and we can never understand why we have to pay in pounds what you pay in dollars for the same bit of kit. The powers that be are quick to tell us we are in a global economy when things go badly, so why do we have to pay so much?

I bought a Canon 100-400 I.S lens, a Canon 80-200 I.S 2.8 lens and a teleconvertor in Los Angeles for less than just the 80-200 in the UK.

The quality of prints at 24 inches by 18 from my 1DS still amazes me and doubling the pixel count (1Ds Mk3)must be like carrying the quality of 5*4 camera or larger around in an SLR body.

I wonder where it will all go from here.

Anyway about that laptop..............................................

[Lin Evans]

Hi Barry,

It's really strange the way prices are distributed around the world. I've never understood either why it's so much higher in the UK than elsewhere. I suppose VAT has a hand in it but it varies in other countries as well. I have a friend in Switzerland who I bought and shipped a camera for a number of years ago. It was almost double the price in the US there. For a while cameras were cheaper in Canada than in the US and people were buying them there. They have higher taxes than we have and not a fraction of the market so you would "think" they would be higher there. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it all.

Yes the Mark 3 is definitely pushing the limits of the platform with some serious enlargement potential. It's into medium format territory for certain, but your 1DS is still a dynamite camera even though it's a bit long in the tooth as digital camera go. They pulled out all the stops when they built it so inside and out it's a first class piece of equipment.

I had "distinction," if you can call it that, of being the first to find a "bug" which was fixed in later production models. In the original the antialiasing filter was bonded to the sensor all around. Air trapped between them caused my original sensor to warp at when I used the camera at 14,268 feet elevation. Canon replaced the sensor and had me back in business in less than a week and made production changes to allow trapped air to escape when used at extreme altitudes so no one else will have that unfortunate experience. Since it's been a wonderful tool.

Best regards,

Lin

Lin

I suppose it has gone a bit nuts, but I would still like a 1Ds Mk3, but if it is $8k where you are it will be £6k here. We are ripped off when it comes to cameras and we can never understand why we have to pay in pounds what you pay in dollars for the same bit of kit. The powers that be are quick to tell us we are in a global economy when things go badly, so why do we have to pay so much?

I bought a Canon 100-400 I.S lens, a Canon 80-200 I.S 2.8 lens and a teleconvertor in Los Angeles for less than just the 80-200 in the UK.

The quality of prints at 24 inches by 18 from my 1DS still amazes me and doubling the pixel count (1Ds Mk3)must be like carrying the quality of 5*4 camera or larger around in an SLR body.

I wonder where it will all go from here.

Anyway about that laptop..............................................

[cjdnzl]

Anyone wanting a fantastic laptop for running PTE shows need look no further than Alienware:

http://www.alienware.com/?from=PAIDSEARCH:...21-S-6181999021

These are first class all the way. You don't need one of their super machines with dual GPU's or super large hard disks or even super fast CPU's though they do offer all that if you want to spend the money. What you need is the top-end Nvidia graphics cards they use in all their machines.

<snip>

Best regards,

Lin

I would caution anyone thinking of buying an Alienware laptop to make sure service will be available. I bought an AW Area 51 M5550 in July; on 1 September it fried the video card. I took it back to the supplier, a major retail chain here in New Zealand, only to find that the NZ AW wholesalers had collapsed. They were a subsidiary of AW Australia, so I emailed them - having to do my own guarantee work! - but got no answer. I tried their 1-800 number - disconnected. I emailed AW support in USA - no reply. I then rang AW USA, spent a fortune in toll calls, they had no knowledge of my computer even though I supplied the serial number. They were to get back to me, but I am still waiting.

I have thrown in the towel and applied for a refund. It was a nice machine, but it's like having a nice car without being able to buy petrol.

Currently I am looking at a Dell 1520 - 1.8GHz duo CPU, 1440x900 screen, Nvidia geForce 8600GT, (now that's a card!)3 GB memory, 160GB HDD, all for about $200 more than the Alienware.

Whatever the stories about Dell are, they at least have a solid presence here in NZ, and service is available.

Regards, Colin D.

[Davidh12]

I got a laptop from 'Rock' www.rockdirect.com based in Warwick UK same top spec as Alienware but cheaper.

