3D Visualisation, Animation, Motion Graphics and Web Design in Leeds
(info) Freelance Graphic Design
Before you shout ‘MacBook Pro!’ – that was way out of the budget I’d set myself (less than £800 if I could manage it), so out of the question from the start. It was, unfortunately, the one that I really really wanted to get. It’s powerful and looks nice, and OSX is a joy to work on, but you have to pay a lot of cash to get it. Sorry Apple, maybe next time.
I don’t buy anything without doing a lot of research and I ended getting myself a top spec 2.2 GHz 17″ Dell Vostro 1700, which as far as specs go is the same (less 0.2 GHz, which I can live without) as 17″ MacBook Pro. Yep, it’s not as pretty and it’s heavier but it’s literally less than half the price (£740 for the Dell vs £1860 for the Apple).
There’s a few minor differences in the number of USB ports and Firewire ports etc, 2.2 GHz vs 2.4 GHz, and the Vostro 1700 NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics card uses slightly slower DDR2 memory and not DDR3 like the MacBook Pro, but all things considered it’s just about the same (at least on paper – I wish I had 17″ MacBook Pro to do a side by side comparison with but alas, I don’t)
The Vostro 1700 is more than powerful enough to runs all the creative apps I need it to without a problem, renders heavy 3D scenes quickly (faster than my year old Desktop PC), and importantly to me has a nice big hi-res screen. It’s not up to the standards of a good quality Desktop LCD monitor, but it’s plenty good enough for me. The one I got has a resolution of 1920 x 1200 (WUXGA) which costs extra but is worth it for the extra screen-res you get to play with, and one of the main reasons I got this model. It’s a shiny/reflective screen which some people won’t like, but I don’t mind, and it’s a bright crisp screen to work with.
If you don’t need a 17″ laptop but still want a powerful graphics machine take a look at the Dell Vostro 1500 – smaller, cheaper and lighter but just as powerful, you just loose some screen resolution.
I could have got it off dell.co.uk for around £1000 I think if I’d configured it right, but if you look on Dell’s Outlet store you can probably find the same pc/laptop that you were just about to get but save a few £100 off the main site’s price.
I ended up getting mine new off eBay, for £740 including delivery, which for the spec of the machine is amazing.
I’ve been using it for nearly 2 months now and I can’t really fault it either as a dedicated graphic design machine or as an entertainment laptop.
As with all technology though it’ll be out of date within a year and I’ll be looking for something bigger and better – but with the £1120 pounds I saved by not getting a MacBook Pro of near enough the same spec, I can quite happily justify the upgrade. Or go on holiday for a month. Or buy a second car.
Good info!!!
Alright! Im just about to go to uni to study graphic design, and My battle is between dell and acer, Ive always wanted a mac (after using them in collage) but now it is just never going to happen. I have all the software for windows, that would easily mount up into the thousands for mac; so if I am going to trade my tower for a lap top, it is going to have to be windows. Added to the decision is the fact that I will want XP and not CPU hungry Vista. The acer laptop I was looking at has the downgrade to XP wich is great, but The dell has the charm of being about £150 cheaper. I have a limited budget about £800 if that. Build quality will be a facter aswell I will need a laptop that will last the trips to and from the Uni.
I have found this artical very intresting. It has defanetly made me respect the Idea of a dell laptop. But I would like to hear an update!! Which car did you buy with the saveings?????
Glad you found it useful. I’m still using the Dell happily and would still recomend it. All that’s wrong with it after a years use is one of the Ctrl keys has popped off – but that’s only because my little girl took a fancy to it and bashed the keyboard while I wasn’t looking until something fell off.
The one thing I would say, is that’s it’s heavy. Really really heavy. It’s not as portable as I’d hoped but for the performance and the hi-res screen I was willing to sacrifice that. Looking back I sort of wish I’d got something a little easier to cart around – but other than that it’s great!
I upgraded the RAM to 4GB a while back and now run XP64 bit on it, and it all runs really smoothly.
Another year and I’ll think about an upgrade, but it still keeps up with most of the newer machines I see folks using.
As for the car – unfortunately not! Every single penny of the saving went on buying prams, car seats, cots and nappies, but I wouldn’t have it any other way :)
Thanks for replying!
Nice to hear that Its standing up to the test of time. This I think has secured the dell Idea, you should ask for comission!!! You should cheak out the studio laptops they have, nice looking, and some good specs. I hope that I only get the ctrl key problem, the laptops going to have to survive three years!!! Well I can only try!!! And for the price they’re offering, Two years is a good lifespane!
Thanks again!!
Stef
hey,
hi everybody, i’m student, i’m gonna study graphic design in the university, but i’m looking for a laptop that is faster for that staff and also for some games of last generation like the tycoons’ like roller coaster or other games, i want with a big screen i want suggestions and then i pick the best i think,
thanks, see ya…
Hi
I would really like to know how you configured your Vostro, what specs is your laptop?
I am a graphic designer, so i was wondering would this laptop be good running programs such as photoshop, illustrator, dreamweaver, flash etc?
Found this on Hot UK Deals, what do you think?
Intel® Core 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.40 GHz, 3 MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium – English
3072MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (1×1024 + 1×2048 MB)
320 GB (5400rpm) SATA Dual Hard Drive (2x 160GB)
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
Microsoft Works 9.0 – English
Intel Pro Wireless 3945 (802.11 a/b/g) MiniPCI Card
1Yr Basic Warranty – Next Business Day Included
56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter – UK
Primary 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (56 WHr)
Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive including Software
17.0″ Widescreen WXGA+ (1440×900) TFT Display
Matte Jet Black with 2.0 mega pixel camera
Thanks
for info, from Dell UK, mid Feb 2008, this machine with XP, 1440×900 screen, 3 MB RAM and 2.2 GHz chip is currently £499 ex tax
hi,
it was nice reading your experience, especially since i am in a huge dillemma with what to buy.
The first machine i saw was a MacBook Pro, for £1600 at an Apple Dealer’s store. Way off my budget.
I am a graphic designer in India, and i zoomed down to:
- Dell Precision M4300, for £1044
- then to Dell Vostro 1500, for £810.
My budget is £900.
Then I saw Sony FZ25 for £914 , but it has Vista… which I dont really want for I have heard Vista is incompatible with softwares, and I hate its interface anyway; but Sony has a nice LCD 90 screen. So, I cant decide between the Sony Screen or Windows XP.
My configurations are the same as you mentioned, except the screen size and 4GB RAM.
I am very unhappy with the deals. Besides, Dell India doesnt have a shop :(
Can you suggest anything?