Second, a general comment: brand and model are interesting, but key specs are at least as important. For example, I have a Lenovo (“IBM”) ThinkPad T61P. But how I got that configured (screen size/resolution, memory, hard drive size) is a lot more relevant.

Generally, I recommend that you get 2 GB of RAM. Regular 32-bit Windows can’t address more than 3 GB, and any less than 2 GB is a false economy for performance. If your budget is tight, you’re better off getting a slower processor but still getting 2 GB of RAM. For whatever model you pick, you probably want the biggest hard drive you can reasonably afford before the prices start escalating crazily.

Related to screen size, a host of related questions: Will you be using an external monitor for most of your serious work, or will you be relying on the built-in LCD screen of the laptop most of the time? Do you have good eyesight and a high tolerance for small stuff on screen? How much What format of outlines are you likely to mainly be working on? (Which is implicitly looking for “what em square size are you likely to be working with in your type design work?”)

Cheers,

T

If I understand it right you want to know what we use regardless of whether it’s PC or Mac. I use a Macbook Pro 15.4” base model. 15.4 inches is getting on the big side and isn’t quite as portable as I would like it to be. Whatever computer you get though, consider it an investment.

I find that the build quality of lesser known, and cheaper, brands is only so-so. People are still lugging around their old Powerbooks because they are built more tank-like, so I suggest that in addition to the specs, you also look for decent build quality.

Compared to other graphics applications, font production is fairly low in resource consumption. But Thomas’ recommendations above still apply if you value your time and your sanity :)

Also, Freehand is dead.

Over the years, I’ve used Sony laptops (definitely not recommended), Toshiba laptops (pretty good, but I had repetetive trouble with hard drives), and a Panasonic ’Toughbook’ (a nice lightweight travel machine, but a bit slow). But by far the best computers I have bought have been from Dell. I have one large Dell Inspiron 9100 laptop that I’ve used as my main machine for the past three and a half years, and recently bought the small Dell XPS 1330 to use as a travel machine. I particularly like the customisability of Dell computers: I maximised the RAM and got the fastest CPU option for the XPS 1330, and it is blisteringly fast compared to my older Dell.

Thomas, as I understand it, 32-bit Windows only provides applications with a 3GB flat virtual address space, but kernel components will address a separate gigabyte. So 4GB is the actual limit (which is what I got in my XPS, and I hope I didn’t waste money on an unused gigabyte of RAM!). But in order to provide access to the full 3GB, either the computer manufacturer or administrator needs to set the /3GB flag in the boot.ini (in pre-Vista versions of Windows)

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms791558.aspx

or the IncreaseUserVA in BCDEdit (Windows Vista)

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa906211.aspx

If you are buying a computer with more than 3GB of RAM, you may reasonably expect the manufacturer to set this, but you can ask them to confirm this.

I’m working on a Mac intel box, 2x 2.66GHZ Dual core intel
with only one gig ram and a cinema screen. But in the end it
doesnt really matter, like in life: size doesn’t matter so much
it’s is more what you can do with it.

The only thing i wouldn’t get is freehand, dead software and
Prepress-wise a pain in the butt, i would say it is better to
invest in illustrator.

With any laptop, my experience is it that the extended warranty is a good investment. Dell has been good for me, but I heard they moved tech support to India, and my friend says sometimes they are hard to understand. Fortunately at my company, if your Dell laptop acts up, our contract is set so someone will come fix it in a day.

If for some reason you decide to get a Mac that can boot WIndows, everyone I know says the Applecare is a good investment.

I second Thomas’ opinion on 2gb RAM. That was my #1 requirement in buying the last machine I bought.

Thanks all for the opinions!

1-I will change to illustrator. I already made that decision couple of months a go...but I will miss the multipage thin