If you needed a laptop for......

[GrooveRite]

Comic reading (lightweight/portable) BUT also use it to run some Illustrator/CorelDraw and some large format digital print / laser machines from time to time, what would you get?

 

[GrooveRite]

Ok, let me clarify a few things since I see people looking but not responding.

I originally wrote a long winded post but the site deemed it spam so I lost it and posted a short one.

I was thinking of getting a tablet, the galaxy tab S5e but then thought to myself why not get a laptop since my desktop at home is quite old (2007). I wanted to get a tablet specifically for reading digital comic books but I also do some side work that requires me to connect to a Mimaki CJV30-160. I currently use the owners old desktop PC which is quite outdated. Would love a tablet style PC (or 2 in 1 if really lightweight and slim with decent battery life) but I'm not sure how well they would work if I needed it to somewhat function as a workstation. I'm trying to find something thats right in the middle but I have no idea which companies are offering the better product.

So far, these are the devices that I'm interested in.....

1. Surface Book
2. Dell Inspiron/IPS
3. Asus Zenbook Flip

.....any suggestions and help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[ochhanz]

Comic reading (lightweight/portable) BUT also use it to run some Illustrator/CorelDraw and some large format digital print / laser machines from time to time, what would you get?

definitely something with good pen support and I guess 3:2 screen for printing (/paper ratio) & reading and a decent cpu (Intel 8th gen or newer for quadcore laptop cpu's). So I would say either a Surface Pro or a clone (Latitude, Thinkpad, Elite all have versions with various advantages/disadvantages but are expensive unless you can find a deal). You should also try the pen in real life if you can, since that kindy differs per person (the feel of the pen, the tips, buttons/features etc). Mobiletechreview on youtube and Notebookcheck have in depth reviews.

SP (Surface Pro) 7 if you need usb-c or otherwise SP 6 on a sale are probably solid choices for your use case. Note that SP7 with Intel i5 is faster than SP6 with Intel i7.

 

[GrooveRite]

definitely something with good pen support and I guess 3:2 screen for printing (/paper ratio) & reading and a decent cpu (Intel 8th gen or newer for quadcore laptop cpu's). So I would say either a Surface Pro or a clone (Latitude, Thinkpad, Elite all have versions with various advantages/disadvantages but are expensive unless you can find a deal). You should also try the pen in real life if you can, since that kindy differs per person (the feel of the pen, the tips, buttons/features etc). Mobiletechreview on youtube and Notebookcheck have in depth reviews.

SP (Surface Pro) 7 if you need usb-c or otherwise SP 6 on a sale are probably solid choices for your use case. Note that SP7 with Intel i5 is faster than SP6 with Intel i7.

Thanks for the suggestions! Really appreciate it! I'm going to check out the SP7 and see if I can use it.

One last question.....

...which 2 in 1 folding / convertible / tent (whatever they call them!) PC is well regarded that is LIGHT WEIGHT with a 4k touch screen?

 

[ochhanz]

Thanks for the suggestions! Really appreciate it! I'm going to check out the SP7 and see if I can use it.

One last question.....

...which 2 in 1 folding / convertible / tent (whatever they call them!) PC is well regarded that is LIGHT WEIGHT with a 4k touch screen?

, your welcome. Well yes except generally for the low weight (which is why I didn't mention them earlier) and the aspect ratio are almost always 16:9, which is not necessarily bad but for reading and art 3:2 ratio is more practical unless you multitask a lot and finally pen support is sometimes vague.
Two clear benefits though is better bang for buck and often easier to repair stuff (since they are laptops instead of tablets).
The one I was eyeing (before I by chance found a cheap refurbished deal) was 15 inch Zenbook 2-1 (good price/specs & design and relatively low weight and maybe even mil spec), but not sure about good pen support.
Other interesting 2-1 laptops: Spectre (heavy but otherwise very good & popular), Xps (maybe best convertible 2-1 but expensive! and sadly less repaireable).
Business laptops like Dell Latitude 7400 2-in-1 and Elitebook 2-1 are interesting also because of great repaireability + mil spec.
Maybe Lenovo Yoga 740/940, the 730 had some display problems though but the 940 has a pen silo. Oh yeah speaking about pen silo's, also check the Dell inspiron black edition (looks like an excellent 2-1).
And probably some more I forgot, lots of choice.

