Optimus II 15 for a Graphic Designer - Help Appreciated!

[EliseRobinson]

(Wasn't sure if this should go in the Laptops section or check my spec section... but here goes!)

Hi all,
I'm just starting my degree in graphic design and often find myself running applications from CS4 together. My current laptop (Samsung R560) was brilliant but it's got a really dodgy charging port now and I can't let my student loan sit idly in the bank... My budget is £850 tops.

My main question: is this spec overkill for CS4 and WoW on pretty settings? What spec would save me some money while getting the right performance?

Chassis & Display
Optimus II: 15.6" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080) - Are Matte screens good for designers? I've heard a lot of arguements about there being no such thing as "true" colours and matte screens can look dull - but are they much, much easier on the eye? I do use my laptop every day for at least a few hours but have never had eye strain or had difficulty with my glossy screen.
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2630QM (2.00GHz) 6MB Cache
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm) - Would a SSD be a better investment?
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

= £799 with silver warranty

Thanks for all advice - in advance!

PS, just to add another spanner in the works: Optimus II or Macbook Pro (as it's the stereotypical "industry standard")? I can't justify the price difference...

 

[alatan]

Looks like a decent specification.

Seeing that you're a graphic designer you might want to look into the display related parts of your specification.

It's down to preference I suppose but you might want to investigate whether viewing 1920x1080 resolution on a 15.6 screen may cause strain on your eyes. I currently have a 1680x1080 resolution on my 15.4 screen and it took some getting use to reading the small 96dpi fonts (standard setting small). You can change the dpi (to say 128 medium) for extra legibility.

Glossy screen display's more vibrant colours but at the cost of the screen surface being reflective. This is particularly noticeable in brightly lit environments.
Matte screen display's are for people who prefer anti-glare screens and its colours are measured by their gamut value (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamut). The colours usually look slightly duller in comparison with the glossy screens.

 

[EliseRobinson]

I've already ordered that spec, but I did do a bit of research into screens.
I've been using a glossy for the last three years and never had any problems. I never use it outside, my study and editing studio at uni are nicely lit, so glare isn't really an issue. The money was more of an issue - so decided against the matte option in the end based on the price tag.

I'll take your advice about changing the dpi, though, thanks! I can use the higher resolution for intricate graphics work and a lower one for general use if the small fonts bother me. A bit of a faff to keep changing it, but at least I've got the option.