Laptop recommendations for a graphic designer?

I am trying to figure what laptop I'd want to upgrade to since I'll be doing Graphic Design work very soon for college online. I have never been a Mac user but I know that the Mac notebooks can come with a lot of great tools for graphic design. When I did research myself, I was set on the Macbook Air. Mostly because of the lightweight of the Air and my current laptop is very hard to handle. Since then I talked with a friend and got some advice that the Air wouldn't be a good fit for me because of the small screens. Also from what I understood the Macbook Pro W/ Retina Display (Which she recommended) had way more "designing capabilities" than the Air which is more for entertainment purposes. Well now I'm kind of unsure about which Macbook laptop out of all of them would be the best for me because apart from the weight, the other factor that made the Air so appealing was its very affordable price. The "Pro"s are a lot more expensive so I want to make sure that I know about all my options and be able to find one that really make me happy. In case it helps, when I do graphic design I mean I will be working along side a graphic tablet in Microsoft Illustrator etc. to create drawings and sketches. I know this is a lot of information so thank you in anvance to any recommendations I receive!

Jessehk wrote:Thanks for all the responses!
Hey, I'm always looking for new converts.
Although it's about $300 more, I have to say I'm leaning towards the T61. There seems to be an emphasis on the Thinkpad's cooling system, fan noise, and general build quality but in some ways I'm paying more for less.
Any tips?
My T61p runs cool (especially compared with the T43) and quiet (nice little whisper fan, sort of soothing, actually), and is solid as a rock -- no flex in the screen, and no creaky plastic noises when I pick it up, unlike my brother's top-of-the-line Dell and my teenaged daughter's entry-level Compaq-HP. In fact, I think the build quality may actually have improved under Lenovo, at least comparing the T61p with my two T43s. (The IBM-era T21 is similarly solid, I should add.)
I really don't think you'll regret going with a Thinkpad. Some people have said they're the Volvos of the portable computing world, with which I concur -- not flashy, but solid, well-engineered, durable, classy and elegant. Every few weeks I run across some feature of my Thinkpad that makes me say, "Man, somebody gave that a bit of thought."
Did you scour the Net for coupons? Also, depending on your credit card, you can sometimes shave off another 5-7 percent by purchasing through the credit card's member portal. You might find some info here (which is probably VISA-USA, but might direct you).
Last edited by dhave (2008-07-16 16:00:50)

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First: I don't know if I am posting this in the right place, so I apologize in advance if it doesn't belong here.
In September, I'm going to be starting an Electrical Engineering program at University and since I'll be in residence, I'm going to buy a laptop.
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Last edited by Jessehk (2008-07-15 18:26:23)

Jessehk wrote:Thanks for all the responses!
Hey, I'm always looking for new converts.
Although it's about $300 more, I have to say I'm leaning towards the T61. There seems to be an emphasis on the Thinkpad's cooling system, fan noise, and general build quality but in some ways I'm paying more for less.
Any tips?
My T61p runs cool (especially compared with the T43) and quiet (nice little whisper fan, sort of soothing, actually), and is solid as a rock -- no flex in the screen, and no creaky plastic noises when I pick it up, unlike my brother's top-of-the-line Dell and my teenaged daughter's entry-level Compaq-HP. In fact, I think the build quality may actually have improved under Lenovo, at least comparing the T61p with my two T43s. (The IBM-era T21 is similarly solid, I should add.)
I really don't think you'll regret going with a Thinkpad. Some people have said they're the Volvos of the portable computing world, with which I concur -- not flashy, but solid, well-engineered, durable, classy and elegant. Every few weeks I run across some feature of my Thinkpad that makes me say, "Man, somebody gave that a bit of thought."
Did you scour the Net for coupons? Also, depending on your credit card, you can sometimes shave off another 5-7 percent by purchasing through the credit card's member portal. You might find some info here (which is probably VISA-USA, but might direct you).
Last edited by dhave (2008-07-16 16:00:50)

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