Cheap secondary laptop for simple Adobe projects, to go along side my beasty PC at home

So I have a beasty PC with 32GB ram and 580 rx and 3700X AMD and huge scratch discs. But it's big and heavy, I can't take it with me to touch up designs on the go.

I'd like a cheap laptop to use for the next 12 months or so until the new ARM MacBooks come out. My Adobe projects aren't big and I just do simple animations in After Effects. Plus I can do the bulk of my work on my PC, or even remote desktop into my PC. Remote desktop would actually be boss because the PC has real NBN.

Anyway what is a cheapy cheap Windows laptop that won't drive me insane. I reckon I can spend a thousand bucks on it easy. Any ultrabook will do? I'm so out of the loop with PC laptops. If I'm just remote desktoping most of the time probably small and light with an IPS screen would do.

I'm blown away by the ARM Macs, but Apple said they will take 2 years to finish rolling out and fully transferring macOS to ARM. And even if I wanted the day-one model it's not coming out until the end of the year anyway. I kinda need a laptop for now.

I also have a 12 inch iPad pro, perhaps that would be ideal for remote desktopping with the new keyboard cover?

Comments

  • Actually I just talked myself into the iPad magic keyboard. I have a $15 telstra SIM which gives me unmetered shaped internet and that's probably enough to remote desktop in a pinch. And I'll probably have wifi anyway. A $600 keyboard seems a bit silly but it'll be a lot lighter than a $600 laptop.

    • +1

      I use a normal ipad with a brydge keyboard for lots of things when I am commuting.
      I think you would find the ipad works pretty well, and is light and versatile.

  • Anything with a dedicated gfx card will do the trick

  • So I have a beasty PC with 32GB ram and 580 rx and 3700X AMD

    Rookie

    • it's a beasty to me. I think it's the 2700X actually, I bought it a day before the 3700X came out. It hadn't even shipped yet and Scorptec refused to let me return it for the 3700X. I just paid full price for the old one, which they dropped the price like $80, and they hadnt even shipped yet. Why would they let me return it for the 3700X or refund the difference on the new price, they didn't feel like they had to because they already had the money. At least Amazon automatically refund you the difference if it hasn't shipped yet. Anyway, buying a 2700X for full price the day before the 3700X was released, that's my real rookie move. Second rookie move was buying it from Scorptec.

Login or Join to leave a comment