Has any one here used a Sony Vaio laptop with photoshop already installed on it as part of a package deal?

<p>I am looking at purchasing the Sony Vaio VGNNW25GFB Laptop, it has a 2.2 GHz intel, 2GB ram (upgradable to 8GB) 320GB hard drive, 15.5 inch screen and photoshop already loaded on it as part of a package deal. It also has Windows 7 at 64bit. Has any one used this laptop? is it effective for editing photos etc, for design and photography? is it a good trust worthy laptop?</p>

<p>How is it that Photoshop is already installed? Is it the latest version? And who is it registered to? You may want to do a search. Check with Adobe about transferrring registration. I believe I have read problems about that on Digital Darkroom. But perhaps it was pre-installed by Sony.</p>

<p>Do you really need Photoshop? Most people do not and there is a large learning curve. Lightroom or Elements is more appropriate (and cheaper) for the average person. If you are a new photographer, do not even consider Photoshop.</p>

<p>I do not know about this particular computer but 2GB of ram is insufficient and the 320GB drive is undersized for photo files. Be really careful about the graphics card...is it sufficient to run a larger monitor? Upgrading laptops is not cheap.</p>

<p>It's not unusual for new computers to come bundled with trial versions of some high end software. Check to see whether this version of Photoshop is a trial version that will expire after you begin using it - usually you get up to 15-30 days with some software, or a specified number of uses.</p>

<p>And check to see whether it's the full version of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. I've seen some computer hardware bundled with Elements, such as Wacom tablets. Those are usually full versions of Elements, not trial ware that will expire.</p>

<p>I don't think it's a trial version of CSx. It's going to be Elements, Sony has bundled Elements with laptops in the past. If it is, it should be fine unless you've been using the features of full Photoshop CSx already.</p>

<p>I think indeed it's Photoshop Elements, most likely version 6, or now that 8 is out, maybe 7. I've used the "OEM" version of Photoshop Elements (shipped with another brand though), and there is 0% difference with the retail version, except the license is tied to the hardware.</p>

<p>It severly depends on your level of Photoshop expertise how much you'd miss comparing Photoshop versus Elements. For most people, even with intermediate PS knowledge, PS Elements will work out fine. A few additional (free) plugins and actions to fill the 2 most annoying gaps (Curves and Layer Masks), and it's good to go.</p>

 

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<p>I do not know about this particular computer but 2GB of ram is insufficient and the 320GB drive is undersized for photo files. Be really careful about the graphics card...is it sufficient to run a larger monitor? Upgrading laptops is not cheap.</p>

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<p>Wow, sorry, but I really have to disagree point by point:<br>

- 2GB with normal photo editing on Windows 7 = no issue. Sure, more is nicer, but 2GB will work OK.<br>

- 320GB undersized? What kind of resolutions do you shoot? An average RAW file of around 12MP will be 10 to 16MB. So, you can stash quite a few on a 320GB HDD.<br>

- Upgrading graphics cards is impossible in most laptops. But it does not matter anyway. All modern graphic cards can go up to extremely high resolutions easily these days. Not a lot of people need more than 1920*1200 anyway.</p>