I have found no problems running shows (smooth) 512 Nvidia. Might be worth a look, really designed for gaming. They also have a good forum at rockforum.co.uk

David

[Lin Evans]

Hi Colin,

That's a bummer. I don't know if this is relevant, but I understand that Alienware has been purchased recently by Dell so this may be impacting the availability for the short term. Of course this does nothing to remedy your problem. Let's hope Alienware US can help sort it out for you.

On the issue of graphics cards - I'm not sure how relevant this might be but you may want to read this review and comparison in its entirity before making a graphics card decision. The very best that is available is definitely the NVIDIA 7950 GTX cards. The NVIDIA 8600 GT was compared here in real-life tests against the earlier 7600's and may be of interest:

http://legionhardware.com/document.php?id=637

Best regards,

Lin

I would caution anyone thinking of buying an Alienware laptop to make sure service will be available. I bought an AW Area 51 M5550 in July; on 1 September it fried the video card. I took it back to the supplier, a major retail chain here in New Zealand, only to find that the NZ AW wholesalers had collapsed. They were a subsidiary of AW Australia, so I emailed them - having to do my own guarantee work! - but got no answer. I tried their 1-800 number - disconnected. I emailed AW support in USA - no reply. I then rang AW USA, spent a fortune in toll calls, they had no knowledge of my computer even though I supplied the serial number. They were to get back to me, but I am still waiting.

I have thrown in the towel and applied for a refund. It was a nice machine, but it's like having a nice car without being able to buy petrol.

Currently I am looking at a Dell 1520 - 1.8GHz duo CPU, 1440x900 screen, Nvidia geForce 8600GT, (now that's a card!)3 GB memory, 160GB HDD, all for about $200 more than the Alienware.

Whatever the stories about Dell are, they at least have a solid presence here in NZ, and service is available.

Regards, Colin D.

[JEB]

Folks,

I hope you do not mind my asking for opinions from you Guru’s out there. I have been following the discussion on this thread and on the similar thread started by Barry recently, with great interest.

I have been impressed by the strong recommendation given by Barry of “pcspecialisi.co.uk”. I also appreciate the feelings expressed by other contributors regarding the benefits of not buying off the shelf.

Presently I am researching on behalf of my camera club with a view to purchasing a new laptop for four principal purposes.

1) To display digital images via our projector (1024*768) submitted for competitions.

2) To occasionally run and project live Photoshop demonstrations as an element of club night lectures.

3) To run and project training videos.

4) To project PTE A.V.’s

I have obtained a detailed quote (£869) from pcspecialists the main elements of which are :-

15.4 (1280*800) Display

Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2*2.00GHz) 800MHz FSB/2MB L2 Cache

2048 RAM

Windows Vista Home Premium

256MB GEFORCE 8600GT + D-SUB + TV-OUT

I would appreciate your views on this spec.

My main concerns are with the Graphics card and Vista. They do not offer any other card or screen at this time though we could go for different flavours of Vista or indeed XP there are however options regarding processors, RAM etc.

Your opinions and guidance would be much appreciated.

Regards

John

[cjdnzl]

Folks,

I hope you do not mind my asking for opinions from you Guru’s out there. I have been following the discussion on this thread and on the similar thread started by Barry recently, with great interest.

I have been impressed by the strong recommendation given by Barry of “pcspecialisi.co.uk”. I also appreciate the feelings expressed by other contributors regarding the benefits of not buying off the shelf.

Presently I am researching on behalf of my camera club with a view to purchasing a new laptop for four principal purposes.

1) To display digital images via our projector (1024*768) submitted for competitions.

2) To occasionally run and project live Photoshop demonstrations as an element of club night lectures.

3) To run and project training videos.

4) To project PTE A.V.’s

I have obtained a detailed quote (£869) from pcspecialists the main elements of which are :-

15.4 (1280*800) Display

Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2*2.00GHz) 800MHz FSB/2MB L2 Cache

2048 RAM

Windows Vista Home Premium

256MB GEFORCE 8600GT + D-SUB + TV-OUT

I would appreciate your views on this spec.

