I am thinking of investing in a new laptop for primarily e-learning development/design. My first big question is should I be looking at a Mac or Windows machine? Then once that big decision is made, what model etc. My key wants are:
Powerful processor and fast
Largish screen and good clear display
Relatively portable
Ability to run: Storyline 2, video editing, PS, online authoring tools, usual office software (happy to use parallels if needed)
Anna - I'm operating a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Windows running in Parallels as well. It's a good setup. I also have a 21" iMac running Windows via parallels.
Hi Anna - I think Mac vs PC is a very personal preference. Which environment do you like more? You would need to use Parallels for Mac for Storyline, but many people use that successfully.
You can get the specs you need in both Macs and PCs. PCs are traditionally a little cheaper than Macs for the same specs, but you're also not getting the same experience (again, dependent on preferences). Your budget will be important here.
I would personally go for something better than the recommended specs for improved performance. I get the best performance out of PCs with dedicated graphics cards and solid state drives. At minimum, I would consider 8 GB of RAM (pretty standard now) and greater than 2.0 GHz quad-core processor (also pretty standard).
You may want to also consider if you want to use Adobe software, such as Photoshop - I would look up those recommended specs as well.
A couple of options from quick research on Newegg-
I had to get me a new laptop 1.5 years ago, it is a hard decision every time...
I'd always go for a PC because I kind of grew up with them. So if anything is wrong, I can at least start to look for a solution. With a Mac I'd just be lost, because I don't know them.
I have my laptop for about 1.5 yrs now. There were some criteria to my choice: anti-glare display, number pad, SSD hard drive, proper graphics just to mention some. I ended up with a 15.6" gaming notebook, despite the fact that I don't play games. But when rendering video once in a while it just goes like woosh and it is done. It is a MSI GE60 2PE Apache Pro, to name it. It has a 128Gig SSD hard drive and a 1TB traditional HDD. There is a spare slot for another SSD, so I will never run out of disk space, which I like because I still refuse to live in the cloud or carry external hard drives. The 128Gig SSD is nearly full with applications only by now, so I will have to get my extension soon.
When buying things like computers, I prefer to walk into a "real" shop, where I can touch and try things rather than shopping online.
I think you'll have to shop around a bit to find your perfect new laptop;-)
6 Replies
Great question, Anna! I currently use a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Windows running in Parallels. It works great for me!
Anna - I'm operating a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Windows running in Parallels as well. It's a good setup. I also have a 21" iMac running Windows via parallels.
I have a HP Spectre x 360 15.9 inch 4K touch screen and the thing rocks! Windows 10
Hi Anna - I think Mac vs PC is a very personal preference. Which environment do you like more? You would need to use Parallels for Mac for Storyline, but many people use that successfully.
You can get the specs you need in both Macs and PCs. PCs are traditionally a little cheaper than Macs for the same specs, but you're also not getting the same experience (again, dependent on preferences). Your budget will be important here.
You can find the minimum specs here: https://www.articulate.com/store/store-faq-storyline.php
I would personally go for something better than the recommended specs for improved performance. I get the best performance out of PCs with dedicated graphics cards and solid state drives. At minimum, I would consider 8 GB of RAM (pretty standard now) and greater than 2.0 GHz quad-core processor (also pretty standard).
You may want to also consider if you want to use Adobe software, such as Photoshop - I would look up those recommended specs as well.
A couple of options from quick research on Newegg-
Hi.
I had to get me a new laptop 1.5 years ago, it is a hard decision every time...
I'd always go for a PC because I kind of grew up with them. So if anything is wrong, I can at least start to look for a solution. With a Mac I'd just be lost, because I don't know them.
I have my laptop for about 1.5 yrs now. There were some criteria to my choice: anti-glare display, number pad, SSD hard drive, proper graphics just to mention some.
I ended up with a 15.6" gaming notebook, despite the fact that I don't play games. But when rendering video once in a while it just goes like woosh and it is done. It is a MSI GE60 2PE Apache Pro, to name it. It has a 128Gig SSD hard drive and a 1TB traditional HDD. There is a spare slot for another SSD, so I will never run out of disk space, which I like because I still refuse to live in the cloud or carry external hard drives.
The 128Gig SSD is nearly full with applications only by now, so I will have to get my extension soon.
When buying things like computers, I prefer to walk into a "real" shop, where I can touch and try things rather than shopping online.
I think you'll have to shop around a bit to find your perfect new laptop;-)
Best
Joerg
I would recommend Toshiba Satellite S55T. It's a new version of my old laptop I was using during couple years.
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