Laptop for photo editing and casual gaming

SardineG

Distinguished
Jan 15, 2011
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18,510
1. What is your budget?
+-$600 (5000 Rand)

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15-16'' range is good

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Something that's ideal for viewing and editing photos

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
It's a desktop replacement, but it will be used on the move. Not too concerned about size + weight though

5. How much battery life do you need?
At least 2hrs

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Yes. Huge fan of Flight Simulator 2004. Also enjoy games like the CoD series, Hawx, Mirror's Edge etc. Doubt I'll be running things like Crysis

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
Photo editing, watching movies

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
250GB-320GB. External Hdd's are cheap, so not too worried.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
Minimum of 3-4years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD ROM+ writer

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
Have my eye on the HP ProBook 4515, but I haven't heard good things about the screen. However, there is a place here with a good deal; Laptop + extra 8cell battery + bag + mouse, for R5000 (about $600)

13. What country do you live in?
South Africa

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
I'm not into hectic photo-editing; I dabble with CS3, Picasa, that sort of thing. But a screen with good resolution and colours is what I'm after. I need something that will work, and that will last. A decent dedicated graphics card is also a plus.
 
Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards

Find the ATI Radeon HD 3200 and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 cards in that long list. Tick the boxes and then use the RESTRICT button above to get an idea how the video cards compare.

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SardineG

Distinguished
Jan 15, 2011
2
0
18,510
Hey, thanks for the reply. The one I'm looking at:
HP ProBook 4515
2.1GHz AMD Dual Core Athlon M320
4GB DDR2 Memory
320GB hard drive
512MB ATI HD4330 Graphics

I'm hearing more and more bad comments about the 4515's screen/colour/contrast, so I might just rule it out.