My main concerns are with the Graphics card and Vista. They do not offer any other card or screen at this time though we could go for different flavours of Vista or indeed XP there are however options regarding processors, RAM etc.

Your opinions and guidance would be much appreciated.

Regards

John

Hello John,

I'm in the same boat - finding a laptop for my camera club. Since PTE uses the graphics chip so effectively in producing high-quality images, I went for a laptop with a good graphics card, an Alienware. It was a good machine till it fried the graphics chip, and then I found there was no guarantee service nor any parts available here in NZ, so I returned the computer. and have now ordered a Dell 1520 with Nvidia geForce 8600GT graphics. Dell's presence here is solid, backed by Australia.

With regard to the operating system, if at all possible I would steer clear of Vista. There are numerous problems with drivers and program compatability, and the built-in Digital Rights Management (DRM) has the potential to cause problems with your shows if it thinks you don't have permission to run them, and the DRM continuous checking while a show (or game) is running shaves about 10% off the computer's performance. Dell still offer XP with some of their machines, including the 1520, and the two machines I have ordered - one for the camera club and the other for me - will both come with XP. I can always upgrade to Vista if and when I consider that OS will suit me.

Rats. I just took a minute to look at Dell UK, and they don't offer XP with a 1520. Perhaps you could get one from Australia if you want to go the XP route?

Colin

[JEB]

Hi,

In light of two recent experiences at our club I feel I aught to update you good people who have been contributing to this thread.

The first, where we ran a couple of test PTE shows on two different club laptops, convinced the members that a high spec graphics card was essential.

The second event was when one member tried to demonstrate HDR, using six High-resolution RAW files on one of our laptops. Need I spell it out!

Needless to say we are changing tack and looking to a desktop machine – more bulky certainly but it will give us more options in selecting a specification that meets our needs, particularly if we go down the built to order route. We also see a significant degree of future proofing by going for a desktop rather than a laptop. i.e. we will almost certainly stay with XP until (if ever) convinced to move to Vista.

I will keep you informed of developments! Watch this space!!!

Regards and thanks for your input, it has helped us enormously.

John

[Conflow]

Hi Guys, Hi John,

I have been reading this thread with great interest and I note that most replies are quoting "Trade-Names"

and forgetting the crucial Laptop and/or PC Specifications particularily those specs needed to run any form of Streaming Video or Slideshows or RAW Imagery Rendering all of which are extremely demanding in

terms of data throput.

For serious Video work the ideal Laptop/Desktop PC should have at least the following Specifications:-

* Dual-Core +2 Gb. Processor with Heat-Pipe Cooling with XP-Pro/SP2 and Upgrades (Not Vista).

* Data-Buss Speed of at least 677 mB/Sec, better still with 800 mB (Extreme).

* 2 Gig of RAM with Read/Write Speed matching the Buss Speed (crucial).

* Good Video Card such as the NVidia 7950 GTX.

* Good Hard-Drive, choose 7200 RPM type, anything much lower than 6000 will cause Read/Write problems

with RAW Imagery and TV.Video

Everything else is a matter of personal choice and what utilities you need. At the end of the day its all to do

with Read/Write Access Speed between the Processor + Hard-Drive + User RAM. If any of these are below

"par" the PC will run slow and choke the Processor and and as usual the Video Card will be blamed.

Hope this gives you some idea of basic PC selection Specs for good Video performance...

Brian.Conflow.

P.S

Majority of Laptops have Hard-Drives operating around 4000.rpm and they are NOT good with Video.

[JEB]

Thanks Brian,

That's a great help.

I see light at the end of the tunnel!

John

[Conflow]

Thanks Brian,

That's a great help.

I see light at the end of the tunnel!

John

John,

I had forgotten to mention use modern SATA Drives for any HD's ~ do not mix the older IDE Drives with

the modern SATA Drives ~ this is a recipe for intermittent "Vanishing Drives" sometimes visible and other

times not visable (non-accessible). Many people fall into this trap of mixing Old with New Drives.