 

[GrooveRite]

, your welcome. Well yes except generally for the low weight (which is why I didn't mention them earlier) and the aspect ratio are almost always 16:9, which is not necessarily bad but for reading and art 3:2 ratio is more practical unless you multitask a lot and finally pen support is sometimes vague.
Two clear benefits though is better bang for buck and often easier to repair stuff (since they are laptops instead of tablets).
The one I was eyeing (before I by chance found a cheap refurbished deal) was 15 inch Zenbook 2-1 (good price/specs & design and relatively low weight and maybe even mil spec), but not sure about good pen support.
Other interesting 2-1 laptops: Spectre (heavy but otherwise very good & popular), Xps (maybe best convertible 2-1 but expensive! and sadly less repaireable).
Business laptops like Dell Latitude 7400 2-in-1 and Elitebook 2-1 are interesting also because of great repaireability + mil spec.
Maybe Lenovo Yoga 740/940, the 730 had some display problems though but the 940 has a pen silo. Oh yeah speaking about pen silo's, also check the Dell inspiron black edition (looks like an excellent 2-1).
And probably some more I forgot, lots of choice.

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I'm going to be narrowing it down so by the time Xmas rolls around, I'll know which device to gift myself.

 

[Drael646464]

Well, comics need something light, but a nice big screen, like a tablet.

But illustration programs require some beef. Obviously a good pen too. Windows is obviously essential for complex peripherals.

Those are competing qualities. I'm no 2 in 1 expert, but I haven't got a clue. Perhaps the windows on arm version of the new surface pro (the pro x) might suit IF it has the chops to run illustrator etc. Otherwise the regular surface pro perhaps.

I don't the illustrator is THAT demanding, but depends on how in depth you go too I suppose. Surface book would be overkill with the gpu, as I believe it's mostly CPU and ram with those apps. Maybe try and fine reviews and see how well both chunk at illustrator

 

[Drael646464]

I think after multiple file executions the ARM platform runs about 60-70% of native speed (after you've run the app a few times). And the surface pro x has a 3ghz processor, so if eight cores running at the equivilant of 1.8-2.1ghz would get your workload done, that might be quite viable.

I have a mini-pc that I generally run at about 2.1 with four cores (intels get hot, I don't like fan noise), and it's fairly capable (can game etc), so I have a feeling that might be enough. This also has a pretty decent gpu, that would probably speed things up too.

It comes in a 16gb variant which helps for image size. It's 2880x1920 rather than 4k, but it's very light, and low bezel, so nice screen. And of course, it's got a decent pen.

It wouldn't be a power house, but it would be likely, I think 'good enough' for your drawing apps. The bonus being it would be very well suited to comic reading, and porting around, and the pen folds under the keyboard, so it'd be easier to draw on the go. Bonuses if you want long battery life or LTE, or instant on (which would be good for comics I think, drawing to)

You MIGHT wait until you can find an artist review of the device. But looks good from what I can see.

 

[ochhanz]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I'm going to be narrowing it down so by the time Xmas rolls around, I'll know which device to gift myself.

, ah nice , Drael's post reminded me of something that the SP 7 has a much better gpu/igpu compared to the one of the SP 6. I am no expert with Illustrator but it could be that the extra graphics power can come in handy (might want to double check that it).

Come to think of it, the SP7 has no real weaknesses. It probably is not perfect in every thing you want to do with it but it seems like the best device to do all those things good enough and it is powerful for a tablet.
I would try getting the 128 or 256 gb i5 version on a sale at a shop with some warranty/reputation and put a fast & big microSD card in it to expand the storage cheaply.

Just don't get the i3 version (it has worse graphics power).

 

[GrooveRite]

So I went to bestbuy this morning and took a very hard 2 hours look/test of the Dell Inspiron 7000 (2 in 1) 13.3" and the 15" as I thought I'd be getting the most bang for my buck and came to the conclusion that it's just too big and heavy for tablet style media consumption.

