New laptop, Adobe CS6, dedicated graphics or no?

pcquicksilver

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Apr 24, 2014
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I'm looking for a new PC laptop. I am not a gamer, but I do quite a bit of photo editing. I often run multiple programs, such as Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver at the same time (the same is true of Office suite). I've realized that a 17 inch screen is the least I can work with. Four of four people have recommended Asus.
My six year old Toshiba overheated and the repair shop confirmed it is a common problem (my integrated graphics chip melted).

With budget in mind, do I really need a dedicated graphics card? Is there much difference between a 1600 X 900 and a 1920 X 1080 display? Does a higher resolution slow down the processor? What are the pros and cons of a 5600 vs a 7200 rpm HDD?

I'd appreciate some thoughts from someone who isn't trying to sell me something. Maybe you wish you had upgraded and why? Thank you.
P.S. I tend to keep my technology around for a while, as you can tell from my six year benchmark.
 

Pibee

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Sep 21, 2013
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Let's put your question "Is there much difference between a 1600 X 900 and a 1920 X 1080 display?" in perspective
The pixel difference between them is just under 45% of the smaller screen. Its' a significant amount just keep in mind it's the multiplication that provides the actual pixel count.

As for HDD's, so many other criterions can affect a comparison in performance that in their absence it's not possible to accurately quantify, but as you do state you're looking long term I would suggest an SSD that would blow the HDD's out of the water.

As for graphics cards we all tend to ask 'what I need to do what I do' and too often select a components mix based on what favors budget first and then does the job. One way to look at it differently when long term is also an important consideration is to recognize that if just doing the job runs the components at a high or very high load rate all the time, the life span is going to be shorter. So getting a bit more than you calculate you need tends to allow for not only the job getting done but with less strain on those components that means less heat and a probable longer life as well as a buffer against future increased criterion, like larger files from a camera upgrade. That said a graphics card takes graphic processing off the CPU representing a task distribution that allows the CPU to run at a lower load rate.