The "secret" of an excellent PC Machine is to make everything compatible with each other in terms of Data

Transfer Speeds and most important use the best possible internal "Interconnect-Cables" with Gold-Flashed

Terminals as one would see on the Internal Plug-In Cards. Common usage 'Silver-Tin Terminals' become

oxidised over time resulting in Hi-resistant mating surfaces which in turn cause imbalances on the control

interconnects which effect the operation of the "Northbridge and Southbridge Data Buss's" ~ these are the

Data arteries of the PC ~ Correct operation of these is critical in Video Applications.

Any good "Build Company" would know what I am talking about, sadly Mass Manufacturers can not afford

to make PC's this way and then again there is little Mass Market for such a PC. An OEM Built PC would be

about 10% dearer that a mass production product, but OOhhh boy! ~ the performance is eons ahead and

you really get the full power of XP.Pro Sp2 which is 'Flash-Fast' in such a PC.

Brian.Conflow.

P.S

If you really want to buy an "Off the Shelf PC" with such Specs you need to look into the Business Market

sectors such as Hewlett-Packard PC's (Business Division) ~ but for heavens sake stay away from Vista.

[JEB]

Thanks again Brian,

What people like me would do without people like you is frightening!

I don't pretend to fully understand all of what you are saying but appreciate that any good build company will understand.

I intend to submit a written spec to one or two companies based on your recent e-mails and see what they come up with.

Incidentally, I thought I was the only one who kept odd hours ( I see your post was 3:21 AM and from the same time zone), perhaps your a rugby man and are suffering from nerves over the prospects for Ireland this afternoon! That's a smug comment from a Scot whose side only made it by the skin of their teeth last night!

Thanks again

John

[Conflow]

John,

AAhh Shucks John ~ I was waiting for something like that ~ no better than coming from a Scotsman

and you guys won. We always have great times in Dublin when you Scot's come over here ~ its many

a lost night we have all enjoyed together ~ and may the best Team win.

Now that you remarked the time, I was actually working on a brand-new 'Sony Vaio' with Vista Ultra

for a Business Client. I won't comment any further about this particular debacle...

Brian.

[giljones]

Anyone wanting a fantastic laptop for running PTE shows need look no further than Alienware:

http://www.alienware.com/?from=PAIDSEARCH:...21-S-6181999021

These are first class all the way. You don't need one of their super machines with dual GPU's or super large hard disks or even super fast CPU's though they do offer all that if you want to spend the money. What you need is the top-end Nvidia graphics cards they use in all their machines.

The really nice thing is you can order them with XP or with Vista. Personally, I won't touch Vista until they get SP2 out the door, but others have had good luck with it. So you have a choice.

About $2200 will get you a dynamite machine which will run "any" PTE show smoothly. The lower-end systems also have LCD's which are perfectly amenable in display resolution to run high-end LCD projectors without jumping through hoops.

Our younger forum participants may really relish super high resolution LCD's for everyday work, but we old codgers with compromised eyesight need a bit larger icon and print so the lower resolution possibilities are fine. The nice thing is you have a choice.

In the US, at least, you can find great compact external USB drives up to 500 gigabytes for only about $150 so it doesn't make a lot of sense to pay the additional for a large notebook hard disk. Just get the 100 gig fast one, the 1.8 gHz processor (no need for battery eating super-fast processor) and put your money into the finest Nvidia graphics card. No need for duals - one will suffice nicely.

The graphics card you want is the NVIDIA 7950 GTX - by a landslide the most powerful graphics card available. Again, you don't need the "dual" 7950's - just one will work perfectly.

Best regards,

Lin

[giljones]

Thanks for your helpful advice re Alienware. I too am in the market for the RIGHT laptop to enable good projection of PTE5 slide shows. Asa matter of interest I find that even shows made in ver 4.48 do not always project faultlessly there is the odd blip in sound and very occasionally the picture this has only happened since I have used PTE5 as my main program. Now to my real reason for writing. Is it possible that you could be more specific as to the specification for the laptop that you have. Your description is delightfully vauge, it would be helpful to old souls like me if we could know this info it would help no end in helping to make a decision. Just in case you haven't guessed I am in the UK so I look at the Alienware web site having pressed the UK selection button so our prices are somewhat different as we have included 17.5% for VAT. Many thanks for your help. Gilbert