Dying Laptop

It sounds like a graphics card issue which for a laptop there isn't a simple fix for.
As far as the system you're looking at - it's pretty powerful little laptop. The only suggestion about configuration that I can make - unless you plan to play video games on it you don't really need a 4GB video card. 1 or 2 GB is quite sufficient for photo and even video work. Memory and processor are more important.
Also I'm not certain that B&H is the best place to buy computers from (I may be wrong). Have you checked Newegg? What about OEM sites (Lenovo, HP, Dell, etc.)?

Alexey, thanks. There is a local guy who can maybe swap out the card but I don't know if I have the energy to deal with that. We all live out in the woods but he is WAY out in the woods and it's an adventure to get there even with my 4-wheel. Maybe I'll give him a call anyway and see if he's coming down to the bar any time soon.

The reason I was going with B&H is I'm one of the stodgy elderly who finds comfort in the familiar. I've done business with them for over 20 years and always feel safe buying their stuff whether it's computers, cameras, lenses, TVs or any other electronics. I did the usual shop around the internet and couldn't find that particular model cheaper. Adorama has it for the same price but won't knock a few dollars off like B&H will. There are some used and open box models available but that's risky.

I also looked at some Lenovo models with similar specs but don't know that brand. Anyone have an opinion on Lenovo?

Kathleen,

Try Tiger Direct, really good service and support. And some great deals, especially if you hunt around for "off lease or refurbs", B&H is fine for camera stuff, but plenty of better places to buy computer stuff......

Rich

When that happened with my Sony VAIO it was because the screen had gone bad. It was psychedelic colors and jumping pixels for a while and then the screen just went black one day and wouldn't revive itself. I moved on to a Toshiba and am on my 2nd Toshiba now. The 1st Toshiba Satellite was just old (7 years) and was taking like 15 mins to even turn on, which was the only reason to get another new Toshiba. I love Toshiba! I also have a Toshiba HD TV for 3 years now and never a problem.

Lenovo is a Chinese company that bought up all of IBM's PC and laptop business a decade ago. The Lenovo I own has worked basically fine for nearly two years now but there are some who don't like them.

Hi, Kathleen,

I agree with Alexey that the video in that laptop is overkill, in every respect. (And is pushing the price of this pricey gaming system up, accordingly.) If possible, I'd go for less video capability and more hard drive space. MUCH more, even if it meant adding on 1 or 2 external drives.

I'd suggest a peek at NewEgg.com and TigerDirect.com (both publish product reviews), before making a final decision.

EDIT to add -- Of the notebooks on that site, I'd actually choose this Asus (unless you really are doing heavy gaming!).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1141179-REG/asus_x550jx_db71_i7_4710hq_8gb_1tb_windows_864_15_6_dark.html

I did check Frys, Newegg, Tiger Direct, Ebay, Amazon, Best Buy and several others. They were all priced higher than B&H. Also B&H and Adorama ship free. Most of those other sellers have a physical presence in California and that can get expensive..

The reason I was drawn to that Asus is that it has a solid state drive. There is another Asus with 1tb storage and 16gig of RAM for just a little over a thousand but it doesn't have the solid state drive and the resolution is 1920 x 1080, whereas the resolution on the other one is 3860 x 2160.
Here is the cheaper model - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1109999-REG/asus_republic_of_gamers_gl551jw_ds71.html
Still don't know if the speed between the 2 different processors is negligible or not.

Wendy, I just saw your link. The price is way more attractive but will 8 gigs of RAM really be enough for editing? I do lots of layers and create pngs for other applications. Fireworks and PS tend to be resource hogs.

Kathleen, I do everything (and you can see how much Photoshop w/filters editing I use!), plus create my videos, and use my PC as my television (netflix, hulu, etc.), sound system, and all-around daily workhorse -- all with 4 gigs of old-school DDR2 RAM! I do need a better video card, but that's a separate issue.

Of course, my idea of 'heavy gaming' is playing Bejeweled 3 and Gardenscapes! ;-)

I know there's always a lot of discussion in this forum of how 'much' of everything is required for images and editing, but we've been taught to buy the most we can afford. Which -- most of the time, imo -- is pure consumerism and hyperbole. I say that as someone who's been working digitally since the early '90s, never turns off my computers, builds and maintains my own systems, and has worked in the computer/IT tech field since . . . well, I don't want to date myself, but it's been more than two decades. :-)

Now, I'll add -- buy what (and from where) makes you feel comfortable. You don't want to be second-guessing your hardware every time you turn it on. Peace of mind is worth something, too. (But, you'll still need to invest in more hard drive space.)

EDIT -- I meant to add that if you can get an upgrade to 16 gb of ram, only good can come of that. The problem with that gaming system, is that you'll be paying a crazy amount for the video capabilities, more than anything else.

Thank you, Wendy! You do amazing work so I'm really surprised that you can do it with 4 gigs! This one that's dying has 8 gigs and it feels sluggish.

No, I'm not a gamer. Don't even play those silly games on the phone.

This is going to be a really dumb question but can a quality graphic card translate to a better image display? Also, the laptop with the 3860 x 2160 - will that give me a truer image display than one with 1920 x 1080 and make it easier to see the edits?

I do have lots of 2tb hard drives and back everything up twice. I don't store image files on the internal hard drive. I figure that the programs run better if the drive isn't clogged with data files.

I admit to being suckered in by all the hyperbole and thinking I always need way more to do the job. I have learned though, that if I pass something by for very good reasons (like it's too expensive) I tend to go way overboard later to make up for it. Knowing that I'll do that, it's often cheaper for me to go ahead and get whatever it is so I don't break the bank later trying to compensate. I imagine there's a name for that syndrome and likely there are support groups as well, lol.

I did update the drivers for the video card and the screen hasn't done a meltdown since but I have no idea if the update helped. I don't want to mess with the Bios, if that's what's wrong.

What I did last year was transfer all data and them smashed up the lMac Book lap top and trashed it.

What did you replace it with, Vincent?

Kathleen, I haven't used such a high-rez monitor, so can't fully speak to that. My concerns are:

Higher resolution on your monitor means things appear smaller on-screen. Of course, there are tweaks to make things appear larger, for comfortable viewing, but I don't know how that impacts on the actual native resolution you'd be paying for.

Also, unless you're pairing the laptop pc with a HUGE monitor, I don't know how useful the 4k resolution would be, overall.

Hold on . . . . . .

Okay, I found a few related links that might help -

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1858548?start=0&tstart=0

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3664745

http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/sui_feedback

http://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=100159.0

If I were moving up to a 4k monitor, I'd probably also plan to switch from my 24" monitor to a 30 or 32". (Remember, this is supposition, as I haven't tested such high resolution.) Hopefully, someone who's currently using that setup will chime in.

PS -- You'll know soon whether your driver update helped. I hope it does! :-)

EDIT to add -- My other concern is whether that amount of on-screen clarity would take me further and further away from what printed art actually looks like. I've seen demos of 4k televisions, and can honestly say I've never seen a print that comes anywhere near that level of clarity!