The Great Escape (from Apple)
July 25, 2016 12:10 PM Subscribe
After a lot of research I think that the ASUS ZenBook Pro UX501VW 15inch 4K Touchscreen Laptop is everything she needs and costs the same amount as the 13" Macbook Pro she would buy, but I'm worried about Adobe compatibility.
Mrs. Lodie6 is a graphic designer looking for a new laptop. The obvious, easy answer would just be to upgrade her 5 year old 13" Macbook Pro, and we might. We've gone to Android phones, however, and I have an Asus laptop that I like and a Surface Pro that I adore, and we just feel like Apple's maybe getting a little... annoying? locked down? boring? expensive?
Particularly expensive, since the ASUS ZenBook Pro UX501VW (here on Amazon) looks like it has just as strong of specs as the 15" Macbook Pro but costs over $500 less.
On Amazon, someone in a review said that the Adobe CS didn't work well with computers at this resolution (3840 x 2160 resolution) and I want to know if that's true or not before I go ahead and buy it. She will be using the suite (current, cloud-based version) very heavily. Mostly Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, and definitely all at the same time. Does anyone have experience with those programs on a Windows 10 machine with this resolution?
All comments and suggestions welcome. We won't spend more than 1500 and definitely want a laptop with an excellent display.
Mrs. Lodie6 is a graphic designer looking for a new laptop. The obvious, easy answer would just be to upgrade her 5 year old 13" Macbook Pro, and we might. We've gone to Android phones, however, and I have an Asus laptop that I like and a Surface Pro that I adore, and we just feel like Apple's maybe getting a little... annoying? locked down? boring? expensive?
Particularly expensive, since the ASUS ZenBook Pro UX501VW (here on Amazon) looks like it has just as strong of specs as the 15" Macbook Pro but costs over $500 less.
On Amazon, someone in a review said that the Adobe CS didn't work well with computers at this resolution (3840 x 2160 resolution) and I want to know if that's true or not before I go ahead and buy it. She will be using the suite (current, cloud-based version) very heavily. Mostly Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, and definitely all at the same time. Does anyone have experience with those programs on a Windows 10 machine with this resolution?
All comments and suggestions welcome. We won't spend more than 1500 and definitely want a laptop with an excellent display.
Best answer: So apparently the issue is CS6 doesn't support hidpi monitors properly so the tool icons look really tiny. Apparently hidpi support is standard in Photoshop CC 2015.
posted by GuyZero at 12:18 PM on July 25, 2016
posted by GuyZero at 12:18 PM on July 25, 2016
Sounds like you are trying to force a Windows machine on a Mac user. This never goes well.
posted by w0mbat at 12:28 PM on July 25, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by w0mbat at 12:28 PM on July 25, 2016 [8 favorites]
Response by poster: Ha! No, w0mbat, she's totally game if she can get more bang for her buck - as long as things still function well.
posted by lodie6 at 1:02 PM on July 25, 2016
posted by lodie6 at 1:02 PM on July 25, 2016
I did the same manifest fix that Harocrates did for Adobe CS6 on my Surface Pro 3, and it has been fine. Windows is no less functional than MacOS, though malware can be more of an issue.
posted by cnc at 1:10 PM on July 25, 2016
posted by cnc at 1:10 PM on July 25, 2016
"...as long as things still function well" is your key issue here. When someone's been on a Mac for five years they can be shocked by going back to a Windows machine. If budget is a problem go look at the refurb store and don't forget how much you'll get second-hand for your five year old macbook.
posted by tillsbury at 3:23 PM on July 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by tillsbury at 3:23 PM on July 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
3840x2160 is more commonly referred to as 4K resolution (it's twice 1080p (1920x1080) in both directions), and I cannot imagine why any Adobe products would have an issue with it specifically, given that it is a very common screen size and an integer multiple of what is arguably the most common screen size.
In short, I wouldn't spend a moment worrying that your software will not work well because of the screen resolution.
posted by namewithoutwords at 5:10 PM on July 25, 2016
In short, I wouldn't spend a moment worrying that your software will not work well because of the screen resolution.
posted by namewithoutwords at 5:10 PM on July 25, 2016
Tried contacting Adobe directly? They would be more than happy to help I would imagine.
Here is a page that may lead you to a person directly.
And their twitter handle is @AdobeCare
posted by iNfo.Pump at 5:34 PM on July 25, 2016
Here is a page that may lead you to a person directly.
And their twitter handle is @AdobeCare
posted by iNfo.Pump at 5:34 PM on July 25, 2016
Best answer: My wife just moved from a 2010 MacBook Pro to nearly that same Asus Zenbook. I had previously seen rendering issues with the UI on other machines because of the lack of hidpi support but she is using Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign CS6 without issue.
The only thing she's been unhappy with is video editing but that's because she was accustomed to iMovie (no interest in learning Premiere).
posted by camcgee at 6:10 PM on July 25, 2016
The only thing she's been unhappy with is video editing but that's because she was accustomed to iMovie (no interest in learning Premiere).
posted by camcgee at 6:10 PM on July 25, 2016
Photoshop CC 2015.5 (shipped last month) only supports UI scaling to 200%, which is going to be pretty tiny on a small 4K display. You should definitely have her try that before buying the machine.
Also, if she's used to Macintosh, Windows could be extremely frustrating. Even if she's game, there are things that can be very frustrating. Have her actually try it and see.
posted by DaveP at 4:14 AM on July 26, 2016
Also, if she's used to Macintosh, Windows could be extremely frustrating. Even if she's game, there are things that can be very frustrating. Have her actually try it and see.
posted by DaveP at 4:14 AM on July 26, 2016
Response by poster: DaveP, do you mean Windows itself can be extremely frustrating, or that Adobe design software can be very frustrating in a Windows environment? The former will not be an issue, but the latter would definitely be.
posted by lodie6 at 11:35 AM on July 26, 2016
posted by lodie6 at 11:35 AM on July 26, 2016
An update from my previous answer --it turns out my wife had been using an external monitor with the CS suite so wasn't dealing with the HiDPI issue on the laptop screen. It looks like it is still a problem that's not solved except for Adobe CC 2015 and beyond. Bummer.
posted by camcgee at 10:58 PM on August 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by camcgee at 10:58 PM on August 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Harpocrates at 12:17 PM on July 25, 2016