I then started looking at the surface pro 7 in the store and after watching a few videos online I've realized that's what I need. I'm sorry I didn't log in to see what you guys wrote but I'm glad to see you guys steering me in the right direction! Thank you! I'm looking at either the i5/8gb/128 or the i7/16gb/256. I get a lot of slowing down with my current i5 PC at work when I shade and do complex fills with Corel so I may need the i7. I'm going to have my sister use her student credentials to get 10% off whatever I go with.

Thank you for your suggestions and help again! Greatly appreciate it!

 

[GrooveRite]

Well, comics need something light, but a nice big screen, like a tablet.

But illustration programs require some beef. Obviously a good pen too. Windows is obviously essential for complex peripherals.

Those are competing qualities. I'm no 2 in 1 expert, but I haven't got a clue. Perhaps the windows on arm version of the new surface pro (the pro x) might suit IF it has the chops to run illustrator etc. Otherwise the regular surface pro perhaps.

I don't the illustrator is THAT demanding, but depends on how in depth you go too I suppose. Surface book would be overkill with the gpu, as I believe it's mostly CPU and ram with those apps. Maybe try and fine reviews and see how well both chunk at illustrator

I've looked into the Pro X and from what I can tell, it won't be able to run Illustrator/Corel and my machines which all come with their own soft. Believe me, if it did...I'd get it! Love the form factor of the X but it just unfortunately doesn't have the chops for my use. I'm hearing people online saying that if MS made a Pro but with the X's form aesthetics for next year then it would be a big seller. I'd get that for sure! I may just end up getting the Samsung Tablet S5E now for my comic consumption but if I get that then I really wouldn't need the SP7 anymore and get a 2 in 1 laptop instead like a Dell XPS or a Asus Zenbook Pro Duo. I'm looking to hold out till the holiday season kicks in for a good deal.

Thanks for your input and advice!

 

[ochhanz]

So I went to bestbuy this morning and took a very hard 2 hours look/test of the Dell Inspiron 7000 (2 in 1) 13.3" and the 15" as I thought I'd be getting the most bang for my buck and came to the conclusion that it's just too big and heavy for tablet style media consumption.

, Yeah convertible laptops (especially 15 inch) are just often to heavy as a tablet. I like mine and use the touchscreen often but not the tent mode etc.

Normally I would say i7 in ultrabooks/tablets is a waste because of extra heat from i7 vs i5, but the Surface Pro has some difference between the i5 and i7 mostly related to that the i7 has a fan, so it is not entirely silent but gives probably something like ~10-15% better performance in general. I would say only worth the money if you are going to do heavy stuff on it (like rendering) for longer times, but it seems to me that CoreDraw/Illustrator don't require that.

Concerning the Samsung Tablet S5E, I think you should ask yourself this: do you want a touchscreen/pen-support (it is great for artist/photoshop work) on your laptop? Yes; get a Surface Pro or similar. No; get a tablet for comics and a standard laptop for the rest.

 

[GrooveRite]

, Yeah convertible laptops (especially 15 inch) are just often to heavy as a tablet. I like mine and use the touchscreen often but not the tent mode etc.

Normally I would say i7 in ultrabooks/tablets is a waste because of extra heat from i7 vs i5, but the Surface Pro has some difference between the i5 and i7 mostly related to that the i7 has a fan, so it is not entirely silent but gives probably something like ~10-15% better performance in general. I would say only worth the money if you are going to do heavy stuff on it (like rendering) for longer times, but it seems to me that CoreDraw/Illustrator don't require that.

Concerning the Samsung Tablet S5E, I think you should ask yourself this: do you want a touchscreen/pen-support (it is great for artist/photoshop work) on your laptop? Yes; get a Surface Pro or similar. No; get a tablet for comics and a standard laptop for the rest.

I think for now, I'm just going to get the S5E tablet just for comics and wait for a good solid laptop to come by and pick up. Reading about processors, screen size and FHD vs 4k screens were starting to burn me out, lol. Now I have time to properly make a decision instead of a rushed one.

Thanks for your help!

 

[ochhanz]

I might have delved to much in the technical details lol. Taking time before making a decision sounds like a good plan, who knows what kind of deals you will come across the coming weeks or lateron.